noob with ???, 5sfe swap Options

[6gcnoob]

Hey everyone!

I have a very important question for anyone willing to give me advice.I have a friend who has a 94 celica gt with the 2.2 5sfe. But unfortunatly the motor has seized due to the previous owner before him who stupidly never changed the oil. Has new radiator & hoses, cars in pretty nice shape with some exceptions. My friend wants $1200 for the car itself, and i would have to buy a used replacement motor, aprox. $500-600. Now my question to you all is if you think this is worth it. Personally id love to have this car, they are very nice, and from compilation videos ive watched, fun to drive. Also, if i were to swap the motor is there anything i should be worried about such as electrical problems, anything that might fail on me? Im just looking for some personal opinions here, help with my decision.

Thank you to all that deciced to be generous and help me out.

[95CelicaST]

You can find a 94-95 5S-FE for pretty cheap. I think you will run into wiring problems with any newer motor because of emissions.

But other than that it is a complete plug and play swap. Just connect everything and fire it up.

[njccmd2002]

for some reasons older odbI engines are easy to find, the OBDII are difficult, hardly find any. Not even on ebay. Make sure you have the right year engine, and it fits like a glove....

[alltracman78]

You need a 92 or newer 5SFE.
Swap everything from the old engine, including the intake manifold and valve cover.

If you get a Camry engine they have balance shafts and no distributor after 96.
Celica and MR2 ones don't, and come with a dist.

Not that hard of a job if you're mechanically inclined.

[presure2]

just be sure he didnt remove anything from the motor.

buy a new motor, you can use any 94+ 5sfe, although you may have to swap over certain accessories, like distributor, egr, ect.
you'll use the engine harness and ecu from the original motor, everything will be plug and play.

damnit jeremey, you can type faster than me!

[njccmd2002]

You need a 92 or newer 5SFE.
Swap everything from the old engine, including the intake manifold and valve cover.

If you get a Camry engine they have balance shafts and no distributor after 96.
Celica and MR2 ones don't, and come with a dist.

Not that hard of a job if you're mechanically inclined.

what difference does a distributor make? and balance shafts?

[presure2]

You need a 92 or newer 5SFE.
Swap everything from the old engine, including the intake manifold and valve cover.

If you get a Camry engine they have balance shafts and no distributor after 96.
Celica and MR2 ones don't, and come with a dist.

Not that hard of a job if you're mechanically inclined.

what difference does a distributor make? and balance shafts?

diffrent years (OBDI VS OBDII ect) have diffrent plugs ect on the distributor, balance shafts help make the motor smoother and more quiet.

[alltracman78]

diffrent years (OBDI VS OBDII ect) have diffrent plugs ect on the distributor, balance shafts help make the motor smoother and more quiet.

Exactly.
The newer Camry uses 2 coils and no dist. It works a little better.
I don't know if the camshafts will still run the dist, which your ECU needs.

The balance shafts are useless IMO, ones without run just fine.
They also rob power.

As long as you pick up a 92 ^ [IIRC 92 - 95 is the same] Celica or MR2 engine you will be fine.
Just have the shop [or you if you plan to do it] swap everything over and use your current wiring/ECU like Manny said.

[nightryder]

Don't sweat it. I jumped right into my first engine swap with ZERO knowledge of the car. You will learn soooo much if you do it.


I vote yes!