Engine swap

Hi Chrissy,

It will fit in but it is not plug and play. You are taking an engine out of an LH body style and putting it into an LX body. The actual body of the vehicle is not the biggest deal. It is the electrical architecture as they are different. This means the newer vehicle uses many more modules and sensors then the older vehicle did.

Are they both 3.5 L engine vehicles originally?

If the transmission is the same in both meaning they would need to both be 42LE transmissions, then it should fit and bolt to the transmission.

However, you will need to retro fit all of the engine sensors that the 2008 PCM is looking for that the older engine does not have.

I have never done this so I am not sure everything you will need to look for but just be prepared to spend a lot of time rewiring the wiring harness to fit the older engine. You will not be able to transfer any of the modules over because they are not compatible so you will have to figure out ways to basically trick the systems in the newer vehicle to allow it to start the engine.

In my opinion, it would be fun to try but I think you are going to run into incompatibility issue that will not allow the PCM to start the engine. Basically, because it will be looking for things that the older engine just doesn't have so you will have connectors that are left off or worse yet, the sensors from the older engine won't even plug into the older style connectors.

Sorry I don't have better news, but I would not try this. If you can find an engine from the same body style, LX, then you shouldn't have near the problems that this will encounter.

Let me know if I can help in any other way.

Okay. This is a little better but again, the sensor issue is going to be the problem. Connectors on the sensors are going to be different and the PCM is going to be looking for sensors that this engine just does not have.

Again, due to you going from a TIPM based vehicle to what is called a powernet based vehicle (electrical architectures) I would not use this engine. I would try to find one out of another LX body style and you should just be able to swap them with little trouble.

Hopefully this helps even though I assume it is not the answer you were hoping for. Please let me know if you need anything else. Thanks

Then you will have mismatching VINs and more than likely the security system will shut you out. Even if you changed all of the computers it still isn't going to match up because the 2004 has the following modules, BCM, ABS, PCM, SKIM. The 2008 has the following, ABS, Door module, Memory Module, PCM, SCM (Steering Column), TCM (Transmission Control Module), WIN (Wireless Ignition Node).

The 2004 powers the modules through the PDC, while the 2008 powers the modules through what is called an Integrated Power Module. This is a form of a PDC but very different.

Now that I look more at it, this will not work even if you did swap it over with all the modules because the SKIM and WIN are completely different security systems and are not interchangeable.

Unfortunately, these two are just not compatible.