V6 Swap Info

[Brad Bedell]

I have taken most of this info from the old message board and modified for accuracy. For now, if you have anything that I need to modify/edit please let me know. I have pretty much directly copied the original posts. Please let me know if I didn't give someone proper credit.


Great source for used parts: Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

This post assumes you have a turbo car, If you have a non turbo car, it's important for you to understand that the cars are virtually identical. ESPECIALLY after you yank the original engine out of the chassis. See below for minor NA differences:


Please use this forum only to post info that you have tried and tested. IN order to keep this thread readable and helpful, Please start a new thread if you have a question, we will update the accuracy of the information as it is confirmed or contradicted.

Please try the MR2Board FAQ (coming soon) and the remainder of this post before you start your own thread.
Bedell Racing

Photos of V6 projects can be found here: (email me with links and I'll add your photos to the list)
Bedell Racing

If these links are dead, look for my web site at BEDELLRACING.COM

Engines: Compatiblity / Grocery List
1997+: 1MZ-FE
Best choice for swap.

1992-1996: 1MZ-FE
Compatible, power will be less than the later engines. A benefit of an OBD I engine would make CA swaps easier to get past BAR.
Early 90's *vz engines have been proven to work also*

Source Cars:
Avalon
Solara
Lexus ES300
Camry
Sienna
Highlander
Basically anything that has a transverse mounted *mz engine.


02+ 3mzfe with VVT-I
--It's easier to avoid the drive by wire on this engine. It's very similar to the --1mz VVt-I engines. In concept, you are electronically converting the --3mz to an earlier 1mz with VVT-I. Injectors are the same size. Just play --with the AFM tube to get the fuel trims correct.

--Parts list should all be 00-02 1mz-vvt-i unless otherwise specified.
--ECU, early part numbers didn't have Immobilizer. --http://www.abclockandkey.com/ can reflash an Immobilizer ECU into a non.
--Wiring harness
--Throttle bodies, upper and lower intake. Non VVT-I intakes WILL NOT work --due to the solenoids.
--knock sensors to match the ECU
--O2 sensors to match the ECU.

What to Buy / Get with Engine:

What to Buy / Get with the Engine:
Match engine/ECU, they may interchange but Toyota changed sensors and or wiring harnesses from year to year.

-- Engine Long Block -
-- V6 transmission: E53 (early Camry) E153 (97+ camry) E153 (Turbo)
You can run a non turbo tranny (S54, but it doesn't fully bolt up)
-- AC Compressor to match engine
--Alternator*
-- AC Lines to compressor (cut)
-- Alternator
-- MR2 engine mounts, reuse or get new ones. Right side will need to be fabricated.
-- Intake Tube w/ top of Airbox (ensure sensors are there)
-- ECU
-- ECU Harness (uncut)
-- Dash Plugs that go to ECU (or you can splice)
-- Fuel Rails (94-95 1MZ-FE with return system)*optional

02+ 3mzfe with VVT-I
--It's easier to avoid the drive by wire on this engine. It's very similar to the --1mz VVt-I engines. In concept, you are electronically converting the --3mz to an earlier 1mz with VVT-I. Injectors are the same size. Just play --with the AFM tube to get the fuel trims correct.

--Parts list should all be 00-02 1mz-vvt-i unless otherwise specified.
--ECU, early part numbers didn't have Immobilizer. --http://www.abclockandkey.com/ can reflash an Immobilizer ECU into a non.
--Wiring harness
--Throttle bodies, upper and lower intake. Non VVT-I intakes WILL NOT work --due to the solenoids.
--knock sensors to match the ECU
--O2 sensors to match the ECU.


Fooling the auto/manual ECU's
Non VVt-I ecus have a pin that you ground to make them think they are Manual/auto.
VVT-I ECU's don't have this pin, or I've been unable to find it. You'll need to make a resistor pack to fool the transmission. There's a post about this somewhere, I'll try to dig it up and update it later. IF not, do a search for it.
Weight / Space Issues: Quick Read
There aren't really any weight issues when using a 1MZ-FE engine, in fact the stock engine is about 30lbs. lighter than a 3S-GTE. So don't worry about upsetting your balance.

Throwing a Supercharger/Turbo system on will add a few more pounds though, but it is definitely not an overbearing monster. (Credits: derek2000GT)

There is also the issue of space, which is another thing not to be worried about. The 1MZ-FE fits easily into the engine bay, and actually increases the space available on the passenger side for whatever performance part you'd like to stuff there. (Credits: Turbo Magazine, January 2003)

Engine Mounts: General

You can spend the time to recreate the Camry mounts or take a more simple route and only build the right side mount. The remaining mounts will bolt up since they are on your transmission.

IF using the MR2 mounts, it's very advisable that you fill your motor mounts or buy inserts.

Fuel Return: Adapting Properly
The MR2 comes stock with a fuel return system, which must be addressed by either installing the pump from the source car into the gas tank, tapping the fuel rail to accommodate the return line, or obtaining a fuel rail from an early 1mzfe (94-95?) which is a direct fit.


Early 1mz engines (I think 93-94) has a return fuel rail setup. This gives you the regulator, lines etc.. just bolt on. you can probably get one from junk /core motor at a yard for cheap. ...if you have a turbo and still have fuel line it will bolt right up. otherwise (non-Turbo owners) you will have to have new hose crimped on. The rails from a 94-96 1MZ-FE will have full return style system and your MR2 return line plugs right in.

...if you are a little unsure about tapping stock 1MZ-FE rail I would recommend the 1mz-FE rail install...save time and will be 100% OEM.

Tapping the Rail Option
"The fuel rails are fine if you do not want a return system, but you will have to have a fuel pump with a FPR or an in tank FPR like a Camry, as the 3S-GTE has an FPR on the fuel rail in the return system. I have an adjustable FPR (AEM) on one of my fuel rails for when I go to larger injectors. I bored out the end of the stock rails, threaded them on the outside, and connected them with NPT fittings to the MR2 system." -chall

I have used the earlier fuel rails and also welded -6 lines with an adjustable regulator for my two cars.

Tachometer: Get it Working
See one of the other stickies, or do a search. I used a tach adapter, but there' a how to floating around to modify your stock tach to work. Or, contact V6'er for the service.



Non Turbo swap

If you're starting from a Non turbo car:
Make a transmission choice. Either swapping to the Turbo E153 transmission(or variation) or stick with the S54.

If upgrading to the stronger turbo transmission from the non turbo You'll need the following turbo parts:
hubs & bearings
axles
shift cables
Clutch slave cylinder & related brackets
Motor Mounts(drivers side, front and rear)

[Brad Bedell]

Using V6 Transmission: Shift Linkage

The easiest and most precise way to do this is to use a MR2 E153 center case and transfer all the parts over. This requires you to disassemble the transmission, but it's not a huge deal.

Otherwise:
"You will have to drill hole on front side for rod for MR2 linkage
and buy a cover (has 4 bolts on other side of linkage)" -derek2000GT


BUT:
"The block-transmission bolt patterns on the 5S-FE, 3S-GTE, and the 1MZ-FE are the same. Any transmission that works with one engine should work with any of them." -chall
(This includes manual transmissions)

Different transmissions have different bolt holes. The pattern is the same. Beware that sometimes the dowel pins will interfere and you may have to remove them from the block of the transmission.
#1 choice: V6 bell housing.
#2 choice: 93+ E153 bell housing
#3 choice: S54 (this will have the fewest bolt holes)

Some Info About VVT-I
VVT-I Engines availble only in automatic, until 2003. (Manual Tranny bolts on though)
Wiring / ECU issues will need to be addressed, due to automatic transmission errors
TRD is developing piggyback VVT-I ECU, available 2003

A piggyback VVT-I controller is neccessary to properly run. (Wolf EMS: Advanced Engine Management - Wolf EFI Fuel Injection and Performance Ignition Control Systems) -derek2000GT

Driveshafts: Adaption and Conversion
"The V6 intermediate shaft (A) bolt right to MR2 CV joint on passenger side. ....Use a V6 intermediate shaft that has 6 bolts on CV joint which is same a MR2 so you can bolt to outer MR2 axle" -derek2000GT

The 93+ Turbo drivers side driveshafts should fit properly, without any adjustments.

*EDIT*

Please see the FAQ on this, you will have to machine a new C-clip for the driveshaft to work. No one has successfully found a shaft that will correctly fit the V6 mount and MR2 tranny. Someone please update me once you find the correct part. (I want specific model and year info along with a quick photo if possible)

Radiator hoses I used
(1)71704 Hose to connect to the factory pipe in the engine bay, left side.
(2) 80413 Heater hoses 90 degree bend on the end.

These hoses work real well. I had to cut them to fit,but have the correct bends and are reasonably priced.

The right side hose will be a little harder, but consists of cutting the pipe under the car, rotating the bend roughly 90 degrees, and routing the hose up the firewall just on the outside of the Belt. I will post pics of this when I'm finished later this week.

I have water pipes available, PM me for more info. You'll need to cut your stock pipes, but this is a clean solution. Do a search for water pipes in this section.


Exhaust manifolds will need to be modified, see SCC's how to install a V6 for the most simple solution.

**Pete94t**

IF you don't want cruise, you can re-route the main line under the car to the driver's side and it's the perfect length to the throttle body, with no junction boxes the pedal feel is better.

**Edit**

This works well, I have this done on my Yellow 91.


**Chall**
Technically speaking, the solara/camry transmission is the E351, not the E153, and I think this denotes the difference in drive gear ratios and final drive. Also, the synchros are much better than in the '91-'93 turbo transmission. If you have the turbo transmission it will work, but you run out of first gear more quickly. Also, you can make the diode change that Brad discovered but you are going to have to use an electronic speedo with the solara tranny and so you might as well pick up a guage cluster and use both the speedo and the tach for your swap. this lets you get rid of the speedo cable, which removes one of the major hassles of taking the MR2 guage cluster out. Of course, you will need the linkage from an MR2 transmission and also need to drill a hole to use this linkage on the solara tranny--easy to do.

The half shafts are turbo on the driver's side, and solara on the passenger side only because there is a 1/8" or 3mm*** difference in the carrier bearing position. Turbo shafts will fit nicely in the solara transmission. I had the bearing ring machined so that I could use the turbo passenger side shaft. It is impossible to combine the two shafts to make one as the type of CV joint on the solara shaft is enclosed and the diameter of the shaft in the CV joint is smaller.

Personally, I think that the passenger side mount for the engine should be abandoned altogether because you cannont add the supercharger and you will definitely want to add the supercharger. Front and rear engine mounts are not hard to fabricate and I have autocad diagrams of one design, but not the only design by any means.

--I have lowered my compression ratio by using 8.5:1 JE pistons and Eagle 22R rods but the rods take machining to thin them for the 1MZ (by .135 per side) and they are about .012 different in their C-C. But you can get them on Ebay and they are an initial $350 investment plus whatever it costs in your area to machine them. When and if you order pistons, let them know so that you can get pistons with the piston pin positon correct.

--I would use the 1MZ alternator. What Luke and I did was to attach the wires to the alternator using simple electrical connections and pouring epoxy around the connections so that now we have an alternator that has the long wires attached.

Claire

*** Edit by Brad, Original was 1cm

**Chall**
If I am understanding correctly, you are asking whether the turbo transmission without LSD uses the same axles as the LSD E153 and the Solara 351. I put a Toyota MR2 LSD into a Camry 5 speed (year 2000) and it uses the MR2 axles that I had machined to move the carrier bearing retainer groove. Of course, the differential defines which axles are used in these transaxles, so using an MR2 LSD (which fits exactly) guarantees that the turbo axles will work.

I don't have successful experience with mixing axles. I tried it but perhaps I used a too new axle to try to change the intermediate shaft, as the newer axles from the Solara/Camry are entirely different from the '90/'95 US MR2 axles. It cost me $50 to have the turbo axle machined, and I thing that was kind of a rip-off.

Here is what I think about the swap:

--Not much needs to be done to the 1MZ-FE itself unless you are going to more than 4 PSI of boost. Derek has found that the return fuel system from other engines works well, or you can simply drill and tap both ends of the fuel rail and make a U-shape out of it to make a return system.

--You can use the stock Solara/Camry ECU, auto or manual, with the wiring diagrams that Luke worked out.

--I would abandon the passenger mount and make front and rear engine mounts for the 1MZ-FE so that you can supercharge later.

--I would abandon the turbo/NA water system after the main pipes beneath the gas tank, and connect more directly with a couple of pipe bends.

--I would get rid of the brake booster line across the firewall.

--I would move the oil filter with a remote kit.

--I would have the passenger axle machined.

--If you want A/C, have the MR2 lines tig welded to the 1MZ-FE lines. There may be much better solutions; I don't know.

--You can direct connect the cruise control to the throttle and the throttle body very simply, but you have to move the throttle cable to the drivers' side.

--I prefer the ratios of the Camry/Solara transmission E351 over those of the MR2 E153.

Overall, this is a simple process and should not take long if you prepare for it.


**SBCelicaGT**

1MZFE engine debuted in 1992. in 1997 it was updated with among other small changes, a returnless fuel system. later on it had VVTi as an option. all 3 generations of engine are aluminum. the 92-96 return fuel rails will bolt to the gen2 engines. or you can make your own returnless fuel system and it doesnt require any drilling or tapping.

axles: all the solara/avalon/sienna/ etc. axles I have seen aren't rebuildable. I.E. they dont have the bolts in the middle to attach the inner and outer sections.

the mr2 turbo inner axles work just fine with the Solara tranny. the only mod you need to do is to slot the carrier bearing mount ever so slightly as it will be off by a few millimeters. For the celicas, you can then bolt outer alltrac axles to the inner turbo axles. for you mr2 guys, you can just use the whole turbo axles.

ecu: auto tranny ecu will work but you will have ECU codes till you find a way to fool the ECU into thinking there is an A/T in your engine bay by way of wiring resistors to the ends of the solonoid plug. Easy fix.

[Brad Bedell]

ARP main studs:

16 300-8343 7/16 12pt Nut
16 200-8519 .750 od washer
16 AM4.125-1lb M10x4.125 1.25/1.50 Broach (Stud)

These studs fit the motor with no modifications. Torque them to 65lbs with the ARP lube.

[Brad Bedell]

Rod update

Eagle rods for the 22R will work. You will need to do the following:

Mill down the big and small end of the rod .270 (.135 on each side)
Modify either a set of 22R rod bearings so that they fit the new rod width, or modify the bearing locator slots in the rods.
You'll have to radius the big end to get it to fit into the cylinder bore. *OR* I think boring the motor .040 would do the trick.
Also, be advised that you are adding close to 100 grams of weight to each cylinder. Adding metal to the counter weights on the crank will be necessary.

Good news, the Eagle rods will be tons of overkill on this engine. I suspect the block will fail before the new rods.

-Brad

[Toysrme]

1MZFE engine debuted in 1992.

The 3vz-fe was created for the October '91 rollout of the gen3 Camry platform.
It was use in North America in 92-93. The 1mz-fe didn't see life until the '94 Camry platform, being the worlds first OBD-II Compliant engine (Tho not fully in 94-95, because it has OBD-I Toyota style connectors - non compliant).
The 3vz-fe continued as the worldwide Toyota 3.0L v6 with a powerbump to 200bhp 204lb-ft in '94. Depending on the market you talk about, the 1mz-fe replaced the 3vz-fe between '95, and 97.5.

In '97 the 1mz-fe recieved minor updates, the biggest was a slightly re-designed intake giving +10bhp.
In '99 The Windom/ES 300 got another new intake with dual throttlebodies, and vvt-i cam/sprockets.
The Camry stayed with the '97 design until the '02 model year.





Sorry, I'm anal retentive LoL!

[TRD-CEO]

Great write up. What are the cost involved here. I own a 93' NA and was trying to decide between a turbo swap or a V-6 swap. The V-6 just stands out and seems like it might run less or about the same with the amount of $ I was going to drop into the turbo. I am just looking for a reliable 250+ hp and a solia supercharged motor would be about that. I am just curious on the cost of the swap. Does anyone know an east coast shop that has done the work before? I'm from NC and don't know anyone here. There's an import tuner shop just down the road, but I have yet to stop in and don't want some dumbass working on my car. Thanks!

[Weasy2k]

I would strongly recommend getting someone who is familiar with these cars and these swaps to do the job.
In your area you can talk to Node on this board...im unsure how far you are from him but hes the first person i would contact.


Great write up Brad and thanks to those who are credited in helping make this

[ZMR2]

What are the base grand totals of these swaps? A rough estimate...
I wondering how much it would cost (besides the other car for the swap) or if you just get a crate engine.

[stfu]

i just creamed my pants...three times

[tHe kNiGHt FaLL]

yea... wha are the costs...?

i found a JDM front clip for 750.00... out a late model camry.

say i don't wanna build the motor yet and just put it in... wha are we looking at price wise for fab and install if i did it myself...?

[KaDuWin]

The place that I know of specializes in Toyota. The place is called the toyshop, I spole to them already about a 1MZFE transplant into an MR2. I don't knwo how you will feel having to transport your car to NJ from NC but I leave that to you. I hope this post helped.

[Brad Bedell]

I've updated a few things on this thread. Let me know if anything else is inaccurate.

[Paul Woods]

3VZ-FE Option
"This is old news to Camry guys but a 3VZ-FE return fuel rail system will bolt right on to 1MZ-FE. this set up gives you the regulator, lines etc.. just bolt on. you can probably get one from junk /core motor at a yard for cheap. ...if you have a turbo and still have fuel line it will bolt right up. otherwise (non-Turbo owners) you will have to have new hose crimped on. The rails from a 94-96 1MZ-FE will have full return style system and your MR2 return line plugs right in.

hi brad,great thread,however the above is totally wrong,a 3vz return style rail will not work on a 1mz,we nearly had an engine bay fire due to reading this on the old board and giving it a try.The rail fits,but it cranks the injectors over at an angle and fuel squirts out everywhere,theres a good 5-10mm difference in the injector hole spacing in the rail between 1mz and 3vz.Please guys nobody do this mod,it 100% doesnt work and we very nearly lost a car.... for a return style on a 1mz go tap your rails out which is what ive done,doesnt cost much.

[Brad Bedell]

Originally Posted by Paul Woods

hi brad,great thread,however the above is totally wrong,a 3vz return style rail will not work on a 1mz,we nearly had an engine bay fire due to reading this on the old board and giving it a try.The rail fits,but it cranks the injectors over at an angle and fuel squirts out everywhere,theres a good 5-10mm difference in the injector hole spacing in the rail between 1mz and 3vz.Please guys nobody do this mod,it 100% doesnt work and we very nearly lost a car.... for a return style on a 1mz go tap your rails out which is what ive done,doesnt cost much.

Fixed. This is a very old thread, I just dug it up to make a few corrections. (look at the initial posting date.)

[Gimpster]

+1 for pressurizing the fuel system before starting a car

especially if it's experimental hehe.