My '99 Boxster engine recently died. I'm going to be swapping the motor myself as soon as I source a used replacement motor. This car is my daily driver, and money is really tight right now, so I have to get this swap done as quickly as possible, and as cheaply as possible. I will likely put in a 2.5L engine, but right now I haven't been able to find one in the mileage range I'm looking for; they're either really high mileage engines, or really low mileage engines, both of which make me nervous.
To give myself more options, I've started to consider putting a 2.7L from a 2000-2002. I won't do a 2003+ engine because of the DME issues and the added costs associated with that. Cost, and time, are the reasons I'm not going with a 3.4L.
I've seen some info on putting an e-gas engine in a non-e-gas car, but no specifics. From what I can tell after hours of searching here and on other Boxster sites, I have two options: 1) I can keep the pedal from my car and put the intake and throttle body on the 2.7L engine to make the engine non-e-gas. 2) I can get a gas pedal from a newer car and wire it to the DME somehow. I would also need to wire the Variable Resonance Flap. The pros of going e-gas would be possibly a slightly larger intake, and therefore I wouldn't be losing power as I might (if the 2.5L intake is smaller). The downsides would be the additional cost of having to buy the pedal (which shouldn't be that significant), and losing the ability to apply throttle while braking on the track. Am I missing anything else?
So my questions are:
1) If I choose to stick with the non-e-gas setup,
a) is the 2.5L intake significantly smaller than the 2.7L intake, or are they the same size? Is there a difference between the intakes on the 2.7L Boxster vs. the 2.7L Boxster S engines?
b ) is there anything else that I need to wire up on the 2.7L engine in the non-e-gas car?
c) the 2000-2002 engines are on the 7.2 version of the DME, where my car has the 5.2 version. I assume that means the 5.2 DME will need reprogramming. What specifically needs to be done?
2) If I choose to change over my car to the e-gas setup,
a) I need to run a wire from my pedal to the DME. Where are those connections (what pin)?
b ) The Variable Resonance Flap valve needs to be controlled by the DME. This requires (from the Pelican Parts article), "You wire this solenoid by running one wire to a 12V source and the other wire to pin 59 on the DME (the DME controls the valve with a switchable ground)." Is that accurate?
c) Is there any other wiring that needs to be done, and if so, specifically (what pins) must be wired?
d) Would the DME reprogramming issues be exactly the same as in case 1) above, or are there any differences?
I've found lots of information on swapping 3.4s and 3.6s into the older Boxsters, but very little on putting a 2.7L into them. Anything I have found has been vague (other than the wiring on the variable resonance flap, which, for a change, is specific). I'm looking for the specifics. I don't want to find issues when the new engine is in the car. I'd like to be able to address them up front so the swap can go smoothly.