what engines can i put in a 89 omni?

[pooreboy83]

i am a mustang guy, however i wanted better gas mileage than my 93 2.3 stang. i bought a omni with a 5 speed from nc. the engine had sat for a year so i did the typical things that i thought it could be, tune up, new coil, new fuel filter, water and fuel injector cleaner. i did a compression check and i have loss in the third cyl. i have been told that it would be better to get a new engine vs. a rebuild. what i was wanting to know is what kinds of engines are able to be swpped into a omni. is it possible to do a diesel swap?

[turbomini]

i'd just see if its the head gasket..if its getting spark and fuel and not running its probly a bad head gasket.. and unless you want to do a BUNCH of work no diesel swap

and if you get bord swap the 2.3stang to turbo and it'll get better milage..

[john doe]

2.0 SOHC from a Neon would be about the best for mileage with out getting crazy. That requires an aftermarket standalone like Megasquirt though.

[EvilcowRoland]

I'm with turbomini, 9 times out of 10 it's just a head gasket on the TBI cars. Can't hurt to pop the head off and take a look. If it's just a head gasket, you just need to throw a new one on and go. Although I will say it isn't a bad idea to get the head checked for warpage and cracks while it's off.

We never got a diesel in these cars. There was a VW based one in Europe, but not worth the trouble getting it. Best bet is to get the TBI motor running properly again and you should see decent fuel economy, maybe around 30 with the 5-speed in that light car. You could convert it to a turbo, but I don't recommend that unless you have a donor car so you can just swap everything over.

[turbomini]

that would be kinda cool to do a VW turbo diesel swap in a omni

i got a few things to add to the turbo convertion thing, if you can get your hands a 88 Newyourker turbo car that runs you can swap the engine bay wirring and motor into your omni, then all you'll need to do is pull the pump out the newyorker gas tank and put it in your tank and your'll have a running turbo omni...

[pooreboy83]

thanks guys ill check the head . thank you as well for getting putting a diesel in it out of my mind.

[itsbudda]

Just keep the same motor. Of all the ones i've seen and dissected, these are pretty easy in comparison. And the gas mileage isn't terrible either.