So I replaced my engine and transmission... [huge post, lots of pics]

Oh god where do I start.
So I got my coupe about a year ago and it seemed like everything was wrong with it.
It had like 270,000 miles on it, the brakes were shot and pulsating really bad, it had two completely different front struts, two flat tires, worn out rattly steering rack,
it leaked/burned oil at about a quart every few days, the clutch was worn out..
The guy I bought it from had put a junkyard Camry engine in it that had about 170,000 miles to begin with without replacing any seals or anything.
It was so bad.

So immediately I put in new brakes/hoses and correct struts with new cartridges.
I got lucky and found two ST162s at the local yard and got a new hood, driver's side door, and trunk lid.
Then last week, with the help of a friend I installed a '95 JDM 3S-FE and '96 S51 with a new clutch and Speed Source solid poly mounts.
I can't thank my buddy enough for helping me out with this, it took a week.
Also thanks to this forum for all the technical info, it helped a lot along the way.



The new engine





Replaced ALL seals, water pump, and timing belt
(Drive a screw into the seal and pry it out. Oil the new seal and use the old seal to drive the new one in with a mallet.)


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An S51 out of a '96 Camry, only 100,000 miles



New slave cylinder
Make sure to grease the input shaft



Taking out the old engine
Remove the hood, airbox, and battery. Disconnect the wiring harness and lay aside. Remove the subframe.
Up to this took a whole day.



I didn't feel comfortable pulling the entire powertrain out of the top in one piece, so I separated them.





Hoist



The old transmission, it had like a half inch of crud in the bottom (yes, I turned the throw out bearing around)



The old clutch surprisingly still had some material left. It was very weak



All the stuff that's not going back in



These mounts are the best, I would recommend them to anyone.



Clean in there now while you have the chance!
This is a good view of my new steering rack and heater hoses.
Also the entire AC and power steering systems have been removed (both didn't work anyway). The speed sensor and reverse sensor have been transferred over.
I didn't even need to remove the wheels or axles.
This was at the end of day three.



Intake and exhaust manifolds and fuel rail transferred over with new gaskets.
The throttle body and intake were incredibly dirty due to the vacuum leaks, so I replaced all the vacuum lines and plugged all ports controlling AC and power steering.
Also, a new clutch!
This kit is for the '87 Celica, the clutch cover is different. The fork that hold the throw out bearing is different; I had to use the old one.
Also I couldn't use the new valve cover either as it was too tall.



Then, I found this..
This was apparently laying on the pipe that goes to the EGR valve and may have been the cause of the starter issue (it starts just fine every time now).
I repaired these sections with bare butt connectors, shrink wire wrap, and electrical tape.



I put the new engine in separated the same way I removed the old one.
With the hoist holding the engine, I used a jack to lift the transmission into place and married them. (Why doesn't Toyota put pilots in these things?)



It's in! This was middle of day four.



Reconnect the wiring harness, put the subframe in with the new mounts, and reconnect the axles.
I didn't have any trouble lining up the mounts because I put them on the subframe and raised the subframe into position with the engine hanging from the driver's side and passenger's side mounts.






All of the adjustments were maxed out in one direction or another, the timing was all the way late, the idler bypass was halfway open, the throttle stop was open, and it had massive vacuum leaks. It ran really rich. All that's fixed now.
The result is really good. Lots of power, it's really solid. The engine doesn't move around. The clutch take-up is early and strong and it's not that bad not having power steering.
It's just a little heavy.




The JDM timing cover has no inspection port, you have to remove the entire cover if you want to check the timing.



The steering rack just has plugs in it to hold back the lube.







The engine was $750
The transmission was $150
The clutch was $150
The timing belt, seals and components were $100
The swap cost a little over $1,000 after it was all done

 

The driver's side hook started bending, it almost let go.

Also the replacement rack that I ordered took different fittings than the power steering lines on my car. I still have all the parts, so I could restore it someday.

 

LKQ on white horse rd. at one time they had two but i haven't seen any since

 

I pulled the tranny off first so i wouldn't have to tilt it.

the new engine did not come with an EGR also the injectors where different so i had to swap them.

I don't have the old inspection cover

first gear is shorter, the rest are taller. I like the camry gears better.

 

First of all, i got the engine from JEI of Norcross GA.
It came out of a 1995 Japanese camry(the US was only using the 5s-fe in the camry at that time)


As you can see in the first pic it was only a long block with the distributor, spark plugs, fuel rail,(could not use) oil filter, pressure plate/bolts, and injectors.
It has an 8 bolt crank and no counter balance shaft. It still had that authentic Japanese red coolant.

These are the injectors that came on the new engine.
one side says denso and the other side has the numbers: 23250-74040. the numbers on the upper part are: 20 then 5360. and on the other side: U and 524. (that is ALL the numbers)



This is the distributor, (i could not use. also the wires said 1995 on them) and the oil filter (no english on the oil filter. i had to stabb it with a screw driver to get it off)




Also my EGR valve fit just fine right where it was supposed to,(i cleaned it out) and the new timing belt cover was cleaner and looked nicer so i left it on.

P.S. I found the tranny on craigslist from a '96 manual camry and that's where i also got the flywheel and bolts i also had the flywheel resurfaced on a flywheel specific stone grinder machine.

 

No, the guy at JEI told me it was a '95 3s-fe. and the valve cover said 2000 on it and the plug wires said 1995 on them.

The injectors on the car now are from the old engine which came from an american '91 camry. I don't know what parts are from the '87 celica or the '91 camry

the EGR pipe goes into the head.

 

i swapped the valve cover from the old engine