The Engine
Engine: 1.598 cc 74 hp, 90 lb/ft Inline 4 cyl
Bore X Stroke: 3.11 X 3.21
Compression Ratio: 8.6:1
Coming from V8 and high reving V6 engines, the power in this 4 cylinder engine seems lacking. But, what it lacks in performance it makes up for in fuel economy.
After all, if I want to drive fast, I can just grab a different set of keys. There are a few obvious weak points in the design of this engine:
- Distibutor - Poorly made. The parts fell in my hands when I removed the cap
- Distibutor Wiring - The early cars used spade connectors, while the later cars used nice weatherpack connectors
- The timing belt has no spring tensioner, so it must be changed every 60k miles
- The engine is of an interference design, so a broken timing belt is costly
- The timing marks on the cars with AC are nearly unusable because they can't be seen
Distributor Fix
The new style ignition module and distributor can be retrofitted to the older cars by cutting some connectors off of a junkyard GM vehicle. My two-pin connector
came from a 91 Pontiac Sunbird, while the four-pin connector was found on a 97 Chevy Cavilier. The 4 pin connector is the easier of the two to find and is on many
different GM cars. The two pin connector can be tricky, because most don't have the correct smiley face sort of shape or have a gap in the center between the two
pins.
Timing Marks Fix
The timing marks are much easier to see now, because I deleted the AC and installed the non-AC crank pulley. This change necessitated installing a shorter belt.
Oddly, none of the factory belt options worked for me. The one that I ended up using is 21/32" (17mm) x 29 3/4" (1008mm), part no. K050390.
| Engine Options |
Engine
ID |
Cyls |
Displacement |
Heads |
Turbo |
Compr.
Ratio |
Notes |
Vehicles |
BOE Hp
Potential |
| |
| C20LET | I4 | 2.0L | DOHC 16V | Turbo 9-13 psi | less | Turbo Cam, Turbo PCM, Low CR Pistons | (6spd 4wd F28 Gearbox) | 375hp |
| Z20LET | I4 | 2.0L | DOHC 16V | Turbo | less | Turbo Cam, Turbo PCM, Low CR Pistons, EcoTec, Same Block, Different Head than C20LET | Vauxhall Astra Turbo (F23 Gearbox) | |
| C20XE | I4 | 2.0L | DOHC 16V | | high | NA Cam, NA PCM, High CR Pistons | | |
| C20GET | I4 | 2.0L | SOHC 8V | Turbo | | | Pontiac Sunbird GT | |
| C20NE | I4 | 2.0L | SOHC 8V | | | | | |
| C20SE | I4 | 2.0L | SOHC 8V | | | | | |
| A16DMS | I4 | 2.0L | SOHC 8V | | | | | |
Last update: Dec 7th, 2019
