03 Montero Sport LS Engine Swap With Eclipse Engine?

[monterosport03]

Hey guys, 

My father in law has a 03 Montero Sport sitting in his yard for many months due to a rod knock. He offered me the car for free and I can do whatever I want with it. If i do plan on accepting the offer, I want to definitely swap out the engine. I would love to take this car out on trails, hiking, fishing, camping, etc.

Also, if i do decide to take it off his hands, I probably would just give the car back to him since it was his first car since he moved to the US a decade ago and i would love for him to keep it in the family. Of course I would be able to use it whenever we go camping and what not. 

Anyways, enough back story. Ive been looking around on the internet and see that these sohc 3.0L (6g72) engines are kinda expensive compared to other 3.0L engines from mitsubishi such as ones found in the Eclipse. Would it be possible to swap a 3.0L Eclipse engine into the montero sport? 

I know the eclipse is a front wheel drive car and the montero is a longitudinal setup, but looking at both pics of both engine seem like it could work. I know ill have to rewire everything to match up but im wondering if anyone has had any experience with engine swapping the montero with like an eclipse engine or something similar. 

Thanks

[2003LimitedAWD]

Though they appear to be equal except for one being DOHC and the other SOHC, my first thought is whether the ECU from the Montero would match the Eclipse engine. I would think that fuel mapping and other parameters wouldn't be correct.

You might be better off fixing the existing motor by installing a Crankshaft Kit ($250 at most parts stores). While you're at it, replace common wear items such as the timing belt and water pump.

How many miles are on the Sport?

[monterosport03]

Thank you for the reply,

I think the engines are 3.0 Sohc in the eclipses GT models. The reason why I ask is that these engines are cheaper where I live and can be found easily. If they are the basically the same engine and can bolt up, then I might give it a shot and try to swap it over. The specs seem to be pretty close or possibly even better than what is in the Montero Sport. The only thing that worries me the most is the harness. Idk if I can use an eclipse ecu or if ill have all plugs will match up to the sensors etc. I'm just looking for more information since I've been searching and cannot really come up with anything. I know 3000gt engines are possible

My last resort would be to just rebuild the engine but I want to find more information about this swap first.
Thank you for your advice on possibly just rebuilding it. I definitely will take that into consideration.

[jkdv8]

Rod knock on these is unusual unless it was ran bone dry. If you are sure it's rod knock I would find a low mileage one and just swap the bottom end. Pretty sure the bore and stroke are the same on the 6g72s. Then just carry everything over and do the bits mentioned like the water pump, timing belt, timing components, cam seals, crank seal, and valve stem seals as you piece it back together.

People have on occasion done complete engine swaps but typically ends up being a headache on top of high cost. There are a couple of posts of people swapping in the dohc 3.0 from the 3kgt.

[2003LimitedAWD]

Feb 25, 2019 18:03:29 GMT -5 monterosport03 said:

Thank you for the reply,

I think the engines are 3.0 Sohc in the eclipses GT models. The reason why I ask is that these engines are cheaper where I live and can be found easily. If they are the basically the same engine and can bolt up, then I might give it a shot and try to swap it over. The specs seem to be pretty close or possibly even better than what is in the Montero Sport. The only thing that worries me the most is the harness. Idk if I can use an eclipse ecu or if ill have all plugs will match up to the sensors etc. I'm just looking for more information since I've been searching and cannot really come up with anything. I know 3000gt engines are possible

My last resort would be to just rebuild the engine but I want to find more information about this swap first.
Thank you for your advice on possibly just rebuilding it. I definitely will take that into consideration.

Sorry, my mistake. Yes, i see that they are SOHC. The specs do look similar, but a lot of times an engine in a truck/suv is geared more toward torque for towing whereas the car engine is designed for horsepower and higher-revving and may not be suitable for truck duty.  The profile of the cams might be different, etc.

If you do go with the Eclipse engine swap, please let us know how it went. I'm curious to know if it'll work and how it'll perform.

[monterosport03]

Yes thank you for your kind advice.

If I do go with trying to use the Eclipse engine, I'll definitely let you guys know. I am still researching site to site to figure out if it is possible to use it or if the swap will be too costly and too much of a headache. For now, just by looking at pictures, I feel like it could be possible, but we will see. I am still doing research. I might have to just buy the engine and compare it side by side.

Ive been doing alot of research regarding the 3000GT engine and getting alot of understanding and on what is involved in this swap. Ill keep you guys posted.

Thanks again

[Naeos_Valkarian]

Couldn't he just swap out the the block and keep the heads from the sport? If it indeed is using a 6G72 block he shouldn't need to rewire anything.

Edit:
nevermind, jkdv8 beat me to it because I didn't read before I posted.