New owner of '97 GTS - suggestions? Options

[m_yct]

Hey all,

So I'm a relatively new owner of a 6th gen 1997 Celica GTS in Canada. Had it for just a tad over a month now and got a sweet, sweet deal on it which is a long story so I won't ramble on about it. So far, everything under the hood is stock. I've just been throwing some money on minute exterior upgrades as listed in my profile which I think are pretty necessary (not the HIDs though haha). Pics to follow soon but as it's mostly stock, it's really nothing new lol.

Anyway, I've got a few dollars saved up and was wondering which of the following you all would suggest (hope I'm not posting in the wrong place but ...)

Basically want to keep it an N/A engine as, from what I've researched, 5SFE and forced induction is pretty much a no go. My 2 options for now are:

1) Some form of an intake and exhaust system - for this, would cold air intake or short ram intake be better? Also, from what I've found, aftermarket parts for the 5SFE are somewhat rare so could any of you point me in the right direction?

2) Engine kit rebuild as found on www.importperformanceparts.net - I know, this would be much more labour intensive and costly, but would I be more satisfied in the long run in terms of performance? Also, how reliable are these kits in general?

So that's that. Appreciate all feedback.

Thanks.

[95CelicaST]

The 5S isn't a bad motor to turbo. The bottom end is just as stout as a 3SGTE. Just don't cheap out on it.

First, understand that bolt on mods like an intake and exhaust are going to yield very little performance gains. Such is the way of Toyotas.


1. Get a cold air intake of eBay. A short ram will be sucking up warm air from next to the motor, which will hurt performance. For exhaust, check the stickies in the Engine/transmission forum. Basically buy a muffler you like and take it to an exhaust shop and have them fabricate the catback. You can buy an aftermarket header on eBay as well.

2. How many miles are on your motor now?

[m_yct]

Makes sense about the intake/exhaust. Once again, a fuel economy minded 5SFE I guess.

I've got 240,000 kms on it so about 150,000 miles. That's pretty high IMO and I would really only expect an engine to get to 300,000 km or so. Hence, me thinking about an engine rebuild.

Also was thinking of a complete engine swap from the 5SFE to 3SGTE. Was looking at one of these bad boys - http://www.torontojdm.com/lite/cart.php?ta...category_id=117

It'd be $2000 CAN for the unit. Anyone have a rough estimate of what labour would cost me at a shop? I'm guessing AT LEAST 20 hours...

Thanks.

[95CelicaST]

A good rule of thumb is set aside about 6,000 for a 3s swap.

[JuMPiiN]

Well the wiring harness is cut so someone is going to have to basically make you another one which takes a minimum of I want to say 8 hours or so. Thats to extend the harness, and make it plug and play. Dr Tweak makes then but yours would be cut so im not really sure what it would cost. Then it comes with the AWD transmission which you cant really use. So your either going to use you old transmission with a upgraded clutch, or your going to want to try and find a e153 LSD transmission from a MR2 or Solara/Camry. You can find one of those for 800-1100. After that if you get the e153 you need custom axles, MR2 inner axles st185 celica alltrac outer axles, maybe a spacer it depends. Im sure your going to need to replace all motor and tranny mounts since the enigne will be out anyways, Your going to need the st205 rear mount but the other dont matter i dont think. After you do all that its time for a tune up on the engine you bought. Your going to need to get a timing belt kit, oil and water pump, maybe new ajustable cams, along with a few other things in the tune up like fluids and other mechanical things. After all of that is done your ready to put in the engine, depending on shop, quality of work, mechanic the price varies. I would say 6-1400 for a install it just depends. If you do it yourself you eat ALOT of the cost of all of these things. So altogether your looking at around 4-7,000 with everything, that may or may not include the labor, again if you do it yourself it comes out to be ALOT cheaper.

Theres a guy on here who's name is _Jim_ who sells engine SETS with everything you need and he just started selling them with a uncut plug and play wiring harness. And if you dont want your old transmission or the AWD one he can remove the AWD one and include the e153 for a little extra, and he offeres free shipping. So talk to him.

Again everything i listed above is just rough estimates, it could be less, it could be more. It just depends on what you want.