3sgte AWD Conversion, Trying it anyway! Options

[Green_MachToy]

I got a shipment in of all the parts I was missing to do the AWD Conversion on my ST. Now I am starting to put everything in with a lot of help from a friend of mine.
Parts List 1
Parts list 2
Parts list 3
Parts list 4
Parts list 5
Parts list 6
Here is a shot while we were taking pics.
Plenty of Go Go Juice
The first thing we pulled the rear out, and placed the new ST205 rear on a jack and started measuring. It seemed like we were measuring for hours...but gotta make sure it is right.
Holding it in place until everything measures out.
There were no bolt holes that we could use to tap and bolt the rear up to, so we had to fab a brace.
New Rear
Then as many know...the trunk had to go. We decided to remove the entire trunk bottom to also allow for the gas tank. The next problem we ran into was the bumper support. We had to cut that in order for the tank to fit and to keep the it up high. We are going to fab a mounting bracket for the bumper but that got moved low on the list.
View from trunk where gas tank will go.
The driveshaft and tunnel needed extra mounting brackets and the exhaust to be relocated. In doing this we almost caught the car on fire from the heat of the welds. Luckily the carpet did catch, but rather than pull it back like we had, we removed it all to ensure it didn't catch fire.
Pic of tunnel
When it came to the fromt, that work went a lot faster. The tranny swap was easy enough to remove the MR2 and replace it with the ST205. Since the only axles that appeared to fit were the ST205, I got them from here (thanks celica3sgte)! Just as we had most everything was coming together, my shifter cable broke. It was actually the plastic piece right near the shifter. Got one off an ST185, and tried to put it in tonight...it doesn't fit!
Side note: The front cross-member is the same as ours. I had ordered it just to be on the safe side, and didn't need it. The super strut system uses the same mounting points.
Front disc and strut
Monster Discs!
Another view of front
Rear discs with 18" rims on 'em.
We also installed a new Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator and 680 injectors...was to help a new T4 turbo. But the T4 shaft and fins appear to have been damaged in the mail. I will now have to send it out to have them replaced and balanced. Anyone know of a good place here in San Diego or Southern California? I was going to send it to Performance Tecniques in San Bernadino, but no one seems to have heard of them.

This post has been edited by Green_MachToy: Feb 4, 2007 - 10:08 PM

[6strngs]

so, how much have you spent on the AWD stuff so far? not including the 3sgte, bigger turbo, FMIC, etc. just the AWD swap stuff.

[Green_MachToy]

I got all the parts for just under $2k....that was everything from the tank to calipers. Only things I didn't get was the sway bars(in Europe I believe the call them Anti-roll bars). I cut a re-welded mine to fit the use for now. THis is an item I must replace before I do any real hard driving. The reason I made a point to mention the difference in the name is because I have had better luck getting used parts from over there than I have in Japan. In Europe, they seem to be parting (breaking) them, one every week. The $2k was including shipping. I would suggest you pay the extra for a fuel cell rather than go with a stock tank. It will save you the cutting of the trunk, major welding, re-build, adjusting the fill neck....etc.

I am still working on trying to figure out the wiring through the Fuel relay to have the high speed in the stock pump kick in under boost. I should have addressed this during the initial engine swap but didn't realize the second stage was not wired up correctly. I have basically all the power requirements to the relay, but none of the inputs from the ECU and nothing back to the pump itself (other than the stock ST wiring being used as low speed). Can anyone assist with this?

so, how much have you spent on the AWD stuff so far? not including the 3sgte, bigger turbo, FMIC, etc. just the AWD swap stuff.

This post has been edited by Green_MachToy: Feb 10, 2008 - 11:54 AM

[GriffGirl]

I got all the parts for just under $2k....that was everything from the tank to calipers. Only things I didn't get was the sway bars(in Europe I believe the call them Anti-roll bars). I cut a re-welded mine to fit the use for now. THis is an item I must replace before I do any real hard driving. The reason I made a point to mention the difference in the name is because I have had better luck getting used parts from over there than I have in Japan. In Europe, they seem to be parting (breaking) them, one every week. The $2k was including shipping. I would suggest you pay the extra for a fuel cell rather than go with a stock tank. It will save you the cutting of the trunk, major welding, re-build, adjusting the fill neck....etc.

I am still working on trying to figure out the wiring through the Fuel relay to have the high speed in the stock pump kick in under boost. I should have addressed this during the initial engine swap but didn't realize the second stage was not wired up correctly. I have basically all the power requirements to the relay, but none of the inputs from the ECU and nothing back to the pump itself (other than the stock ST wiring being used as low speed). Can anyone assist with this?

You should PM Dr. Tweak about this, I bet he can help. Wiring is one of his specialties.


This post has been edited by GriffGirl: Feb 11, 2008 - 4:16 PM