MK2 NA > Turbo Write-Up

[PETC]

step 1 - remove engine
step 2 - replace with turbo engine
step 3 - ??????
step 4 - PROFIT

[braydo]

So it turns out that my car wasn't grounded correctly.. or at all.. noticed the speedometer cable was HOT and realized oh **** and then made custom grounds for the valve cover, head, and transmission. My car will now crank when i try to start it.
My problem now is that the engine is not starting and my check engine light and battery light do not illuminate like they normally would when the engine isn't on and the key is in the on position. My question is besides fuses (checked) is there anything else that could cause this? PLease respond soon because i can work on the car tomorrow and thats all for the next week! THanks in advance

[braydo]

My ECU was not getting the proper power. I fixed the problem and now the battery warning light is illuminated but the check engine light doesn't come on. I realized on the solenoid resistor next to the fusebox that I am missing the two plugs off the turbo body harness that plug into this. DId you eliminate the solenoid resistor entirely?

Basement digital. If you call me and with your help we get the car running I will pay you $20 through paypal. Just let me know my number is 8016286868

[ronc]

very cool, i was thinking of doing something like it to my 91 na or a V6 swap.
excellent thread..thanks

[Basement Digital]

Originally Posted by braydo

My ECU was not getting the proper power. I fixed the problem and now the battery warning light is illuminated but the check engine light doesn't come on. I realized on the solenoid resistor next to the fusebox that I am missing the two plugs off the turbo body harness that plug into this. DId you eliminate the solenoid resistor entirely?

Basement digital. If you call me and with your help we get the car running I will pay you $20 through paypal. Just let me know my number is 8016286868

I can't call you, but I will gladly help via posts.

The fuel pump resistor and relay can be removed - but the "solonoid resistor" that is mounted directly behind the fuel pump resistor should still be connected to the engine harness. I believe this is also known as the injector resistor pack, which means your injectors won't inject fuel without it.

This could explain why your motor turns over but won't start.

I had the opposite problem when I first tried to start my swap. I could smell fuel (from the spark plug that I removed) - but I wasn't getting any spark. Have you checked for either?

[braydo]

Okay so the fuel pump resistor and relay I ended up running all the proper wires so it will use be the way it was meant to run. Man that was a fun thing to do.. not. I don't think my ecu is making things work properly because nothing changes from when its plugged in and when its not. No check engine light either way.. I checked for spark before i did the fuel pump resistor and relay and was not getting spark.. I also don't that im getting fuel even still. I know that I have followed the way you wired correctly (with the exception of me running the fuel pump another way now) Do you have any idea what could be causing this?

[mr2trd91]

i have a 93 swap in a 91 n.a car wit ha 93 engine and 93 body harmess. however mine cranks but doesnt start. my fuel pump wasnt turning on so i hardwired it to a switch so i can turn it on and off. but now my ecu isnt allowing the injectors to open.

what wires need to be spliced. i dont understand!!

please help!

[Basement Digital]

Originally Posted by mr2trd91

i have a 93 swap in a 91 n.a car wit ha 93 engine and 93 body harmess. however mine cranks but doesnt start. my fuel pump wasnt turning on so i hardwired it to a switch so i can turn it on and off. but now my ecu isnt allowing the injectors to open.

what wires need to be spliced. i dont understand!!

please help!

Did you use the body harness that goes from plug 'A' to the kickpanel? It should be plug and play from what I've heard.

If by chance you did NOT use the turbo body harness (and fuse box) - it's possible your FC (Fuel Cut) pin is wired incorrectly. If your ECU can't see the car cranking (which it will not if the FC isn't hooked up) then your circuit opening relay will not click on your fuel pump.

[Basement Digital]

Originally Posted by braydo

Okay so the fuel pump resistor and relay I ended up running all the proper wires so it will use be the way it was meant to run. Man that was a fun thing to do.. not. I don't think my ecu is making things work properly because nothing changes from when its plugged in and when its not. No check engine light either way.. I checked for spark before i did the fuel pump resistor and relay and was not getting spark.. I also don't that im getting fuel even still. I know that I have followed the way you wired correctly (with the exception of me running the fuel pump another way now) Do you have any idea what could be causing this?

It's hard for me to troubleshoot without knowing what you did to your fuel pump relay wiring. For your information and the benefit of others reading this - I wouldn't recommend it when using the stock 5sfe pump. The relay (and resistor) just makes sure the fuel pump can rest at idle. The 5s pump is accustomed not to doing this.

If you aren't getting spark; assuming the motor came from a running car in Japan, the most obvious place to start in terms of troubleshooting would be relay box wiring.

There's essentially a one-wire difference in the relay box that I'm painfully aware of. I neglected this step when first attempting to start my swap. The 2 blue lines in the relay box picture I provided represent wires with a pin at each blue dot. I was able to pillage this from a 3s relay box I had lying around. Pulling the pins was not easy, but it was worth the time because this part of the conversion would be a lot messier without them.

If you aren't getting fuel; assuming the motor came from a running car in Japan, the most obvious place to start in terms of troubleshooting would be the FC pin.

If your ECU can't see the car cranking (which it will not if the FC isn't attached properly) then the circuit opening relay will not click on the fuel pump. Make sure there's a wire running from your FC pin (see diagram) to the proper pin on the starter relay (see photo).

[braydo]

I actually put in a warlbro pump, I'm not running the stock 5sfe pump. With the check engine light not being lit up i think my ecu may be faulty. Is this a possibility?

[Basement Digital]

Originally Posted by braydo

I actually put in a warlbro pump, I'm not running the stock 5sfe pump. With the check engine light not being lit up i think my ecu may be faulty. Is this a possibility?

ECU could be faulty, not getting power or there could be a problem with the check engine light curcuit ('W' Pin).

Reference page FI-32
1991 MR2 BGB Online - Mechanical - EFI System

[Gimpster]

I thought I'd share/contribute my little excel I made for my 94 NA -> 91 T swap. It should be noted that I removed all of the intercooler fan wiring etc from my 91 T harness, and just did a custom relay + ignition trigger setup.

http://www.ecimulti.org/scratch/1994...rbo_Wiring.xls

Should help other 93+ NA's looking to swap in a 91-92 Turbo motor and harness. My car DOES still have AC + PS, thus a few more wires for me

Originally Posted by Basement Digital

One thing I should mention is that I have removed my AC, CC and I don't have ABS – so that simplified things considerably. Another thing that should be mentioned is that there are two plugs that normally connect to each other (pictured) that may not now depending on what year car/motor combo you have. The NA side has only a couple wires on it, but the turbo motor side has many. As you can see, I did not hook them up and I am currently having no ill effects as a result. I tried to figure out what this plug is, and what it carries - and I believe it's known as the EA1 connector in the BGB. I think that things like the engine bay temp sensor (from turbo body harness) and other extraneous options come thru this plug. Hopefully someone else can contribute to this portion of the write-up.

[braydo]

Turns out my Ecu is faulty ....
Yay now i get to buy a new Jdm ecu...
I love buying parts I already have

[jholder]

Have you had any overheating issues with the N/A radiator? Does the motor tend to stay just below the middle? (ie, slightly off from warm?)

[Basement Digital]

Originally Posted by jholder

Have you had any overheating issues with the N/A radiator? Does the motor tend to stay just below the middle? (ie, slightly off from warm?)

No overheating issues from the radiator; no. I met some local MR2 guys that run NA radiators with supercharged V6 swaps - so no worries assuming the radiator you use is in good shape.

I have been battling overheating from air in my system, however. There are a couple of pretty typical MR2 trouble areas from what I've learned. The drain plugs and o-rings on the radiator can leak with age, among others. Pretty typical stuff for a 17 year old car with 180k+ miles.

[Basement Digital]

Originally Posted by jholder

Have you had any overheating issues with the N/A radiator? Does the motor tend to stay just below the middle? (ie, slightly off from warm?)

To answer the other part of your question: Yes. When my system is bled it runs just below the middle at idle or full boost with a 50/50 mix.

[Basement Digital]

Here's a brief addendum to the writeup. These are some steps I did out of sequence and paid for. Hope it saves you some time!

Before you put the motor in, make sure you:

• Do the relay box wiring.
• Install the intercooler and fan shroud. Turbo models do not have a grill over the passenger side side-scoop; so you can remove yours if preferred.
• Remove or loosen the oil filter. They can be practically glued to a motor that's been sitting for a while.
• Loosen your tranny fill bolt. (Especially if the previous owner was a jerk and stripped yours.)

And before you bolt up the rear suspension crossmember, make sure your new turbo aftermarket exhaust fits. The stock exhaust system goes in and out no problem - but my Tanabe exhaust was a pain. I had to basically re-install the whole crossmember to get it to fit!

[MR2 Drifter]

So you bought a JDM engine, and you used your old 5SFE transmission?

How fast have you taken your car so far???

have you had any problems or wierd noises come from your engine???

[Basement Digital]

Originally Posted by MR2 Drifter

So you bought a JDM engine, and you used your old 5SFE transmission?

How fast have you taken your car so far???

have you had any problems or wierd noises come from your engine???

Yes.

Legal freeway speeds in that I haven't taken it to the track yet.

No problems at all. My 5SFE ACT clutch has held up very well too.

I expected my tranny to have more issues with the added power especially considering that it has 180k miles on it. So far; nothing. Not even a grind.

[Gimpster]

If I can beat on my old 1993's S54 with a 1MZ and a 75-100shot for months, I'm sure it can handle a 3S-GTE If I hadn't gotten a whole '91 clip, I would've re-used my 1994's S54 too. People hold them together on the V6's until they start running BIG sticky tires.