What Engines Fit a 1997 Pontiac Sunfire?

GM introduced its front-drive Sunfire as a replacement for the forgotten-by-the-time-it-hit-the-showroom-floor Sunbird in 1995. The Sunfire led a fairly glorious life amongst American sport compacts until it was replaced by the G5 coupe just 10 years later. The Sunfire was offered with four different engines over its short life, including one of the most seminal and renowned four cylinders of all time.

The OHV 2200

The 2200 was the Sunfire's base engine offering from 1995 to 2002. Although no great powerhouse, this engine's decent 120 horsepower and 140 ft.-lbs. of torque sure trumped the number produced by the old "Iron Duke" four cylinder it replaced. This 2.2L engine was an overhead cam evolution of an engine that originally hit the showrooms in 1982 and is a reliable, if somewhat tepid, little powerplant. Also used in 1990 to 2002 Cavaliers and 1994 to 2003 Chevrolet S10s, it was marketed as the Vortec 2200 from 1996 through 2003.

This engine (known as the LD9 from 1996 and up, and the LD2 in 1995) could easily stand a comparison against GM's own small block V8 for history making design and its influence on the future. Displacing 2.3 liters, the Quad Four was derived directly from a line of race engines engineered by British racing outfit Cosworth. Its cast iron block was both strong and sophisticated, but the Quad Four's cylinder head was its real trump card. All aluminum, dual overhead cams (the first mass production GM four cylinder to have them) and comparatively huge flow numbers, it's small wonder that these race-ready units could support 150 horsepower at almost 7,000 RPM. The Quad Four went out of production in 2002, but the basic architecture lives on in Cadillac's high-tech Northstar engine. This engine was also used in 1996 through 2002 Cavaliers, 1995 through 2001 Grand Ams and 1997 through 1999 Buick Skylarks.

The Ecotec was a fairly worthy, albeit less spirited, successor to the Quad Four. This engine (available in 2002 through 2005 Sunfires) was part of GM's straight four engine family, in continuous production in one form or another since the 1970s. This is the same 140-horsepower engine used in Chevrolet Cavaliers, Oldsmobile Aleros, Pontiac Grand Ams and Saturn Ions. Base model 2007 and 2008 Chevrolet HHRs used this same engine, but some minor improvements netted a nine-horsepower gain over older models.