Engine Engine swap difficulty? 7afe >> 4age btop

Engine swap difficulty? 7afe >> 4age btop

so i guess its about time i started working on the stuff under the hood instead of the four corners.. My origional plan was to build a custom turbo kit but seeing as I currently have 102k on the stock motor (i know thats nothing but..) i want to weigh my other options.

So my new plan is to swap in a 4age btop + 5spd tranny. I would most likely pick up a full front clip to minimize headaches but I want to know hat else am I getting into. The motor should bolt up to the chassis with no probs but what about other things like the wiring harness, etc? I am definately no expert when it comes to engine swaps and my knowledge is rudimentry but I know there are some lurking around here so how about some input?

i know thats the way id go w/ it. nothing like N/A power, and you always have the option to boost later on.

full front clip would be the safest way to make sure u get EVERY part youll need. down to the bolts

Dude, if you do it, I wanna fly up there and take a ride...then steal your car.

I have the same plan for my 94 corolla but it's already a 5 speed. I want to get the front clip as well to do a whole swap with less headaches. It comes complete with axles, larger disc brake setup (2 piston calipers) fuse box, air intake box, and lots of other things. Price... well, I need to know also but hopefully I find it for cheap. Did you wanted silvertop or blacktop? I take the silver.

yea ima do the same to my 96 rolla, but i have a bigger headache to make it 6spd instead of 5spd, i have an auto now. but yea, ive seen some clips on ebay, dunno how well they can b trusted though. the clip for the 6spd was bout 2500 shipped.

well i am going 3s-gte but if you dont want a headache then i would not go the same way b/c we are going to run into a lot of them.

Getting a front clip helps alot with your problems on what parts to get. I was going this route also and after what I've spent on my car I was very able to do it. The only thing that kept me from not doing it was thinking of what problems I'll have with it in the future like finding parts. I don't know if there are any available parts for the 20valve around my area if anything breaks so I'm just sticking to my turbo plan cause I know my 7afe has available parts right away incase something breaks.

[Edit] Oh I forgot to tell you that once you get all your parts its pretty much a bolt off and bolt on process, but if you don't buy the clip you'll have trouble gathering all the needed parts. Also the transmission mount is different cause your converting from manual to auto.

DIY or shop?

That's a pretty easy swap. If you're doing it yourself then the clip is a good idea because you get lots of spare parts and whatnot, if you have someone doing it that really knows what they're doing, like myself, a clip isn't needed. The wiring is by far the hardest part of the swap, but I can do that for you. The cost for a wiring harness conversion is $350.

If you have any questions just let me know.

-Doc

btop as in blacktop or bluetop? you should be more specific

if you want boost later, a blacktop is not the smart choice.

Will most likely be DIY, I dont know too many shops in norcal that knows how to work on toyotas. I'm talking blacktop and will definately not boost (probably would go silvertop if it is significantly cheaper).. whole reason i'm going 20V instead of GZE is I rather stay on the NA side.
As for the clip I am looking for one with a 5spd as I don't think the 6spd would bolt up to the stock axles.. And i'll pass on the brakes because it wouldn't work unless I swap over all superstrut suspension components, and replacement parts are too hard to get.

But question:
Doc, What is needed to be done with the wiring harness?


edit, this is basically what I want to get.. maybe something with less milage:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Toyo...33615QQitemZ8037163763QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

That's a beautiful clip, that's for sure.

Here's a link for you to read: http://www.northeasterntuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2577

-Doc

actually i'm sure the dual piston calipers will bolt into the stock hubs

We'll I have no evidence to back up they wouldn't work but I think it was toyotasownersclub uk where I read the swap wouldn't work without the entire superstrut suspension assembly. Once again I dont really know and dont really care to find out. Importing brake rotors = $$$$

Doc, I took some extra time to read and fully comprehend your writeup and it really put some things into prespective but I have a few specific questions if you dont mind answering them..
1) which of the three options will I likely use to drop in a 4age from a ae101/111
2) approx how many places does the engine harness plug into the dash harness in the 93-97's?

The part that's really annoying me is the cali emissions laws. Basically the only way to make this swap "legal" is by retaining all emission equipment which includeds cat (ocourse), Charcoal canister, EGR, EVAP, pcv, and even OBD II (since my car is 96). I've been doing some research on club4ag and it seem to be impossible unless I swap over most of the equipment and i'm not even sure if thats possible... pretty sure the blacktop is obdii tho.

Since I wrote that I've done MANY more wiring harnesses and I've improved my technique a lot. Always use method three, just ignore the other two.

As in how many plugs? I think two.

There's no way you're going to be able to make that swap legal in an OBDII car in California. The blacktop is not OBDII (at least I'm 99% sure it's not), plus has no EGR so it will fail visual.

You're going to have to find someone to "help you out", or keep your stock engine and a good harness, and just swap the whole engine out for the original every time you need to get inspected (not really a bad option for someone who knows what they're doing).

-Doc

definately, this was my two options as well when I wanted to turbo my 7afe, except with turbo I only needed to swap out the turbo/manifold/intake and reflash the ECU back to the stock map. I dont think I would be in the mood to do a engine swap every two years though. This project will be on the back burner until I make friends with a few smog techs. **** cali's smog nazis!

Dude...move to Florida, no emission checks or anything You have to give me your car when you get here though

Well I was thinking I might move out of state after college but that depends on where my job brings me. I'll give you my rolla as a fair trade for your whatever new car you're getting *cough* G35 coupe *cough*

or just learn the toyota ecu's and modify it (and the stock harness) to work with your current stuff.....

ok...., good thing there's no smog check on my state but soon next door (Missouri). Now I need 1,500 dollars for the silvertop swap+shipping.

^$1500??? you're nuts..... last i looked there was a ST for like $300 on ebay..... who really needs a whole cut?