am i capable of doing the 3s swap?, and in my garage??? Options

[hashmaster52]

well ive been thinking a lot about what i wanna do and i came to the conclusion of wanting a 3s swap. its bad enough tho that i live in cali, but im also only gonna b 18 in a month and i dont have much knowledge with cars. i will have my dads help and some from my friends....wut do u guys think? am i capable?

[CelicaGT04]

NO OFFENSE, but i think if you have to ask this question. Then you are OBVIOUSLY not ready to take on swapping your engine. There is much to this task, it requires much time and knowlodge. I am not going to lecture you here on why i think you should not do this because i feel you do not have the adequete knowledge to do so. But i just want to fore-warn you before you decide to take on such a tedious adventure.

But if you research and do everything the right way, I think you will be very impressed and happy with what your end result will be.

DO NOT let me be the bearer of your decision, all i am saying is RESEARCH and you will find ALMOST anything (in a nutshell) that you will have to do to swap you car (st185, st205).

On another note, Its better to know about what you are doing then guessing. I am currently dissasembling and re-assembling my 2nd Gen 3sgte that is in my garage. I have been at this for over 2 months and still i learn something new everyday. Just please research before you decide to embark on this beast of a task!

-Mario

[hashmaster52]

NO OFFENSE, but i think if you have to ask this question. Then you are OBVIOUSLY not ready to take on swapping your engine. There is much to this task, it requires much time and knowlodge. I am not going to lecture you here on why i think you should not do this because i feel you do not have the adequete knowledge to do so. But i just want to fore-warn you before you decide to take on such a tedious adventure.

But if you research and do everything the right way, I think you will be very impressed and happy with what your end result will be.

DO NOT let me be the bearer of your decision, all i am saying is RESEARCH and you will find ALMOST anything (in a nutshell) that you will have to do to swap you car (st185, st205).

On another note, Its better to know about what you are doing then guessing. I am currently dissasembling and re-assembling my 2nd Gen 3sgte that is in my garage. I have been at this for over 2 months and still i learn something new everyday. Just please research before you decide to embark on this beast of a task!

-Mario

none taken. thx for the input. i will do a lot of research before i do the swap. i have plenty of time, for i am just starting to save.

[CelicaGT04]

Yeh make sure you have an ample amount of money. You never know if something will need replacing.

-Mario

[eggman40]

well ive been thinking a lot about what i wanna do and i came to the conclusion of wanting a 3s swap. its bad enough tho that i live in cali, but im also only gonna b 18 in a month and i dont have much knowledge with cars. i will have my dads help and some from my friends....wut do u guys think? am i capable?

Dude i did my swap in a freakin plastic car port i bought from costco. It had 4 walls to it but the wind still got in lol. I have a 136 piece craftsman tool set i got at sears for $110. and a cherry picker i borrowed from a friend. jack + jackstands and a lot of tiring nights... Its totally possible. I didnt know a whole lot about cars or engines at the time either. I just researched and aked questions. you just gotta be willing to work through any problems you may come accross.



There are 3 HUGE! things you need to do before you start: 1) Research!! alot! deciced what you want your set up to be and and how youre gonna get there... tranny, clutch, exhaust set up, etc. Ask questions too, there are manny people here on the site willing to help, consider me one of them. Just research the basics before you do. 2) Unless you have the patience to do youre wiring, consier sending it to DG Performance or Dr. Tweak. 3) Probaly the most important, is to make sure you have EVERYTHING you need for the swap before you start... this was probably my biggest regret of my swap. Ordering and waiting on parts will prolong your downtime and will cause major fustration because youll waste days you could be working on the car.



Start doing your homework man, then decide if youre up to the challenge. Best of luck to you if decide to go for it. the end result is freakin worth it!

[Dr_Tweak]

Yeah pretty much anyone who has some knowledge of how to use tools and another helping hand can do a swap provided:

1. They have a resource to get answers when they have questions (like 6gc) and a good manual
2. They do plenty of research ahead of time
3. They have PLENTY of time on their hands (no time constraints at all, you do NOT want to rush a job like this!)
4. They have an expert take care of the wiring, which is the #1 biggest headache. Just send it to me and it'll be taken care of!
5. They have some money set aside in the bank to take care of stuff that comes up
6. They have a place to work where their stuff won't get jacked

This post has been edited by Dr_Tweak: Jan 30, 2007 - 8:53 AM

[jcbass7]

I just kinda jumped into it without much research etc.. the engine more or less landed in my lap so i had to buy it. But anywho I learned a whole lot, and yes it took time and patience but it was definatly worth all the time, effort and money.

If i were to do another swap in the future (now that i know how) I would attempt the wiring myself, but I am definatly glad i sent my wiring to DOC. not only did he do my wiring but he basically held my hand through a lot of silly issues i had on the swap (all due to my lack of knowledge)

Save up, research, ask questions and go for it!

PS: i did it without a garage so you are one step ahead of me!

[hashmaster52]

lol. thx everyone...im sure im gonna go for it. im guessing it wont be for another year or so, depending on my cash flow, but thx everyone. i know where to ask if i run into any problems. ))))))

[jcbass7]

lol. thx everyone...im sure im gonna go for it. im guessing it wont be for another year or so, depending on my cash flow, but thx everyone. i know where to ask if i run into any problems. ))))))

We'll be here

This post has been edited by jcbass7: Feb 3, 2007 - 6:26 PM

[urbandork]

chanh did his mostly by himself and i think he didnt even change his own oil lol. luckly he had the time money and support.

[lagos]

chanh did his mostly by himself and i think he didnt even change his own oil lol. luckly he had the time money and support.

chan had someone helping him that had done the swap before, i think .

basic idea is, if your hardworking, have some money saved up, and have a few friends to give you a hand, you can do the swap. you just have to be willing to bust your ass, because its a fair bit of work and everything will take you twice as long when its your first time doing it.

[jcbass7]

chanh did his mostly by himself and i think he didnt even change his own oil lol. luckly he had the time money and support.

chan had someone helping him that had done the swap before, i think .

basic idea is, if your hardworking, have some money saved up, and have a few friends to give you a hand, you can do the swap. you just have to be willing to bust your ass, because its a fair bit of work and everything will take you twice as long when its your first time doing it.

I did the ENTIRE thing by myself in my driveway. Only thing that someone helped me on was actually lowering the engine in. Other than that i got it in and running by myself. The reason it took me twice as long was because after it was all in i had to go back and redo half of my work

Its do-able, and I couldn't be happier with how much ive learned so far

[JesterDC]

ALSO, take LOTS of NOTES and PICTURES, if you have problems we can help, but we would need your help to help you, thats where Notes and Pictures come into play , And make sure you have plenty of time, you don't want to rush this, make plans with friends/family so you'll be able to get around to pick up stuff you need(food, soap, that last spark plug...)and then make back-up plans for that, and then back-up plans for back-up plans etc...

Swaps are all about planning, research, and execution, since you were smart enough to ask, I think your smart enough to do!

[hashmaster52]

ALSO, take LOTS of NOTES and PICTURES, if you have problems we can help, but we would need your help to help you, thats where Notes and Pictures come into play , And make sure you have plenty of time, you don't want to rush this, make plans with friends/family so you'll be able to get around to pick up stuff you need(food, soap, that last spark plug...)and then make back-up plans for that, and then back-up plans for back-up plans etc...

Swaps are all about planning, research, and execution, since you were smart enough to ask, I think your smart enough to do!

right on!!!!

[soulshadow]

well ive been thinking a lot about what i wanna do and i came to the conclusion of wanting a 3s swap. its bad enough tho that i live in cali, but im also only gonna b 18 in a month and i dont have much knowledge with cars. i will have my dads help and some from my friends....wut do u guys think? am i capable?

I have defied that law of stupidity.
If I can do it from not knowing how to even change my own oil. Then you can do it too!

[playr158]

well ive been thinking a lot about what i wanna do and i came to the conclusion of wanting a 3s swap. its bad enough tho that i live in cali, but im also only gonna b 18 in a month and i dont have much knowledge with cars. i will have my dads help and some from my friends....wut do u guys think? am i capable?

I have defied that law of stupidity.
If I can do it from not knowing how to even change my own oil. Then you can do it too!

wasn't your swap (4age) jacked up for a good while?

[JesterDC]

well ive been thinking a lot about what i wanna do and i came to the conclusion of wanting a 3s swap. its bad enough tho that i live in cali, but im also only gonna b 18 in a month and i dont have much knowledge with cars. i will have my dads help and some from my friends....wut do u guys think? am i capable?

I have defied that law of stupidity.
If I can do it from not knowing how to even change my own oil. Then you can do it too!

wasn't your swap (4age) jacked up for a good while?

shhhhhhh

[Kwanza26]

well ive been thinking a lot about what i wanna do and i came to the conclusion of wanting a 3s swap. its bad enough tho that i live in cali, but im also only gonna b 18 in a month and i dont have much knowledge with cars. i will have my dads help and some from my friends....wut do u guys think? am i capable?

I have defied that law of stupidity.
If I can do it from not knowing how to even change my own oil. Then you can do it too!

wasn't your swap (4age) jacked up for a good while?

Isn't your *still* in pieces?

[playr158]

well ive been thinking a lot about what i wanna do and i came to the conclusion of wanting a 3s swap. its bad enough tho that i live in cali, but im also only gonna b 18 in a month and i dont have much knowledge with cars. i will have my dads help and some from my friends....wut do u guys think? am i capable?

I have defied that law of stupidity.
If I can do it from not knowing how to even change my own oil. Then you can do it too!

wasn't your swap (4age) jacked up for a good while?

Isn't your *still* in pieces?

yes it is...1 year down the road...but RHD does take time thank god its 90% over and done RIGHT

This post has been edited by playr158: Feb 6, 2007 - 1:00 AM

[6G94celica]

yea im doing mine right now and im about average knowlege when it comes to cars but like they said with alot of research and questions and some good ppl like these guys to ask for help, you can do it and you learn alot to while doing it