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6G Celicas Forums > 6th Generation Celica > Engine/Transmission/Maintenance
Authentic
Hey all

I own a '96 Celica with a 3S-FE engine. As a lot of you may know, its a nice, economical engine with decent power, but after reading so much about other people's Celicas, and having a friend who owns a 1998 Celica with the 3S-GE BEAMS engine, I kind of feel like I have a Nintendo Wii and everyone else has PS3s and Xboxs. They're all very similar, but its just missing that grunt factor. Now apart from his being an Automatic, his Celica is cooler in every way, and after finding an auction for a half-cut with the BEAMS engine on a site called Trade Me (New Zealands version of Ebay), I am extremely interested in doing an engine swap for my car.

Here is the auction for those who are interested: 3S-GE & 5 SPD Beams VVTi

I have read a couple of threads about people doing a BEAMS engine swap, but these were in Australia and I think in the US, and the Celicas there are slightly different.

I have never done an engine swap before, but I am eager to learn and I am reading as much as I can about it. I'm currently 19 years old so I don't have a lot of experience with large jobs such as this, but I know what is what in an engine.

First off, will everything that I need (apart from tools and universal engine parts [battery etc]) be included either with the half cut or interchangeable with my Celica? By this I mean things like wiring, cables, ECU etc?

And how 'plug-and-play' will it be with my Celica? I've sort of gathered that NZ has JDM Spec Celicas, so will that make this job any smoother?

I know what equipment and tools that I will require, and I do have a couple mates who are mechanics so they should be able to help me out, but they wont have nearly as much knowledge about Celicas as you guys do.

I apologise if I sound ignorant by asking these questions, but I just want to get an idea. I may as well summarise (in broad steps) how I think this will go down:

So basically:

  • Remove BEAMS engine & transmission from half cut > clean and change fluids
  • Remove 3S-FE engine & transmission from Celica > set aside
  • Install BEAMS engine into Celica on same engine mounts?
  • Unsure what to do with things such as fuel, fuses, power steering etc (Hoping 3S-FE stuff is the same)
  • Install BEAMS Wiring Loom (Or use existing 3S-FE Loom)
  • Install BEAMS ECU
  • Install super strut front & Brake Assembly


Now I am not asking for a full walkthrough on how to swap engines, I am just wanting to see if I have the right idea about this, and for anyone to PLEASE correct me where I am completely wrong.

I know this is not a walk in the park for someone who has never done this, but I'm mainly wondering how compatible the existing components of the 3S-FE engine are with the BEAMS engine.

I appreciate any feedback, cheers.

EDIT: For the price I'm paying, I could probably sell my current Celica and for one or two grand extra, get a very tidy 3S-GE non-Beams. Unless this swap is fairly straight forward, that may be the option I take.
S8S8
I did the Beams conversion last year, although I went from a 5SFE rather than the 3SFE that you have.

I'd never completed a full conversion before, but I managed to get my way through the process without any major dramas.

My advice would be to get the half cut and swap absolutely EVERYTHING over!

Basically everything that can be removed should be swapped over. Obviously there's the engine, gearbox and loom, but you should also swap both of the interior looms, the instrument cluster and the front chassis loom.

You may also have to swap over the brake booster and master cylinder, as the one on my ST204 was larger and touched up against the Beams. Unfortunately I didn't notice this until after the conversion was completed, and it was a pain having to swap everything over later once the engine was in place.

I also swapped over the subframe, steering rack and everything else that was attached. This was simply to reduce the amount of work required.

You may be able to score some extras with your cut too. I picked up twin piston calipers, auto climate control and a nice three spoke steering wheel, all of which were successfully swapped over.

If you do this and swap absolutely everything, then yes it is pretty much plug-and-play. I didn't cut a single wire for my conversion!

It's a great conversion and is totally do-able by anyone like me who is not a mechanic.

Do it! smile.gif
Authentic
Your conversion was actually what had me wondering if it was as simple as you made it look! And the way yours has turned out looks perfect. Plus, I can read where you went wrong and avoid doing the same biggrin.gif
Rusty
that one has been on TM for a while.
Check the lvvta website and maybe send them an email as you might have to certify the swap work, this costs about $500 for the check and plate.

Also if your thinking of getting adjustable suspension or something else down the line, buy and install at the same time, this will save you another $500 for updating the cert plate later on. Silly I know, but I thinkthats why they are looking at logbooks for this type of stuff.


QUOTE
100% complete engine loom in body shell sold less body panels and shocks with factory S54 06D Helical lsd fwd 5 speed gearbox with drive shafts, Super strut front hubs and 2 pot brakes, HKS pod kit, Add fuel supply and this engine is ready to run


the wording isn't too clear imo as in some of the pictures the shocks are there and missing in others. Though they could have been removed and put aside. So ask the seller to clarify what parts are and aren't included.

Toyodiy for 'part numbers' and the 'Parts cross-reference' feature should help aswell.
Authentic
That was the other thing which I would have to look into. I wasn't sure if a certification plate was needed for an engine of the same type, but I'm also not sure if the 3S-GE BEAMS counts as an engine which is meant for this car anyway. So the cost of doing all this would almost add up to the price of a nice SS-III anyway haha.

And yeah I noticed that when I first found the auction. The wording is quite hard to follow. I wasn't sure if they were offering an install as part of the auction either, it almost sounds as if they were when I read it the first couple of times.

I'm still undecided about this. BEAMS swaps in the US and Australia make sense because SS-III Celicas weren't sold there (as far as I know), but there are plenty of tidy examples for sale on Trade Me. That may be the path I take in the end.

Thanks for the replies everyone
richee3
If I lived somewhere where I could have simply bought an SS-III as opposed to swapping, that would have been my decision. BEAMS, Superstruts, and twin pot brakes with none of the work. 99% of swaps run into unexpected issues so there will always be additional costs, which will push your budget closer to the cost of a clean SS-III, not to mention you'll get other goodies such as the JDM tails and projectors you get with an SS-III. Not telling you what to do because I had a lot of fun with my BEAMS swap but if I had the choice, I would have simply bought a new car.
S8S8
I considered selling my car rather than doing a conversion, but there were a couple of reason I didn't.

I don't know what the rules are in NZ or the US, but over here I'd have had to get a roadworthy certificate for my car before selling it. I had the inspection done, and I needed to replace all four shocks which were leaking, fix the engine which was leaking oil, replace the engine mounts, replace the intake which had deteriorated, replace two tyres plus a bunch of other things. The quote to have the work done was around $4,000 and I would have sold the car for maybe $6,000 if I was lucky!

So in the end I might have ended up with $2,000 cash in my hand and have to spend another $20,000 or so getting a car I'd be satisfied with. Instead I spent my money on the Beams conversion, coilovers, JDM tails & projectors, GT-Four front end plus a bunch of other little things.

Overall I am way ahead financially by doing the work on this car rather than trading it for something else. It depends on the condition of the car to start with though. Mine had a perfect body and interior, and the things that were stuffed (engine and suspension) were the things I wanted to replace anyway. If the bodywork was crap then it might have been a different story.

I'm tempted to replace the Celica with a new 86 later this year, but I'm loving life with my old converted 6G at the moment. smile.gif
bnr32celica
Call me crazy, but while you want to swap the 3SFE out, I want to swap it in just to see what I can get out of it.

Swapping a car is never as easy as people make it, but with a factory shop manual, good tools, good friends, and a secondary stash of cash, it will happen. Swaps always run over budget, no matter how much planning is done, and there is always a headache or two...just ask anyone who has done it. The last car I swapped was a MK3 VW GTI from a 2.0 auto to a VR6 5speed. Took me 4 months of weekend wrenching here and there outside in the cold, and $1000 more than budget. In the end though, I ended up with a fully rebuilt motor and trans, a mean exhaust, and a car that maintained all factory functions, right down to the aircon. I could have bought a running VR for what I spent, but my shell was extremely clean, it didn't have power options, and it already had airbag suspension and nice wheels.

Budget double what the swap costs and you won't be hurting for cash if you need to replace a part or 7.
Rusty
For some rough figures

Late spec BEAMS SS-II/SS-III celica
are going for around 8,000NZD
and with that your gaining
BEAMS engine, projector headlights, 3post steering wheel, climate control, red/black trim seats, silver interior trim pieces, twin pot brakes and if you buy a SS-III you get the lipkit, lsd gearbox, rear strut brace, superstrut suspension.

the 1/2 cut option and if we use your TM link in this your gaining
BEAMS engine, climate control, silver interior trim pieces, twin pot brakes, lsd gearbox, superstrut suspension
2,000 + shipping
any additional tools - but a good investment for future work (engine hoist is about 300)
maintenance parts (cambelt, water pump etc)
exhaust work
wheel alignment
cert 500
Using my guesstimation calculator thats about 3,500 - 4,000 NZD

Also I agree with what S8S8 said about the condition of the car you start with, looking through your profile pictures, it does look pretty tidy and you know the history about it.


BonzaiCelica
this clip is sooo complete. I'd go for it if I was you!!
delusionz
sell it get ss-3, a nice one will come up sooner or later
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