Worklog: Anaxyd's 3S-GTE swap, Phase: Planning Options

[AnaXyd]

Time to organize a clean and well detailed guide. And of course, the worklog of the conversion of my car, split into the smallest detail. This guide will be parted into different phases......................
AnaXyd's 3S-GTE swap
- Swap from 7A-FE in a ST/AT200 to the 3S-GTE


[#] Prologue
I am a boy from Norway, which is now 19 years old. I bought my Celica for around a year ago, and have enjoyed every ride with it since. But, there is a but. The Celica looks like a hardcore sportscar, and it surely is; with the right engine. I have the 7A-FE engine, which pulls bad. The pulling begins at 5000 rpm, and that is a bit too late, when the max is about 6100rpm.

Well, I have been a member to this forum a long time. I have read a lot of the topics with swaps etc. and the hunger for the famous 3S-GTE engine have grown enormous right now. A swap to this engine should give my car the last touch, which stamps it a real sportscar. Right?

So, I live in Norway. Its a great country, but the laws are too strict. A swap like this requires a lot of paperwork, like a documentation from Toyota which tells me what to upgrade in the car so it can handle the power of the 3S-GTE. But, I am on the right way to my goal and I think it is possible. The engine is actually built for this car, so why not?

My plan for making this thread is to have a really good recipe to do the 3S-GTE swap. I will do it in a detailed level, and try to make a clean and well arranged thread/worklog. I hope you guys can help me getting this thread much better and detailed, to make it more easy for the next swappers.


[#] My car
My car is a ST/AT200, from 1996. The engine is 7A-FE, with 116hp. The car have 191.000km on the wheels, and it have been upgraded with many modifications this year. Like new leather seats, great stereo, new wheels, fixed brakes drums etc. The car have turned out really nice now, and my planned exterior upgrades are the JDM projector headlights, lowering and tinting. The car is LHD.

Some pictures:












[#] Things to reinforce/upgrade in my car
Things that I know I need to reinforce/upgrade in my car is:

- Better brakes. The 3S-GTE engine produces too much power for my little brakes that I have now.
Please give me some tips to this upgrade. Is it easy to swap the brakes from a GT4?

If I have forgotten something, please mention it to me!


[#] Things to buy for the swap

- Complete front cut 3S-GTE from rpmgarage.com. Is this a trustable shop to buy from? I see that I will get the whole front cut with harness, ECU, transmission and axles. Plus the Rear Subframe with all necessary parts to do the 4x4 swap. (Maybe one time I will do that? )
Price: Around $3000 + custom fee (around $750)

- Waterpump and timing belt replacement (do I need this?)
Price: unknown

- Seals, gaskets, broken parts replacement on the engine
Price: unknown ($1000+ is a fair budget maybe?)

- Painting, refreshing and visible "makeup" on the engine (just to look good)
Price: unknown (around $150)

- GT4 fuel pump?
Price: unknown

- Better brakes (Preferable the GT4 brakes, used)
Price: unknown ($1000+ ??)

- Modified engine harness?
Price: unknown

- Transmission (Preferable the 3S-GE with LSD, or the e153 with LSD)
Price: around $500

- Axles (Which fits my original hubs and the new tranny)
Price: around $300

- New clutch kit which fits the combination of the tranny and engine
Price: unknown

If I have forgotten something, please mention it to me!


[#] The transmission madness
This is a unclear subject, and we need some really explanation here. I cant write this 100%, but I'll try:

There is multiple trannys which fit the 3S-GTE engine:
- e153(?) MR2 turbo tranny with LSD
- 3S-GE tranny
- And there is more. I will fill in later

The best choice is to get a tranny with LSD, which makes it easier to do launches.

In addition to the tranny, we will still need:
- Shifter cables
e153(?) mr2 turbo tranny = 3S-GTE shifter cables
3SGE tranny = 3S-GE shifter cables

- Axles
Get the axles which originally fits the tranny we'll buy.

e153(?) mr2 turbo tranny = e153(?) mr2 turbo tranny axles
3SGE tranny = 3SGE tranny axles

And we will need a clutch. To match the tranny and engine combo, we need to mix some parts:
[your tranny] disk (or a custom made 3sgte disk, with the splines for [your tranny])
[your tranny] throwout bearing
[your tranny] alignment tool
3sgte pressure plate
3sgte flywheel (or just get your stock one resurfaced)

UNCERTAIN:NOTE FOR MR2 tranny: If we are going to use this one, we only need to buy a clutch kit for a 90-93 turbo MR2

Some quick facts about resurfacing:
- I'll know I have seen some conditions you have to bee aware of when resurfacing. Please tell me

[#] The axle madness
This is a really unclear subject. I have heard a lot of different views, so I am really confused with this one.

- If I'll buy the MR2 tranny and axles which fit it, will this fit perfectly into my wheel hubs?
- And what can I do to make sure the axles NEVER pop out? (It seems like this is a usual problem)

Please, if someone here knows, clarify this so we'll got the perfect recipe.


[#] The harness madness
The harness from the Japanese cars are too short, and they need some modification to fit a LHD car.

- UNCERTAIN: The harness needs to be lengthened with 30inch (Around 80cm)
- Some things needs to be modified, but exactly what? Is this possible to do myself, or can someone do this for me? <--- Interessted in help with this one

Please, if someone here knows, clarify this so we'll got the perfect recipe.


[#] Things to do when I'll get the engine
My plan is to shine the engine before I place it in my car. I will try to make sure it is in a 100% condition when placing it.

- Wash it
- Paint the valve cover and turbo heatshield
- Test the compression and leakage (maybe I need to change some valve seals, piston rings etc?)
- IF NEEDED: Change internal seals and gaskets, piston rings etc)
- IF NEEDED: Change the waterpump and timing belt/chain (I have heard that it is good to do)
- Take out the 3S-GTE transmission (transmission and gearbox is the same, right?)
- Change the clutch to fit the 3S-GTE -> 3S-GE combination.
- Place the 3S-GE transmission on the engine
- UNCERTAIN: Mount the axles in the new tranny. Make sure they will NEVER pop out (with spacers?)

If something is missing in this list, or doesnt belong here, please tell me!


[#] Things to do when swapping
When the day of the swap has come, I will do these things in this order:

From the cut:

1. Remove the ECU and harness
2. Drain the oil
3. Replace it with real stuff (Mobil1 10w40 or something)
4. Remove everything that is connected to the engine (hoses, wires, cables etc)
5. Unbolt the engine mounts
6. Remove the engine, and pull it out
7. Remove radiators, oil coolers
8. Remove boxes with fluid/liquids. (Power steering etc)
9. Remove MAF/MAP sensor (not sure of the name)
10. Any more?

Picture of 3s-gte engine bay(I'll ringed the boxes of fluids that I dont have in my bay originally):


From my car:

1. Remove the ECU and harness
2. Remove everything that is connected to the engine (hoses, wires, cables etc)
3. Unbolt the engine mounts
4. Remove the engine, and pull it out
5. Remove radiators or replace from the cut
6. Remove the engine mounts, and replace from the cut
7. Place boxes with fluid/liquids which my car does originally have like the cut. (Like the box right to the ABS box to the left in the engine bay)
8. Clean the engine bay/refresh with new paint
9. Remove the axles
10. Mount the engine mounts
11. Place the 3S-GTE in the engine bay
12. Connect with wire harness and ECU from 3S-GTE
13. Connect radiator hoses, plugs, etc
14. Connect the axles to the hubs from the transmission.
15. Make sure EVERYTHING is connected properly
16. Change the fuel pump into a 3S-GTE one.
17. Any more?

If something is missing in this list, or doesnt belong here, please tell me!


[#] Things to consider/make clear
- Make sure the axles from the 3S-GTE fits in the 3S-GE transmission and in the car without problems and does not affect the reliability of the car
- Will the exhaust system from the 7A-FE fit the 3S-GTE? I need som explanation here please.
- Will the new axles pop right into my original hubs?
- Do I need to swap the whole suspension and hubs too?
- Does the GT4 brakes fit my original hubs?
- More?


[#] Things that is done
- Get the swap legal (I am in the middle of this process)
-




[#] To you, fellows
As mentioned earlier in this thread, my plan about this thread in addition actually have a worklog of my swap, is to make a detailed guide of swapping the 7A-FE engine into 3S-GTE engine. With all the confusing problems with the axles, transmission, clutch, wire harness etc clearly explained.

I am known for orderly threads in bulletin boards in Norway, and I have made a lot of worklogs and guides. This is the time to make one internationally, and I hope I will be taken with open arms!

So please, help me out with making the exact recipe to do the swap. I have only one car, and cant risk to have it off the road a long time, so the swap must go really effectively when I start pulling the 7A-FE engine out of my car. If you have anything to tell me, make clear, correct the steps in this guide or anything, do not hesitate to tell me! I have only written the steps out of things that I have read, thought etc. So they are absolutely not perfect and complete yet. I have surely forgotten something too.

This post has been edited by AnaXyd: Jun 20, 2009 - 2:26 PM