Engine swap 1.6L 4A-FE to 1.8L 7A-FE, Anyone done it? Options

[Bitter]

i think he wants the 4spd auto with the 7afe for fuel economy reasons, but im not sure.

[Bikeman982]

Which leads me back to why I need to get the 7A-FE ECM wired in. It would seem compatible with the engine and transmission, but needs whatever the wiring (and connector) is inside the body of the car.

But what's wrong with your 4AFE tranny? If there's nothing wrong with it... there is no problem. The 4AF trans does fit on the 7AFE if you swap flexplates. It's not all that complicated... and I think that's where your fitment issues are. The whole ordeal of messing with wiring isn't worth something mechanical.

I tried using the old transmission (from the 1.6L 4A-FE engine) and it did not fit. The problem was too much gap between engine and tranny so the bolts did not connect. The torque converter seemed to be too thick, but they were the same for both tranny's. There was no flex plate difference - that I could tell.
The transmissions are different and have different housings and transaxles. Definitely not a match for me, so I changed it to a newer tranny. Now engine and tranny match up and are installed in the car (I did change the mount that held the tranny to the body - (new part from AutoZone).
The problem now is the car's wiring is different and the connector does not plug into the ECM.
The wiring harness has been changed and seems to be suitable (no connection for crankshaft position sensor, but I won't use it?).
I did not want to change to manual transmission because I am not prepared to do all the modifications required.
I thought a straight swap from automatic to automatic would be easier than automatic to standard.
I did not realize that there was such a big difference between electrical systems on the 1994 and 1995.
I thought they were the same with the exception of individual car options (that may still be the case - I am seeking answers to the differences).

[Bikeman982]

After careful examination of the cars wiring and also the connections to both 4A-FE and 7A-FE ECM/ECU's, I have come to the conclusion that I need to abandon the project.
Althought it is physically and mechanically possible to swap a 1.6L 4A-FE engine and A131L transmission with a 1.8 L 7A-FE engine and A245E transmission, it is electrically unfeasible (within my capabilities) to convert.
My next step I believe will be to locate a working 1.6L 4A-FE engine and purchase it for replacing the 7A-FE engine that I have installed in the car.
I will re-use the old transmission (which is still good) and also the old wiring harness and ECM/ECU (will match up with no complications).
Thank you all for the helpful advice and encouragements.
Unfortunately the operation was a failure and my only recourse is to return it (as much as possible) to stock condition.
At this point my son will settle for any operating vehicle and this decision seems to lead to that desired outcome.

[Kwanza26]

I still say the tranny issue can be dealt with pretty easily outside wiring. Toyota trannies and bellhousings simply do not have much variation to them
(Still using the same old C series trans as they did in the mid 80's). I also don't see there being too much difference between the bellhousings, considering the manual trannies interchange freely between the 7A and 4A blocks. Oh well... sorry.

[Bikeman982]

Transmissions are not the same.
The main problem now is that the cars wiring does not connect to the ECM/ECU. That connects to the wiring harness and that connects to the tranny and engine.
Other than a complete rewire, I see no solution to doing a successful swap. Back to original stock engine/tranny.

[Bikeman982]

I have abandoned the larger engine/tranny and pulled it out of the car.
I have pulled a used 1.6L 4A-FE engine from a local junkyard and will be putting that in.
I hope that will solve all my compatability problems, by returning everything to stock.

This post has been edited by Bikeman982: Aug 19, 2006 - 9:00 PM

[Bikeman982]

I had trouble (once again) when matching the transmission up with the engine. I ended up changing the flywheel and using a different torque converter. Even now it seems like the bolts don't go in easily and I may have stripped one of them. I am pretty sure I cross-threaded one of the bolts that holds the flywheel to the torque converter. One problem is that I never identified which bolts went where and as a result, I have various bolts that I don't know their exact place. I may have to go back to the junkyard, find a similar transmission, then get the bolts and label them. That would work (I hope).

This post has been edited by Bikeman982: Aug 22, 2006 - 2:41 AM

[Bikeman982]

Tomorrow I start connecting everything back up and installing everything that was removed for the engine change.
The hard part will be saved for last - re-installing both half shafts.
The starter is a little difficult to get installed as well. I can put on the A/C pump and the alternator pretty easily now. I have had lots of practice.
I can also put the main engine electrical wiring harness and connect everything to that (as well as the ECM/ECU thru the firewall).
The gear shifter is tricky since it uses a different mounting bracket on the old engine. I also have to replace some of the fluid lines that I bent switching to the other transmission. I may need to go back to a junkyard to get other ones.
I will keep you posted on the progress.

[Bikeman982]

UPDATE: Today I installed the starter, the charcoal cannister, all the vaccuum and fuel lines and some of the coolant lines. I also put in the airfilter box and cover as well as the battery. I put the distributor in but did not tighten it down as the timing has to be set. Next I need new transmission lines (I hope to get from the junkyard) and I need one of the fittings for the transmission. After that will be the radiator and the connecting lines. All that will be left is the ECM and the interior lower dash panels and then I need to add all the fluids, spark plugs, cap and rotor, and final adjustments. I am hoping it will crank right over when I try to start it. More to follow.

This post has been edited by Bikeman982: Sep 13, 2006 - 12:35 AM

[Bikeman982]

Everything but the drive shafts have been installed.
The car will not start - does not crank - tried different battery - no crank.
I had the solenoid/starter tested - it is good.
Checked all fuses - look good.
Anyone familiar with the starting system??

[Bikeman982]

I bought a new battery and the car cranked fine - just would not start.
More troubleshooting required - spark/fuel/timing checks.
Getting closer to actually running again!

[Bikeman982]

Here is an update.
Car would not start and did not have spark at the plugs. I used a T/S tree supplied by Bitter and found a malfunctioning, corroded relay (EFI-F HTR). I replaced the relay and car started right up and purrred like a kitten.
I drove the car around and it seems like the tranny is slipping.
I added some Slick 50 Automatic Transmission Treatment and that seems to have fixed the slipping problem.
The car is up for sale and my neighbor is very interested in it.

End result - seized engine has been changed, original transmission and wiring harness/ECM used and car is operational.

[normality78]

hm... weird. i personally had my 4afe engine changed to 7afe without any issue at all. same apply to the rest of my fren who done the samething except thiers was manual and mine was auto.

the only thing i swap over was the engine itself only. ecu, wiring, gearbox all was 4afe stuff. The whole job only took me 3 days to complete so i can safely assume that there is no compatibility issue here.

the only very small problem that i got is im using 4afe TB which now my throttle cable abit lose as the 7a tb position seems abit diff

[Bikeman982]

hm... weird. i personally had my 4afe engine changed to 7afe without any issue at all. same apply to the rest of my fren who done the samething except thiers was manual and mine was auto.

the only thing i swap over was the engine itself only. ecu, wiring, gearbox all was 4afe stuff. The whole job only took me 3 days to complete so i can safely assume that there is no compatibility issue here.

the only very small problem that i got is im using 4afe TB which now my throttle cable abit lose as the 7a tb position seems abit diff

Was everything from the same year?
Did the donor car have all the same connections?

[normality78]

hm... weird. i personally had my 4afe engine changed to 7afe without any issue at all. same apply to the rest of my fren who done the samething except thiers was manual and mine was auto.

the only thing i swap over was the engine itself only. ecu, wiring, gearbox all was 4afe stuff. The whole job only took me 3 days to complete so i can safely assume that there is no compatibility issue here.

the only very small problem that i got is im using 4afe TB which now my throttle cable abit lose as the 7a tb position seems abit diff

Was everything from the same year?
Did the donor car have all the same connections?

i just bought the complete engine itself. block, head and inlet manifold. thats all. i dun even know whr does the engine came frm. hehehhe

[Bikeman982]

Update:
The car has been sold to a man looking for something more gas efficient.
He has two trucks that get 12-15 MPG and needed something better.
His wife took a wrong turn and ended up going down my street.
She saw my car with a "For Sale" sign on it in front of my house and told her husband.
He came by and then arranged a full diagnostic for the car at a local shop.
He paid $37.50 for the diagnostic and they came up with a stripped transmission drain plug (I used the wrong sized allen wrench - 3/8 instead of 10MM). It was also leaking a little.
The right rear brake cyclinder was also leaking a little (they had to pull back the rubber to find a few drops outside the seal).
They also recommended a tune-up - points, wires and cap, rotor ( I had already put in new plugs - of course any car would be better with new ignition parts).
They found nothing else wrong with the car.
I think that is a fairly good testimony as to my ability to repair a car with a seized engine and have it running again.
I had changed the engine, radiator, battery, and put in several used parts from a junkyard.
I sold the car for $3500.00, which was far more than what I paid when I purchased the car from e-Bay.

I am looking for another 7th generation car needing repair, that I can get cheap, to fix.
I still have some left-over extra parts (including a 1.8L 7A-FE engine and A245L transmission).
Anyone have a need for 7th generation Corolla parts or have one they want to sell that needs work?