Toyota MR2 Message Board - View Single Post - How I did my V6 swap... A Stock 2001 1MZ set-up.

DaveMush · 09-06-2005, 10:32 AM

<<<PLEASE DO NOT POST UNTILL I HAVE COMPLETED THE THREAD>>>

<<<I take NO responsibility for injuries, in any form, that you might experience while doing this swap. This write-up is how Dan & I did the swap in MY car. It's a guideline of sorts, and should be used as such. >>>
USE YOUR COMMON SENSE TO KEEP YOURSELF AND YOUR CAR SAFE!!!
<<<AGAIN!, I take no responcibility if you get hurt, kill yourself, or damage your own car.>>>

OK, so...
A little background as to why I chose to get the V6 in my Mr2 to begin with. Last year, about the time that the snow really started to come down (mid to late November) My car started to be really twitchy. If it got too much snow on the engine lid, the car wouldn't start easily. It would crank & crank... Then maybe start.
Then If I could put a halogen light under the engine lid, the car would start up well, but would die as soon as the engine lid got wet and I either came to a stop sign, or went around a sharp corner.

It did this to me for the months of Nov, Dec, Jan, & Feb before I gave up and started looking for a new engine.
A 5s-fe was easy, but not what I wanted.
A 3s-gte was nicer, but would take a few months yet to get the clip for the swap.
A 1mz-fe was interesting. Not many people had done it. A few People were, at the time, currently working on it. So there was info flying about. And people to talk to about probs and issues. AND to share info.

My buddy Dan Cech was also interested in the swap. He didn't own an Mr2, but was a member on the boards for about 6 months to a yr longer than I was. Back then, he was a member of the boards, before the boards, before the current boards. :bpuking:
He wanted to know what the car would perform like w/ a V6 and followed Brad Bedell's project fairly closely.
We both hounded him for info and opinions. (Thanks for putting up w/ us.) Did our research, and started pricing out the project.

Even w/ a few unknowns as far as what would really be necessary for the swap, we estimated $4K for the project. Assuming that we could catch the great buys at the right time.

As some read in the V6 thread, I actually spent about $4600 for the swap. The lowest cost that we seem to be aware of for a completed swap.

Before you Go any further. Decide what you want to do with your car:
V6 Tranny? or Mr2 Turbo? or Mr2 Turbo w/ LSD? OR hybrid tranny (Mr2T casing w/ V6 internals.)

From what Mitch has figured, the 93+ Mr2 bell housing will get you 360 deg of bolts. Obviously, so will the V6 bell housing.

If you want to do the Hybrid route, as I did, then I suggest you START LOOKING for a decent tranny shop that won't take your money for the hell of it. It took me a while to find a place that would do the work of swapping internals w/o rebuilding the whole gosh dammmn thing.

ALSO, start looking for a machine shop to machine the Mr2T axles to fit the V6 carrier bearing specs.

START NOW, SAVE YOURSELF TIME LATER!

09-06-2005, 10:32 AM	#1 (permalink)
DaveMush Mr2 V6 #8 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Syracuse, Ny Posts: 413 Thanks: 0 Thanked 14 Times in 11 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	How I did my V6 swap... A Stock 2001 1MZ set-up. <<<PLEASE DO NOT POST UNTILL I HAVE COMPLETED THE THREAD>>> <<<I take NO responsibility for injuries, in any form, that you might experience while doing this swap. This write-up is how Dan & I did the swap in MY car. It's a guideline of sorts, and should be used as such. >>> USE YOUR COMMON SENSE TO KEEP YOURSELF AND YOUR CAR SAFE!!! <<<AGAIN!, I take no responcibility if you get hurt, kill yourself, or damage your own car.>>> OK, so... A little background as to why I chose to get the V6 in my Mr2 to begin with. Last year, about the time that the snow really started to come down (mid to late November) My car started to be really twitchy. If it got too much snow on the engine lid, the car wouldn't start easily. It would crank & crank... Then maybe start. Then If I could put a halogen light under the engine lid, the car would start up well, but would die as soon as the engine lid got wet and I either came to a stop sign, or went around a sharp corner. It did this to me for the months of Nov, Dec, Jan, & Feb before I gave up and started looking for a new engine. A 5s-fe was easy, but not what I wanted. A 3s-gte was nicer, but would take a few months yet to get the clip for the swap. A 1mz-fe was interesting. Not many people had done it. A few People were, at the time, currently working on it. So there was info flying about. And people to talk to about probs and issues. AND to share info. My buddy Dan Cech was also interested in the swap. He didn't own an Mr2, but was a member on the boards for about 6 months to a yr longer than I was. Back then, he was a member of the boards, before the boards, before the current boards. :bpuking: He wanted to know what the car would perform like w/ a V6 and followed Brad Bedell's project fairly closely. We both hounded him for info and opinions. (Thanks for putting up w/ us.) Did our research, and started pricing out the project. Even w/ a few unknowns as far as what would really be necessary for the swap, we estimated $4K for the project. Assuming that we could catch the great buys at the right time. As some read in the V6 thread, I actually spent about $4600 for the swap. The lowest cost that we seem to be aware of for a completed swap. Before you Go any further. Decide what you want to do with your car: V6 Tranny? or Mr2 Turbo? or Mr2 Turbo w/ LSD? OR hybrid tranny (Mr2T casing w/ V6 internals.) From what Mitch has figured, the 93+ Mr2 bell housing will get you 360 deg of bolts. Obviously, so will the V6 bell housing. If you want to do the Hybrid route, as I did, then I suggest you START LOOKING for a decent tranny shop that won't take your money for the hell of it. It took me a while to find a place that would do the work of swapping internals w/o rebuilding the whole gosh dammmn thing. ALSO, start looking for a machine shop to machine the Mr2T axles to fit the V6 carrier bearing specs. START NOW, SAVE YOURSELF TIME LATER!