Cylinder Heads
The 1981-2 heads have "oval" shaped ports on both the heads & manifolds which are not compatible with '83+ heads & manifolds
Most 1983-5 cars have the A511 "G" Casting or "445" cylinder head (p/n: 4105445) which is supposed to offer the most airflow of all the 8valve heads.
G Head1985-7 carb'd cars will have a "287" head which is the same as the "445" except for different A/C compressor mounts.
1Swirl Head986 and later TBI/turbo cars have the A515 "fast burn" or "782" cylinder head with "swirl port" combustion chambers (p/n: 4105782). It's supposed to give more torque then the "G" head but as far as I know Chrysler never really got around to testing it on any of their race cars.

Putting a 782 head on a vehicle with "flat-top" pistons will increase the compression ratio (by .5:1 ?) as these heads have smaller combustion chambers.
Likewise pistons from a 2bbl car will up the CR on a vehicle that already has the 782 head. From what I'm told the turbo engines don't like higher compression.

Lotus designed a 16V DOHC head for the 2.2 and so did Maserati. They were used only on turbo intercooled cars and have different intake/exhaust port configurations.
The Lotus heads are supposed to be prone to cracking and you can't hardly get parts for either of them.
Several people are trying to put the 2.0liter (Neon) DOHC heads on the 2.2 but the oil ports don't line up correctly and cam/crank sprockets must be replaced also.

OverSize Journals
Some camshafts and cylinder heads have (.5mm) larger bearing surfaces (journals). These are supposed to be marked OS/J and have green paint on them but I've seen them Not marked. Attempting to put a OS/J cam in a regular head results in cracked bearing caps and a siezed engine. Putting a regular cam in an OS/J head would probably result in way too much oil going to the cylinder head.

Gaskets
2.2s are notorious for head gasket problems (along with every other engine with aluminum cylinder heads).
Mopar still makes a few different head gaskets for our cars:
Part Number Applications
P4452005 Carb'd, TBI, & Turbo I
P4452006 Turbo II & cross-drilled
P4452007 regular blocks with O-rings
P4452008 cross-drilled with O-rings
For info on changing head gaskets the easy way click Here

Some 2.2 have had issues with the valve seats falling out. This is because they press fit into the heads, and sometimes aren't pressed in tight enough. Most service manuals will say that you can't replace valve seats, but you can buy oversized seats from Chrysler. You have to take the head to a machine shop to replace them and it's generally cheaper to buy a new (or rebuilt) head, which should have new seats in it anyway.

The more times a head has had valve jobs done on it the less power it will make. This is because each time the valve seats are cut the valves sink deeper into the head.

Exhaust

Removing the air pump (smog pump) from a carb'd engine will give you a barely noticeable increase in power. (turbo & TBI engines don't even have them) Some people take the pump out because they think it produces back pressure into the exhaust manifold. It does, but only under certain idle conditions like when the engine is warming up. It basically pumps air into the catalyst to increase the chemical reaction and produce better emissions. It also helps purge fuel vapors out of the emissions canister after the engine's warmed up.

Probably not worth the effort, but if you want you can re-route the air pump's hoses so it pumps air into your intake instead of exhaust. This turns it into a mini Paxton style blower. The pumps will easily put out 10psi at higher RPMs, but remember that this boost will never overcome the engine's demand for vacuum so nothing would show up on a boost guage.

Headers
Mopar HeaderOther Mopar Header?
Mopar Performance still sells a couple of exhaust headers for the 2.2's and so does Hooker Headers
Part Number Description Tube Dia. Coll. Dia.
P4529466 1981-6 L-Body (high output engines only)
P4529461 1981-6 L-Body 1 3/8
5707 Hooker Headers (5707-1 for ceramic coat)
The black header in the picture above is the one I got from Mopar Performance. The silver one may be the "high output" header currently offered by Mopar Performance, or it could be an old "Direct Connection" header that's no longer avaliable.

I believe Hedman Headers used to make a header for the 2.2 but I'm not sure if they do anymore.
Being that these headers don't have the oxygen sensor fitting the car will run a rich if you're using the stock computer controlled carb.
Hooker Headers sell reducers with the 02 sensor fitting for around $45
racerpartswholesale.com has a "weld-on" 02 sensor fitting for around $5 that can be attached to the collector pipe or reducer.

I have a Mopar's P4529461 on my car and the performance increase is definitely noticeable.
They appear to be made by a company called "JR Headers" and come with intake/exhaust manifold and collector gaskets and a 2" collector reducer. They come with absolutely no instructions whatsover, although installation is as easy as swapping exhaust manifolds.
Since the collector hangs lower then the stock pipe (possibly due to a failing front motor mount) I used a flex pipe from AutoZone to connect the reducer to the stock system.
On my car the exhaust pipe cracked where it goes past the side of the gas tank due to flexing of the flex pipe. After repairing the broken pipe I added an extra hanger behind the header which should eliminate this problem in the future.
Old DC Shorty Header
The original Direct Connection header was shorter then the new one, so it shouldn't have any ground clearance problems like the current header, but it is no longer avaliable from Dodge.

RWD ExhaustThe Dodge Dakotas with the 4cyl engine have an interesting looking exhaust manifold that might fit if you modify your exhaust system. Since it's designed for RWD the exhaust exit would be pointed towards the side if installed on a FWD car.

2.2s exported to Mexico are supposed to have a cast iron "header style" exhaust manifold but I have never seen one.

1981 to early '83 cars use a different exhaust manifold then the late '83 and newer cars. The newer manifold is supposed to flow more and has different exhaust pipe attachments then the old one.

Misc.

L-Body Hood Props
If you have an '85 or earlier L-Body car, pull the hood prop from an '86 or later car and use that instead.
The '85 and earlier hood props will cause the hood to warp if you leave it open too long.

Brushed RelayDirty Relays
A wire brush mounted on a drill or bench grinder will remove corrosion and polish those starter/fan relay covers to a chrome-like luster. A coat of high temperature clear coat will keep them from getting dirty again.
This also goes for the distributor clamp, fuel pump block-off plate or anything else that you want to be shiny.

Oilin' System
You can make an oil or transmission cooler out of an old A/C condenser.
The Mopar V8 filters (PH16 {fram}) will fit on the 2.2s and are bigger inside.

Want to be able to drain your oil with the flick of a finger? Click Here

Manual Valve body for Automatic Transmissions:
Mopar Performance sells a manual valve body for the 413 & 404 transmissions under p/n: P4349569.
It's a Turbo Action "Cheetah" unit (T.A p/n 14156) that converts your automatic to full manual control.
It makes the car fun to drive and is easy to install. They used to sell a dual mode automatic or manual valve body but they don't make it anymore.
You just drop the tranny pan, pull out the old valve body, and pop in the new one. Easy as a fluid/filter change.

Since the Neons use the same automatic transmission as the 2.2s I imagine more tranny parts will be coming out soon...

Manual radiator fan controls
This is a must on any performance car with an electric fan. The stock engine configuration is geared towards economy and low emissions which means running the engine hot, sometimes right on the verge of overheating. It would not be fun to blow a $3,000 motor because the fan didn't turn on soon enough. With an adjustable thermostat you can override the settings in the computer and turn the fan on at any temp. you choose, say 190-200 degrees.

The image above shows the connectors on the fan relay for most (if not all) 1984 and later Mopar 2.2 powered cars. To turn the fan on you would splice into the wire indicated above, wire it to an adjustable thermostat (or a regular switch) and to ground. The relay itself is located on the driver's side shock tower next to the starter relay.

1981-83 cars don't have a relay, there is a temp. switch in the radiator itself, on these models just cut the wires to this switch and re-connect them to your thermostat.

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