Engine Swap and EFI Conversion Checklist
This is a basic checklist describing what needs to be done to install a 3.0L engine in a DeLorean, and how to set it up with MegaSquirt and EDIS for electronic fuel injection (EFI) and ignition control. It is intended to give a rough outline of what needs to be done, without delving into too many details. This may not be complete, as it is done from a combination of memory and referencing various posts I’ve made on this site during my conversion.
Note that although links to other posts are on some of the steps here, there are more posts that cover refinements or further details that are not, so you may want to scan all of the articles just to be sure you have the information you need. Often I learned something new and added a new post for it, sometimes adding a note in the earlier post. This often happened while working on something unrelated, and thus may not be in an obviously-titled post.
Obtain an engine, in this case a 3.0L PRV6 from a 1988-1992 Eagle Premier/Dodge Monaco. Make sure it includes:
Spark plug wires
Fuel rails
Remove the 2.8L engine (with or without the transmission) from the DeLorean:
Drain the oil from the engine at the oil pan
Drain the coolant from the engine via the coolant jacket plugs on either side of the engine
Remove the louvers and engine cover
Remove the rear fascia; disconnect the black bulkhead connector to tail lights
Remove the O2 sensor
Remove the exhaust system by unbolting the headers/manifolds from the engine
Disconnect bulkhead connectors to the engine and automatic transmission, if applicable
Disconnect vacuum hoses
Disconnect fuel source and return lines from the fuel distributor
Disconnect coil from distributor
Disconnect the heater coolant hoses from the back of the engine
Remove hoses from the water pump on the front of the engine
Remove the A/C compressor from the valve cover and set it aside without disconnecting the A/C lines; unplug the compressor’s electrical connector
Remove the starter and set it aside, optionally without disconnecting the wires
Remove the alternator and set it aside, optionally without disconnecting the wires
Disconnect the throttle cable
Disconnect the automatic transmission cable
Disconnect the wires to the throttle microswitches
Disconnect the oil sender wires
If removing the transmission:
Remove the rear passenger side tire and disconnect the parking brake cable that runs under the transmission
Unbolt the axles from the transmission
Disconnect the cooler lines for the transmission
Disconnect the vacuum line from the transmission
Disconnect the cable from the shifter to the transmission at the pivot arm
Unbolt the transmission from its mounts
If not removing the transmission:
Unbolt the flywheel or flex plate from the transmission
Unbolt the engine from the transmission bell housing
Attach the engine hoist to the lift points on the engine
Unbolt the engine mounts
Lift the engine and remove it from the car
If removing the engine and transmission together, separate the engine and transmission as above
Swap the lower crankcase from the 2.8L engine to the 3.0L engine
Removing the 2.8L lower crankcase:
Mount the 2.8L engine on an engine mount
Make sure the engine is drained of fluids before proceeding
Remove the main crank pulley (use a torch to break the main crank pulley nut free)
Remove the timing cover
Flip the engine upside down on the engine stand
Unbolt the oil pan and set it aside
Unbolt the oil baffle and oil pickup and set it aside
Unbolt the lower crankcase and set it aside
Lift the engine off the stand and set it aside
Remove the oil senders
Installing the 2.8L lower crankcase on the 3.0L lower crankcase
Mount the 3.0L engine on the engine stand
Make sure the engine is drained of fluids before proceeding
Remove the main crank pulley, the valve covers and the timing cover
Flip the engine upside down, and remove the oil pan, oil baffle, oil pickup and lower crankcase
Install the 2.8L lower crankcase, oil pickup, oil baffle and oil pan.
Do any other desired updates and refurbishing to the 3.0L engine (gaskets, seals, valves, etc)
Clean and re-install the timing and valve covers
Install the 2.8L flywheel or flex plate onto the 3.0L engine
Install both oil senders from the 2.8L engine
MegaSquirt II 3.57 ECU
MegaSquirt wiring harness and connector
EDIS6 and connector pigtail
EDIS6-compatible coil pack with spark plug wires and connector pigtail, or coil-on-plug coils and connector pigtails
Fuel injectors and connector pigtails
VR sensor
Shielded VR sensor cable
VR sensor mounting bracket
36-1 missing tooth gear
Relays and sockets
Fuse box and fuses
Coolant (CLT), MAT, and optional throttle position sensor (TPS)
Alternator adjustment bracket (a slightly bent version of the stock bracket)
Modified alternator mounting bracket
Fuel lines, connectors/adaptors and a fuel line cutter
Cold air intake adaptor/hoses
Automatic transmission kick down switch and mounting bracket
LC2 wideband O2 sensor (unless you want to use the old narrowband one)
Idle air controller
Distributor cap hole cover
Laptop for tuning
TunerStudio for tuning
USB to DB9 cable to connect laptop to MegaSquirt
Have the missing tooth gear welded to the back of the main crank pulley so that the missing tooth is six teeth before TDC
Re-install the main crank pulley
If the transmission and engine were removed together, mate them back together again
Attach the engine to the engine hoist and re-install into the car; if the transmission was left in the car, mate it back up to the engine and secure the flex plate or flywheel
Re-install the bolts in the engine mounts and transmission mounts
Re-attach stock components:
Re-attach the coolant hoses to the water pump
Re-attach the heater coolant hoses
Re-install transmission-related lines, parking brake cable, and so on
Re-install the starter
Re-install the alternator
Re-install the A/C compressor
Remove the 2.8L ECUs:
Remove all three ECUs from behind the driver’s seat, along with all associated wiring
Remove unused relays from the relay compartment
Remove unused engine bulkhead connectors
Install the new CLT, MAT and TPS
Make new spark plug wires or coil-on-plug boots with the boots from the old 3.0L wires and the new EDIS coil pack wires or coil-on-plug coils
Mount the coil pack, if applicable, and run the spark plug wires
Build a new wiring harness to connect MegaSquirt and EDIS to the engine. This can use the original bulkhead connectors, a new bulkhead connector, or a completely new routing option (say, directly through the firewall behind the driver’s seat).
Install new relays in the relay compartment, connecting them to the new harness
Remove the RPM relay; connect the fuel pump and tachometer wires from the old socket to the new harness
Set up cooling fan control to the new harness
Modify the electronics tray behind the driver’s seat to mount the MegaSquirt, the EDIS and the fuse box
Install the new fuel injectors on fuel rail, and connect the injectors to the harness
Build fuel lines and connect them between the source line, the fuel rails and the return line
Mount the VR sensor at six teeth before the missing tooth on the main crank pulley gear when the pulley is aimed at TDC, positioning it 0.75 to 1.5mm from the tooth itself
Route vacuum hose to MegaSquirt MAP input
Fill the engine with oil
Fill the coolant system
Top off the transmission fluid as needed
Make sure the car has fuel
Install, configure and calibrate the LC2 O2 sensor
Install the cold air intake
Re-install the exhaust
Re-install the rear fascia and black bulkhead connector
Calibrate the idle air controller
Calibrate the throttle position sensor
Configure FIDLE to control the cooling fans
Set up ignition settings for EDIS
Set up injector settings for your injectors
Set up O2 sensor configuration
Generate initial VE table
Generate initial AFR table
Generate initial spark advance table
Set required fuel
Verify settings, just to be sure
Pre-Start Tests:
Test Injectors
Test Coils
Test Fuel Pump
Test Idle Air Controller
Test VR Signal
Verify VR sensor alignment and spacing
Check ignition timing with a timing gun
Get the car warm with the idle air controller closed (open the throttle manually as needed), then adjust the idle until the AFR is 14.7 (by adjusting the VE table to warm-up enrichment) while keeping the RPMs at around 790 RPM (by adjusting the throttle). Set up VE table and timing advance zones to provide a stable idle at this AFR, interpolating the VE table to guarantee smooth values across the table.
Turn on closed loop idle targeting 790 AFR, verify 14.7 AFR
Drive the car with auto-tune at various speeds and loads until the useful VE table cells are completely filled in. Manually create smooth transitions as needed.
Tune acceleration enrichment
Use warm-up autotune to configure the warm-up behavior of the car