2.6 rebuild vs ???

[Tranquil dude]

I know the drill, read the forums. Here's what I have si far.

2.6 wide block on an 88 with the KM145 4x4.

2.6 knocks and blows a "significant" amount of air w oil cap removed.

A good rebuild requires-

Rodding out radiator, maybe cooler tstat, secondary temp gauge, (but nobodies paranoid about overheating.) $250ish

Non-Jet Valve Head, preferably from Clearwater Florida or a minivan (wide block?.)$400ish

New rebuild kit and gaskets, misc parts- $250ish.

Balancing Shaft Elimination, and balance. $150ish

That's done "right" but nothing major. Did I miss anything?

A 'Quest turbo swap involves motor/tranny (4x4 tcase will bolt on?)/wireharness... Again- done right.

And Rodding out radiator and Bal shaft elim?

2.4 swap won't bolt to wide block?

Getting ducks in row, I can buy a running 2.6T out of a Quest or 2.4 for the price of a head from Clearwater.

Concerned about reliability and fuel economy- HP is a perk. Advice please!

[Tranquil dude]

Wrong forum???

[camoit]

Wrong forum???

not yet, looks like this is going to be a build thread one way or the other. It is a second gen, if the info he entered on the year is correct.
I bet one of the second gen pros on this chime in soon.

[DroppedMitsu]

Your tranny will bolt up to a quest/starion motor as they are the same block. Yes you will need the engine wiring harness and ecu. Your tranny will also bolt up to the 2.4(both wideblock) and you'll want the engine wiring and ecu also.

[Tranquil dude]

I've heard the Con/Quest tranny internals are more robust than the stock MM KM145? Good info about 2.4. Most agree 2.4 DOHC is better than 2.6T for both reliability, and fuel economy. HP gain isn't bad either. Thoughts?

[pennyman1]

The starquest trannies have heavier shafts and synchros to work with the higher power output of the turbo motor. Changeout of the tailshaft housing is all that is needed to use the starquest tranny with a 4x4 transfer case. Both motors have similar reliability and economy, but the 2.6 is a boltin, whereas the 2.4 requires many mods to fit and get running. Whichever one you choose, let us see your progress.

[Tranquil dude]

The starquest trannies have heavier shafts and synchros to work with the higher power output of the turbo motor. Changeout of the tailshaft housing is all that is needed to use the starquest tranny with a 4x4 transfer case. Both motors have similar reliability and economy, but the 2.6 is a boltin, whereas the 2.4 requires many mods to fit and get running. Whichever one you choose, let us see your progress.

Roger that. So far that's 0 votes for rebuilding the stock 2.6.

By my math, the Max 2.6 would need at least a new head and Weber carb to perform reasonably well. That's $600 at least. There are a lot of unknowns in a swap, unintentional breakage, etc. But... Bolt up a Quest motor/tranny for about the same $, have a better built motor and tranny. More HP. Same MPG with a light foot? Are the Quest heads less prone to cracking? I guess I'm still on the fence on whether to rebuild or swap. But bolt on fits my attention span, so a Quest might be the ticket. Thanks again for all the advice! Much appreciated. Any other thoughts?

[pennyman1]

The stock quest head is the same as the truck head - they are based on the truck block. The best advice is to get a non jet head and use arp head studs for the best reliability. MPG will be about the same or maybe slightly better, depending on the prior motors condition. Get a clearwater or equivalent head over the caravan - the clearwater head is much improved over a caravan head if you could even find one that was any good. For even better performance, get a set of the 1mm oversized valves - the stems are undercut to dramatically increase flow and require a minimal cut on the valve seat.

[Tranquil dude]

Picked up a non-intercooled Starquest that had an unfortunate accident with a deer. Getting ready to swap the motor, tranny. Will keep this updated. Thanks for the info thus far, it has been very helpful.

[Tranquil dude]

As promised, started swap today. I'll swap motor/tranny first then tackle the harness. Anyone have diagrams for '85 Quest and '88 Max? The Quest is the one I'm having trouble finding, non-intercooled so sorta rare.

[Tranquil dude]

just to verify, has anyone mated the tailshaft from a km145 with the Starion tranny (KM132?)?

[Tranquil dude]

Update- pulled both motor and tranny, then put tranny back in. The Starion uses a hydraulic clutch whereas the MM uses a cable, and there was no definitive answer as to if the tail shaft on the MM's KN145 would bolt to the Starion's KM132.

Both motors are now out and sitting side by side. Pulled the oil pans and swapped, switched the dipstick location, and cleaned up the engine bay. While the motor is out I'm considering a balance shaft elimination... If I go that route I'll machine the flywheel.

Anyone ever thought about swapping dashboards? They measure the same width, and mounting points aren't far off. If the Starion fit the MM it would allow for the stock Tac, boost Gauge as well as all the cruise control and rather than working out the wiring halfway between engine and dash, you'd just have to splice in a few odds and ends like dome lights and tail lights. Just a thought.

[Tranquil dude]

I've got a turbo motor sitting in the MM! Working through the wiring- since it's an '84 non-intercooled the info available is scarce. Most of these swaps were done ten years ago, so a lot of the threads have missing links or pics. I have the shop manual for both, and am to the wiring. Any help on the wiring would be appreciated.

From the Starion "Front" or Chasis harness I have a "Pressure Sensor" that connects to half dozen wires on the "Control" or Engine Harness. Do I need to track that down, or does the MM have an equivalent I can tap into? I'm halfway through the MM wiring, but haven't run accross a PRessure Sensor yet.

Also from the Starion Front Harness- a Solenoid Valve, Fuseable Link Box, Meter HArness, Signal Generator. All of these serve a purpose but won't be functional until I either rule them out as unnecessary or find them in the MM wiring harness.

From the Turbo Control Harness I have two unsure- the Throttle Sensor and Airflow Sensor- they both connect to the "Pressure Sensor" in the Starion's Front Harness.

I'm not getting a lot of feedback here, but will continue to post updates to help the next poor soul who follows. I've added pics of the swap to my profile, will continue to update as necessary.