Toyota MR2 Message Board - View Single Post - 93NA -> Gen3 swap progress

Tyler H · 03-16-2005, 10:06 PM

There is a lot of info on the net about doing this swap, but there are a lot of details that have been glossed over. I did a LOT of research before beginning. My intent is to capture and document any issues I run into that aren't widely covered with what's already out there. I already had the car stripped down to the head because I had to replace a headgasket. I decided that it was so much work, I would go ahead and swap.

I began with doing the prep work. Put the front tires on some boards, disconnect the battery, drain all the fluids. Support car on jack stands and remove rear wheels. Disconnect engine wiring harness from ECU in the trunk and the engine room fuse box. Disconnect the clutch hydraulics and shift cables. Disconnect the coolant hoses at the firewall. Disconnect the fuel bajo bolt at the fuel filter. Remove rear rotors / calipers and break the bolts off the ends of the axle. Disconnect the rear strut rods from the chassis and the rear toe control rods from the spindle. Disconnect the spindle from the strut body and the lower control arms from the spindle. Remove spindle. Support axles if you care about them.

Remove three bolts from subframe -> rear engine mount. Support subframe with a jack and loosen 4 bolts. Lower subframe/strut rod/lower control arm assy slightly. Remove rear swaybar, which goes OVER the exhaust, then remove exhaust from "downpipe" and set aside. At this point, you can remove the rear subframe/strut rod/lower control arm assy. It isn't as heavy as it looks....probably about 65lbs.

whew....ok on to the fun stuff

Step 1, Take one last look at your neat, organized garage.

Step 2, remove wife's car and let the fun begin.

Step 3, Take a look at all the nasty parts that you'll need to degrease

Step 4, Construct a dolly to lower the engine onto, with 2x4s, screws and casters. ~25-30 at Lowe's, or buy one from Harbor Freight . I ordered one, but it wasn't here yet, so I built. 18" w x 22" l is the PERFECT size.

Unbolt AC compressor from block, 4 bolts from the front of the car. Suspend with bunji cord to rain tray.

Attach engine hoist and take tension

Unbolt 3 engine mounts from: front firewall( 4x14mm nuts, obivous), drivers side through bolt (obvious,) and passenger side 2 x14mm nuts from the bottom (picture looking up from crank pulley.)

Engine is free! Lower carefully onto your dolly. Lower, lower, ahhh....

Note: This chain was too thick to work with my load-leveler. As it turns out, the engine hooks Toyota supplies are in the perfect place and the engine balances perfectly as-is. Just use an equal length of chain on either side. The 3-ton chain I bought was a little overkill.

Enough for tonight. Whew. To be continued.

03-16-2005, 10:06 PM	#1 (permalink)
Tyler H New 2 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Knoxville TN Posts: 910 Thanks: 7 Thanked 25 Times in 22 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	93NA -> Gen3 swap progress There is a lot of info on the net about doing this swap, but there are a lot of details that have been glossed over. I did a LOT of research before beginning. My intent is to capture and document any issues I run into that aren't widely covered with what's already out there. I already had the car stripped down to the head because I had to replace a headgasket. I decided that it was so much work, I would go ahead and swap. I began with doing the prep work. Put the front tires on some boards, disconnect the battery, drain all the fluids. Support car on jack stands and remove rear wheels. Disconnect engine wiring harness from ECU in the trunk and the engine room fuse box. Disconnect the clutch hydraulics and shift cables. Disconnect the coolant hoses at the firewall. Disconnect the fuel bajo bolt at the fuel filter. Remove rear rotors / calipers and break the bolts off the ends of the axle. Disconnect the rear strut rods from the chassis and the rear toe control rods from the spindle. Disconnect the spindle from the strut body and the lower control arms from the spindle. Remove spindle. Support axles if you care about them. Remove three bolts from subframe -> rear engine mount. Support subframe with a jack and loosen 4 bolts. Lower subframe/strut rod/lower control arm assy slightly. Remove rear swaybar, which goes OVER the exhaust, then remove exhaust from "downpipe" and set aside. At this point, you can remove the rear subframe/strut rod/lower control arm assy. It isn't as heavy as it looks....probably about 65lbs. whew....ok on to the fun stuff Step 1, Take one last look at your neat, organized garage. Step 2, remove wife's car and let the fun begin. Step 3, Take a look at all the nasty parts that you'll need to degrease Step 4, Construct a dolly to lower the engine onto, with 2x4s, screws and casters. ~25-30 at Lowe's, or buy one from Harbor Freight . I ordered one, but it wasn't here yet, so I built. 18" w x 22" l is the PERFECT size. Unbolt AC compressor from block, 4 bolts from the front of the car. Suspend with bunji cord to rain tray. Attach engine hoist and take tension Unbolt 3 engine mounts from: front firewall( 4x14mm nuts, obivous), drivers side through bolt (obvious,) and passenger side 2 x14mm nuts from the bottom (picture looking up from crank pulley.) Engine is free! Lower carefully onto your dolly. Lower, lower, ahhh.... Note: This chain was too thick to work with my load-leveler. As it turns out, the engine hooks Toyota supplies are in the perfect place and the engine balances perfectly as-is. Just use an equal length of chain on either side. The 3-ton chain I bought was a little overkill. Enough for tonight. Whew. To be continued. Last edited by Tyler H; 03-17-2005 at 11:56 AM.