Complete: 1MZ-FE V6 engine swap - For Sale

Update: 06/19/07

I pulled the motor and tranny out to measure the tranny and I figured out why I am having such a hard time with the rear tranny mount. The distance between the front and rear mount is 11/16" wider on the E153 tranny than the "S" tranny. The distance between the center of the input shaft to the front mount is the same between the E153 and "S" tranny, so the additional distance is on the rear. I almost have the rear mount bracket slotted the additional amount anyway.

With the motor and tranny out, I can bolt on the flywheel and clutch assembly and leave eveything bolted together and not have to remove it again once it's in.

My MR2 axles were shipped today. They should arrive about the 26th.

 

Update: 06/20/07

Well, I managed to go to the garage for about 30 minutes and finished slotting the bolt holes in the rear tranny mount bracket. I managed to get 3/4", which gives me an extra 1/16". The mount still has about 1/16" gap between the mount body and the bracket.

Now I need to go to the dealer to make sure there is not a spacer between the crank and the flywheel before I bolt it all together for the last time.

 

Update: 06/25/07

I received the turbo MR2 non-lsd inner axles today. Below is a pic of the S and E axles. It's hard to tell, but the All-trac axles are bigger than the FWD axle and the MR2 axle is larger than the All-trac axle.

 

Update: 07/04/07

Lots of progress today!

I got the flywheel bolted to the engine and installed the clutch set and bolted on the tranny. I then put the engine/tranny back in and made a few modification to the tranny cross member and added some reinforcing. Basically, what it took to get the tranny in was to slot the rear tranny mount bracket and make 2 notches in the cross member to clear the bottom 2 tranny bolts and part of the engine. This would not be necessary when using the MR2 LSD tranny and a 3S motor. I also had to relocate the 2 holes in the cross member by drilling new holes about 3/4" to the drivers side of the existing holes. Below are some pix.

Slotted rear tranny mount bracket:


Slotted rear tranny mount bracket with mount:


Modified tranny cross member, top:


Modified tranny cross member, bottom:


Now I need to fabricate a top tranny mount as I have a 5th gen All-trac mount and need a 4th gen. I didn't know they were different before I bought the mount. I can combine my 4th gen S mount and the 5th gen All-trac mount to make the mount I need. I'm in the process now of installing everything, like the radiator, etc., then I'll take it to the exhaust shop to connect the V6 to my existing exhaust, then start this bad boy. I am once again excited about this project! I also have some small stuff to do like mount the new gauges, make an air tube and box, remote mount the battery, etc.

 

Update: 07/24/07

I'm getting back on track. I have finished my other projects and am going to finish my car before I start anything else (at least that's my thought, I'll see what the wife's thoughts are)

So I've just been assembling stuff. The past couple of days I spent modifying my "S" shifter cables by welding spot welds on the machined surface of the part that goes into the cable stay bracket. This is done to fill the gap. I'll post a pic when I'm done which will better explain what I mean. I should have everything assembled by the end of this week, then will need to get the exhaust connected and start it. Unfortunately I'll be on vacation for our next auto-cross race, so I will have to wait until our September race. I have keys to the track so I'll probably be testing as soon as it is done.

 

Update: 08/27/07

While I was on vacation, the adapter I ordered to hook up the oil pressure gauge arrived, so last night I installed that and the sending unit, I also installed the water temp sender.

I will be dropping off the car Wednesday after work at the exhaust shop to get the exhaust done! Hopefully I'll be able to pick it up Thursday after work in time to start it over the weekend!!

Tonight I need to get the car down on all 4's, get the spring height adjusted to level the car a bit and get the Avalon head pipe in the back of the car and get it ready to head to the exhaust shop. Tomorrow, I need to roll the car out of the garage and spin it around 180* and load it on the tow dolly. Wednesday, I'll tow it down to the shop and explain what needs to be done. If there is enough light under the car, I will try to get some pix and of underside while it is at the exhaust shop. If not, I have a friend that has a rack where he works and has offered to let me put it on the rack. I am also going to see if there is a way to hook up dual exhaust. This might not be possible because of the spare tire area.

 

My Baby's gone!

Gone to the exhaust shop that is I dropped the car off yesterday after work and hopefully will be able to pick it back up after work today. If not today, for sure tomorrow, just in time for the long weekend with plenty of time to work on it.

 

Got my car back

And what a POS job the guy did on the exhaust

He ran a 2" pipe from the front down and to the back. He ran a 2" pipe from the rear down and to the back. Then he merged the front 2" pipe in to the rear 2" pipe, then ran the rar 2" pipe to the cat. I told him to us larger pipe from the merge back. And the pipe beyond the merge has a few bends that further reduce the size of the pipe. And he was proud that he was able to use 2" pipe coming from the manifolds, even though the opening in the manifold is like 1 7/8". So after this weekend, I'll be calling him and telling him he needs to fix it or find someone who can. He said that's the best he could do and even had to cut a little bit of the lip on the tranny crossmember. SOB

Anyway, At least it's closer to be started.

 

Saturday, as I was taking the car off the trailer I also realized he didn't use the flex-coupler I gave him! I gave him both the one from the Celica and the Avalon, which is wider and short then the Celica one. I WILL be calling him on Tuesday and telling him to redo the exhaust. Either that or we will be meeting again in small claims court. Small claims court will cost he more because I will get an estimate which will include removing his crap and redoing the exhaust.

I studied the routing the exhaust should take for a long time, since it took a while to get it to this point and I gave him very specific instructions on exactly what to do. The least I would have expected would be for him to call me and tell me he couldn't do it the way I asked him to, in which case I would have told him to stop working on it and I'll pick it up. I certainly would not have OK'd him to do what he did and would have told him to go f himself if he told me he had to cut anything on my car with a cutting torch! Luckily, he just cut a small portion of the lip of the cross member. Regardless, he's not going to hear the end of this.

As a side note, I should be starting the car tomorrow morning some time. Wish me luck.

 

What's that noise!!!!

That noise is the sweet rumble of the V6 under the hood of my Celica That's right, at 1:40 pm today, my car started, without having to change any of the wiring. I did spend about 15 minutes to find a wire that had come disconnected which supplies power to the fuel pump reply (a.k.a. the circuit open relay) and the ignition system. This is one of the 50 or 60 wire connections I'll be soldiering once everything has been proven to be correct. It idled right up when cold, came down once it was warm, no leaks (except for the power steering pressure line connection, oops). Oil pressure was great, engine temp was good for just sitting with no air flow through the radiator, and the exhaust sounds great! I ordered one of those $20 EBay stainless steel mufflers and had it installed (which is the only thing the exhaust guy got right), and it sounds good. Now I only have a few things left to do before I can test drive it and a few more before I race it, 3 more weekends away.

Todo before test drive:
Replace axle seals in tranny - pass. Side done today
Setup & install axles
Bleed brakes (ooops)
Bleed clutch master/slave cylinders
Buy & install alternator belt
Install radiator overflow tank
Swap driver side strut housing with modified tube - done today
Align front suspension (enough to drive down the street)

Todo before race:
Have exhaust corrected (not necessary but will to be done anyway)
Finish wiring
Air cleaner setup
Relocate battery
Align all suspension for racing
Modify throttle pedal lever
Reassemble car (dash & console pieces & pass. Seat, etc.)


I found that the stock Celica throttle pedal lever does not pull the throttle all the way open. I figure if I bend the upper part of the lever (the part above the pivot point) away from the firewall, this will move the pedal out further giving more range to be able to open the throttle all the way. I've also wanted the pedal higher anyway.

I also realized that did consider the Check Engine Light when doing my wiring, so I have no way of knowing if and when there is a problem. So I'll be looking at the wiring for that, during the evenings. Hopefully it will be easy to figure out.

 

Sorry, not to rub it in or anything, but every night since I got it running, I start it just to listen to it 8)

Yesterday I installed the drivers side axle seal, axle and found out why I had no brakes the other day; I didn't have the pads on the driver's front. That will be finished tonight along with installing the passenger side axle which is the easier side. I also picked up the alternator belt and bought some cable to move the battery to behind the passenger seat. Yesterday I also connected the C.E.L. Now I need to figure the wiring to the OBD port so I can hook up a scanner to read the codes. It's supposed to be just I wire coming from the ECU.

Yesterday I also had a rather heated discussion with the guy that did my exhaust. At one point, he thought I was calling him stupid. Indirectly, I was. I was surprised he caught onto what I was saying. Anyway he said he forgot about the flex coupler and didn't hear me when I told him to use 2 1/2" pipe where the 2 banks merge. What a dumbass. Anyway, we both were much calmer today when I called him back and made an appointment, for next Wednesday, to fix the exhaust. I offered to stay and help him with the exhaust, but he said he couldn't do that because of his insurance.

Don't worry, I'll start the car again tonight to listen to it purrr, and tomorrow and the next night...... 8) I'll be driving it by this weekend.

 

Test drive details

Well, I finally got to drive my car! OMG is it awesome! Now I know how you turbo guys feel, except I power torque from beginning to the end of my RPM range

Anyway, this morning I went and started getting things ready so I can drive the car, mostly cleanly loose tools out of the car while I was waiting for my wife to wake up and help bleed the clutch master/slave cylinder. After she helped bleed it, I tried to start the car with the tranny in reverse and the clutch disengaged, the motor wouldn't turn over because the clutch was still engaged. I tried adjusting the clutch master cylinder push-rod, but the best I could get was the clutch mostly disengaged, enough for the motor to start, but was just slipping the clutch. I ended up welding 3 nuts onto the adjuster on the push rod, having the effect of making the push rod longer. That solved the problem, and I was able to move the pedal a little high, which I have been wanted to do.

Time to drive it! I make a couple short trips down the street and OMG this thing moves! Even with only part throttle! Back to the garage and since it didn't burn up or fall apart, time to fix the throttle pedal so I can get full throttle. I bent the bottom half of the throttle lever forward and the upper half also forward. Now I am getting full throttle and the pedal is higher off the firewall, which I also wanted. After I adjusted the throttle lever, I took it for another test drive. This time, as I backed out of the driveway, I had to wait for about 3 cars full of kids. I pulled out and was on their ass in no time! We reached a section of the road where you can pass and the 3rd car in line decides to pass the other just as I pull out to pass all three of them. I was on his bumper the whole time. It was a KIA or something, so it wasn't even a big deal.

I got back from a few blasts up and down the road in front of my house and decided to shorten the shifter, another project I wanted to do. It shifts quicker now, but I need to angle it back a little, which I will do over the winter.

One thing weird I noticed about the tranny is that it is acting as if it has an LSD. I first noticed it Friday when I was installing the modified passenger side axle. With the tranny in neutral, I spun the axle/brake rotor forward, and the drivers side would roll forward, when I spun it backwards, the driver's side spun backwards, like an LSD. I put the tranny in gear and couldn't spin either side, like an LSD. Today, after a few hard launches and some hard second gear shifts, it always spun both tires. I have a nice PAIR of black lines down my driveway. I need to do some reach about this. The tranny is supposed to be from a '00 Camry, but maybe it's actually from a Solara with an LSD. That would be awesome! I need to go on the Camry and Solara forums and check/ask around.

I also found out the ECU has a rev limiter. I just don't know what RPM it limits at. I don't have my tach hooked up yet. I think I need to get the Autometer tach adapter so I can hook up my Autometer tach, which needs to be done BEFORE my next race.

Now I need to get an air cleaner so I can figure out where to mount the fuse/relay box and finish up the wiring. I'll be aligning the car tomorrow and will be getting the exhaust FIXED Wednesday, and finish reassembling the car. I'll definitely be ready for our next race.

 

OK, here's a pic of the driveway burn-out I did yesterday.




Now, BEFORE anyone says anything about how short the burnout is, the important thing to remember is that BOTH tires were spinning. This was just a test to see if it was really acting like an LSD and it seems like it is. At one end of my driveway, I have a garage door and at the other a gravel shoulder between the driveway and the road where there are many fast moving cars, so I kept it short. The real test will be at the next auto-cross race.

 

Update: 09/17/07

So the interior is now completely reinstalled. The ECU mounted in the same spot of the 3S ECU, all wiring in tucked away, and all gauges and switches are mounted. The battery is also mounted behind the passenger seat on the floor.

I installed a K&N air filter, which I still need to build a heat shield around. The fuse/relay box is mounted. I only have a few more things to do before the race this weekend. I'm both nervous and excited about the race. Nervous because I want a good showing and excited because the car is freaking fast!

Tomorrow I drop off the car after work to get the exhaust redone. I should pick it up after work on Wednesday and I'll have plenty of time to get the car ready for the race.

 

Update: 09/22/07

The car survived a practice day of auto-cross and ran great! I now have to relearn how to drive the car; it has so much torque throughout the rpm range. At this point I'm considering the swap complete and now I just have some small things to do that are not related to doing the swap. I am going to work on a parts list and a list of custom mods that need to be made, which are only a few.

 

After our race this weekend I realized how much I NEED an LSD and/or better tires, like race slicks! So I think over the winter I'll be looking for a Turbo MR2 LSD transmission and axles and convert the shifter for FWD. This motor has so much torque I have to learn to back off the throttle coming out of tight corners. The Azenis just aren't cutting it. They were OK with the 3S-GE, but not for the V6. I did beat a supercharged Integra by .09 seconds that is in my class.

I also need to get Hawk to make me a set of HP-plus pads for the front of my car. They make pads for the 4th gen and early 5th gen, but not the late 5th gen ('92 - '93) GTS, which are the big brakes. They make other pads for the late 5th gen, so they should have the pad backing plates and just use the mold from the other compound to make the HP-plus pads, I hope. I love the HP-plus compound pads. Right now I have some Satisfied pads (which I am UN-Satisfied with) that I thought were supposed to be equal to the HP-plus compound, but they don't work as well. Another winter project to add to the list.

 

Something I just remembered, if anyone has a 4th gen All-trac upper tanny mount they want to donate to my project, I would gladly pay shipping. I have a mount I fab'd from a 5th gen All-trac and a 4th gen GTS, but it's nice to have a factory part.

 

Here's some pix I took from Sunday at the race. I don't have the action shots yet. I'll post them when I get them. (The white spots on the hood are clouds)

 

1st Event pix

Here are some pix from the cars first auto-cross race with the V6.

 

You mean like smoke um? I hadn't really thought about that yet. Most of my efforts have always been on improving the performance. I suppose I should consider the appearance as well. What do you suggest?

The rear passenger side of the plenum hits the strut bar, slightly. I had planned to triangulate the bar anyway, so I might fab a whole new one. First I need to see if the factory bar mounts to anything more than just the firewall sheet metal. If it doesn't, it's not really doing anything anyway. There should be enough room under the hood still to fab a flat tube bar from tower to tower.

After looking at the pix of the event, I think I need to increase my front spring rate. I have 450 lbs springs in the front and I think I'd like to try 500 lbs.