alternative engines?

[timrosser]

Hi there

I'm looking at replacement engines for my 2.0 celeb,and obviously my first choice would be to go like for like and get another 2.0 from a 480 or 460 etc. But as these are getting a bit rare I was wondering about perhaps a Renault F series engine? Probably not from a clio williams!

What extra problems might this cause?

Best

Tim

[jamescarruthers]

There are about five dead 440/460's at Lake's autos. Some will have the 2.0 engine in, ready to take and slot in to your car. Some look low mileage also!

[timrosser]

Top tip James, I think they are having a long break but I'll keep trying them.

Best

Tim

[jifflemon]

whilst engine swaps are a great idea, they're the stuff of serious projects.

Physically fitting an engine an gearbox is the easy part. Making it all work? Serious stuff (and yes, I've done it - Not on a 480 though!)

Stuff I'd certainly consider for giggles from Renault:
the F4RT engine - 2.0 and turbo charged. Good for silly amounts of horsepower.
And a V6 would be interesting - Got to love a big wodge of low down torque!

[timrosser]

I'm sure we have all quite fancied a clio williams engine at some time or another but was looking at the less glamorous 'F engines' stuff from early megans and espaces would give me a 16v head and a sensible boost in performance and economy, but it would become a frankenvolvo I guess you can stick Volvo badges over the Renault ones?!

T

[Alan 480]

I'm sure we have all quite fancied a clio williams engine at some time or another but was looking at the less glamorous 'F engines' stuff from early megans and espaces would give me a 16v head and a sensible boost in performance and economy, but it would become a frankenvolvo I guess you can stick Volvo badges over the Renault ones?!

T

doesn't the 16 valve lose the 'low down' torque of the older 8 valve?

guess depends on driving style etc.

I do know that Cranna fitted a clio engine and it pretty much 'dropped' into the space, drive shafts mated up everything so a newer renault is a decent shout ? only issue was that the four carbs kind of met the front slam panel

[brinkie]

The biggest challenge is getting all the electronics to work, i.e. installing the ECU, bypassing the immobilizer and adapting the cable loom.
Renault Sport has used F-engines up to 2013 in the Clio RS, it's mechanically almost a drop-in replacement because the F4R-engine and JC5 gearbox have the same dimensions, you only have to find a solution for the exhaust as the F4R has a crossflow design. The RS engines are different from the F4R-engines in the Laguna, they have variable valve timing to get more torque on low revs and of course a much sharper cam profile to get more power (up to 197 bhp before they switched to Nissan engines in 2013). That said, with all that power on the front wheels and no ESP to tame them, you will have a car with huge understeer, so it will require a lot of tweaking with the suspension setup.

I think you'd better find a low mileage 2 litre engine from a discarded 440/460, rather than making your car a long-running project, if you want to be able to use your car again in the near future that is! Make sure you find the same 2 litre engine (red or green dipstick), the cam profiles and thus the ECU are different.

[timrosser]

Ahhh Robert that is gold!!! So I need a 2.0 with the same dipstick to indicate the same model? That is very helpful indeed!

[nicklee]

this has probably come a little late as a replacement 2.0 sounds like the easiest option by far! However, the F3R in my Renault 19 RSi is a great engine, torquer and more refined than the 1.7 B18FP in my 480, not quite as effective at higher speeds but fantastic at lower rpm. It's 1.8 8v with 115hp and 150nm torque (2 more than the R19 16v!) and aside from the absence of the branded volvo inlet seems almost identical to the engine in my 480. I think similar versions were used in the Clio RSi and early Lagunas. You'd be hard pressed to find many other 19s now

[GCooper]

So the 460s B20F is identical to the 480s?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133743039467 ... media=COPY

Will this fit in my '94 GT?

[WillC9303]

The engine will fit in your 480.

However

The engine you have linked is the earlier 1993 red dipstick type which has a slightly different design to the later green dipstick engines introduced in 1994 (that your GT will have). There are numerous threads on here documenting the technical differences between the two, but in short, the red dipsticks offer slightly more performance at the cost of increased oil consumption & the later green ones should be much cleaner, but not as 'punchy'.

I believe the subframe engine mounts are slightly different on the 460 to the 480, so make sure you keep your existing rear mount.

[GCooper]

Good to know! I won't be doing any work until April so hopefully it's still available or another engine comes up