1985-7
carb'd cars will have a "287" head which is the same as the "445" except
for different A/C compressor mounts.
986
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 |
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.
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 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) | 1¾ | 2½ |
| P4529461 | 1981-6 L-Body | 1 3/8 | 2½ |
| 5707 | Hooker Headers (5707-1 for ceramic coat) | 1½ | 2½ |
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.
The
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.
Dirty
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.