V6 swap, for me, better than 3S-GTE, Yep, here we go again Options

[K-ESD]

It can be done, i know that.

I'm currently exploring my options for the possibilty of that swap.

I'm desperate to know more about it. I searched but all i can find is the same darn thing over and over "is it possible yes, blah blah blah". I need more details. I read adrian's posts in celicatech.com but he just wrote a scratch about it. I'm thinking about getting a 3MZ-FE and this is where I get confused.

From what I understand the 3MZ is a bored out 1MZ with vvti slapped on, this would mean that it would be possible to stuff a 230hp/242trq N/A engine with a 5spd (from the camry). Yumm !! But really, how does it compare to the 1MZ-FE on the outside. The 1MZ swap has been done on a 5th gen, as far as i know dimensions are identical (or very close) to the 6th gen. I know this will require alot of custom work that exceeds my knowlege/experience with car mecanics but i will seek help from my local gear heads to get this done. Right now i just have to know what goes and what doesn't as far as major components go (engine, tranny, etc...).

I'm really concidering this swap because a few things in my drivetrain are going.... concidering that my 5S-FE has 265k+ kms and i beat the shnit out of it everyday*. (what's the point of owning a sports car if ur gonna drive like a grandma). Something is going to break and I don't want to invest into what I already have, if i'm going to drop some money into my celica, i want something out of it.

Thanks in advance for your help

(p.s. found a 99' 1MZ-FE at a junk yard close to here for $900 cnd)

[Clipsetuner]

Allright I will state from the start I am NO expert on this and dont take my word as law. I was gonna start emailing tweak about this here pretty quick along with other people, but lets just get the biggest Info thread going.

1MZ vs. 3MZ: I dont really know much about the 3MZ sep VVTi and a few other things, I personaly never considered it because it is out of my budget.

1MZ breakdown: I chose it because they are cheap, reliable, and parts are very easy to come by.

Motor Mounts: I have a buddy who did this on his MR2 he was able to use 3 of the stock 5s mounts and had to custom fab the 4th I will try and get pics, I hold this to be true for the celica swap as well.

Transmissions: 3sge, 5sfe, turbo mr2, solara I am pretty sure the Solara is the only one that I believe that requires a ST205 rear mount.... I am gonna run 5s.

Wiring: From the information I have collected so far on this, its gonna be a pain in the arse. Idealy a complete solara setup would be nice but this isnt a perfect world. I need todo some more information here but all West Coast solara's are automatics, and I believe most if not all Camry's were too. If this being the case you would need to track down a East coast solara wiring harness and ECU and it should be easyer... That being said those are expensive and hard to come by, I am very interested in knowing if a Automatic ECU can be tricked into a manual setup and if so how? Once I get more of these questions figured out I plan on combining my 2 harness together then sorting out what is not needed.

Fuel system: I plan on just adding a Supra TT pump

Hood clearence: without it ever being done its a hard call, I believe it shall fit, stock hood would not clear the TRD supercharger tho.

My thoughts on this swap from when I decided to ditch the 3sgte project for now anyways, was a decently quick DD and reliabality. I am shoting for about 200whp in the end. 1 thing you have to consider tho is that this is a Aluminum block vs. the steel block of the 3sgte, this v6 boosted with the TRD supercharger will never see the likes of over 250whp, its basicly the same concept of the 7afe where it doesnt get that much over stock. I plan on later down the road turbo charging it but not much boost just to see what it can do but that would probley be 07 at least. I know about 2 months ago when my 7a decided to start buring oil like a mofo it was either ST205 it or v6 and at this point the v6 suits my needs.

Thoughts comments anything really, I really want to get tweaks insite.

DTE

[Dr_Tweak]

Yes, I'm planning on doing one on a 6th gen this summer if all goes well.

Allright I will state from the start I am NO expert on this and dont take my word as law. I was gonna start emailing tweak about this here pretty quick along with other people, but lets just get the biggest Info thread going.

1MZ vs. 3MZ: I dont really know much about the 3MZ sep VVTi and a few other things, I personaly never considered it because it is out of my budget.

1MZ breakdown: I chose it because they are cheap, reliable, and parts are very easy to come by.

Motor Mounts: I have a buddy who did this on his MR2 he was able to use 3 of the stock 5s mounts and had to custom fab the 4th I will try and get pics, I hold this to be true for the celica swap as well.

Transmissions: 3sge, 5sfe, turbo mr2, solara I am pretty sure the Solara is the only one that I believe that requires a ST205 rear mount.... I am gonna run 5s.

Wiring: From the information I have collected so far on this, its gonna be a pain in the arse. Idealy a complete solara setup would be nice but this isnt a perfect world. I need todo some more information here but all West Coast solara's are automatics, and I believe most if not all Camry's were too. If this being the case you would need to track down a East coast solara wiring harness and ECU and it should be easyer... That being said those are expensive and hard to come by, I am very interested in knowing if a Automatic ECU can be tricked into a manual setup and if so how? Once I get more of these questions figured out I plan on combining my 2 harness together then sorting out what is not needed.

Fuel system: I plan on just adding a Supra TT pump

Hood clearence: without it ever being done its a hard call, I believe it shall fit, stock hood would not clear the TRD supercharger tho.

My thoughts on this swap from when I decided to ditch the 3sgte project for now anyways, was a decently quick DD and reliabality. I am shoting for about 200whp in the end. 1 thing you have to consider tho is that this is a Aluminum block vs. the steel block of the 3sgte, this v6 boosted with the TRD supercharger will never see the likes of over 250whp, its basicly the same concept of the 7afe where it doesnt get that much over stock. I plan on later down the road turbo charging it but not much boost just to see what it can do but that would probley be 07 at least. I know about 2 months ago when my 7a decided to start buring oil like a mofo it was either ST205 it or v6 and at this point the v6 suits my needs.

Thoughts comments anything really, I really want to get tweaks insite.

DTE

Motor mounts: remember that if you're using your stock GT tranny, then the three mounts on the tranny will bolt up fine, you just need to make one mount that attaches to the front of the engine.

Tranny: Since plenty of people use the GT tranny with their 3SGTEs, I see no problem to try using it with the V6. Obviously you can also use the E153, in which case it's exactly like installing one with a 3SGTE.

Wiring: Send both harnesses and ECUs to Dr Tweak along with $350, get it back, install, drive. Problem solved.

Here's the thing: there are always little problems that come up, and until someone tries this with a 6th gen we won't know what they are. Personally, I feel that the V6 swap is highly underrated and I plan on making it a commonplace swap if all goes well. I have put the numbers together and I think that the V6 could be installed for at least a thousand less than a 3SGTE, depending on what options are chosen. Not to mention, the V6 is easier to work one for the typical mechanic whereas a lot won't touch a more complex engine like the 3SGTE, they are easy to find parts for, and easy to replace if you blow one up!

-Doc

[snapshotgt]

Not to mention, the V6 is easier to work one for the typical mechanic whereas a lot won't touch a more complex engine like the 3SGTE, they are easy to find parts for, and easy to replace if you blow one up!

-Doc

...this is a very good point...long term...it looks like the V6 is a better way to go...man tweak, your making me think about this more!!! I'm leaning toward the V6 over 3sgte b/c of tweaks point...lol...well, just will have to think about it more and more!!

later,
snap

p.s. ...i wish this decision was easier...

[Kwanza26]

...this is a very good point...long term...it looks like the V6 is a better way to go...man tweak, your making me think about this more!!! I'm leaning toward the V6 over 3sgte b/c of tweaks point...lol...well, just will have to think about it more and more!!

This whole concept is completely awesome..... and i too wouldn't mind having one of the first v6 celica's! Someone just needs to get poppin on this idea and keep this thread alive!! Good luck to all - and when get some money saved up ... i'm comin to tweak to hook me up w/ the supercharged v6 swap **evil laugh**
Newayz - keep up the great info and maybe this will be a great alternative swap one day! smile.gif

These types of responses are why (although I don't want to speak for anyone else) I don't sugar coat things. Sorry for the guys that are being singled out... but really... I don't think you guys need anything extra to fantasize about. Know what it takes to do a swap before you go off dreaming about one. Unless of course you have enough money to pay others to do it for you... and in that case... I recant. =]

I do agree with Tweak to some degree (except on the ease of parts)... that an MZ swap can be made much more reliable and streetable than a 3SGTE... however, that's simply the nature of a normal street engine versus a force fed sport engine.