1.8l Ecu Report
02-20-2007, 06:45 PM
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1.5 hours later, I finally got my 1.8L ECU installed. I got it from a '98 Elantra for $25 on car-part.com
Install was, as expected, terribly hard. My advice though, first remove the fuse box cover to get more access. Then take out the 2 bigger bolts in the bracket holding the ECU. Cut the zip tie holding the ECU plug wires to get more maneuverability. Remove the plug by lifting on the metal piece going over it. Bend it as far back as possible and slide it out of the other end. Then you can move around the ECU a lot even though the brackets are still attached to it. Remove the 2 bolts on the right (passenger side), then play around with the whole piece to get the ones on the left side to face downward, towards the floor. Then you can remove those two, and the ECU will fall out. Installation is reverse, except gravity is now against you, so the ECU and mounting bracket really want to fall out again and again... mad.gif
It takes a lot of contortions to get in there, and I'm kinda sore from bending up like that for over an hour.
Results:
I didn't notice any difference in power, but I didn't really expect to. However, everything seemed to run a bit smoother and sound much better. The sound definitely changed just a little bit, more of a smooth whooshing sound (very slight, mind you...).
I'll update in a few days when I get some MPG results. As of now, I'm running about 30-31 mpg pretty consistently, so hopefully it'll go up a little bit.
Install was, as expected, terribly hard. My advice though, first remove the fuse box cover to get more access. Then take out the 2 bigger bolts in the bracket holding the ECU. Cut the zip tie holding the ECU plug wires to get more maneuverability. Remove the plug by lifting on the metal piece going over it. Bend it as far back as possible and slide it out of the other end. Then you can move around the ECU a lot even though the brackets are still attached to it. Remove the 2 bolts on the right (passenger side), then play around with the whole piece to get the ones on the left side to face downward, towards the floor. Then you can remove those two, and the ECU will fall out. Installation is reverse, except gravity is now against you, so the ECU and mounting bracket really want to fall out again and again... mad.gif
It takes a lot of contortions to get in there, and I'm kinda sore from bending up like that for over an hour.
Results:
I didn't notice any difference in power, but I didn't really expect to. However, everything seemed to run a bit smoother and sound much better. The sound definitely changed just a little bit, more of a smooth whooshing sound (very slight, mind you...).
I'll update in a few days when I get some MPG results. As of now, I'm running about 30-31 mpg pretty consistently, so hopefully it'll go up a little bit.
02-20-2007, 07:24 PM
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QUOTE (StrikeEagle @ Feb 21 2007, 12:45 PM)
It takes a lot of contortions to get in there, and I'm kinda sore from bending up like that for over an hour.
Not to mention the fact that you are nearly 7ft tall, lol.
02-20-2007, 08:52 PM
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Yeah, just a simple swap. Take out the old, put in the new. They look exactly the same, the only difference is a few letters on the top. No other mods (other than to your body... sad.gif ) needed. I'm getting a 1.8L cam soon too, so they should compliment each other nicely.
02-21-2007, 12:09 AM
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If you didn't notice a difference in power, you don't drive your car hard enough.
02-21-2007, 04:36 PM
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^^ Most likely wink1.gif I haven't been driving my car hard recently, so I'm not sure the WOT power of it, so I don't have anything to compare it to. It does seem to be a little better on the higher end though.
MPG seems to be slightly up, it'll take me about a week to find a trend (I fuel every other day). Just got 32mpg today, but I only drove about 70 miles until I filled up, so I don't think the ECU has really affected it yet.
Will keep you posted. type2ac just shipped the 1.8L cam, so that's going in Saturday cool.gif
MPG seems to be slightly up, it'll take me about a week to find a trend (I fuel every other day). Just got 32mpg today, but I only drove about 70 miles until I filled up, so I don't think the ECU has really affected it yet.
Will keep you posted. type2ac just shipped the 1.8L cam, so that's going in Saturday cool.gif
03-01-2007, 08:17 PM
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I’ve been asked by a member on here to explain in a little more detail how to get the ECU out. I’ll use this pic for reference:
First thing is to get the big plug out. It really limits movement if you have the other bolts off, and can be hard to get off later. There’s a metal bracket that locks the plug into the ECU, circled in blue. Lift on the left side of the bracket as far as you can, and then pull out the right side of the plug. It should come a ways, the left side of the plug will eventually come out if you’ve pulled it far enough on the right. The left side is hooked in there until it’s been bent far enough out, then it slides right just a hair and comes out.
I think there’s some sort of zip tie holding down some wires, possibly the main ECU plug that really gets in the way. Cut it, it’s not necessary at all.
Once the plug is out, unbolt the 2 big bolts circled in red. These hold the main brace that holds the ECU in place. I think they’re 12mm bolts, but possibly 14. The ECU and brace will be somewhat free to move, but you’re far from finished. The ECU itself is held in place with another bracket on top of it, and all bolted to the bottom brace (4 bolts, 2 are circled in yellow, the other 2 aren’t visible, over on the left side. You can’t pull the entire thing out as there’s also a stack of relays or something on top of it that you can’t access at all. You’re probably confused by this point, but it is not too complicated… Basically, 3 parts – the top bracket (with the relays stuck on top), the ECU (bolted in to both brackets) and the bottom brace that holds it to the car.
At this point, you should have the bottom bracket loose from the car and the plug out. All you need to do now is unbolt the 4 bolts that hold both brackets and ECU together. 2 bolts are circled in yellow, take them out first. Then comes the tricky part, getting at the matching two on the other side… You need to play around with the whole setup and try to get it rotated so the hidden left side is facing downwards to the floor (the right side up towards the engine bay). It’ll take a bit of doing, but you just need to get it far enough so you can access the 2 remaining bolts. In essence, you’re trying to turn it all so the bolts circled in red are where the ones in yellow are.
Once you have all the 4 bolts out, the ECU will probably fall on your head, so watch out…
Installation is pretty much reverse, but a little more frustrating. Keep the other brackets pretty much where they were, and slide the ECU between the brackets how it’s supposed to fit. Bolt in the left side, then play with it to get it back in place, and you can bolt in the right side again. Once they’re all in, maneuver it back in place and put in the 2 big ones holding the bottom brace to the car. Last of all, plug in the big ECU plug.
And stretch.
This probably sounds terribly complicated, but once you’re in there, you’ll understand better. I did find it somewhat useful to take off the fuse box cover so I wouldn’t lose any bolts behind it. If you can’t figure out how to take that off, you shouldn’t be taking out your ECU!
On this tank of gas, I think I’m going to be running 35+ mpg, I’ll find out for sure tomorrow, but it’s looking promising!! And I do notice a decent little power increase too. cool.gif
First thing is to get the big plug out. It really limits movement if you have the other bolts off, and can be hard to get off later. There’s a metal bracket that locks the plug into the ECU, circled in blue. Lift on the left side of the bracket as far as you can, and then pull out the right side of the plug. It should come a ways, the left side of the plug will eventually come out if you’ve pulled it far enough on the right. The left side is hooked in there until it’s been bent far enough out, then it slides right just a hair and comes out.
I think there’s some sort of zip tie holding down some wires, possibly the main ECU plug that really gets in the way. Cut it, it’s not necessary at all.
Once the plug is out, unbolt the 2 big bolts circled in red. These hold the main brace that holds the ECU in place. I think they’re 12mm bolts, but possibly 14. The ECU and brace will be somewhat free to move, but you’re far from finished. The ECU itself is held in place with another bracket on top of it, and all bolted to the bottom brace (4 bolts, 2 are circled in yellow, the other 2 aren’t visible, over on the left side. You can’t pull the entire thing out as there’s also a stack of relays or something on top of it that you can’t access at all. You’re probably confused by this point, but it is not too complicated… Basically, 3 parts – the top bracket (with the relays stuck on top), the ECU (bolted in to both brackets) and the bottom brace that holds it to the car.
At this point, you should have the bottom bracket loose from the car and the plug out. All you need to do now is unbolt the 4 bolts that hold both brackets and ECU together. 2 bolts are circled in yellow, take them out first. Then comes the tricky part, getting at the matching two on the other side… You need to play around with the whole setup and try to get it rotated so the hidden left side is facing downwards to the floor (the right side up towards the engine bay). It’ll take a bit of doing, but you just need to get it far enough so you can access the 2 remaining bolts. In essence, you’re trying to turn it all so the bolts circled in red are where the ones in yellow are.
Once you have all the 4 bolts out, the ECU will probably fall on your head, so watch out…
Installation is pretty much reverse, but a little more frustrating. Keep the other brackets pretty much where they were, and slide the ECU between the brackets how it’s supposed to fit. Bolt in the left side, then play with it to get it back in place, and you can bolt in the right side again. Once they’re all in, maneuver it back in place and put in the 2 big ones holding the bottom brace to the car. Last of all, plug in the big ECU plug.
And stretch.
This probably sounds terribly complicated, but once you’re in there, you’ll understand better. I did find it somewhat useful to take off the fuse box cover so I wouldn’t lose any bolts behind it. If you can’t figure out how to take that off, you shouldn’t be taking out your ECU!
On this tank of gas, I think I’m going to be running 35+ mpg, I’ll find out for sure tomorrow, but it’s looking promising!! And I do notice a decent little power increase too. cool.gif
