Hey guys, I have the opportunity to buy a gen two engine and trans, with only 15K on them, for a pretty good price. and I'm going to be buying a remanned battery soon as well and would be able to choose a gen 2 battery if needed. I guess my question is would I be able to swap the engine and trans into my 2002, with over 200k, without too much needing to be changed? Would I need the gen 2 ECU? Would I absolutely need a gen 2 battery? Obviously the gen 1 is a bit cheaper. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
The 2G engine is slightly different than the Classic engine. For example, valve timing is different. I am not aware of anyone who has tried this transplant. I think it would be risky to try this without planning to also swap out the electronics, which would be difficult since the electronics are highly integrated: the hybrid vehicle ECU expects to communicate with the engine ECU, the skid control ECU, immobilizer ECU, traction battery ECU, etc. The 2G transaxle definitely is different than the Classic transaxle. For example the 2G inverter has a voltage boost function to raise up the ~202V nominal traction battery voltage to three-phase 500VAC. The Classic traction battery voltage is higher, ~274V, and the inverter does not have a voltage boost function. So the 2G transaxle is expecting to receive higher voltage than the Classic inverter can deliver.
Many folks have used gen 2 cells in a gen 1 battery case, but because there are fewer cells in gen 2, you need more than one gen 2 case.
Did we ever get a resolution? I have a 2001 with 250,000 miles. There is <60 PSI compression in the first cylinder. I'm definitely looking at an engine swap.
I don't believe a gen 2 engine will swap into a gen 1 without a significant amount of work as Patrick alluded to above. Better to just look on Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market for a lower mileage 01-03 near you and go verify the condition before buying (borescope in spark plug holes, check oil condition, etc) If you just want to do a swap and have spare parts something like this could even work: TinyURL.com - shorten that long URL into a tiny URL
