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.

[anon1ski]

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.

Damn logic and facts getting in my way all the time.

I know its a feat. Luckily I have 2 brand new cars between me and the wife and this car is strictly a luxury. So doing the swap will be a learning experience type of deal. The second someone here said not to turbo the 5sfe, i put blue devil rear mail sealer in ti just to stop the spots in my garage and driveway, which worked, but is probably damaging the engine as we speak. I didn't want to fix that because it is just not worth it, if i am going to keep this car, and actually do some work to it, it is going to be a project with the 3rd gen 3sgte, not just another car i own for no reason. I have enough of them lol.

i DO know about the trans being AWD and will have to switch ti over to just FWD myself. I know this is going to be an undertaking, but after summer ti will sit in the garage ready for anything, instead of being driven, and i can slowly work towards my "release date" of NEXT summer, with everything done. which it needs A LOT.

[HardHead93]

Good luck! When you get stuck ask lots of questions. The people on this forum are very helpful.

[anon1ski]

Good luck! When you get stuck ask lots of questions. The people on this forum are very helpful.

I plan on it. Just have ot get myself an itemized list of the things I need to start. Get all the other stuff then wait for a good deal/time to get the motor. The body still needs a lot so I may do that first. Like i said, when i got it, it was at the end of its road. About to be crushed.