Engine is done. Options

[anon1ski]

So I went to change my valve cover gasket and found my seals are all blown out with 165K on the whole car. Haven't noticed oil because I park in on grass 90% of time. So I don't know where to go from here.

It is a stock (mostly) 95 2.2 GT Vert Auto.

What would be my best course of action, have it rebuilt? 3GSTE (or other engine) swap? Trash it and start over? Rebuild it for turbo? I've heard the 2.2 if rebuilt is better than the 3gste if you do it right.

[slavie]

Hate to be the party pooper, just trying to help you, so here I go:

A 3rd Gen swap, if it comes with a transmission, it will be a all wheel drive transmission which would need to be modified into front wheel drive. Either need a V6 solara/camry transmission parts for blockoff cover and other bits, and semi-custom pas side CV axle, or block off the rwd pickup (this solution is sketchy if not done right, folks have broken things this way). Might be better off to just use V6 solara/camry transmission to begin with, which is what a lot of folks do rather than crack open a transmission to modify (axle situation still applies)

You can also go with S51/54 transmission from 5SFE celica GT - you don't have to worry about custom CV axles or any mounts, but you will need a hybrid 3S/5S clutch/flywheel combo, as 3S and 5S cranks have different hole spacing.

You cannot use your current auto transmission as there will be no computer to control it. 3rd Gen is manual only, and 4th Gen, I don't know anybody who has tried to use 4th gen auto ecu to control A140E transmission from 5SFE. This means you're almost guaranteed to be forced into doing 5spd swap along the process, and need all the swap related parts - shifter, cables, clutch pedal and master cylinder, etc.

I think you'll benefit from doing more research before jumping both feet into the pool, or you run a very good chance of getting overwhelmed and having a project sit for years. Unfortunately, this is all too common, even here on the forum.

Best advice? Break things down into manageable project "stages". Get your car running first, then do a 5spd swap, then do the 3sgte. These three alone are formidable individual projects with plenty of kinks to work out in between. Doing them all at once is a huge, huge undertaking.
I agree with others that your 5SFE is fine just in need to rear main seal, based on what you've said (engine was never ran dry). A shop overblowing a problem because they don't know or don't want to take on a job or want to upcharge is nothing new.

If you don't have the know how/tools/space to do a rear main seal yourself, a relatively simple remove and replace with no customization compared to other tasks discussed here, I do not see an engine swap with wiring and turbo plumbing involved in your future. Sorry, but that's my opinion having done a 5spd swap, a few clutch and RMS jobs myself, among others. To have a shop do a 3sgte swap is not going to be anywhere near cheap, as you'll need a specialty shop. To give you an idea: PrimeMR2 pricing for 4th gen 3sgte swap into mr2 starts at $4000 for basic package including the engine. A celica is going to be even more expensive, you're easily looking at $2500-4000+ in labor and parts cost on top of the engine cost.

Hope this helps.