Mazda 5 Mazda 3 engine swap 2.0 L into 2.3 L

J

JoshBelton28

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mazda
I've taken a 2008 mazda 3 2.0 L engine and put it into a 2007 mazda 5 2.3 L l, the motor is practically the same and it fits right in, only modified a couple of things but everything that wasnt the same i was able to take off the original mazda 5 motor. The reason i needed to swap out was because the person i bought the car from blew the motor and I bought it expecting to have to find another motor and I did, the 2.0 L mazda 3 engine mounts the same as the 2.3 mazda 5 engine did, but now that I had taken the old motor out and installed the new motor and hooked everything up, I then attempted to start the car and the engine tried to Crank but it would never actually start, it felt like it wanted to turn over but it would never do it. I went back and double checked everything, the wiring harness, plugs, etc and everything was put together and I tried again and held the throttle down but it would not turn.... I need to know what's the problem and how I can fix this issue please. Could it be the computer needs to be reflashed or a gas problem???

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Check the intake cam for the cog used for timing or crank/cam position. It's on one if the cams and it could be different than the 2.3. I know there was a change from the 2.3 to the 2.5, but unsure of the 2.0 to 2.3. Good luck!
 
I would be surprised if the ECU & whatever other related modules have the same part numbers for the 2.0 and the 2.3.
If it all works out, I'd be interested to know how the 2.0l is coping with the heavier 5 and what the fuel economy is like.
 
Db84drteg said:
Check the intake cam for the cog used for timing or crank/cam position. It's on one if the cams and it could be different than the 2.3. I know there was a change from the 2.3 to the 2.5, but unsure of the 2.0 to 2.3. Good luck!
Click to expand...
I have only 2 cylinders firing and the other 2 seems to not be getting a signal from the ECU to fire, what does this mean?
 
I'm sorry , what I meant to say was that when I bought the mazda 3 motor I also bought the computer that came with it, I thought it would be smart to have the original computer that controls the engine, but I have yet to replace the 2.3 mazda 5 ECU with the 2.0 mazda 3 ECU because of the fact the mazda 3 is an Automatic and my mazda 5 is a Manual. I didn't think that a Automatic computer would run a Manual car.
 
mazdadude said:
Did you move over the ECU from the 2.0 also?
Click to expand...

What I meant to say was that when I bought the*mazda*3*motor I also bought the computer that came with it, I thought it would be smart to have the original computer that controls the engine, but no I have yet to replace the 2.3 mazda 5 ECU with the 2.0*mazda 3*ECU because of the fact the*mazda 3*is an Automatic and my mazda 5 is a Manual. I didn't think that a Automatic computer would run a Manual car.
 
I have no idea about the AT setup. Is the transmission brain also housed in the ECU for AT models?
 
I'm thinking that it may be the harmonic balancer that's causing the timing to be off, which may also be the reason only 2 cylinders are firing.
 
Wow, I'll start by saying that I don't think you're going to make this work. The first thing you need to do is pull the valve covers off both engines and count the number of "teeth" on the backside of the intake cams as others have stated. I didn't see an answer for that question. If the number is different or they are in a different orientation then it will never run using the original PCM. As for if the PCM from the 2.0L vehicle will work with the 5, my answer is I highly doubt it. If you have no experience with the timing chain setup on these engines then do not just pull the crank pulley off as it holds the timing chain to the crank by way of tension. As soon as you loosen the crank pulley the base engine timing will be lost as. Special tools are required to set the timing on these engines. I do wish you luck but my advise would be to forgo trying to make the 2.0L work in the vehicle and spend your time looking for a 2.3L.
 
I've actually already put the motor in the car, and I don't plan to take it back out... what I'm thinking is that I could get the 2.3 computer reflashed to run the 2.0, could I do that ?
 
Wish I could give some more ideas, but if it were me, the only option I could think of would be to use the computer that came with that motor.
 
I think it may have threw a code after the swap so what I'll Do is take it to AutoZone and have the my read the ECU and clear all the codes that were thrown.
 
Clearing codes will not rectify any problems. Writing down the codes and looking them up may give you some insight as to what the problem(s) is/are, but there could be many codes that are due to misfires, etc. If you clear them, they will come right back... or at least the ones that are currently pertinent.
 
Okay so they found no codes at all.....at this point my last good shot will be to take it to the dealership and pay to let them reflash my computer to run the 2.0L motor

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