Malecrod's 3rd Gen 3SGTE Swap, Documenting a JDMGuy Garage 3rd gen 3SGTE Swap Options

[presure2]

Hey All,
A Month or so ago, I got a PM from Eli (Malecrod), asking me if I was interested in doing a 3rd gen swap for him.
We exchanged a handfull of PM's discussing the in's and out's of getting it done for him, and settled in on a plan of action.
I went over the details of what he wanted to do to the engine as far as mantinence and what not, he let me know that he wanted to get everything done while the motor was out, just to make sure everything is fresh and ready to go when he picks the car up after the swap.
So, I made a list of all the mantinence parts we would need, and set him up with an engine set thru Jim.
I am currently waiting on the motor to arrive, and in the mean time, have been ordering and gathering all the parts to get the motor ready to go in.

His car currently has a 2nd Gen 3SGTE Swap, that was done by dr. tweak back in '06, using the stock S54 tranny, with a front mount intercooler, ect.
The one "issue" he had with the car is that for some reason, he's gone thru several clutches. He explained that for some reason, he kept spitting out the springs on whatever brand disk he tried. (spec, comp, ect) He is currently running an ACT 6 puck sprung disk clutch that he has had good luck with so far, but noted that it did have a heavy pedal feel, and that he was open to suggestions on which brand to go with.
Other than that, he said that the car runs just fine, he just wants to update the motor, and go to the cleaner 3rd gen intercooler setup.

So, for the Clutch, I suggested a Clutchmasters, with an unsprung 6 puck disk. I installed one in my cousin Joes 3rd gen swap last year, at the suggestion of the guys over on mr2oc and aaron @ ATS racing.
The pedal feel on this clutch is REALLY good, not nearly as heavy as the ACT, and the engagement on it is amazing for an unsprung disk.
I talked to my guy, and Clutchmasters will do the 3sgte disk, with the S54 spline, no extra charge, no problem, so that is what I ordered.

His Exhaust system is currently a 3" downpipe, into a 2.5" b-pipe, back into 3" after the crossmember.
For some reason, his exhaust guy couldnt fit 3" piping over the crossmember, so I will be making him a new 3" b-pipe in 304 stainless. I already ordered and recieved a U/J combo bend, 3"X6" flex pipe, and 2 3" flanges.

I also ordered and recieved a bunch of Toyota parts from Aaron from lithia toyota, just about everything I needed, he had in stock, the only thing he didnt have was the spark plug wires, but I have another source for those anyway, which is great. (thanks steff, your the best!)
Here is the list of parts:
Complete Gasket Set
T-Belt and Tensioner ( I will get the idler pully locally)
Oil and Water pumps
Distributor Cap and Rotor (plugs and wires locally)
Fuel Filter
PCV Valve
and some FIPG to do the Oil Pan
Axle Seals
T-stat is being picked up locally thru steff as well

The rest of the small stuff (coolant, oil, gear oil ect), will all be picked up locally when the car arrives.

And here is the kicker of this whole deal... He lives in MN, and will be driving the car to me in MA to perform the swap for him! Awesome!

According to Jim, the motor will arrive next week some time, so for now, here are a few pics of the stuff that has arrived so far:

The Clutchmasters Clutch setup (I still need to measure the disk, i want to verify that it is in fact a 3sgte disk.)



the Exhaust stuff:



and the Toyota parts:



Lots more to come over the next couple weeks once the motor arrives and I start tearing into it.

[lagos]

As mentioned above, the only real problem i had with it was the clutches. I quickly learned how to do my own clutch job right after my second failure and l always have one extra clutch laying around.

Do you launch the car at all or street/track race?
Since the clutch compound is so aggressive on a puck clutch and basically will never slip like a normal clutch disk, something in the setup has to "give" and the weak point becomes the springs and thats why you had so many issues with them. Going with an unsprung disk was a good call this time around.

I personally rarely launch my car, and my sprung puck disk (spec) has lasted for years without issues. But I will probably go unsprung next time as well, just to avoid the possibility of a problem in the future.

No street/track race and no lauches at all. This is my daily driver and since l can't miss work unless l'm dying/have a terrible infectious disease, LOL, l baby the car. I initially blamed spec clutches. But after failure of others l figured its something l was doing. I remember vividly with one of the clutches, i was babying it to the magic 1000miles only for it to fail way before that. So far l had better luck with ACT 6 puck sprung that have lasted about 20k miles. I have owned nothing but manual transmission cars for almost 20 yrs as daily drivers and nothing of this sort. I thought about going with the e153 transmission but honestly, the thought of messing with hybrid axles each time an axle goes out is whats stopping me. I figured with e153 trans l'm able to get a clucth that is more of an OEM more or less. But...

Yeah thats really odd then to have them fail so fast.
I just did a search to see how long I have had my 6puck sprung spec... its been installed since 05. Thats six years and about 60k on pretty much the same swap and trans setup you have. I pretty much use my car 24/7 like you do.

Even if this can be explained on driving style or whatever... i think it still speaks volumes about how puck clutches really shouldn't have springs because of how aggressive they are.

There really is no benefit to the e153 clutches. Its the same thing you can buy for your s54, but you can order it as a part number, vs having to call them and explain your situation and your needs. In the end its still the same clutch though, that would give you the same problems.

I like the s54. It holds the power just fine and is basically free and something you don't have to spend another 1,000$ to upgrade to. And I agree about the axles. I've replaced mine a few times already and its nice to just be able to walk into any shop and get a new one without having to mess with it.

This post has been edited by lagos: Nov 7, 2011 - 8:55 PM