diportivo:
my red Kia rio chronicles has been laid bare

oga denn....i dey this ur table...shake it vigorously

I will follow u in this quest.....my binoculars military standard as u blaze the trail

nurey:
This is not a classic

it's not a limited edition vehicle

it's not a sort after vehicle either

except you have a sentimental attachment if not sell as is.

why don't you rather source for the 1.6L gamma with GDI made for the US market, that would be more solid.

if you are bent on removing the piece of crap engine look at its predecessor alpha engines instead of Toyota engine.

Denn:


Hi Nurey

Thanks for the comment.

This car unfortunately has been a huge money pit for me.

Apart from the dumb engine, every other part is in great impeccable condition; not a single rust, minimal scratches and the AC is as cold as any AC can get.

At this point, I am just trying to build something reliable that can be used at home or for city trips... giving some value to something almost as valueless as a discarded refrigerator.

Selling as is is not a good option. It implies I am throwing in the towel and not using this chance to learn something new. I don't do that.

These engines were not built to be repaired. They are powertrains meant to be discarded after usage...you can read online comments about them. How Kia would design such monstrosity still baffles me. One critical component of an engine that we all fail to even remember are the thread holes. Thread holes for the bolts and the threads themselves. If the Kia Rio engine should overheat just once, the thread holes start degrading to the point where camshafts can't sit in one place, the tappets get loosened etc....

Now, the alpha engine you mentioned is a very good choice. It is cheap, strong, built like normal engines and repairable too. I even have a 2008 Kia Cerato I can use as a donor.

Have you seen or heard of this engine been used as a swap? Would really appreciate more information.

Sorry for my long epistle.

Thanks

nurey:


These particular generation has not been done though. I found for the former a Mazda engine and someone was talking about Honda k series engine. There are other reliable engines that would fit your manual transmission in a heartbeat but I don't know how easy it is to source them, am talking about the diesel engine fitted to the Hyundai getz.

I am actually interested in the swap because the car is damn cheap not because of resale value but the shitty engine most people don't wait for it to overheat or out of warranty before they dispose off of it

seanfer:


Please if there's any solution.. I will be following this thread kindly post it... I might get myself a Kia Rio with Mazda Engine for daily runs

RZArecta2:
Been long i saw an interesting topic on car talk section, this place has been turned to Owode market.

Op, I'm following this thread bumper to bumper

GAZZUZZ:
denn I am only responding because you are a techincian.

To avoid cuts and joints, pls understudy the hyundai elantra 2007 Dana spec and the 2.0liter from USA.

My suggestion is you find a wrecked Elantra 2.0 cut it in half, and take the front part home. Harvest all you need. It will be an easy instalation. Manual or auto. Where it might become tricky is the electronic power steering. It will see a different engine ecu, and might not work.

timifakay:
1. The air-conditioning system of the Rio is not gonna remain when the engine is changed to that of another vehicle as the compressor won't fit except s d stand is construct, but I doubt there will be space for that, also thereshigh chance of pipes breaking during the surgery.

2. Get a tape rule to measure the engine bay space avaible for you to play around. You may have to do away with most of the packing and pads in the engine bay.

3. Measure distance between the wheels and choose a donor vehicle that has about the same dimension to avoid trouble in that area.

4. Instrument cluster compatibility

Denn:


Thanks for the input Gazzuzz.

The 2007 Hyundai Elantra is very similar to the 2007/8 Kia Cerato and even shares similar power train and layout.... exhaust manifold in front and intake manifold from the rear of the engine.

The 2013 Kia Rio on the other hand has a completely opposite layout with intake in front and exhaust at the rear.

Vehicles with exhaust manifolds in front have their exhausts modded to flow under the engine around the beam, rack and other components all the way through the bulkhead.

This would involve modifying the steering rack set up, fabricating a lower beam as the Elantra or cerato is wider, and hammering the bulkhead to pave way for the exhaust pipes.

The current set up has the steering rack directly sitting in any space the proposed exhaust might try to snake through and the opening on the body for the exhaust extremely higher than the beam to allow for the default exhaust to just slip out straight to the back without any bends.

Infact, I bought a 2007 Kia Cerato just to do this and saw all these issues.

The 2009 Kia Cerato on the other hand has the first iteration of the same engine in the 2013 Kia Rio with a plastic intake manifold in the front and the exhaust at the rear. Infact, my brief glance tells me it is the same block, save for difference in displacements....the same block I am trying to run away from. The major difference I noticed is that the 2009 is a drive by cable while the 2013 is a drive by wire.

Denn:


Thanks for the input Gazzuzz.

The 2007 Hyundai Elantra is very similar to the 2007/8 Kia Cerato and even shares similar power train and layout.... exhaust manifold in front and intake manifold from the rear of the engine.

The 2013 Kia Rio on the other hand has a completely opposite layout with intake in front and exhaust at the rear.

Vehicles with exhaust manifolds in front have their exhausts modded to flow under the engine around the beam, rack and other components all the way through the bulkhead.

This would involve modifying the steering rack set up, fabricating a lower beam as the Elantra or cerato is wider, and hammering the bulkhead to pave way for the exhaust pipes.

The current set up has the steering rack directly sitting in any space the proposed exhaust might try to snake through and the opening on the body for the exhaust extremely higher than the beam to allow for the default exhaust to just slip out straight to the back without any bends.

Infact, I bought a 2007 Kia Cerato just to do this and saw all these issues.

The 2009 Kia Cerato on the other hand has the first iteration of the same engine in the 2013 Kia Rio with a plastic intake manifold in the front and the exhaust at the rear. Infact, my brief glance tells me it is the same block, save for difference in displacements....the same block I am trying to run away from. The major difference I noticed is that the 2009 is a drive by cable while the 2013 is a drive by wire.

b2212:

What about trying an Hyundai accent of similar vintage

Denn:


Thanks for the input Gazzuzz.

The 2007 Hyundai Elantra is very similar to the 2007/8 Kia Cerato and even shares similar power train and layout.... exhaust manifold in front and intake manifold from the rear of the engine.

The 2013 Kia Rio on the other hand has a completely opposite layout with intake in front and exhaust at the rear.

Vehicles with exhaust manifolds in front have their exhausts modded to flow under the engine around the beam, rack and other components all the way through the bulkhead.

This would involve modifying the steering rack set up, fabricating a lower beam as the Elantra or cerato is wider, and hammering the bulkhead to pave way for the exhaust pipes.

The current set up has the steering rack directly sitting in any space the proposed exhaust might try to snake through and the opening on the body for the exhaust extremely higher than the beam to allow for the default exhaust to just slip out straight to the back without any bends.

Infact, I bought a 2007 Kia Cerato just to do this and saw all these issues.

The 2009 Kia Cerato on the other hand has the first iteration of the same engine in the 2013 Kia Rio with a plastic intake manifold in the front and the exhaust at the rear. Infact, my brief glance tells me it is the same block, save for difference in displacements....the same block I am trying to run away from. The major difference I noticed is that the 2009 is a drive by cable while the 2013 is a drive by wire.

Denn:
Hello

The subject refers.

I want to swap the complete power train in a 2013 Kia Rio to any other engine that can work seamlessly. I need information and guidance from people who have seen it done before for this model or who knows technicians that can do it within Lagos.

Prior Information
The current engine is stock but it is on its final leg of life.

The engines used for these models were not designed to be repaired (as I unfortunately found out the hard way). Bolts strip for no reason and the metal clearance after just 100,000 km sounds like afrobeat infused with weed. I do not intend to spend 500k on replacing the engine with a toks so I want to do a custom build using cheaper but more reliable powertrains (a Toyota Corolla 1ZZ comes into mind)

Please dont advise that I retain the stock form. I hate that block with a passion.

I have done engine swaps and conversions in the past for FR configurations (BMW mostly) but this is a FWD set up in a small space.

current specs
2013 Kia Rio with full OEM powertrain
4 cylinders
6 speed Manual transmission

future specs
2013 Kia Rio with a different powertrain (possibly any reliable one)
4 cylinders
Automatic transmission preferred


Advice and experiences can please be shared via comments here.

Thanks

PS: image is just an example of a 2013 Kia Rio and not mine. Source is Google

MotorGuru:



Remember you replaced a BMW engine with another BMW engine installed for the same model years

MotorGuru:


Sighs..

This is a lot of re-engineering in which cost-wise, is a bummer.

have you considered installing instead the 1.6 L Gamma I4 GDI installed in the US spec of this car?( it seems you have the 1.2L engine in yours?). I think this engine may have a more robust design.

Yes it would also require associated ECU and wiring but would it not be a 'cheaper' option?

Denn:


Thanks for these inputs.

As for AC, I think we can still use the compressor from the donor engine, cut the hoses and weld onto the existing pipes

Will take the measurements as advised, thanks

Instrument cluster....hnmmmmm... speedometer and tachometer working based on different ECUs and programs.... another major hurdle to cross. Sir, how do you think we can get this working?

Thanks for your inputs

diportivo:
where are we with this thing oga Denn.??

Denn:


Not same year...BMW E30 3 series from 1987 got a powertrain from a 1995 BMW 5 series E34...and it was not plug and play....

Denn:


Not same year...BMW E30 3 series from 1987 got a powertrain from a 1995 BMW 5 series E34...and it was not plug and play....

ivoryhouse:

The swap can work, if skilled technicians handle it. Do your research. They said we couldn't swap a range rover p38 4.0l v8 in a defender (I'll create the thread soon �) . But we not only did it, we swapped in parts from different cars so the defender drives like a new car and has crazy acceleration. You need a very good electrical guy, not just a rewire.