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6G Celicas Forums _ My Project _ Richee3's Progress thread.

Posted by: richee3 Apr 5, 2010 - 10:22 PM

You might be asking yourself, "Self, how does a person who just sold their Celica make a progress thread for a Celica?" The answer is easy: you go buy another Celica. So I picked up a '96 GT hatchback with a blown engine.

The story: My brother's friend got the car brand new in '97. It's a '96 model though... gotta wait until the end of the year so you can get a good deal on a car! So back in 1997, a slate gray Celica pulls into my driveway. I've never seen one before. My brother is always telling me about how fast the car is. Flash forward a few years and I find myself with a '96 ST sitting in my garage and I find out that my brother lied to me and that these cars aren't fast at all. So here I am, 3 Celicas and a Lexus IS 300 later, and I miss my Celica. I had my hopes up for a swap and a GT4 front end conversion. So what did I do? I called Marc tonight and asked him about his old Celica. I knew he never changed the oil and never even checked it. I knew he blew the engine up. Tranny is still good, body is still good. New brakes and tires. Even has good blades on the windshield wipers. So tonight I call him and ask if he still has the car and he said he'd let it go for $250. I was there in 30 minutes with a check in hand. The car I grew up watching, the Celica that made me love Celicas, is now mine. Forgive the bad pictures, since it was night before I got there to buy the car. Better pictures coming later.









Like I said, the motor is blown. Not a big deal since I am doing a swap anyway. It was lady driven at first, and ladies suck at driving (no offense, ladies.) So she cracked the skirts and had a body shop remove them. No big deal since I am putting TRD skirts on. The car needs paint. No big deal since I was painting it anyway. Needs a new head unit... You get the idea. That's literally the extent of things that are wrong with the car. Everything else is in good shape.

Plans for the car... I'm still undecided. It's definitely getting a 3S, whether it's a BEAMS or a 3rd gen -GTE.

So... here I am, 6gc. It was a long month without a Celica, but I'm back and I'm here to stay.

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Update: 5S-FE to BEAMS 3S-GE wiring explained with pictures:

EA1 Plug: Pins 17 and 4 need to be bridged. Pin 17 needs power when pin 4 has it. Pin 17 is in the lower left corner, black w/red trace. Pin 4 is the big black wire at the top, center of the plug. Doing this gives the BEAMS spark. Pin 17 coming off of the EA1 plug can be snipped and covered up, left alone. (See picture 1.)
EA1 Plug: Pins 2 and 12 need to be bridged. They are both ground wires, white w/black trace. (See picture 1.)
Clutch start wire: Black w/yellow trace. This one is a bit tricky to explain. There are 3 vertical plugs next to the ECU. On the body side of the plugs, you have a white (19 pin) plug, light gray (13 pin) plug, and dark gray (17 pin) plug. The clutch start wire is pin 18 on the white plug. Move it to pin 17 on the dark gray plug. (Refer to picture 2.)
• If using your OEM tach and a tach adapter, you'll need to intercept the tach signal going from the ECU to the gauges. This comes from plug C, wire 27 on the ECU plugs. It's a gray wire. (Refer to picture 3.)
Cruise control wiring: I have a 1998 USDM Celica. In my case, no wiring changes were necessary and my cruise control works perfectly. I believe that this is standard across the board of USDM Celicas, although some pre-98 models may still require changes. Further research from others is necessary.
Airbag light: To get your airbag light to function properly, you run a wire from the EA1 plug to the light gray interior plug (either pin 4 or pin 5, I have read separate posts saying both and I chose not to do this step so I cannot confirm which pin it is.)

Picture 1. EA1 plug: At the top, pins 2 and 12 are bridged together. These are grounds. In the middle with the yellow butt connector, you can see pins 17 and 4 bridged together, red w/black trace and plain black wire. At the bottom of the picture, you can see the unused and covered wire that used to be pin 17.


Picture 2. Body plugs next to the ECU. Here you can see the clutch start wire in the bottom left corner, black w/yellow trace.


Picture 3. Plug C, wire 27. This is the tach signal wire that needs to be intercepted for a tach signal adapter.

Posted by: johnnehh Apr 5, 2010 - 10:27 PM

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: SwissFerdi Apr 5, 2010 - 10:31 PM

TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Posted by: 2celicas2love Apr 5, 2010 - 10:55 PM

i like that color, are you going to change it? 250$? what a steal! why didn't check the oil or change the oil??! frown.gif

Posted by: richee3 Apr 5, 2010 - 11:27 PM

Thanks guys.

I am not sure about the color. It's the only Celica I have ever seen in that car. It's like a metallic slate gray color. I think Dustin's (Batman) car might be the same color. The car needs new paint anyway, so it will probably end up a pearl white or a metallic black. Yeah, it was a steal at $250. I'd be stupid not to buy it, even to just part it out. Like I said, all it needs is new paint and a new 5S-FE (What are they, like $500?)

Posted by: cheela Apr 6, 2010 - 12:06 AM

welcome back, it's like you never left at all. hahahahah.

Posted by: Johnnyny Apr 6, 2010 - 2:33 AM

nice

Posted by: Keiri Apr 6, 2010 - 9:25 AM

I'm not saying welcome back Daniel because you never even left. wink.gif

That's a great pick-up and you'll make it shine.

Posted by: richee3 Apr 6, 2010 - 12:04 PM

Lol I thought you guys might have forgotten who I was... But apparently not! I spent a good part of last night thinking about this car and what I am going to do with it. I've decided to drop another 5S in it for right now just to get the car running again and I'll get some body work done to it, make it look the way I want it. After all, I hardly ever go to the track and street racing isn't cool. So I might as well get great gas mileage, since the Lexus isn't doing that for me. Stay tuned. Major updates on this thread coming this weekend, hopefully.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Apr 6, 2010 - 12:14 PM

SWEET, i have been looking for a deal like this, and you just go ahead and buy one. That is a sweet color.

why not rebuild the engine? diy.


Posted by: Heindrik Apr 6, 2010 - 2:23 PM

QUOTE (richee3 @ Apr 6, 2010 - 1:04 PM) *
Lol I thought you guys might have forgotten who I was... But apparently not! I spent a good part of last night thinking about this car and what I am going to do with it. I've decided to drop another 5S in it for right now just to get the car running again and I'll get some body work done to it, make it look the way I want it. After all, I hardly ever go to the track and street racing isn't cool. So I might as well get great gas mileage, since the Lexus isn't doing that for me. Stay tuned. Major updates on this thread coming this weekend, hopefully.



I dont know if its hard to change it to a 3sge,

But i see them on Ebay sometimes, Its doesent have the turbo to maintain, it pulls great, very reliabel. Besides not many US has them, in Europa your models are also very rare wink.gif. Im glad we got the engines they use in japan in Europa though, I always wondered why the heck they made US ones different

Posted by: njccmd2002 Apr 6, 2010 - 3:08 PM

^^^ BEams baby, no turbo, fun to drive..

but yeah, make a good desicion.

Posted by: Spider77 Apr 6, 2010 - 5:51 PM

Congrats...an IS and a new-ish project celica!

Posted by: hurley97 Apr 6, 2010 - 6:19 PM

QUOTE (richee3 @ Apr 6, 2010 - 12:27 AM) *
Thanks guys.

I am not sure about the color. It's the only Celica I have ever seen in that car. It's like a metallic slate gray color. I think Dustin's (Batman) car might be the same color. The car needs new paint anyway, so it will probably end up a pearl white or a metallic black. Yeah, it was a steal at $250. I'd be stupid not to buy it, even to just part it out. Like I said, all it needs is new paint and a new 5S-FE (What are they, like $500?)

Dustin's car is actually a Chrysler color, similar but still very different in person.

The only 6gc I've seen in person in that color was Darin's, http://www.6gc.net/members/5699

It was very hard to capture the color in a picture but I think its fantastic and if you have one that's such a rare and beautiful color, just my $0.02, KEEP IT!!







Posted by: richee3 Apr 6, 2010 - 10:37 PM

I may do that, NJCCMD. I have started looking into my options. Whatever gets the car rolling again cheapest is up first. Be it a new(er) 5S or rebuilding the one that is in it now... I just want the car moving again. After that comes body work, then the fun part of the build will begin... BEAMS or 3S-GTE. Whatever I find a good deal on first. But I definitely got a good deal on the car. All it needs are things I was going to replace/redo anyway.

If you are looking for a deal like this, I know of another one for sale for $580. I chose this one over the $580 Celica because I grew up watching this car pull in and out of my driveway and because it was a little bit cheaper.

Heindrik, it is not hard to change to a 3S-GE at all. However, as NJCCMD pointed out, I would be better off with a BEAMS or a 3S-GTE. The same amount of work is involved to swap, but I get more power.

Thanks, Spider! I think the IS will be parked and reserved as a weekend car after I get the Celica up and running again. It's funny, I will be parking the car that I am making payments on and driving the one that I owe nothing for.

That's exactly the color of this car, Hurley! Thanks for posting pictures up. 6gc's are pretty rare around here, so this is the only one in this color that I have ever seen. I thought Dustin's car was the same color, judging by pictures. But I haven't decided what to do with this car. It needs paint. The hood, bumper, and roof are all faded. The rest of the body is in good shape. No dents or rust, just needs new paint. I've got a while to decide whether to keep it the same color or change it. We'll see how well it grows on me.

Posted by: SwissFerdi Apr 7, 2010 - 1:16 AM

Wow, that color is beautiful...from the picture, I thought it was more blue-ish. I agree with Stef, respray it to the original color. thumbsup.gif

Posted by: bloodMoney Apr 7, 2010 - 3:25 AM

I KNEW IT!!!!! smile.gif

I'm glad to see that you've decided to stay addicted Dan.

BTW: I've got a nice old 351 Windsor that we can throw into it biggrin.gif

Posted by: richee3 Apr 7, 2010 - 5:45 PM

Turk- I couldn't get a good picture of the car since it was well past dark and the only light I had was a dim street light and the flash of my camera. The flash definitely made the car look more blue. Hurley did a great job of getting the color though. I may have to drive my IS to her so she can capture the Intensa Blue Pearl. It's a beautiful color, but I can't get it right in a picture.

Chris- I definitely couldn't stay away. I missed my Celica too much, and it's only been a month. 351 Windsor, eh..? I don't believe that's ever been done in a Celica! I'll be in Chicago ASAP! laugh.gif

Seriously though, my thoughts for the color of this car are between a pearl white, a metallic black, the color that it is now (seems to be a favorite in this thread, so it might just stay) or I've always been a fan of the Quiksilver Supras..



I've been looking at some 5S-FE's. Looks like I can get this car and get it running again for under $1,000. First things first, getting the car here and getting it cleaned up.

Posted by: GriffGirl Apr 7, 2010 - 5:52 PM

I just saw a 6th gen in that color by my house the other day. It's a BEAUTIFUL color in person, I'd TOTALLY rock that color. It's a really great grayish blue metallic.

Posted by: richee3 Apr 11, 2010 - 4:17 PM

QUOTE (GriffGirl @ Apr 7, 2010 - 6:52 PM) *
I just saw a 6th gen in that color by my house the other day. It's a BEAUTIFUL color in person, I'd TOTALLY rock that color. It's a really great grayish blue metallic.


Did you ever get those seat covers, Michelle? This car definitely needs seat covers, and I am curious how yours turned out.

And thanks.... We won't get into that though. It's a REALLY long story.

Anyway... Back on topic. Updates. I went and got the car yesterday and brought it home. I've just spent all day cleaning it out. So much dirt that it kept clogging the filter on my vacuum and it kept overheating. But after several hours of putting various things back together and swapping the console out with one from my parts car, I'm finally back inside to show you pictures of what I am working with.

For any gold diggers out there who might have parts that they want to sell... I will be needing both high beam headlights in the not-too-distant future... Probably a driver's side seat too. Not soon, but not far off either.







The goals:
- Buy car.
- Convince the parents that buying the car is a good idea.
- Get the car back on the road for as cheap as possible.
- Fix the interior up slightly- reupholster the seats, fix the fact that I don't have a radio. At all.
- Turn towards the exterior- TRD/404 skirts, SS-III front splitters, TRD rear splitters, wingless, repaint. You guys convinced me to keep this color. JDM headlights/taillights.
- Way on down the road, engine swap. BEAMS, 3S-GTE... who knows. Either/or.

Posted by: Zake Apr 11, 2010 - 5:27 PM

that looks like the same color as my car. my window sticker says blue slate metallic/black. (if you were wondering)

Posted by: richee3 Apr 11, 2010 - 5:31 PM

QUOTE (Zake @ Apr 11, 2010 - 6:27 PM) *
that looks like the same color as my car. my window sticker says blue slate metallic/black. (if you were wondering)


That's what the previous owner told me when I picked the car up yesterday. Slate Blue, she said. Close enough. I've noticed that the car always turns out blue in my pictures but looks more gray in person.

Posted by: Ted95 Apr 11, 2010 - 6:22 PM

3ssssssss!!!!!! lol

Posted by: richee3 Apr 11, 2010 - 6:42 PM

I took the valve cover off to powdercoat it and promote the powdercoating that I am doing for 6gc, and I found a little something. These are the spark plug wires for cylinders #3 and 4. I think cylinder #3 might have had something going on... laugh.gif



I'm pulling this motor and scrapping it anyway, so it can be just as messed up as it wants.

Posted by: richee3 May 1, 2010 - 3:59 PM

After talking to bmj67, I have decided to try and rebuild this motor myself. He gave me some very helpful links and the service manual. And I can't possibly mess the motor up any worse than it already is, so I might as well try. I've never rebuilt an engine before except for a single cylinder lawnmower engine a few years ago, so any tips or advice will be helpful and much appreciated.

Or I might just sell the car/part it out. Who knows.

Posted by: Keiri May 1, 2010 - 4:27 PM

Dan, I say take your time and rebuild the engine - you've got a great DD and if this project doesn't pan out you can part it later.

Looking forward to more updates and I wish you the best of luck.

Posted by: bloodMoney May 1, 2010 - 5:22 PM

^^^^ Werd. Learn all you can about rebuilds from this, b/c you have another car that can be used as a DD.

Posted by: johnnehh May 2, 2010 - 1:24 AM

If you part it out I will drive all the way out there and backhand you.

Posted by: richee3 May 2, 2010 - 9:58 AM

QUOTE (johnnehh @ May 2, 2010 - 1:24 AM) *
If you part it out I will drive all the way out there and backhand you.


So I can still sell it as a whole then? tongue.gif

Posted by: Keiri May 2, 2010 - 12:43 PM

QUOTE (richee3 @ May 2, 2010 - 10:58 AM) *
QUOTE (johnnehh @ May 2, 2010 - 1:24 AM) *
If you part it out I will drive all the way out there and backhand you.


So I can still sell it as a whole then? tongue.gif


If you sell the whole car...I'll give you what you paid for it at the least.

Posted by: SwissFerdi May 2, 2010 - 12:45 PM

PART PART PART!

I mean, keep it.

If you do part it, I'LL have to backhand two people. John for attempting to backhand you, which he just can't do, and then I'd have to backhand you for selling it.

And yes, I can because that's what I have to do to keep vanilla bear in line. End of story.

Posted by: richee3 Jun 17, 2010 - 7:55 PM

Alrighty, so after contemplating selling the car, I have decided to keep it. Game on. Here are my plans for it. Looking for input/comments.

-Pulling my blown 5S, sending the cams to Crower to get a regrind.
-Get the head ported/polished.
-I will be picking up a used 5S in the next couple of weeks, and put the P/P head and cams in that.
-Intake w/ custom made heat shield.
-Ebay header.
-All new exhaust. Still 2.5", going to get a new cat put in (save the earth and all that jazz), routed under axle, into a stock muffler. Not looking for huge performance gains. I just want something quiet.
-Exedy clutch, OEM replacement.

Overall, adding a few hp, but not a lot. Just going to pep it up a little bit. The motor I will be picking up will hold off long enough just to get a 3S for the car. Inputs, advice, suggestions all welcomed.

Posted by: pagii Jun 17, 2010 - 8:22 PM

nice richee! haha im gonna start one up too just gotta figure out how to get pics from my camera to this mac lol

Posted by: SwissFerdi Jun 17, 2010 - 9:02 PM

thumbsup.gif

Good stuff R2.

Posted by: Keiri Jun 18, 2010 - 9:33 AM

Now this is what I like to hear!

Good choice and way to stick with it. thumbsup.gif

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jun 18, 2010 - 11:24 AM

yeah man, its easy to pull out and put in an engine.

Posted by: richee3 Jun 19, 2010 - 12:02 AM

QUOTE (njccmd2002 @ Jun 18, 2010 - 12:24 PM) *
yeah man, its easy to pull out and put in an engine.


Gonna work on it tomorrow. Wiring harness is disconnected, throttle cables disconnected, small things here and there unplugged. Just a few more things to unplug and it should be good to go. Contemplating leaving the transmission on the car, but I'll probably just pull it out too.

Posted by: richee3 Jun 19, 2010 - 2:38 PM

Small progress, but progress nonetheless. Today I kicked the Lexus out of the garage and got the Celica in. Took off the hood, a few plastic bits and pieces, hooked up a comealong to pull the engine, disconnected a few hoses here and there, opened up the car and set a fan up to help it air out, and then got hung up with a few things. So I just quit working on it and pushed it back outside. It's pretty hot and humid, and I've got to go to work here in a few minutes. Plus I'm a quitter. I know exactly what the hangup is. I was just bored with taking plastic off and I got to the fuse box under the hood and I just stopped at that. I didn't really feel like getting under the car to disconnect all the shift linkages and take the axles out and everything today. It's pretty hot. But, since this is almost an update, I have to have a picture. Cell phone quality FTW!



Also discovered another new problem. One of the wheel studs is broken on the back right wheel. 1.) New parts FTW! and 2.) This is the same problem that started a chain reaction with my black Celica that finally resulted in me selling the car. So... I'm gonna rub this in my dad's face. And then he will NOT help me fix it like last time laugh.gif

Just a couple more pictures of a few things.

Pretty sure these are the original spark plugs that came in the car. They look nice and toasted. I was able to loosen the spark plug on cylinder #1 by hand.


Just so you guys know, it smells rotten inside this engine. Took the valve cover off, started to take the cams out, and every time I broke one of the bolts loose that hold the cams in, it released a smell of rotten... female genitals. It's pretty rank. Let this be a lesson to you n00bs out there. Always do your maintenance and change your oil, or else you'll get to deal with the same things I am right now.

Posted by: pagii Jun 19, 2010 - 4:25 PM

"Took the valve cover off, started to take the cams out, and every time I broke one of the bolts loose that hold the cams in, it released a smell of rotten... female genitals' -richee3 hahaha favorite quote for the weekend lol dude at least your making progress i cant start till monday tongue.gif

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jun 19, 2010 - 6:15 PM

wow look at all that nastyness.

Posted by: Keiri Jun 19, 2010 - 9:33 PM

Dan,

That looks filthy...and the description is wondrous. Haha.

Don't let the boredom stop you - just be persistent and have some good music going as you work.

Posted by: richee3 Jun 20, 2010 - 1:01 AM

Told you guys that maintenance wasn't at the top of the list for the previous owner... At any rate, a project car just isn't a good one unless you get dirty. This car is definitely getting me dirty.

I've always got a good playlist going when I work! I can't stand working without music. This project is back on hold for a little bit, since it'll be a week before I have an entire day off to work on it again. I'll probably have some help next time, so that'll keep me motivated as well. Hopefully next time I update this thread, it'll be with pictures of an empty engine bay.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jun 23, 2010 - 10:18 PM

any news?

Posted by: richee3 Jun 23, 2010 - 10:49 PM

Took another look at the fuse box.. It was incredibly easy. Can't believe I missed that the first time. Two plugs. All that remains now is to disconnect the shift linkage, a couple more hoses, and a the motor mounts, and that engine will be out. The exhaust cam is out and cleaned up, ready to be shipped to Crower, but the intake came is being a little more stubborn. I will hopefully be down there to pick up your engine in the next week, maybe two. I was thinking about it today and realized it would be pretty stupid of me to pull the engine out of the car, go pick up a new engine, and put it in later, so I'm going to try to be smart about this and pull my engine and drop yours in in the same day. Before I drop the new motor in, I'd like to get the batter officially relocated to the trunk. Just need to pick up some wiring and read up on that a little bit more.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jun 24, 2010 - 2:16 PM

go dan!

we got swaps going around the same time

Posted by: Bigblock Jun 24, 2010 - 3:15 PM

richee3---

I see you've been bitten & you can't shake the venom---

--- because...as we all know...THERE IS NO CURE!!!... biggrin.gif

No doubt this is going to be another class Celica brought back to life!!

Best to ya!!!

Posted by: richee3 Jul 8, 2010 - 8:31 PM



Why have I taken the covers off of my seats? And why have I bought a bunch of 4 gauge power wire?? Could there be a real update coming soon???

Posted by: Johnnyny Jul 9, 2010 - 3:11 AM

finally sheesh.. laugh.gif

Posted by: Spider77 Jul 9, 2010 - 4:57 PM

You took off the cover so you can take out some crappy stock padding and install "memory foam" (developed by NASA you know) for a firmer, yet comforting ride?

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jul 10, 2010 - 8:05 AM

you bought leather and relocating the battery

Posted by: richee3 Jul 11, 2010 - 3:32 PM

^^ Close. Not leather. They're some of Vincent's seat covers. Bought them from upscaleauto. They'll be here soon and I'll be able to get the front seats finished up.

Relocating the battery is spot on though. Ran the wires yesterday while I was working on sound insulation. Got the car insulated with Frost King yesterday. I need one more roll to really finish everything up though. I didn't get to line the floor of the trunk and under the rear seats, and I'd like to do the moon roof. But while I had the interior apart, I ran the 4 gauge wire for the battery relocation. Today I finished it up, locked the battery down to keep it from going anywhere, and tomorrow I will build a custom box to go around the battery to make the trunk look tidier. Total cost of sound insulation: $47. Total cost of battery relocation: $46, but I'll need to buy some black fabric to cover my box, so call it $50.

Total cost of the project so far: $542. Up next is a radio, then it's on like Donkey Kong. Engine swap FTW. Progress will be pretty slow after I get a radio due to the cost of an engine, but there will be progress nonetheless.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 11, 2010 - 11:27 PM

win

Posted by: benzo Jul 12, 2010 - 12:57 AM

cool! thumbsup.gif

Posted by: richee3 Jul 17, 2010 - 2:05 PM

Here's a picture of my custom battery box. It's pretty close to the seat, as you can see, but it all fits and I can still get to my spare tire. Wires are neatly hidden between the box and the seat, and it's grounded to the seat bracket. There's a draw catch on the side of the box so the lid stays closed, and the strap hinges let me open the lid completely and have it fold flat against the box for easy access. Suggestions for anything I could/should do better are welcomed.


Posted by: johnnehh Jul 17, 2010 - 2:08 PM

Looking good! thumbsup.gif

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 17, 2010 - 3:15 PM

very nice

Posted by: D-Man Jul 17, 2010 - 7:15 PM

I'm likein it!! keep it commin!!

Posted by: richee3 Jul 18, 2010 - 6:19 PM



Front seats are reupholstered- interior is nearly wrapped up. All that's left to do is a new head unit, reupholster the rear seats, small sound system, shift boot and arm rest cover. And I am in a hurry to do exactly none of that. Progress is now on hold until I get a new engine. I'd rather have it running before I get a radio.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 18, 2010 - 8:36 PM

SEXY!! do it yourself?

Posted by: rave2n Jul 18, 2010 - 8:43 PM

Ah those seat covers, just did mine this weekend. Fun weren't they!? - Looks good though, my upper seat turned out about the same as yours, still 10x better than the OEM ones.

Only thing I dun like is when i jump in the car, i don't slide into place anymore, i got wiggle into it =P

Looking good overall thumbsup.gif

Posted by: richee3 Jul 18, 2010 - 8:45 PM

Got the front seats reupholstered. It wasn't very time consuming at all, but I already had the old covers off. I also found a useful tip. Some people say you can use zip ties to hold the new covers down, but I personally don't trust that method. Every auto upholstery shop in the world that does a good job will use pig rings, so I used pig rings. However, trying to hold the seat cover where it needs to be, nice and stretched, and trying to get the pig ring in place can be very tedious. So I used zip ties to hold the seat covers in place, set the pig rings, then cut the zip ties out. Pretty easy stuff. I will be putting seat heaters in later, so I'll work on correcting a couple of small issues then. But for right now, I'm content with them. Thanks again to upscaleauto for hooking me up.

More pictures of the seats.

BEFORE:


AFTER:



And a couple of better pictures of the battery box.




My camera is pretty much dead in the water, so sorry for the cell phone pics. I'm contemplating buying a new camera and designating it as a "swap expense." Gotta take pictures of everything I do.

QUOTE (rave2n @ Jul 18, 2010 - 9:43 PM) *
Ah those seat covers, just did mine this weekend. Fun weren't they!? - Looks good though, my upper seat turned out about the same as yours, still 10x better than the OEM ones.

Only thing I dun like is when i jump in the car, i don't slide into place anymore, i got wiggle into it =P

Looking good overall thumbsup.gif


Haha thanks. I already had the OEM seat covers off, so it wasn't too bad to put these on. Like I said, I learned after a few minutes to use the zip ties to hold the covers in place before putting the pig rings in. Made things go a LOT smoother. I still have to buy the rear seat covers and do those, but I'm not in any hurry. For what it's worth, I almost like having them different colors. It draws your attention away from the back seat, almost makes it like a shadow back there. So maybe my friends will get the hint and NOT want to ride in the back seat then complain about not having any room. I definitely agree that these seat covers have a lot more grip than the factory leather. I was pleasantly surprised. I think the top corners of the seats would fit better if I had '94-'95 seats. Seems like I've noticed those having larger upper corners. Or maybe it's the 'vert seats I'm thinking of. Either way, I got them in with fairly little issue, minus the headrests.

Posted by: 97celiman Jul 18, 2010 - 8:57 PM

Is it just me or do they seem really loose on the seats? like they need to shrink to fit right?

Also I have a padded armrest cover with the screws for sale that has vincents black on black cover already on...looks like you are going with white though

Posted by: richee3 Jul 25, 2010 - 9:01 PM

Couple of quick pictures. I'm torn between deleting the 3rd spoiler post as I had done on my old black car or going wingless altogether. I tried wingless for a day or two with my black car and just didn't like it at all. With this color, you can see how accentuated the rear of the hatch is, so I'm liking it a little bit more. What do you guys think?

Third spoiler post delete.


Wingless.


And as we all know by this point, the paint is in pretty rough shape. However, I cleaned up a few spots tonight and even polished a couple of spots to see how it turned out. Where the paint looks good, it's golden. Where the paint looks bad... Well, yeah, it's just really bad. There's no saving it. There's still hope though! The passenger side door is covered in scratches from something. A dog or something. They buff right out biggrin.gif You can tell exactly where I worked on it and where I left it alone.



The grass growing up around the car suits it well, don't you think? Maybe I should put a new motor in this thing and start driving it so that I don't have a progress thread for a car that sits in a yard... The saving has begun for the new motor, and I'm just debating whether or not I should spend some cash on a Lotek A-pillar gauge pod and get the gauges in now or if I should just wait and do that after I get the motor. Seems easier to do it now, plus it makes it feel like I'm actually accomplishing something laugh.gif

Edit: Total project cost so far: $506.69, including the cost of the car.

Posted by: dustin15brown Jul 25, 2010 - 9:28 PM

Just buy my 3s and call it a day

Posted by: Johnnyny Jul 25, 2010 - 9:42 PM

wingless is gross imo

Posted by: richee3 Jul 25, 2010 - 10:32 PM

QUOTE (dustin15brown @ Jul 25, 2010 - 9:28 PM) *
Just buy my 3s and call it a day

I may. Let me do some research on the 2nd gen swap. I'll have my decision by this weekend. I'm a couple hundred away from being able to afford your clip, and unlike my friend, I really am only a couple hundred away, pending the purchase of some JDM tails tomorrow. I could have the money in a month and a half. Would a 5x8 trailer hold the clip or would I need something bigger?


QUOTE (Johnnyny @ Jul 25, 2010 - 9:42 PM) *
wingless is gross imo


I thought so too, for a long time. But it's grown on me. Manny and Jenn's car has me sold on a TRD wing, but I live in a very closed-minded area and big wings don't exactly go over well here, no matter how OEM and functional they are. For right now, I've got the spoiler back on the car and the third post is gone. Probably staying this way until I get some body work done to the car.

Posted by: Batman722 Jul 25, 2010 - 11:23 PM

good progress so far thumbsup.gif

go wingless for a while, it's a clean look IMO.

Posted by: dustin15brown Jul 26, 2010 - 12:36 AM

i have no wing.... and it looks gooooooood

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 26, 2010 - 11:46 AM

IMO wingless doesn't look right. ive seen 94/94, 96+, and GT4 in person and i prefer gt4, but only if you have a faster celica. though i have not seen wingless in person, that i can remember.

if you were local id offer to spray your car, you only supply material. i want practice haha ive done smaller parts (fenders) and they look GREAT.

Posted by: epocsirhc Jul 26, 2010 - 7:22 PM

I like this build alot. I might be getting a gt for a good deal(tranny is bad) and be going through alot of the same things that you are. I like the wingless look more than the spoiler. What type of battery are you running in that box?

Posted by: richee3 Jul 26, 2010 - 10:59 PM

I'm torn on the wingless. I hated it on my black car. I've seen a couple of cars on here where I liked it. Otherwise, I just feel like all the factory spoilers are either too small or too big. For right now, and until I get some body and suspension work done, it's going as the 3 post converted to a 2 post.

Stephen, for what it's worth, I could still save a ton of money by driving the car to Texas for a few days as opposed to having it sprayed here. I couldn't get it done here for less than $3,000. And even if I painted it myself it rattle cans, it can't turn out any worse than it is right now.

(Kidding. I could mess it up really bad.)

Epicsirhc, post up a progress thread when you get it! Although I'd love it if the car was running, I think I'm actually happier this way. Gives me time and money to work on the car, as opposed to having to put gas in it and pay for insurance. I can take my time and do whatever I like, and in any order. For the battery, it's a Neverstart. Sticker on the side says "Shipped June '08." It's as dead as it can be. I've only got power when I have it hooked up to a battery charger. No big deal, since I planned on getting an Optima when I buy the new motor anyway.

Edit: Total project cost so far, $722.69. Why the sudden jump from $506.69 to $722.69 with no update? You'll see.

Posted by: richee3 Aug 2, 2010 - 8:13 PM

Bump for a totally useless update!

Today, I went to the post office and picked up a JDM cardboard box!



It's at least a 450 RWHP cardboard box. It's from Japan.

Oh, and it had some JDM tails inside.




That's the third set of JDM tails I've bought for under $150 shipped. I could have bought a fourth pair but decided I didn't need to. I really should have spent this money getting the car running again, but I figured I'd save some money on the tails while I could.

Took a picture of the finish just so you guys get an idea of the condition/color of the paint. As I said, where the paint is bad, it's very bad but where it's good, it's good.


Posted by: stephen_lee Aug 2, 2010 - 8:15 PM


Posted by: HectortheRican Aug 3, 2010 - 1:16 AM

QUOTE (stephen_lee @ Aug 2, 2010 - 8:15 PM) *

Dude WTF

LOLOLOLOL laugh.gif laugh.gif laugh.gif

OT: Looking good man, I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Posted by: samir0189 Aug 3, 2010 - 1:22 PM

thumbsup.gif

Posted by: richee3 Aug 3, 2010 - 1:30 PM

QUOTE (samir0189 @ Aug 3, 2010 - 2:22 PM) *
thumbsup.gif


Lol nice sig, Samir laugh.gif

Posted by: richee3 Aug 9, 2010 - 11:33 PM

Just a teaser for you guys.



Yes, I used a Honda to get my Toyota in my garage. And it did the job quite well. I'm very fond of my topless orange Honda. I go on topless Honda cruises quite often.

Getting the proper tools ready:

Gotta have the truck to move the car.

The last picture of this motor in this car as it should be.


This is literally all of the oil that was in the oil pan.








Posted by: enderswift Aug 10, 2010 - 12:02 AM

get this thing ready for the next meet man!

Posted by: njccmd2002 Aug 10, 2010 - 2:03 PM

oh those greasy days!!!!

Posted by: richee3 Aug 10, 2010 - 10:03 PM

QUOTE (enderswift @ Aug 10, 2010 - 12:02 AM) *
get this thing ready for the next meet man!

Lol working on it. It's just a matter of saving up and buying a 3S at this point.


QUOTE (njccmd2002 @ Aug 10, 2010 - 2:03 PM) *
oh those greasy days!!!!

Nothing beats a busted axle boot! I love being covered in axle grease. kindasad.gif

For real though, the first serious update of this thread: The super blown 5S is out of the car.







Needs moar low.

Posted by: Keiri Aug 10, 2010 - 11:05 PM

Quite the show sir.

You're making some really nice progress. How much longer until the 3S...rough estimate?

Keep up the good work.

Posted by: richee3 Aug 10, 2010 - 11:20 PM

QUOTE (Keiri @ Aug 11, 2010 - 12:05 AM) *
Quite the show sir.

You're making some really nice progress. How much longer until the 3S...rough estimate?

Keep up the good work.


I'm hoping to buy it around Christmas or sometime after that. It probably won't happen though. I keep finding good deals on stuff and buying that instead. Like $141 for the JDM tails, just so I didn't have to pay $200 later. And I just bought bseaman's DCW gauge pod because I probably won't get a chance at another one. So unless I find a really good deal on a head unit, the engine is the next expense. $2,200, here I come.

Posted by: JuMPiiN Aug 11, 2010 - 12:09 AM

What kind of head unit, i have a friend selling a nice double din right now for 275 AVH-P4000. Its pretty nice. I just bought his new one he didnt like for 300, AVIC-D3. And i have a friend who owns a audio shop so i can get a big discount on alot of other models and other audio things.

The one he's selling
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/In-Dash/DVD-Receivers/AVH-P4000DVD

Posted by: 97celiman Aug 11, 2010 - 1:33 AM

dude. 60 shipped and mine is yours.

it's not the best but it does the job.

Posted by: Keiri Aug 11, 2010 - 9:13 AM

Guys! Stop showing him those good deals...I want him to purchase that 3S-GTE and get this thing running. tongue.gif

Just kidding.

I like your goal Dan and hope you make it. I'm saving for an engine now too - I just have to encourage myself I can do a swap and then decide N/A or boosted.

Posted by: stephen_lee Aug 11, 2010 - 1:46 PM

are we swap racing? hahah

Posted by: PolliS_5S-FE Aug 11, 2010 - 8:00 PM

its kinda good though not getting the engine in there for a while, gives you a chance to really get into cleaning and making sure everything thats a pain to get to with the motor in is workin mint. Hell, you could make that thing look brand new again!

Posted by: njccmd2002 Aug 11, 2010 - 8:13 PM

you like being covered in grease? thats scary. Well good luck with the swap, its fun when you DIY, i love driving my vert.

Sadly the beams is coming out soon for maintenance....

oh and do you want a toms lip?

Posted by: richee3 Aug 17, 2010 - 3:10 PM

Lol I have no extra money, guys. Not buying anything until after I get the motor. I did, however, pick something up a few days ago.

What could it be?


It's JDM BUBBLE WRAP!!!!!


So... What happens if I take this JDM bubble wrap and combine with my JDM cardboard box? There's an explosion of JDM... It's like JDM forced induction.


Here's a videos of it in action!!!! 814 RWHP. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmNy-ajRV0U













































. . . Or maybe it was a DCW gauge pod wrapped in bubble wrap.



Holes have been drilled in the firewall, so now the 4 gauge battery wire and all wires for the gauges are run properly. No pictures of that because a hole in a firewall is a pretty boring thing.

Posted by: rave2n Aug 17, 2010 - 3:13 PM

Go go progress!

I personally hate axel grease...it just gets everywhere. Specially when a boot is blown and you drive it for a bit...such a pain to clean up.

Posted by: enderswift Aug 17, 2010 - 11:54 PM

those dcw's sure look awesome, way better than pillar pods imo.

keep us updated!

Posted by: richee3 Feb 3, 2011 - 9:04 PM

My apologies for the delay, but I'm finally able to pick this thread back up. First things first, progress died down due to employment. First, work slowed down a lot. Then I lost a job and was sent out looking for another. When I got another job, profit margins were low. When my bank account finally started to bounce back, a bunch of stupid crap got in the way. Samir and Ferdi know what I'm talking about. I finally got that all arranged and went unemployed for another month. But finally, as of today, I can say that I've got another job. I fully expect to have the car running or at least close to it within two months. Body work finished by the end of summer.

Now, for the progress I've silently made without updating this thread. I gave the JDM tails and TRD splitters to the girlfriend for Christmas. Merry Christmas, Brigette. I've decided to stay naturally aspirated, so I sold the DCW gauge pod to bloodMoney. I've cleaned the engine bay some more, did a little more cleaning on the interior of the car, and added more sound insulation. Also, for those of you who don't go in chat often, I've decided which engine I will be buying and swapping. I've not told many people what it is, but it'll be the first one swapped in a 6th gen. I'll update again when I have the motor.

Special thanks go out to Turnip for going out of his way to give me some information that will help me out a lot with my swap, and Samir for sending me some parts. Thanks guys thumbsup.gif

Posted by: chacha Feb 3, 2011 - 11:01 PM

would you kindly post a pic of the places you drilled on the top of the dash and how you're mounting them on pls

Posted by: bloodMoney Feb 4, 2011 - 9:35 AM

I think that I've decided to go a different route as well Daniel. Needing to keep OBDII presents a problem when swapping to any 3s.....

But I need to get a job first. kindasad.gif

Posted by: richee3 Apr 27, 2011 - 7:05 PM


Posted by: Success21 Apr 27, 2011 - 7:35 PM

QUOTE (bloodMoney @ Feb 4, 2011 - 9:35 AM) *
I think that I've decided to go a different route as well Daniel. Needing to keep OBDII presents a problem when swapping to any 3s.....

But I need to get a job first. kindasad.gif



I do not know what the rules are where you live but in mass. after 15years you only need to pass a safety check and no emissions.

Posted by: SwissFerdi Apr 27, 2011 - 7:46 PM

thumbsup.gif

Good luck as always pal.

Posted by: Stambo Apr 27, 2011 - 10:04 PM

YESSSS

Posted by: bloodMoney Apr 27, 2011 - 10:28 PM

QUOTE (Success21 @ Apr 27, 2011 - 7:35 PM) *
I do not know what the rules are where you live but in mass. after 15years you only need to pass a safety check and no emissions.


In IL, if the car is 96 and newer, you must get the car tested every 3 years. They don't do visual checks though, they just plug in the OBD port to make sure there are no error codes.

Posted by: richee3 Apr 29, 2011 - 7:21 PM

I ordered the clutch last Tuesday and I finally got the motivation to actually unload the motor from the bed of my truck today. I have already looked it over, but I felt like taking some pictures to show you guys where I stand on this swap.

Factory header FTW.


Cut alternator plug... Lame.


Can't check my oil? Denied!


Melted plug- looks like I'll be trying to find a new one. Right after I figure out what this plug is even for.


The throttle body seriously needs to be cleaned.


Slight oil leak- I'm debating whether I want to buy a new gasket or just let it leak.




JDM GLOVE!!!


For the melted plug, I'm going to go shopping in a junkyard soon to see if I can't steal one from a Camry or something. Right now, the biggest problem that I see is that my engine did not come with the section of the fuse box that I had to take out when I pulled my 5S out, and I already got rid of my 5S. I also can't find where on the wiring harness that the fusebox would even come from. I just really need to pull everything apart and get a good look at it. I have the money to order all the parts I need, but for some reason, I don't feel like spending it. So I'm either going to force myself to buy everything I need or just wait a few weeks and spread my expenses out.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Apr 30, 2011 - 5:54 AM

easy bro, go to the beams for sale section, and see if someone is selling the complete harness of a celica beams. Congrats on the engine

Posted by: Stambo Apr 30, 2011 - 9:05 AM

dude sand blast that headed and either heat wrap it or coat it it'll look sick!

Posted by: richee3 Apr 30, 2011 - 4:55 PM

Noberto- I'm going to see what I can find. I'm probably going to start buying stuff left and right tomorrow, so anything I don't currently have, I'll be getting tomorrow or very soon.

Tom- I figured I would just powdercoat the heat shield and call it a day. Since the motor has a factory header and I plan on using my factory exhaust, I'm going to have a shop custom fab me a piece to mount to my 2 pipes on the header and the single pipe for my exhaust. So I'm probably not doing anything fancy with the header, just keeping it hidden.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Apr 30, 2011 - 5:51 PM

get a redtop header, youll gain more hp, the blacktop header is a bit more restrictive...

Posted by: SupraKid Apr 30, 2011 - 9:35 PM

QUOTE (njccmd2002 @ Apr 30, 2011 - 3:51 PM) *
get a redtop header, youll gain more hp, the greytop header is a bit more restrictive...

Nice thread danny boy, good to see someone doing something different than just the 3sgte.

Posted by: richee3 May 1, 2011 - 5:33 PM

Noberto- I'm not going for huge power and I'm not trying to spend a fortune, so I'm just sticking with the Greytop header. Like I said, I'm just going to have an exhaust shop fab up something to mount to the header and my factory exhaust.

Andrew- Thanks. I'll eventually get a 3S-GTE, but for now I'm just out to prove that there are viable swaps beyond the usual 3S-GTE and the 3S-GE Redtop. While this swap is similar to the Redtop, it's much cheaper and therefore much more attainable option for those on a budget. I'll probably pull it out and go for the 3S-GTE a year from now.

Update: I pulled the automatic transmission off of the motor today and moved the motor out of the way so we can park the truck in the garage again. I have to say, the Greytop is much lighter than a 5S-FE. Moving the 5S by hand is a pain in the a** but moving the 3S-GE hardly took any effort at all.

The melted plug, as I suspected, is for the MAF.

Now for what seems like my only big problem with this swap... I STILL can't find where that damn fusebox should go. There's simply nowhere on the harness for it. It appears that there was never any connection to any fusebox in the wiring harness. The harness is all connected to the motor as it should be then has the igniter plug then goes inside the car where it hooks up to the ECU. So... Swap gurus, any suggestions?

Posted by: njccmd2002 May 1, 2011 - 5:58 PM

for the answers to those questions we have to refer to the engine bay of the caldina or the beams, depending where the engine came from, do you have any idea?

That is not a celica engine, therefore the fusebox will be in a different location, even on a different harness, maybe even a separate one, like on a different plug?

Posted by: richee3 May 1, 2011 - 6:11 PM

It came from a Caldina. I've been hitting the BEAMS forums hard to find any information I can and I'm not having any luck. Seeing pictures of other Greytops, mine is not the only one like this. But seeing pictures of the Rav4 and Caldina engine bays, the fusebox is in the same place. So clearly, it's on a different harness. I have a copy of the Greytop wiring harness so I'll have to find what I can on that. I think you're right though, I think the fusebox is on a different harness.

Posted by: Batman722 May 1, 2011 - 9:53 PM

why buy a greytop with a messed up harness and less than 180hp ?
was it a good deal ?

Posted by: bloodMoney May 1, 2011 - 10:06 PM

Originality.

These are just a few small hiccups at the very start of this project... He's got a DD, so there's nothing but time smile.gif

Posted by: SupraKid May 2, 2011 - 6:12 PM

QUOTE (Batman722 @ May 1, 2011 - 7:53 PM) *
why buy a greytop with a messed up harness and less than 180hp ?
was it a good deal ?

Dustin do you have any evidence to support that the Redtop and Greytop are different in any other ways than the exhaust system and valve cover color? If so id like to see it, as everything ive read/heard has said they are the same.

Posted by: njccmd2002 May 2, 2011 - 7:40 PM

QUOTE (SupraKid @ May 2, 2011 - 6:12 PM) *
QUOTE (Batman722 @ May 1, 2011 - 7:53 PM) *
why buy a greytop with a messed up harness and less than 180hp ?
was it a good deal ?

Dustin do you have any evidence to support that the Redtop and Greytop are different in any other ways than the exhaust system and valve cover color? If so id like to see it, as everything ive read/heard has said they are the same.



mr2.com/beamsownersgroup...



Posted by: Batman722 May 3, 2011 - 6:50 AM

evidence ? I researched it, that's all.
I thought about putting a greytop in my Rav because they came in the Ravs overseas.

http://beams-redtop.com/index.htm has some good info about them.
or try the forum that Noberto linked up http://www.mr2.com/forums/beams-owners-group/

Posted by: SupraKid May 3, 2011 - 1:19 PM

Yes i was all over both a sites, and i never really found a 100% clear answer that showed any difference between the two? Could you share the info on this site so all can see?I'm not doubting you by any means id just also like to know myself.

Posted by: Batman722 May 3, 2011 - 2:47 PM

I never said they were different.

the motor internals are the same, that's not the issue for me.
The greytop ecu is de-tuned to a lower hp than the redtop, that's my first issue.

for a discussion about how to bring the greytop up to the redtop's specs http://www.mr2.com/forums/beams-owners-group/Toyota-MR2-31806-turning-greytop-redtop-spec.html

my issues are the ecu, the harness, and the lack of the lsd tranny.
I bought a Celica 98 Redtop w/lsd tranny for $1654 shipped, I think I got a good deal, it just took patience to find it.

With the grey you need a tranny/flywheel, a lot more harness to rewire (the celica red is 99% plug and play), and to get it to be as fast as a red it's gonna take some type of piggyback or full for the ecu.

doing something different is ok if you know 100% what you're doing. Having the time, patience, and money is not easy for people to come by with a different motor swap.

now back on topic, if the grey top was a good deal (first thing I asked), you have a tranny, you're a wiring guy so you can do the harness yourself, and have the means to get the potential out of the motor (at least up to red's specs), then be different. If I had those things, I would.

Posted by: richee3 May 4, 2011 - 6:06 PM

You're absolutely right, Dustin. Diving into a new and unknown swap is never a good idea unless you are fully prepared and have the knowledge and experience to overcome any obstacles you might run into. Yes, I did get a good deal on the motor at $1,250. All of the 5S-FE's I've been able to find have been priced very close to that so I couldn't fathom why I'd buy a 135 hp 5S when I could get the 187 hp Greytop.

Now, as you said, the Redtop from the Celica is virtually plug and play. Splice 4 wires if you don't care about cruise control or your airbag light. I expected this motor to be similar to that and I knew before I bought it that it didn't come with the fusebox. I expected to be able to splice my old fusebox into the Greytop's harness. However, I've discovered that the Greytop clearly has the fusebox on a different harness. I've browsed the MR2 Beams Owner's Group and downloaded the Greytop wiring diagram and I'm going to try to figure out a way to make this motor work. However, if it simply isn't reasonable, I'm not opposed to selling it and buying a 3S-GTE. I'm not going to screw around and not finish this car. I'd like to see it running again within the next 30 days. If I get in over my head but Manny or Tweak feel like they can finish it, I'm not opposed to sending the car their way.

I will be using my S54 so the transmission is out of the way. I'm not worried about bringing the Greytop up to Redtop specs. I'm not trying to build the world's fastest car, just something slightly quicker than a 5S. I'm not worried about LSD either, unless I scrap this swap and get a 3S-GTE. As I said, I'm only playing with this motor for 30 days. If I haven't found a reasonable way to swap it in before then, it's going back on Ebay.

Posted by: Batman722 May 4, 2011 - 11:13 PM

you got a good deal.

For some reason I didn't think you had a GT. The tranny, mounts, cables, ect you already have, that's good.
pull the 5s, send the grey and 5s harness to tweek, get a clutch/flywheel, do some maintenance if you have the time & $, put everything together, put it in the bay and drive it.
Do a full 2.5" exhaust from the header back and it should be a blast to drive.

Posted by: richee3 May 5, 2011 - 7:31 PM

I've decided to go a different route. I spent a couple of hours on the Beams Owners Group yesterday. Those guys have been hooking the Greytop ECU up to the Redtop for a while and one guy even took both ECU's and tested them and they are exactly the same ECU. Not detuned. The difference is in the header. The Greytop header is more restrictive and (allegedly) has a cat between the head and the header. Anyway, once again I found several posts on the forums that confirm that the swap for the Greytop is exactly the same as the Redtop swap, but this time I noticed one critical difference that I didn't catch the first time- nobody has actually bought and swapped a Greytop over there. They've mounted the Blacktop transverse several times, but never actually swapped a Gretyop. Those posts are pure speculation. And knowing what I know now about the Greytop having the same internals and ECU, I'm speculating that I could buy a Redtop harness and put that on my Greytop and make this work. However, I've gone a different route. I've just ordered a Redtop with an intact wiring harness but no trans or ECU. I have my S54 and the ECU from my Greytop will work. I've now gone well over what I originally intended to spend, but I've still spent a fair price for a good condition Redtop, and because I have the Greytop here, I have a complete parts motor. The way I see it, I now have a Redtop, 99% plug and play swap, 10-20 hp more than I had originally planned, and a spare motor.

I might test my theory later about the Redtop harness on the Greytop. If that works, I'll drop it into the girlfriend's Celica. Twin BEAMS ftw.

Now to head over to the BEAMS owners group and show them that this won't work the same as the Redtop... I should probably put my flame suit on and document my wiring harness 200% before telling these guys that they assumed incorrectly.

Posted by: bloodMoney May 5, 2011 - 8:41 PM

Woah. Wow.

Do me a favor, since you are just buying motors left and right, grab me one too? I don't care which one, just something with more guts.... lmao j/k

Again, let me know when and I'll be there. (June is probably better for me....)

Posted by: Batman722 May 5, 2011 - 8:52 PM

I hope you are right and I am wrong.

So you're grey is from a Caldina right ? yours is an auto, were they all autos ? I know the Rav greys were all autos, I wonder if the part #s are the same.

Posted by: richee3 May 6, 2011 - 6:03 PM

QUOTE (bloodMoney @ May 5, 2011 - 8:41 PM) *
Woah. Wow.

Do me a favor, since you are just buying motors left and right, grab me one too? I don't care which one, just something with more guts.... lmao j/k

Again, let me know when and I'll be there. (June is probably better for me....)

Lol I'll probably somehow end up with spare motors sitting around before all is said and done. I still need to get you a set of doors before I get ready to start swapping. That's the most expensive thing I have left to buy. I definitely bought the Redtop last night and I'm going to start looking for ways to make the Greytop work and if I figure something out, it's going in the girlfriend's car.

QUOTE (Batman722 @ May 5, 2011 - 8:52 PM) *
I hope you are right and I am wrong.

So you're grey is from a Caldina right ? yours is an auto, were they all autos ? I know the Rav greys were all autos, I wonder if the part #s are the same.

We both know that if one of us is going to be wrong, it's going to be me. You've already done more swaps than I can dream of, and my knowledge is based on things I've read on the internet. Things that have turned out to be wrong so far. I could probably link you to 5 or 6 quotes from the BEAMS Owners forum where they all claim that the Greytop swap is identical to the Redtop swap, yet I can stand here right now and tell you for a fact that it isn't. My Greytop is from a Caldina, and as far as I know, they were all auto like the Rav4. I made the mistake of believing posts on the BEAMS Owners Forum that claim the Greytop and Redtop swaps are identical when nobody had actually tried. However, I found a thread where one guy took both the Redtop and Greytop ECU and tested them and found that the difference is just the auto vs. manual transmission. I don't know if I can believe that, but several members over there are running the Greytop ECU in place of the Redtop without issue.

My current plan is to swap the Redtop into my Celica using my Greytop ECU and my S54 then I'm going to buy the rest of the bits and pieces I need for the Greytop swap (flywheel, Redtop wiring harness, etc.) and swap it into the girlfriend's Celica. At least I know for a fact that the Redtop swap will work.

Posted by: JuMPiiN May 7, 2011 - 1:52 AM

So you picked the Beams over the 3s ? I didnt see that coming lol, as many times as we've talking I figured you would just go 3rd gen in the long run. DEF wasnt expecting to see you go double beams Im sure nobody did. I figured Norberto would be the double beams guy lol.

Posted by: richee3 May 10, 2011 - 6:31 PM

Twin BEAMS.


Posted by: njccmd2002 May 10, 2011 - 6:58 PM

NOW WE ARE TALKING, AND YOU HAVE A SPARE BEAMS!

Posted by: SwissFerdi May 10, 2011 - 6:59 PM

bowdown.gif bowdown.gif bowdown.gif bowdown.gif bowdown.gif bowdown.gif bowdown.gif bowdown.gif bowdown.gif

Posted by: S8S8 May 10, 2011 - 7:12 PM

You can never have too many Beams. smile.gif

Posted by: bloodMoney May 10, 2011 - 9:12 PM

QUOTE (S8S8 @ May 10, 2011 - 7:12 PM) *
You can never have too many Beams. smile.gif


^This

Posted by: Stambo May 11, 2011 - 6:47 AM

how many beams does it take to make richee's car move?

Posted by: njccmd2002 May 11, 2011 - 12:52 PM

QUOTE (Stambo @ May 11, 2011 - 6:47 AM) *
how many beams does it take to make richee's car move?

laugh.gif laugh.gif

Posted by: richee3 May 23, 2011 - 6:00 PM

I got a little package in the mail today.



Yeah, that's a rear strut bar from an ST202. Thanks, malecrod! There's only one problem with this strut bar. I'll let you guys figure out what it is. To those who I already told, no spoilers! It'll be good for a laugh.

Anyway, on to more important BEAMS-related goodness. The Redtop is almost ready to swap in. Since my Redtop had an auto tranny, I had to buy a flywheel. Turns out OEM flywheels for a BEAMS are pretty hard to find on Ebay, so I had to buy a lightweight flywheel. Darn the bad luck... I bought it from Japan and it was scheduled to be here around June 15th, which was keeping me from making any progress at all with this swap. Today I got an email saying my order has been shipped. I checked it out and my flywheel left Chicago yesterday. So I'll be ready to start making progress tomorrow or Wednesday. I'll get the flywheel, clutch, and transmission all put together and ready to go. Then I just need to get the wiring done. I'll get some hoses ordered and then Chris and Stacy (bloodMoney) will be coming down soon to help with the swap. This thing will be running in the next month, with any luck.

As for the Greytop, I've been talking to mr220v and he will do the wiring harness for a very reasonable price. As soon as my Redtop is in my bay and running, I'm sending the Greytop harness out to him and I will start ordering parts to get that going. His harness will be plug and play, then that motor will be receiving a lightweight flywheel and same clutch setup as my Redtop. I'm hoping to have that swap done in the girlfriend's Celica before the end of Summer.

Random little tidbit of information- a 5S clutch kit will work with a BEAMS flywheel but it isn't recommended since the 3S pressure plate has more clamping force. I've never read that anywhere on 6gc. I've always heard that a 3S flywheel, 5S disc, 3S pressure plate, and 5S throwout bearing would be the best setup, but now I've learned that a stage 1 5S clutch kit will work. Nonetheless, since I can get the parts, I will be going with the OEM BEAMS disc, ST185 pressure plate, and 5S throwout bearing. Since the BEAMS swap isn't documented very well in one place and I've had to go back and forth between Noberto's swap thread, erahman's thread, and turnip's thread, I'm going to do my best to fully document the swap. I'm going to try to provide a full list of part numbers, provide the information and pictures of which wires to repin and which ones to extend, etc.

Posted by: SwissFerdi May 23, 2011 - 8:44 PM

Best of luck, pal.

Posted by: SupraKid May 23, 2011 - 9:02 PM

I will expect you to now figure out the exact differences between the red and grey top...Good luck biggrin.gif

Posted by: Batman722 May 23, 2011 - 9:41 PM

same clutch set up in http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=69989

QUOTE
lightweight FW then OEM Beams disk, st185 pp, and s54 tob and a wicked cool SS braided clutch line

Posted by: richee3 May 24, 2011 - 12:56 PM

You were my inspiration for that one smile.gif

Posted by: richee3 May 25, 2011 - 5:29 PM



laugh.giflaugh.giflaugh.gif

Posted by: Ted95 May 26, 2011 - 3:29 PM

QUOTE (richee3 @ May 25, 2011 - 6:29 PM) *


laugh.giflaugh.giflaugh.gif



niceee bro, im almost done with my relocation. i just need more time to work on it frown.gif

Posted by: njccmd2002 May 26, 2011 - 11:53 PM

a little vacuum would be in order!!!

Posted by: richee3 Jun 4, 2011 - 12:37 PM

Question. My BEAMS came with an automatic, and my Celica is a manual. I know for a manual BEAMS harness, I have to repin the clutch start wire. Since my BEAMS harness doesn't have that, what do I need to do? Leave that alone and hope that nobody tries to start my car without pushing the clutch in or is there something else I need to repin instead? I know there's a black wire and a black and yellow wire on one of the plugs that I need to splice together for the car to start, but I'm not sure if I splice them together on the plug side or on the wiring harness side. Hopefully that makes sense.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jun 4, 2011 - 9:53 PM

there might be a start wire, even though its auto, some autos wont start unless u depress the brake pedal. so there might still be a wire..

not sure tough.. look at the harness, look for that wire, see if its there and re pin it...

Posted by: richee3 Jun 4, 2011 - 10:25 PM

According to the auto to manual swap thread, there is a plug with two wires I need to splice. But that is for a USDM model. In the pictures that Turnip sent me, it looks like he spliced those two wires together but the picture is a little ambiguous about the splices. Same wires as the tranny swap thread though. I'm just not sure if there are other connections to make or not.

Posted by: richee3 Jun 13, 2011 - 4:36 PM

Slight change of plans- Because I'd like to drive the car after I swap a BEAMS into it, I won't be putting the Redtop in my gray Celica. The Redtop will be going into this...



This weekend. I could put it in my gray car but there are still a few parts I need before I could drive it and it's more cost-effective to put it into a car that I already know is totally drivable. The Greytop will eventually end up in my gray Celica, but not until I've repaired some damage to my Lexus. And probably not until after I pay the Lexus off. And even then, I might either swap a 2JZ-GTE into the IS or maybe get a mkIII Supra and do a 1JZ swap. If somebody decided to buy my gray Celica, I'd go ahead and sell it to them. But as it stands, I'm swapping the Redtop into my old black Celica, the girlfriend's current Celica, this weekend and the Greytop into my car next Fall. Stay tuned- swapping this weekend.

Posted by: SupraKid Jun 13, 2011 - 6:38 PM

Nom nom nom nom 1jz nom nom nom...haha I would put the greytop in the grey car and DD it..AND TT the lexus wink.gif

Posted by: spolski07 Jun 13, 2011 - 6:54 PM

you need more VQ in this thread.














































just sayn' tongue.gif

Posted by: enderswift Jun 13, 2011 - 10:19 PM

redtop in black celica wooooooo!

cya at the meet

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jun 14, 2011 - 1:48 PM

so who owns the black celica..

Posted by: SupraKid Jun 14, 2011 - 2:43 PM

QUOTE (njccmd2002 @ Jun 14, 2011 - 11:48 AM) *
so who owns the black celica..

QUOTE (richee3 @ Jun 13, 2011 - 2:36 PM) *
I'm swapping the Redtop into my old black Celica, the girlfriend's current Celica, this weekend and the Greytop into my car next Fall. Stay tuned- swapping this weekend.

Noob

Posted by: richee3 Jun 14, 2011 - 4:42 PM

Swapping the Redtop into the gray car would be a moot point right now. The front bearings are screwed, plus I don't have a bracket for the carrier bearing on the passenger axle. I could drop the motor in the car, but I wouldn't be able to drive it anyway so what's the point? We're going to put my good motor in the good car and the lesser motor in the bad car. Once the 5S is out of the black car, I'm pulling the wiring harness off and sending that and my Greytop harness to mr220v to have them spliced together. After that I'd just need to get an intake, carrier bearing bracket, clutch/flywheel, and a few other small things to put the Greytop in my car. However...



That needs to be fixed before I spend another penny on my Celica. And truth be told, I'll probably pay the last little bit I owe on that car off before I touch the Celica again. Then I'm seriously tempted to boost the IS or drop a 1JZ in a mkIII Supra. Andrew, I'd totally buy your white one if it had a Targa top.

Noberto- the black car used to be mine, but the girlfriend bought it from me last year.

Scott- This thread definitely needs less Lexus and more VQ.

Luke- I'm not sure that we'll be able to make it to the meet. I'll talk to Brigette tonight and see if she feels up to going to the meet. I'm sure she will since she just got her front windows tinted and now she's about to get a new motor that much more suits her driving style. I'm sure she'll be wanting to show it off. Are you definitely in for the meet?

Posted by: richee3 Jun 17, 2011 - 9:24 PM

The Redtop is going in tomorrow!

Posted by: S8S8 Jun 19, 2011 - 9:32 PM

QUOTE (richee3 @ Jun 18, 2011 - 12:24 PM) *
The Redtop is going in tomorrow!


How's the swap going?

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jun 19, 2011 - 10:56 PM

ill get the pic of the sensor


Posted by: richee3 Jun 20, 2011 - 4:04 PM

Problems... To be expected with any swap. It's in the car but not started yet. Going back out to work on it. I thought I had the clutch start wire all worked out since my BEAMS came with an auto. Turns out I still have to repin that wire. I still need to do that then hopefully it'll start. Right now, it doesn't do a single thing. After I get it started, I still have to address the issue of why I only have an oil pressure light on my gauge cluster- no check engine light, no battery light, no anything else that normally comes on when you turn the car on without starting the motor.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jun 20, 2011 - 4:17 PM

did you swap your cluster. or is the original. check the fuses, or one of the plugs in the fuse box, you may have forgotten

Posted by: S8S8 Jun 20, 2011 - 5:02 PM

I had a very similar problem with my Beams swap, and part of the problem was that the big grey plug in the fuse box wasn't plugged in properly. It feels like it plugs in fine, but unless you put the little clips in place it doesn't connect properly. I'd check that first.

Posted by: richee3 Jun 20, 2011 - 6:17 PM

Slight update, it's turning over. That was the clutch start wire, just as we thought. I was under the impression that I just had to splice two wires on a plug for the auto tranny and it should start, but it turns out I still have to move the clutch start wire. Anyway, it's turning over now, but not starting. I think it's a fuel issue. When we crank it over, I can't smell any fuel in the exhaust at all. Suggestions are welcome.

Noberto- all the plugs are fine, fuses are fine. I kept the original cluster but I have a Dakota Digital tach adapter to get the signal to work.

S8S8- The EA1 is securely plugged in.

As far as the gauge lights go, stephen_lee says it could either be the b+ on my ECU or that I'm missing some 12v switched wire. For some reason, my battery light works now. Still no check engine light or anything though. I'm less worried about the gauge lights than I am the starting issue. I have three choices with that- one, relay for the fuel pump- Bad splice or something. Two, I don't have the o2 sensor that goes in the b pipe, so if I got the car started, it still wouldn't run right. That sensor could be keeping it from starting at all. Three, I know how sensitive the AFM is, but I'm 99% sure that it's more likely one of the other two causes.

All I have left to do is fill the tranny up with gear oil, wire the tach adapter in, get the exhaust fabbed up, and actually get it started.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jun 21, 2011 - 1:53 PM

check for codes. check the efi fuse. check for codes.

Posted by: richee3 Jun 21, 2011 - 4:13 PM

Here's where I stand. The engine will turn over continuously but will never show the first sign of wanting to catch and start up. After trying for a while, I finally smelled fuel in the exhaust. This could just be from the vacuum in the cylinders sucking fuel in rather than the fuel pump sending fuel. So far as I can tell, the fuel pump isn't working at all. For what it's worth, I've never once heard the fuel pump work in that car. It's a pretty quiet pump. My wiring so far is: EA1, pin 17 to pin 4, and pins 2 and 12 bridged together, and the clutch start wire has been moved. I have NOT wired in the tach adapter yet, although I seriously doubt if that's the cause of my problems. Still no check engine light, which to my knowledge should at least be coming on to show that my ECU is getting power. I don't want to pull the wiring harness apart but I will if I have to. I'm going back out to play with the car and see what I can get done, but I doubt if I'll make any progress. For now, here are a few pictures.

Last picture of the 5S in the car.


Finally, an empty engine bay.


The 5S out of the car and on the ground, where it belongs.


Resurfaced 3S-GTE OEM flywheel, thanks Chris!


The BEAMS getting ready to go in the car.


Typical of any swap, I had to use Gojo as a body wash.


Finally in!

Posted by: stephen_lee Jun 21, 2011 - 4:42 PM

another way to tell if the ecu is getting power is to crank it and see if u have spark. if u have spark the ecu is for SURE getting power. i think on afm motors u can open up the plate and the FP should come on.. but i havent played with many.. on my v6 though if i opened up ALL the way up, it will spary fuel.. even with the engine off & key on.

Posted by: SupraKid Jun 21, 2011 - 8:28 PM

That guy has some serious ratchet skizziles

Posted by: richee3 Jun 21, 2011 - 8:44 PM

QUOTE (stephen_lee @ Jun 21, 2011 - 5:42 PM) *
another way to tell if the ecu is getting power is to crank it and see if u have spark. if u have spark the ecu is for SURE getting power. i think on afm motors u can open up the plate and the FP should come on.. but i havent played with many.. on my v6 though if i opened up ALL the way up, it will spary fuel.. even with the engine off & key on.

Funny you should say that... I hadn't even read this post until just now but one of my friends and I were out with the car earlier when we decided to stop scouring our wiring and wondering what I did wrong and we decided to check the basics. We pulled the plugs, no spark at all. No spark, no fuel. No check engine light. I've noticed the 5S ECU says "5S-FE, M/T." All the pictures of the BEAMS ECU I've seen say "3S-GE, M/T." My ECU, on the other hand... says nothing. Just has a Toyota part number. No spark, no fuel, no CEL... All signs seem to point to a bad ECU.


QUOTE (SupraKid @ Jun 21, 2011 - 9:28 PM) *
That guy has some serious ratchet skizziles

That man bent my 1/4" S-K ratchet.

Posted by: BonzaiCelica Jun 21, 2011 - 11:00 PM

if you need help with the intake I'm doing some R & D with air/fuel ratio's and different intake setups. I saw you posted your progress thread on celi tech. Take a look at beams forums. I'm always on their as well. Don't buy a injen Camry intake for $200 its a waste. The best investment would be to make a Custom 70mm intake piping yourself for $250. Good luck finding the stock intake, if you do find it I'll envy you. And if you do buy an oem intake it probably wont run you more than $100 shipped. Not so much that its a rare item but that engine swap places throw them away without knowing the importance of them...

Posted by: bloodMoney Jun 21, 2011 - 11:28 PM

QUOTE (richee3 @ Jun 21, 2011 - 8:44 PM) *
QUOTE (SupraKid @ Jun 21, 2011 - 9:28 PM) *
That guy has some serious ratchet skizziles

That man bent my 1/2" S-K ratchet.


Fixed. biggrin.gif

I just thought that maybe you should PM Lagos and see if he can dig you up a part number so that you might be able to match ECUs.... All else fails, pick up another one...

Posted by: stephen_lee Jun 23, 2011 - 12:26 PM

yeah google the part number on the ecu. it should tell you what engine it came off of... btw dont you have TWO 3sge ecus? swap them out.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jun 23, 2011 - 3:36 PM

whats the part number of the ecu?

Posted by: richee3 Jun 24, 2011 - 4:54 PM

Only one 3S-GE ECU. My Redtop didn't come with an ECU or tranny. I need to get on the BEAMS Owners Group and research that Greytop ECU. I read that it works fine with the Redtop, but I need to know if there's any work required to make it work. There's a 5th plug on the ECU that the Redtop harness doesn't have. Either way, I'm going to spend tomorrow and Sunday dissecting that wiring harness and looking for any cut/broken wires. I wired the fuel pump up directly to power and made sure it was sending fuel yesterday and that got me nowhere. Whatever issue I have has to be in the wiring or in the ECU, and I'm confident that I made all the right splices in the right places and that the splices are good connections.

Here's the ECU I'm using.



Edit: This just got a little better. http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=toyota+112200-5340&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&psj=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=141a96ac445531c3&biw=1173&bih=542

Posted by: opie_7afe Jun 24, 2011 - 5:35 PM

why is it i find that ecu and its from a subaru impreza sti? convert this from japanese using google http://www.garagelive.jp/auctions/index/22223430 also http://www.toronto-subaru-club.com/forums/technical-general/135654-ecu-part-number-identification.html#post1138283 hope i helped you out!

Posted by: SupraKid Jun 24, 2011 - 7:33 PM

"Your search - toyota 112200-5340 - did not match any documents."


THAT IS SO AWESOME!!!!I'M SO GLAD IT GOT BETTER!!!

Posted by: richee3 Jun 24, 2011 - 9:02 PM

QUOTE (opie_7afe @ Jun 24, 2011 - 6:35 PM) *
why is it i find that ecu and its from a subaru impreza sti? convert this from japanese using google http://www.garagelive.jp/auctions/index/22223430 also http://www.toronto-subaru-club.com/forums/technical-general/135654-ecu-part-number-identification.html#post1138283 hope i helped you out!

Wow... Good call. Problems solved. I didn't do a search on Google for just the part number, only "TOYOTA (part number.)" That's why I couldn't find it. Well.... I'm pissed and relieved at the same time. That seller on Ebay is going to get an angry email.

Posted by: richee3 Jun 24, 2011 - 9:23 PM

Well, I'm relieved to at least know the source of the problem. Now, to find a Redtop ECU... I've only been looking since, you know, the start of May. Still haven't found one.

Posted by: opie_7afe Jun 25, 2011 - 12:41 AM

well im glad i sorted you out and im new to celicas! but man sometimes people just dont know wtf there doing(not you by any means), so did the correct harness come with the engine and some how it plugged into a suby ecu? if so that would be very weird. but hey atleast you wont be getting frustrated and trying to fix things that aint broke!

Posted by: richee3 Jun 25, 2011 - 9:58 AM

Toyota does own a large part of Subaru so I can see how they might share plugs. I can see where the seller might have thought he was sending the right ECU because it happened to plug right in. Still, he sent the wrong ECU and he owes me the right one. But thanks for finding that for me. I just did a search for the Toyota part number and I was completely baffled when Google got no results. There aren't many results when you do a search for the Subaru part number, but there are results nonetheless.

Posted by: richee3 Jun 25, 2011 - 7:12 PM

I found a B pipe with the O2 sensor I was missing on Ebay today. So here I am, $200 later, but I would have easily spent that and more at an exhaust shop and after I bought a new O2 sensor. Well worth the extra expense. Still no solid leads on an ECU, but at there are a few people that are being supremely helpful. Update for the day, I filled the tranny up with gear oil and put all 4 wheels back on the ground. Relocated the battery to the trunk and did it a little more professionally this time, since it's somebody else's car. I also installed my GT4 rear strut brace and the front strut brace from my gray Celica. After I get this thing started, I'm talking to the girlfriend about dropping her old 5S in my gray Celica. The Greytop will eventually go in, but needless to say I'm going to be a little more prepared for that swap. Updates are useless without pictures, so...


Anybody know of something good to get that pink ink off of the strut bar? I tried Goo Gone, Windex, and hot water.



Also, for anyone interested, I'm only into this Redtop for $1,525. Of course, there will be added expenses later after I do the timing belt, water pump, plugs, things like that, but for right now, I'd say $1,500 for a Redtop swap isn't bad. Time to find out how much damage that ECU will do to my wallet.

Posted by: SupraKid Jun 25, 2011 - 9:09 PM

Paint.

Posted by: bloodMoney Jun 25, 2011 - 11:16 PM

I want to be on speaker phone with you when you take that thing out for the first time....

Posted by: opie_7afe Jun 26, 2011 - 3:56 AM

pink stuff would be from a paint marker, you can try some paint thinner but i would test it in a hidden area first,i doubt it will mess with the paint they use (probly epoxy paint) but just incase im wrong try in a hidden area to see if it effects base paint if not try it on the pink paint, if that fails you can always wetsand then polish it out or maybe even use rubbing compound(i used it to remove the remains of glue from debadging)

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jun 28, 2011 - 3:28 PM

I got my valve from the seller until he did it right. Id pick up the phone and harrass the hell out of him.

Posted by: richee3 Jun 28, 2011 - 8:27 PM

I was already sent a flywheel for a Blacktop that the seller refuses to take back and refund me for. Says he doesn't do refunds for "parts that don't fit." Well, I'm sorry but if your ad says "Celica ST202 VVT" that implies Redtop BEAMS. Granted, it didn't explicitly say it, but that's a Redtop, not a GXE10 Altezza Blacktop. So there goes $424 that the jacka$$ won't give back. Now this guy sends me the wrong ECU and won't answer my emails... I wanted to sell it but most of the Scooby ECU's I see on Ebay have an immobilizer so they are all being sold with a key and ignition barrel. Plus I can't find a single one of these ECU's anywhere else, so it isn't a popular ECU. It isn't likely that I'll be able to resell it. Now Nengun has lost $450 somewhere between their account and my bank account.. Fantastic. Gotta love when stupid crap goes wrong, huh? Between these three things, I'm looking at $1,239 gone for absolutely no reason at all. At least vincent_doggy has an ECU for me, and the b pipe should be here soon. Oh well, I guess. At least the car should be started and running by this time next week.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jun 30, 2011 - 11:36 AM

Flywheel u can sell, the lost money u can recoup, the ecu well thats crap. Lessons learned. When i called for my swap i emailed back and forth and got evrything in writing. 1750 to my house. Of course i am close to him. Hope you overcome this issues. Go to mr2.com to sell and buy parts.....

Posted by: Celisauras16 Jul 5, 2011 - 8:48 AM

Yay! I can't WAIT until my car is done. smile.gif

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 5, 2011 - 3:06 PM

i know how you feel lol

Posted by: richee3 Jul 5, 2011 - 4:39 PM

QUOTE (Celisauras16 @ Jul 5, 2011 - 8:48 AM) *
Yay! I can't WAIT until my car is done. smile.gif

Wow, she posted! I didn't think you'd do it, considering the last few pages of this thread have been about your car. I love how your BEAMS hasn't even started yet and you, like everyone else with a BEAMS, already have a BEAMS logo in your avatar. Your ECU will be here this week and then we'll get it running. Then I'll drive it around for a month or two, then you can have it back. Or you can keep the IS. Whatever.

(She can keep the IS. )

Posted by: SupraKid Jul 5, 2011 - 5:35 PM

Sorry i couldnt get you the ECU dan. frown.gif But good to see you found one!

Posted by: bloodMoney Jul 5, 2011 - 10:47 PM

^This.

smile.gif

Posted by: richee3 Jul 6, 2011 - 5:11 PM

No worries, Andrew. vincent_doggy found one pretty much immediately after I PM'd him. Turns out I should ask my contacts in JDM land before pulling my hair out. The ECU is Stateside and clearing Customs as we speak, so it should be here early next week and hopefully that'll bring this swap to a close.

The Paypal dispute with Nengun worked- and worked well. I originally sent them $469 and change, or 37,399 Yen. I didn't get that money back and I opened the Paypal dispute and as of today, they refunded 37,399 Yen... or $476.91. I guess the exchange rate changed a little, huh?

Chris, I still owe you money. PM'd.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 7, 2011 - 8:38 AM

nice. i knew a paypal dispute would do something for you. good job!

Posted by: Celisauras16 Jul 7, 2011 - 9:40 AM

QUOTE (richee3 @ Jul 5, 2011 - 4:39 PM) *
QUOTE (Celisauras16 @ Jul 5, 2011 - 8:48 AM) *
Yay! I can't WAIT until my car is done. smile.gif

Wow, she posted! I didn't think you'd do it, considering the last few pages of this thread have been about your car. I love how your BEAMS hasn't even started yet and you, like everyone else with a BEAMS, already have a BEAMS logo in your avatar. Your ECU will be here this week and then we'll get it running. Then I'll drive it around for a month or two, then you can have it back. Or you can keep the IS. Whatever.

(She can keep the IS. )


I didn't know what else to make my avatar, so be nice mister.
So wait, after it starts up you get it for a couple months? And if I win at the casino, I have to buy us both Supras, but if you win you just buy "us" one nice one? I get the feeling I'm being scammed by my own bf....

Posted by: richee3 Jul 7, 2011 - 4:33 PM

What? I would never con you into buying me a Supra when I would only buy one for myself...

Posted by: richee3 Jul 13, 2011 - 10:45 PM

Got a box in the mail today... You ever feel that the guys that work for customs are literally a bunch of apes? Like there's one guy there in a suit and tie and all the rest of the workers are a bunch of chimps running around, jumping all over the place, throwing their poop at each other? Yeah, I get that feeling too. This box sat in Customs for 5 days before moving. When it did move, it didn't go to Galatia, IL as addressed. Instead, it went to Wichita, Kansas. Because the whole state of Illinois is now located within city limits of Wichita, apparently. My box is covered in "US CUSTOMS" tape, because I guess the fact that it clearly says "Used car ECU" on the side of the box isn't good enough. I suspect these chimps sat on the box for 5 straight days, probably sniffing it a lot, and throwing it at each other when they ran out of poop.

No, seriously.



But I finally got this box, and as if you guys can't figure out what it had in it...



Finally, I have an appropriately labeled Toyota ECU. Got it out of the box, plugged it in, car turned over 3 times, then fired right up. Didn't even have any idle problems or anything. First impressions... BEAMS with an open header is loud as sh*t! Took it for a spin and I have to say, open header, full tank of 87 octane rather than 91/93, my mind isn't blown. But then, I didn't expect it to be. It's exactly as previous BEAMS swappers have said- it's not just sudden, violent power. It's very smooth all the way up to redline, acts like a 5S for the most part until VVT kicks in, then gets to redline without hesitation. You just really get the feeling that this is how the car should have felt from the factory, without any of that 5S tomfoolery.

Initial problems I had with the motor, the battery light stayed on after the car was running. Bad alternator. Swapped that out for my Greytop alternator, problem solved. Power steering pump was whining, but Chris told me that I just needed to fill up and bleed the power steering system. Words of wisdom indeed. The battery doesn't seem to be staying charged at all... Ground issue? I'm guessing that the problem lies in my battery relocation since this is a brand new battery. It wasn't exactly staying charged before I got the motor started. And last but not least, the biggest issue. I was driving the car around pretty calmly, just to see how it was running, and it started backfiring a little when I let off the gas. Then I could feel it missing. Then it got to the point where I was holding the pedal to the floor and it was struggling to pull itself along. It wouldn't die, just wouldn't get above like 1,300 rpm. If I pushed the clutch in, it idled just fine. It just didn't like when I gave it any gas. It did this for about 5 minutes, pulling itself up hills just fine, idling along, refusing to die. Then after that, it got to the point where I could give it a little bit of gas. Give it too much, it had problems again. Let it idle for a minute, give it gas again. Problems solved. I'm thinking maybe since I'm running an open header that the O2 sensor was sending the wrong signal to the engine? Or maybe the AFM in the intake. I'm honestly not sure what to suspect on that. Keep in mind that the car simply would not die, pulling itself up some decently steep hills, idling along. I would expect the car to die if it had to idle up a hill, but it kept giving itself just enough fuel to keep running and keep moving. The temp gauge said it wasn't running hot, full tank of fuel, so I'm thinking either O2 sensor or AFM. Hopefully one of the gurus knows what that problem is since I'm hoping to send the car back to the girlfriend in the next few days.

Picture just for kicks and giggles.

Posted by: bloodMoney Jul 14, 2011 - 8:38 AM

*patsselfonback*

Damn we do good work!

Just think, if we had the right ECU in the first place, we would've driven it that weekend....

Posted by: cheela Jul 14, 2011 - 10:10 AM

looks good. smile.gif

Posted by: Culpable04 Jul 14, 2011 - 10:44 AM

the issue described is with the same 87 octane fuel ? if so, that's the first thing I would look into, that engine was not designed to run with that low octane junk.

Posted by: FORGMANN Jul 14, 2011 - 10:59 AM

Your box has customs tape on it because they probably opened it.

I ship tons of stuff monthly from Japan and never once have i had that
tape on it and takes 2 days.


Posted by: BonzaiCelica Jul 14, 2011 - 12:37 PM

running 87 octane on a 11:1 compression engine you crazy!!? It was probably engine knocking and you couldn't hear it because of your open header. The least you can safely run on beams is 91 octane.

Good job getting it up and running. Congrats

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jul 14, 2011 - 2:01 PM

clean that maf...

Posted by: richee3 Jul 14, 2011 - 5:58 PM

QUOTE (njccmd2002 @ Jul 14, 2011 - 3:01 PM) *
clean that maf...

Actually, I am beginning to suspect that the intake is my problem. The car was running great when I first started it up and went for a couple of drives. Then in the middle of one drive, it started hesitating. I know the intake pipe for the BEAMS need to be for a 97-01 Camry. I was told to get the Injen intake for $200 or more. Instead, I went cheap and got the Weapon-R intake for $130. See those nipples sticking up on the intake pipe? The Injen intake doesn't have those. I stopped them up with some JB Quick Weld but the JB Weld is no longer in the middle nipple. Given that I have read how sensitive the AFM is, I'm guessing that I've found the problem. It's hot right now and I'm watching Scrubs and doing some much-deserved cuddling so I'll go do some troubleshooting later.

Exhaust is fabbed up and complete. I don't have a gasket for the B pipe yet, so I still have an exhaust leak that needs to be taken care of.

Posted by: BonzaiCelica Jul 14, 2011 - 6:26 PM

you should of bought this. http://www.amazon.com/Short-Induction-Intake-System-Filter/dp/B002W5XHI8/

whats the piping size of your current intake??

honestly don't run 87 octane anymore. You'll screw up your engine, performance will be crappy, and at that point your knock sensor won't be doing its job. These engines run perfectly on 94 octane. You'll just end up damaging your internals with 87 octane.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jul 14, 2011 - 6:43 PM

dude the intake i bought was 30 bucks and then i modified, i paid no brand, hell even the hks was 60 bucks..

make sure that intake is 80mm and shave those nipples and even out the surface from the inside...

no turbulence.... thats the key word...



thats my cheap intake...


and i scouted ebay and could not find any of those cheap intakes, maybe the company went out of busz./

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 14, 2011 - 7:31 PM

skeet.

Posted by: BonzaiCelica Jul 14, 2011 - 7:53 PM

what are you talking about Norberto I just posted my link. It looks similar to the intake I bought off of you. 80mm thats too big. 70mm is oem size...

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jul 14, 2011 - 9:13 PM

internal diameter is 72 mm...

retracting statement....

Posted by: BonzaiCelica Jul 14, 2011 - 9:26 PM

I'm not confusing anybody Im giving straight up facts, you didn't even measure it right.



also backed up by the guys at beams owners group: http://www.mr2.com/forums/beams-owners-group/Toyota-MR2-60229-intake-pipe.html

puretone later says in page 3 that if someone could fabricate a 70mm intake piping that it would be a perfect page

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jul 14, 2011 - 10:34 PM



My maf holder is 80mm outside diameter, so i had to go measure it now, im at work and the internal diameter is 72mm...



My car idles and purs like a kitten.

I have no trouble with my car..

there i retract my prior statement, i was wrong, outer 80 inner 72.....


Posted by: BonzaiCelica Jul 14, 2011 - 10:48 PM

no way. MR2 and Celica use different boxes.... I bought my beams celica from erahman. your intake piping that you gave me has an outter diameter is 76mm. but ya another confirmation just to prove you wrong is all we need hehe. ok I'll shutup now biggrin.gif

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jul 14, 2011 - 11:15 PM

ok you posted while i was editing... there happy!


Posted by: njccmd2002 Jul 14, 2011 - 11:24 PM

it is 71 to 72 mm, you were right i was wrong....

this is my hks right now at work.


Posted by: celica-s Jul 15, 2011 - 1:24 AM

nice project. i envy you guys, only if i have the heart to remove my reliable 7afe...... i could easily get 3sge Beams here for $1,100 and atleast $300 additional for the swap and rewire.

oh well maybe in a year or so, hehehe

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 15, 2011 - 12:25 PM

Buy a project celica like richee and I did.

Posted by: BonzaiCelica Jul 15, 2011 - 7:48 PM

QUOTE (celica-s @ Jul 15, 2011 - 1:24 AM) *
nice project. i envy you guys, only if i have the heart to remove my reliable 7afe...... i could easily get 3sge Beams here for $1,100 and atleast $300 additional for the swap and rewire.

oh well maybe in a year or so, hehehe


who said the 3sge beams wasn't reliable biggrin.gif

Posted by: celica-s Jul 16, 2011 - 12:07 AM

that's not what i meant,

if it ain't broke don't fix it thing, this is what i mean. hehehehe

Posted by: richee3 Jul 16, 2011 - 1:03 PM

The interior diameter of the intake pipe, as I understand it, needs to be about 71 mm. That's just what I read on the BEAMS Owners Group. My pipe matches that, but those nipples had to be blocked off so as not to disrupt the airflow. Either way, quick note to any future BEAMS swappers: Just get the factory intake and make your life easier from the start. But no worries, I've discovered that this isn't my problem with the motor not running right. Bonzai, those pictures that Noberto posted of the intake measurements are actually Erahman's pictures.

QUOTE (erahman85 @ Nov 20, 2009 - 6:07 PM) *
HERE'S THE PICTURE YOU WANTED





We're aware of the fuel issue, but that retards timing and kills power. It wouldn't cause it to run this poorly. I was hoping to have her fill it up with 93 before we pulled the 5S out but she forgot. No big deal.

Anyway, I digress. Intake issues aside, this motor still isn't running properly. I can get it to run well enough for a few minutes but either will not run when you give it gas but it'll idle just fine or else it won't idle at all and will die but it'll run beautifully when you give it gas. So basically it runs like crap, no matter what. I got it to run well enough for the girlfriend to drive it a few nights ago and now she's decided that she doesn't want the 5S back. But here are some basic facts that I need to share. A few weeks ago, I had a friend over here helping me work on the car. We pulled all 4 plugs out to see if I had any spark at all. The plug on cylinder 3 was covered in oil. We pulled the Cylinder 3 plug out of my Greytop, same story. So we chalked it up to be a fact about the motor, that there's just something about it that gets oil all over the plug, inside and outside the cylinder. However, since the very first time I got this motor to start, even when it was running well, I've been smelling burning oil. I replaced the plug in Cylinder 3 and a few nights ago, I pulled the plugs out again. Sure enough, my clean, oil-free plug had oil on it. And there's smoke coming from somewhere in the engine bay. Keep in mind that I bought this Redtop for $900 and intended to scrap it and use it for parts for the Greytop that I bought. I never expected it to be a great motor until I got it and saw that it actually had all the wiring, the entire fusebox, and a lot of extra stuff that the Ebay ad didn't mention. And now that it's in the car and (barely) running, I'm reminded that I bought a $900 parts motor and hoped it would work. So we're calling this one mechanical failure and we're on the search for another motor. We're currently discussing whether we're staying BEAMS, which we know forwards and backwards at this point, or if we're going to go all out and get the 3S-GTE. We both drove the BEAMS and both saw how much fun it is, but the power is all at the top end where you never rev. We both would prefer the powerband of the 3S-GTE, which has more power and has it at a lower RPM. Right now, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other for us. So this swap thread will continue, probably with another BEAMS swap, but for now everything is on hold until we get another motor. Then we're either keeping this BEAMS for parts for ourselves or else we'll be selling it for parts to somebody else who wants a BEAMS or who wants to rebuild this one.

celica-s, Do it. Definitely get the BEAMS. You won't regret it, especially not for that price. Just because my BEAMS swap hasn't gone as smooth as it could doesn't mean that it isn't an easy swap. As long as you're prepared and you don't get a Subaru ECU, it doesn't take very long to swap out and the power difference between a 7A and a 3S is immense. If it isn't broke, fix it 'til it is.

Posted by: JuMPiiN Jul 16, 2011 - 6:52 PM

Damn youve had some bad luck man!

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jul 16, 2011 - 7:30 PM

i can pull the #3 plug out in mine to see. but i doubt there will be oil. Sad to see this happen. If you were able to get a set to rebuild the beams for cheap it would be great. also have you tried to measure compression.

Sometimes the oil might be there when they transport/store engines they put oil to prevent rust. May be a long shot.

Keep hanging in there..

Why not put the greytop long block in there and see...

I love the beams, i despise turbo. Even at full A/c the engine pulls hard. doing well...

Ill be out of the country for the next 12 days, but when i come back, you can come down and drive it. Or maybe you have already driven one..

Posted by: richee3 Jul 16, 2011 - 8:04 PM

My Greytop had the same issue. Oil on the spark plug on cylinder #3. So putting that long block in would be a moot point. I've gotten to feel this BEAMS at full power a few times. It wasn't mind blowing, but it was good fun. It's how the car should have been from the factory. I just don't understand why the smoke would be coming from the engine bay. If the motor is burning oil, it should be coming out of the exhaust. Then again, I don't have a gasket for the B pipe yet so I do have a slight exhaust leak, but some smoke should still come out of the exhaust rather than all of it from the engine bay. I don't understand why this motor doesn't have consistent problems, why it's shifting back and forth on how it runs. Either way, we're just going to get a new motor, one we can confirm is a good one, and be done with it.

Posted by: Batman722 Jul 16, 2011 - 8:45 PM

you're valve cover gasket is not tight or it's leaking.
it's just like the 3sgte valve cover gasket (there's a center gasket for the plugs), pop the cover off and make sure it's tight or replace it, hopefully problem solved.

pic and link

http://kbox.ca/catalog/index.php/cPath/39_112?osCsid=17d3254ccb5e0217440c1a9b39f2a220



edit, pic and link

Posted by: malecrod Jul 16, 2011 - 9:19 PM

I second checking the valve gasket first. I had to tighten mine to stop the spark plug oil leak as well. Its possible that's all it is. Hang in there.

Posted by: richee3 Jul 19, 2011 - 6:51 PM

The same day Dustin posted that link, somebody else told me that the oil on the spark plug was probably just the valve cover gasket. I tightened it down and that seemed to help some, but not a lot. I ordered a new one yesterday. I'm about to clean the AFM and see where that gets me. The motor still seems to be bogging down under load and as far as the idle goes, it seems to be idling smooth enough, just not idling high enough. I can barely touch the gas and get it to idle just fine but as soon as I let off the gas, it seems to just drop out and die. Sometimes it can fix itself before it dies, but it usually just dies. I'm going to look into the O2 sensor in the exhaust and the AFM as probable suspects for bogging down, but I have absolutely no idea why it is idling so low. And no matter how I look at it, it's still burning oil. A lot of it. I don't see any smoke coming from under the hood or any in the exhaust, but I'm definitely having to add oil. I'm replacing the spark plugs as well just to see where that gets me.

Posted by: malecrod Jul 19, 2011 - 7:34 PM

Sounds like a vacuum leak? I will double check all hoses for leak if u haven't already.

Posted by: richee3 Jul 19, 2011 - 7:55 PM

Will do. Thanks, Eli. I hadn't even considered that, I've been so busy pulling my hair out over everything else.

Batman knows his sh*t. I just replaced the spark plugs. Here's a few pictures of what I find when I pull the old ones out. Cylinders #2 and #3. 1 and 4 are fine.





Not a pretty sight. But sure enough, I just put fresh new plugs in the car, oil-free plugs, and cleaned the AFM. Idles a little better, but not much. However, it no longer bogs down and hesitates when I floor it. So the car is parked for now, awaiting the new valve cover gasket. Once I get that, I'll deal with this little baby exhaust leak that I have somewhere and the swap will be finished. Assuming I don't still have problems, and I'm praying I don't.

Posted by: bloodMoney Jul 19, 2011 - 8:18 PM

Fantastic. I'm glad things are starting to come together for her smile.gif

Posted by: richee3 Jul 24, 2011 - 10:47 AM

I'm still waiting on the valve cover gasket to come in for the BEAMS, but in the meantime I started dropping the 5S in my gray car. By no means will it be drivable for a while since I'm still in dire need of front wheel bearings, a passenger axle carrier bearing bracket, and a few other little things, but at least the hard part of the work will be out of the way. pulled the car into the garage last night at about 5 and by 7, the motor was sitting in the bay. I'm astonished with how fast it went, considering all the trouble the BEAMS gave us. I'm heading back outside to finish the hoses and plugging everything in, and hopefully I'll have it started by noon.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 24, 2011 - 12:26 PM

good luck man!

Posted by: richee3 Jul 24, 2011 - 2:39 PM

I just remembered... When I relocated the battery, I was going to test a few things and my dad was outside and decided to help. I knew the relocation went well but I was going to test some accessories on the car so dad hooked up the battery charger and hooked it up backwards. Almost immediately, half the fuses in the car blew. I hoped that was all that was wrong with the car but now that this 5S is in, it looks like the car has a few other problems. For instance, when I turn the headlights on, the car says it's going 40 mph. When I hit the high beams, I'm magically going 60. I was planning on paying my Lexus off anyway so I think for now I'm going to be done with this car and either start planning to sell the shell or part it out. Nothing is official yet, but I've been wanting a mkIII Supra for a while. Now seems like a good time to pick one up.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 24, 2011 - 3:11 PM

thats a ground loop issue. make sure all the ground points in your engine harness are grounded well and check all the stock grounds. i did that accidentally with my friends integra... forgot a ground in the harness and it would start and run only with the headlights on. the radio wouldnt woulrk with the lights on, blinkers only worked witht the wipers on.. weird **** lol.

so id check ur grounds. chances are thats all the issue is.

the battery shouldve taken most of the reverse current. if not id check into replacing your integrated relay...

Posted by: richee3 Jul 24, 2011 - 7:19 PM

I actually checked my grounds, unless there are a few that are hiding from me. The motor won't do anything at all, most of the electric stuff seems to be working apart from the speedo acting up. I'm not worried about it. I'm working on the BEAMS first, this second. And even then, it'll be a few weeks before I can get everything together for this car.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 24, 2011 - 8:08 PM

theres one on the intake manifold, and then both fenders.

Posted by: richee3 Jul 25, 2011 - 8:39 AM

Nope, none hiding from me then. Everything is hooked up apart from the radiator and every single coolant line. My six month old Wal Mart Neverstart battery is completely dead, so the car can't do anything at all unless it's hooked up to a battery charger. I don't plan on starting the car without any coolant anyway, plus I still need new wheel bearings and a carrier bearing bracket for the passenger side axle. So for now, my car has a motor and the potential to start and run. I'm getting it out of the garage today after work, putting the BEAMS back in the garage while I wait for the valve cover gasket, and either today or tomorrow I will be going to look at another Celica. Nothing special, but it's cheap.

Just a note to future swappers, the issues I am having right now are exactly why you but a motor then do all the maintenance to it before dropping it in. You should never try to buy a motor and just drop it in like I did. Sometimes it works but it isn't worth the risk.

Posted by: ricochet1490 Jul 25, 2011 - 2:40 PM

Sounds to me like your Dad owes you a battery, or at LEAST a box of fuses lol

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 25, 2011 - 3:27 PM

i wouldnt say so.. as a parent dad probably did well more for him than what he did in harm to the car

Posted by: richee3 Jul 25, 2011 - 5:24 PM

Yes and no. He's done a lot for me, there's no doubt about that. But he's also the reason I no longer own the black Celica that the BEAMS just went in.

Everything is a go to look at a new Celica tonight. It's a '94 GT, auto, 160k, 3L2, all options, everything. The transmission is out on it, but it's a steal. It has a dent in the front right fender and a couple of tears in the driver's seat, and the usual fading paint on the body plastics, otherwise it's pretty clean. Between this and my gray Celica, I'll have enough stuff to get one of them running and driving properly, and the other is heading for a hasty partout. Or if the car isn't as advertised, I've still got the funds to get my gray Celica running properly. Stay tuned for updates.

Posted by: Keiri Jul 25, 2011 - 6:30 PM

QUOTE (richee3 @ Jul 25, 2011 - 6:24 PM) *
Yes and no. He's done a lot for me, there's no doubt about that. But he's also the reason I no longer own the black Celica that the BEAMS just went in.

Everything is a go to look at a new Celica tonight. It's a '94 GT, auto, 160k, 3L2, all options, everything. The transmission is out on it, but it's a steal. It has a dent in the front right fender and a couple of tears in the driver's seat, and the usual fading paint on the body plastics, otherwise it's pretty clean. Between this and my gray Celica, I'll have enough stuff to get one of them running and driving properly, and the other is heading for a hasty partout. Or if the car isn't as advertised, I've still got the funds to get my gray Celica running properly. Stay tuned for updates.


Good luck Dan and hopefully you'll wind up a member of the 3L2 club.

But if you part out the red one please keep me in mind and greyhound the hood to me. wink.gif

Posted by: ricochet1490 Jul 25, 2011 - 8:39 PM

QUOTE (richee3 @ Jul 25, 2011 - 6:24 PM) *
Yes and no. He's done a lot for me, there's no doubt about that. But he's also the reason I no longer own the black Celica that the BEAMS just went in.

Everything is a go to look at a new Celica tonight. It's a '94 GT, auto, 160k, 3L2, all options, everything. The transmission is out on it, but it's a steal. It has a dent in the front right fender and a couple of tears in the driver's seat, and the usual fading paint on the body plastics, otherwise it's pretty clean. Between this and my gray Celica, I'll have enough stuff to get one of them running and driving properly, and the other is heading for a hasty partout. Or if the car isn't as advertised, I've still got the funds to get my gray Celica running properly. Stay tuned for updates.


whoa, am I missing something here? or are you just referencing the fact that your girlfriend owns the car that got the BEAMS? if so, very sad. However, mighty noble of you to sacrafice your beams to put in her car...

Posted by: richee3 Jul 26, 2011 - 7:22 AM

Well guys, welcome me back to the 3L2 club. I bought the car last night. Its about what you can expect from a '94. The paint is a little faded, the front right fender has a dent, it starts and runs but doesn't drive. The transmission is toast. I haven't decided which car will be victimized to make the other one run. I like the blue car a little better right now, since I'd rather not have to do a manual conversion. I'll pick it up in a day or two but here are some pictures.







Ricochet, the black car that got the BEAMS used to belong to me but about a year and a half ago, I sold it to her. That Redtop was cheap and I have another BEAMS if I plan on swapping it. Besides, her car is a better car and deserves the Redtop more than mine.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 26, 2011 - 8:48 AM

does it just need trans fluid? my red celica i bought was like that.. filled up the trans and drove it 20k miles till the auto-manual swap

Posted by: richee3 Jul 26, 2011 - 9:24 AM

No idea. It's very possible. I'll check when I bring it home later this week. I'm really not wanting to bother with the manual swap but I really want to get both cars side by side to compare them and see which I go on with.

Brian, if I do part the red one out, the hood is all yours, but it's pretty faded. Look at the hood compared to the fender. The fender has a lot more gloss than the hood.

Posted by: Keiri Jul 26, 2011 - 9:36 AM

QUOTE (richee3 @ Jul 26, 2011 - 10:24 AM) *
No idea. It's very possible. I'll check when I bring it home later this week. I'm really not wanting to bother with the manual swap but I really want to get both cars side by side to compare them and see which I go on with.

Brian, if I do part the red one out, the hood is all yours, but it's pretty faded. Look at the hood compared to the fender. The fender has a lot more gloss than the hood.


Yeah, the hood does seem less vibrant than the fender but I guess it'd cost less to have a paint shop strip then add a new coat of gloss to the hood. Maybe.

Either way, good luck with both cars - with luck the red one just needs tranny fluid as Stephen mentioned.

PS: Welcome home brother!

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jul 26, 2011 - 10:00 AM

hey, where did the red car come from....

Posted by: richee3 Jul 26, 2011 - 10:27 AM

Part of me is hoping that the red car just needs fluid. None of the gears work at all, even reverse. Then again, part of me is hoping that it was just catastrophic transmission failure so I don't have to deal with an auto. I know that dropping my other 5S with the manual trans in the red car and do the manual conversion makes the most sense, but I have a history with the gray car and I've had it for a year and a half and I don't want to quit on it just yet. No matter which car I keep, I'm getting another BEAMS for it.

Noberto, I just bought the red car last night. It's nothing special, but it's in decent condition for a '94 and the price was right. Either this car or the gray one will be parted and sold.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 26, 2011 - 4:17 PM

I'd hope it was just the fluid so I can have a functional, stock, back up car. but u do have the IS still so...

Posted by: richee3 Jul 26, 2011 - 6:41 PM

It's not the fluid. I asked the guy earlier and he said something about a pin being broken. I assume he means the pin for park.

Posted by: Keiri Jul 26, 2011 - 7:16 PM

QUOTE (richee3 @ Jul 26, 2011 - 7:41 PM) *
It's not the fluid. I asked the guy earlier and he said "something something something blah blah blah pin fell out of blah blah gears floating around something something and junk and stuff and junk."


Dear Lord what a terrible lack of help. Sounds like it isn't changing gears. Maybe a solenoid issue?

Posted by: SwissFerdi Jul 26, 2011 - 8:37 PM

Congratulations VB, and good luck.

Posted by: richee3 Jul 27, 2011 - 10:11 PM

Brought the car home tonight. It's in better shape than I remember. Not perfect by any means, but it's in decent shape. I'll grab some good pictures tomorrow after work. My plan is to grab the radiator and a couple of other little things I need to complete the blue car and see if that gets it to start. If it does, the red car might be sold as a roller. My blue car still has some electrical issues so the red car is looking pretty tempting right now. I really don't want to deal with the auto to manual conversion, even though it's pretty simple and I have everything I need. I just have a personal connection with the blue one so I don't want to give up on it so easily. I should be deciding in the next day or two which car I'll be keeping, then the other will be parted out. Start calling dibs now because the doors and spoiler and a few other things are already called for. I owe a few people some favors so they are at the top of the list for which parts they get.

Posted by: richee3 Jul 28, 2011 - 9:19 PM

Got the valve cover gasket for the BEAMS in today. It only took ten days to get here... kindasad.gif



I'd hate to see what their Economy shipping is if 10 days is their Expedited shipping. But the important thing is that it's here. Got some pictures of the new Celica today. It's dirty from the trip home, but you get the idea.












I may have accidentally bought a much better car than I thought here. I charged the battery up and the car starts right up and idles/revs just fine. Everything seems to be in perfect working order, apart from the transmission. I put it in gear and you can hear something kind of clunking around. It registers speed when I put the car in reverse and give it gas, but not in drive. No matter, if I keep the red car, then it'll be getting a manual anyway. In the next day or two, I'll get the new valve cover gasket on the BEAMS and hopefully get that running well then try to get my blue car started. If it takes too much effort, then I'll just go with the red car and I won't feel too bad about it at all. I thought I was getting a good parts car with some pretty good parts but I've really just gotten a good car in general, apart from the transmission.

Posted by: mkernz22 Jul 29, 2011 - 1:44 AM

check the axles and make sure that it didn't break off in there. it just happened to Cam (ted95's) car. the shop didn't put the axle in properly and it broke off. it would accelerate, but it wouldn't move and it would register speed as well

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 29, 2011 - 8:57 AM

thats what i though as well. it might also have broke the diff its self.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jul 29, 2011 - 10:02 AM

you can even put a new tranny in it and sell it for profit!!!

that car is excellent...

Posted by: richee3 Jul 29, 2011 - 10:36 AM

I have literally no experience with diagnosing or fixing transmissions, but part of me is tempted to get another auto and just fix this car. Apart from minor paint fade, the dent in the fender, and the rips in the driver's seat, it's in good shape. I really don't want to deal with the manual swap. Not if there's any way I can avoid pulling both motors from both cars.

Posted by: Batman722 Jul 29, 2011 - 10:39 AM

pick up an auto tranny, swap it in, clean the car up and drive it.
or sell it and make $.

Posted by: Keiri Jul 29, 2011 - 2:48 PM

QUOTE (Batman722 @ Jul 29, 2011 - 11:39 AM) *
pick up an auto tranny, swap it in, clean the car up and drive it.
or sell it and make $.


Sounds like an extremely reasonable plan.

Hell, pick up the tranny, drop it in, sell it and use the money to build up the blue car. smile.gif

PS: I'm exceedingly jealous of the black leather interior.

Posted by: richee3 Jul 29, 2011 - 9:52 PM

I considered that. But I paid $1,500 for the car so assuming I sell it for fair value, I wouldn't make a lot of money. Then I wouldn't have a transmission for my blue car anymore, so I'd be forced to buy a BEAMS with a tranny, which would negate any point in ever buying the red car. Everything is up in the air between those two cars right now. I got the valve cover gasket in the BEAMS tonight. What a pain in the a........ That's what I get for not doing it before putting the motor in the car. One of my bolts pulled a Danny Glover and decided it was too old for this s***. I get the feeling that'll come back to bite me and this new gasket will leak exactly where the old one did. On the plus side, this BEAMS is clean as hell. No sludge at all.




As far as progress on the gray Celica, I got a new battery tonight. Last September, I got a free Neverstart batter from Wal-Mart. Warranty ftw. Then I put that battery in the car and didn't touch it again. It was all kinds of dead a few days ago with no hope of ever being recharged. So I got this new battery for free again. Once again, as with the BEAMS, I have no check engine light. This time, I am 100% sure that I'm using the right ECU, so I don't know why the ECU isn't getting power. You can't plug it in wrong. However, with the new battery, my weird wiring gremlins seem to be gone. No more speed showing when I turn my lights on.

I just peeled the Fox decal from the rear window of the red car tonight. So far, everyone seems to heavily prefer the red car. If it was a '96+, I probably would too. I've just put so much thought into the gray car that I just really don't want to quit on it now. My parents are fine with me having one car. They don't mind me having a second car, but they really aren't happy that I let it sit this long. Now that I have a third car and it doesn't move either, they really aren't too happy. I wouldn't be either. So fixing both the red and blue cars is not an option for me.

Brian, don't be too jealous of the black leather interior. It's a little dry, but in far better shape than I could have ever hoped. It's been consistently 90°-100° here lately and I really wouldn't look forward to having black leather seats.

Posted by: Batman722 Jul 29, 2011 - 10:08 PM

The Beams is clean thumbsup.gif

My wife did the valve cover gasket in the car, I wanted no part of that... !

Posted by: richee3 Jul 29, 2011 - 10:24 PM

QUOTE (Batman722 @ Jul 29, 2011 - 10:08 PM) *
The Beams is clean thumbsup.gif

My wife did the valve cover gasket in the car, I wanted no part of that... !

Lucky... I should have made the girlfriend do it. Right behind the center bolt on the back of the valve cover, there's a bottomless abyss designed to capture your sockets and never give them back. It lured 3 of mine in with the hopes of getting this bolt but it was nearly impossible. Once you drop a socket down there, you don't get it back until the valve cover is off. I'm waiting for the gasket sealant to dry tonight before I try starting the car tomorrow, but I added some octane booster to the fuel and reset the ECU. Hopefully that'll smooth out the idle problem and the valve cover gasket will stop the oil leak, but I don't see where the old one was leaking from. I'll start the car up tomorrow afternoon and see where I stand. The rest of my day I'm going to spend with the gray Celica, trying to figure out why I don't have a check engine light. I know I'm not using the Subaru ECU this time so I'm stumped. It can't be that hard to figure out though.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 30, 2011 - 10:19 AM

refer to http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=80179 to help with your ecu not getting power

Posted by: richee3 Jul 30, 2011 - 12:32 PM

Thanks, Stephen.

I started the BEAMS up this morning. It idles a lot better. Still not smooth as silk, but good enough. Took it for a drive, and under normal driving, it seems to run well enough. Still not great, but well enough. Give it gas, it'll bog down again. Give it gas in first and tear through the gears, it'll run about like I feel a BEAMS should. Downshift to any other gear while driving and it doesn't feel so great. Then you get back to 5th and try to accelerate slowly and it'll hesitate pretty bad. I'm letting it cool down right now so I can pull the plugs and see if they're covered in oil or not.

Posted by: bloodMoney Jul 30, 2011 - 12:38 PM

I'm telling you. Pull the tank, drain that 'water' out of it and put some real gas in it.

Posted by: richee3 Jul 30, 2011 - 12:57 PM

It's got just a little more than half a tank in it. I'm going to take it on a casual, normal drive to town in a little while and fill it up with 93. Also, how much R134 does that system take? I'm 3 cans in so far and the clutch on the compressor hasn't engaged once. I suspect it's going to take a lot more R134. I'm taking a lunch break then I guess I'm going to go back out and get some real gas in the BEAMS and come home then start on my own cars.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 30, 2011 - 1:31 PM

21-24oz. Two cans should fill it up, but I have noticed mine likes 2.5 cans or so.

The compressor should kick on within the first can. Sounds like you need to diag why your compressor isnt kicking on before you add more 134.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Jul 30, 2011 - 1:44 PM

like this...

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=80337

i will be doing the cleaning of the injectors if all else fails...

Posted by: richee3 Jul 30, 2011 - 3:17 PM

Yeah, I should probably replace that compressor then. The low pressure line gets pretty cold but the compressor never engages.

Noberto, I'm keeping a close eye on your thread. Sounds like we're having exactly the same issue. Under normal driving it runs fine, but give it gas and it bogs down.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 30, 2011 - 7:34 PM

try running 12v to the compressor clutch & see if it engages. i wouldnt look at the compressor so quickly.

Posted by: richee3 Jul 30, 2011 - 8:11 PM

Haha Stephen.. I know nothing about a/c compressors. That's a job for somebody else. I've decided that I'm sending the BEAMS out to a mechanic. Brigette's stepdad is a mechanic and although he's not familiar with a BEAMS and doesn't know where to get parts, he at least has a good knowledge of motors. The BEAMS really isn't anything special. It's just a 4 cylinder with VVT. What makes that so different from any Honda motor or any newer Toyota motor? The only difference is OBD and parts availability. Whatever is wrong with the car at this point is probably something pretty basic that he'll figure out pretty quickly, then I order the parts for it and call it done. I promised everyone that the swap would take one weekend and it has very clearly gotten out of my own hands. I have three cars of my own to tend to, and I have no space or time to deal with all of them. As far as the red car, that's the same story. I'm going to drain the trans fluid and see if there are any metal shavings or anything in the bottom of the pan. If there is, then obviously the transmission is beyond repair. If not, then it's something that can be fixed. So after I figure out how bad it is, I'm going to send that car out as well. The way I see it, I have a '94 that runs and a '96 that doesn't do a thing. Why mess that up? The bumper, sound insulation, everything I want from the '96 can be transferred over. I might as well just keep my '94 running and let the '96 sit until such a time that I can actually do something with it.

Posted by: richee3 Jul 31, 2011 - 6:02 PM

Great success! I had a fresh pair of eyes look at the BEAMS a little while ago. Of course it would be something little that I would forget to do. He got in the car and went for a ten second ride and heard a sound that I assumed was my exhaust leak and he says "You're running on three cylinders." I told him I thought that was where the header met the B pipe, where I couldn't really get under the car and fit it together 100% tight and he said he heard that too, and that sound was accentuating the chugging sound of a four cylinder motor running on three cylinders. We take it back to his house and start unplugging coils and sure enough, unplug the coil on cylinder #3, and absolutely nothing changed. We checked the injectors, all 4 were running great. Took the spark plug out of cylinder 3 and it still looks brand new. I've got probably 100 miles on them now so the other three are a brownish color, but that spark plug is still bright silver. I know the heat from the motor can make the coil wires a little brittle so I'm waiting for the motor to cool down then I'm going to start taking the wiring apart to see if I can find the issue.

In other news, I've overheated my vacuum 4 times now trying to clean my red car up. And there were purple neons in the foot wells. I promptly deposited those in the trash. It looks like it has MTX speakers in the front and I haven't checked the rear yet, but the system sounds good. All the wiring I need for a sound system is already in place. Definitely gonna do some sound insulation on that car and get the tranny rebuilt.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 31, 2011 - 6:10 PM

Try swapping the coil with a different coil to see it its just a bad coil.. i wouldnt wanna tear into the wiring so fast lol

Posted by: richee3 Jul 31, 2011 - 6:59 PM

Already did. The misfire stayed on cylinder 3. I can tell you that the problem isn't right on top of the motor. It has to be a bit farther down. I'm going to check into it a little more tomorrow.

Posted by: stephen_lee Jul 31, 2011 - 7:54 PM

good luck with that. u can also swap fuel injector plugs to fee if it changes anything, though u already determined you are getting fuel to that cyl

Posted by: bloodMoney Jul 31, 2011 - 10:06 PM

^this.

If the plug is still bright silver, that tells me that its a fuel issue. If it was a spark issue, you would assume that there would be some sign that there's been fuel sprayed on that injector.

Am I making sense here?

Posted by: richee3 Jul 31, 2011 - 10:15 PM

We checked for spark. There was nothing. Running it without the spark plug, fuel was shooting out of the cylinder.

Posted by: bloodMoney Aug 1, 2011 - 7:31 AM

hmmmm. Ok. Nevermind then lol


Posted by: njccmd2002 Aug 1, 2011 - 10:09 AM

so there is no spark?

check the grounds..... you may have a loose wire or a short.

Posted by: richee3 Aug 1, 2011 - 12:12 PM

Only on cylinder 3. Unfortunately, I'll be rummaging around the motor tonight, trying to figure out where the wires go. Good thing I have that Greytop I can tear apart first.

Posted by: njccmd2002 Aug 1, 2011 - 1:16 PM

if i recall correclty the coils have a ground and a positive terminal..


try to look if the positive terminal is firing. simply use a multimeter and ground it to the car chassis.. if you get firing then its a ground issue, those grounds go all the way into the main harness and loop around and attach below the manifold...



when i did my swap i checked my whole harness to make sure, and i even changed the plastic looms to new ones..

but just trace the positive, and do the multimeter test. if there is power, then you have a ground issue... even the conector just spray crc, sometimes oil is the culprit..


Posted by: stephen_lee Aug 1, 2011 - 1:30 PM

im pretty sure its a ground switching system. most circuits are, since npn transistors are cheaper and faster. one pin should has constant 12v while the other should have a switching ground.

pin 1 to ground = 12v
pin 2 to B+ = a reading greater than 0.7v and less than 12v probably in the 3v region at idle

Posted by: richee3 Aug 1, 2011 - 3:57 PM

I can't say I have a multimeter. Just a crappy test light. I'm about to start dissecting my Greytop so I have a good idea of where the wires go so I don't mess anything up on the Redtop. There can only be a short list of potential culprits for one cylinder not firing. I'm ready to get this thing back on the road and at full power. It's already decent fun on three cylinders. Side note, this car runs better before the motor gets warmed up. Not sure if that tidbit helps anyone but it definitely runs better when it's cold. Fortunately, the thermostat is stuck open so it takes longer to warm up.

Edit: By the way, Noberto, that's a really depressing picture to post. I went and checked the back of my Greytop and I see everything you just posted there... Not a fun place to get to with the motor in the car. This motor was shipping laying down on the back of the block and when it got here, it always wanted to fall over backwards. I bet that's where my problem is. Now the great debate of pulling the motor out a little bit or trying to fight it and leave it bolted in...

Posted by: richee3 Aug 1, 2011 - 5:38 PM

Got the exhaust leak fixed, at least. I just tested and I have good power and ground to that coil. I traced the other two wires back to the ECU. They seem to be fine but I haven't had a way to test them. Everything under the manifold looks good. The toiling continues...

Posted by: stephen_lee Aug 1, 2011 - 6:17 PM

i didnt look at the wiring diagram so i thought the ignitor would be internal to the ecu.

you should pick up a cheap multimeter. do yall have a harbor freight up there? they sell an acceptable one for like 5$

Posted by: richee3 Aug 1, 2011 - 6:21 PM

I'm actually going to Harbor Freight tomorrow, conveniently enough. The wiring diagram looks like it shows the igniter being external. I know for the BEAMS swap you take your old 5S igniter and deposit it in the scrap metal pile and you never plug another one back in. I'm looking for that right now.


Posted by: njccmd2002 Aug 1, 2011 - 6:33 PM

make sure the bridges you made in the ea1 plug are ok too...

Posted by: stephen_lee Aug 1, 2011 - 6:37 PM

the ignitor is internal to the coil

looks like...

white(pin1) = B+
brown(pin4) = ground
pin2 = spark confirm, or something similar.. tells the ecu when spark happens
pin3 = signal. tells the ignitir to turn on to charge the coil. this is probably a low voltage positive signal

Posted by: stephen_lee Aug 1, 2011 - 7:04 PM

pin 3 IGT is a +5v signal

Posted by: richee3 Aug 1, 2011 - 8:49 PM

Noberto- the connection is good. If it's bad, I wouldn't have any spark at all on any cylinder. I did check tonight though. I definitely have power and ground. The igniter is inside the coil, but there's still a signal inside the ECU that tells the igniter when to fire... and I think that's my problem. The other 3 cylinders work perfectly. I'll be picking up the multimeter tomorrow to triple check my other two wires, but the wires themselves are intact and actually in good condition. So it could be a problem in the ECU. Now I have to test that. Fun stuff. I took a look under my red Celica today... Not looking so hot there. There was definitely some transmission casing laying on the ground and definitely a gear hanging out there. Looks like a busted diff. I don't know my transmissions so I'm gonna post a picture and see what you guys think. But the transmission casing and the drain plug hanging out in this piece on the ground tells me that this tranny cannot be rebuilt.

Posted by: Celisauras16 Aug 2, 2011 - 10:05 PM

Well... I enjoy making fun of him more than I like bragging about him... but Daniel is a Celica god of some sort. My car is running. It feels and sounds amazing. I'm in love all over again....

Posted by: Keiri Aug 2, 2011 - 10:15 PM

QUOTE (Celisauras16 @ Aug 2, 2011 - 11:05 PM) *
Well... I enjoy making fun of him more than I like bragging about him... but Daniel is a Celica god of some sort. My car is running. It feels and sounds amazing. I'm in love all over again....


He is pretty heroic. Just make sure you treat him nice...or something like that. wink.gif

Dan, what are the chances of pulling the redtop ECU and trying it on your greytop or vice versa to confirm it's the ECU fouling up? Good luck.

Posted by: richee3 Aug 2, 2011 - 10:19 PM

True story. As of tonight, the BEAMS is on all four cylinders. And I've known what the problem was all along, I just forgot about it until tonight.



I saw that little wire hanging out when I got the motor and completely forgot about it until I saw it again tonight. It's one of the signal wires for the coil on cylinder 3. I ran a new wire tonight and all four cylinders are running perfectly. I have to say, the BEAMS is a lot more fun than I imagined it would be. It screams up to the redline and keeps asking for more. I'm so used to the 5S running out of steam by this point but the BEAMS feels like it's not ready to shift yet when you start bouncing off the rev limiter. Tomorrow, I will be finishing up the swap and sending the car home and then I'll be starting my partout. It'll be a quick partout with only easy to sell/ship items being sold.



Here's what was laying under the red car... Yeah, I don't think that tranny is useful at all.



More pictures will be posted tomorrow, as well as all the swap details/wiring pictures.

Posted by: Keiri Aug 2, 2011 - 10:29 PM

*generous round of clapping*

Well done, my good man! Glad to hear it's all buttoned up and running on all 4 cylinders. When you take those pictures be sure to get some video of the car screaming to redline...or just tooling about. You did a fantastic job on this project Dan and I can't wait to see the progress on your car.

PS: I have to agree on the transmission...

Posted by: Batman722 Aug 2, 2011 - 11:05 PM

about time bro !

Always something simple and easy, usually just a dumb mistake or something overlooked.

Glad to see hear it's running, it's fun after 4-5k rpms !

Posted by: stephen_lee Aug 3, 2011 - 8:07 AM

good job on the swap!

yeah thats a piece of a diff. my friends honda did that after he redlined it and dropped it in gear

Posted by: njccmd2002 Aug 3, 2011 - 10:46 AM

i could just come and slap u. Good to hear another beams is alive and kicking. Too bad u wont enjoy it, lol....


Posted by: richee3 Aug 3, 2011 - 10:51 AM

I suspect that's what happened to the red car. As for the BEAMS swap, it's still bogging down you floor it in a high gear. I'm sending the car home today though. I can fix the bogging issue later. This has been the longest lasting BEAMS swap ever and I'm just glad it's done. I'm less excited to drive it than I am to have it finished and know I did it. I owe Chris, turnip, and Dustin. They've all been a huge help to me. I'm probably going to do another BEAMS swap on my blue car later but for now, it's getting a 5S and daily driving duties.

Noberto, I could slap myself. I saw that wire when I got the motor but I didn't have any time to trace it that day so I figured I would get it later. Then I completely forgot about it until I saw it again, despite being asked several times if I knew of any cut wires.

Posted by: cheela Aug 3, 2011 - 11:50 AM

congrats! now put up videos! hahahaah

Posted by: ricochet1490 Aug 3, 2011 - 2:47 PM

I am/have been living vicariously through this thread... nicely done sir!

Posted by: richee3 Aug 3, 2011 - 2:54 PM

Chee La, I think the videos are best saved for text messages... I may be violating some site rules if I post them up. Lol.

Ricochet, how far are you from Chicago? We're having another Midwest Meet soon. You should come by if you can and check it out in person.

Posted by: ricochet1490 Aug 3, 2011 - 4:29 PM

I'm currently around 5 hours from Chicago, depending of course on the meet up place. That would change come the end of august, then I'll be around 7 hours out.... either way not too bad, a long way out, but not terrible. How many usually are there in attendance? jw
Thanks
Trace

Posted by: richee3 Aug 3, 2011 - 4:53 PM

It's a pretty long drive for you then, and the meet looks like it will be in late August or September. The place is about an hour Southwest of Chicago. There are usually about 10-20 people there. They aren't huge meets but they are very more personal.

Posted by: stephen_lee Aug 3, 2011 - 5:02 PM

i would make the drive.. if my v6 was done.. damnit now i wanna go work on it...

Posted by: bloodMoney Aug 3, 2011 - 5:47 PM

You should. It was about 4 hours for us to get to Daniel's house just to put the motor into the car. So, anyone can drive 4-5 hours for a meet with some good burgers and hiking. Plus a BEAMS smile.gif

Posted by: Keiri Aug 3, 2011 - 6:37 PM

QUOTE (richee3 @ Aug 3, 2011 - 3:54 PM) *
Chee La, I think the videos are best saved for text messages... I may be violating some site rules if I post them up. Lol.

Ricochet, how far are you from Chicago? We're having another Midwest Meet soon. You should come by if you can and check it out in person.


Dan, do you have my number? biggrin.gif

If not, I'll PM it to you....I want to see vids.

Posted by: richee3 Aug 3, 2011 - 6:43 PM

QUOTE (Keiri @ Aug 3, 2011 - 6:37 PM) *
Dan, do you have my number? biggrin.gif

If not, I'll PM it to you....I want to see vids.

I do not. I'll get the PM and send it to you in just a minute.

Posted by: richee3 Aug 3, 2011 - 7:37 PM

As promised, here is a quick how-to for swapping a BEAMS. There is a lot of information spread out all over the place, so I'd like to compile as much as possible in one single thread.

Info: '97 3S-GE BEAMS motor, non-LSD S54 transmission (OEM ST185 flywheel, OEM BEAMS clutch disc (Toyota part #31250-20331), ST185 pressure plate, 5S/S54 throw out bearing, BEAMS 2.25" exhaust reduced down to fit stock GT 2" exhaust.

Wiring: -EA1 plug, pin 17 goes to pin 4. Pin 17 is the bottom left wire, red with a black stripe. Pin 4 is the thick black wire at the top center of the EA1. Pin 17 needs power when pin 4 has it. This gives the BEAMS spark.
-EA1 plug, pins 2 and 12 need to be bridged. Those are ground wires. They need to be spliced together. There should be two wires, parallel to each other. Just bridge them together.
-Clutch start wire- there are 3 vertical plugs next to the ECU. On the body side of the plugs, you have a white (19 pin) plug, light gray (13 pin) plug, and dark gray (17 pin) plug. The clutch start wire is pin 18 on the white plug. Move it to pin 17 on the dark gray plug.

That's all you need to get the BEAMS to start and drive. To get your airbag light to function properly, you run a wire from the EA1 plug to the light gray interior plug (either pin 4 or pin 5, I have read separate posts saying both and I chose not to do this step so I cannot confirm which pin it is.)

-Cruise control- Some say you need to do some work to make the cruise work. You don't. The cruise control is a standalone system. There's an ECU behind your glove box, an actuator under the hood pulls a throttle cable which is connected to your accelerator pedal, which pulls the throttle cable hooked up to the throttle body. No wiring on the engine is associated with cruise control at all. Trust me, my cruise still works perfectly and I never touched it.

EA1 plug, pins 4 and 17 bridged, as well as 2 and 12.




Clutch start wire: I don't have a picture of the other side of the connection, but I basically ran a wire and bypassed the plugs but I used spade connectors to make sure I could still disconnect when I need to:


The BEAMS uses a 5 volt signal for the tachometer signal, whereas the 5S-FE uses a 12 volt signal. The stock tachometer will not work at all with the BEAMS. You either have to get a BEAMS tach and swap it over into your cluster or use a tach adapter. I didn't want mismatched gauges (BEAMS uses a white face) so I chose to use a Dakota Digital SGI-8D tach adapter ( http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=127/category_id=287/home_id=59/mode=prod/prd127.htm ). To get this to work, you take pin 27 from one of the plugs on the ECU (silver wire) and cut it. The ECU side of the wire goes to the Input on the tach adapter, and the body side of the wire goes in the High output. You'll have to get power and ground from wherever you choose. This is the wire:


As I said, I chose not to run the wire for the airbag light. Here are the threads that helped me the most when I was searching for information:
http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=69585&st=0
http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=69150&hl=
http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=69989
http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=69959&hl=

Any questions about swapping a BEAMS, feel free to ask. I'll be glad to answer any questions I can or take as many pictures as I need to. I'm no expert on swapping the BEAMS but experience is the best teacher and I have a month and a half of experience now laugh.gif

Extra pictures, courtesy of Turnip.

EA1:



Clutch start wire:

Posted by: stephen_lee Aug 3, 2011 - 8:07 PM

QUOTE (bloodMoney @ Aug 3, 2011 - 5:47 PM) *
You should. It was about 4 hours for us to get to Daniel's house just to put the motor into the car. So, anyone can drive 4-5 hours for a meet with some good burgers and hiking. Plus a BEAMS smile.gif


yeahhh but its kinda like 16 hours for me

Posted by: Keiri Aug 3, 2011 - 8:14 PM

This makes me want to do a swap so much more now. I think I'd like an auto BEAMS Redtop swap in the Celica...would make a wonderful little toy.

Posted by: ricochet1490 Aug 3, 2011 - 8:25 PM

I totally agree with ^ - the 1800 for the motor and ecu, harness, tranny, clutch that I can get from Canada on ebay is looking MIGHTY enticing with this tid bit. How did all of the engine mounts work out?

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