ST202 to 3rd gen 3S-GTE swap, After months of waiting and working hard the swap is almost complete Options

[Paul_Celica_GT]

In this project topic I'll descripe the swap of my 3S-GE to 3rd gen 3S-GTE.

After driving 245.000 km with my 3S-GE, the clutch started slip badly, the timingbelt and the other belts were severly worn and, well, 175 horsepower just wasn't enough . So I decided to swap to a 3rd gen 3S-GTE. From a Japanese export company, Japan Partner I bought a Celica GT-Four, for the engine and other parts.

These are the photo's the export company send me:

















As you might see, it has (original) TRD sideskirts, TRD rear splitter, Eurou frontlip and a Blitz Spec Nur Exhaust. After months of waiting, I've ordered the car half of August, got it February 14th, it was finally time to pick it up in Amsterdam Harbour.

I rented a carambulance and went to the harbour to collect the car. In the harbour I found out that the Eurou frontlip hadn't made it, unfortunately. In all my excitement I forgot to take jumpcables with me, and of course the battery was dead. So we had to push the car









When I got home (50 km drive) I got the battery from my car and put it in the GT-Four, it fired up immediately. After driving it warm, I've put the pedal to the metal, damn it's fast! Huge power! Next day I started striping the ST205. But first, this is my setup:

3rd gen 3S-GTE
E56 gearbox with oilcooler (standard on my car)
OEM viscous LSD (standard on my car)
ATW intercooler
ST205 Superstrut suspension (I had ST202, which is identical , except for some minor points)
ST205 brakes
ST205 front bumper
ST205 hood
Airconditioning (standard on my car)
JDM folding mirrors

I've renewed the following parts:

Clutchkit (pressure group, frictionplate and bearing)
Timing belt
V-belt
Sparkplugs
Hoodlock (LHD ST205)
Accelerator link (LHD ST205, turns out to be the same as LHD ST202)
Gaskets

Here are the pics of my swap, be warned, it's gonna be a lot, over a hundred . I can't post all the pics in one post and I have to translated everything what I've typed from Dutch to English. This is gonna take some time, so be patient . Expect updates regularly. For those of you who can't wait, here is my site (in Dutch): Celica GT.nl. I'll try to comment all the pics.

Part 1, extracting the engine from the ST205:


The 3S-GTE in the ST205


Removed front bumper


Removed side fenders, lightning, undercovers and intercooler


All the fluids out and removed the radiators and airco condensor (or evaporator, always forget what's what)


Removed wiring harness


Unmounted front suspension, and removed driveshaft


Worn driveshaftboot, though I'm using my own driveshafts


Removed front steering knuckle and shockabsorber

After this I've removed the properlorshaft.


Continues on the next post.

[Paul_Celica_GT]

The rest of part 1:


Removed shocks with the steering knuckles attached to it


Removed transmissioncables, clutchline, fuel and -return hose and carbonfilter

Now it's time to pull the engine out:


Here I've put the engine in the engine chain hoist, removed the engine mounts


Removing the engine!


From the other side, look at the huge transmission


After putting the transmision down and turning the engine/transmission clockwise it finally came out


It's free


The empty enginebay


The engine next to car


Engine and car separated for eternity...

End of part 1.

Continues on the next post, coming soon... be patient

[95celgt]

if it was that easy to get the car through the port, why didn't you just keep the ACUAL GTFOUR??!?!?!! I woulda sold the SSII for the AWD...

[Paul_Celica_GT]

Well I could have done that, but: I hate RHD, doesn't feel right, so if I wanted to drive the GT-Four it had to be converted to LHD. And in Holland we've got a nice government tax that you have to pay if you want to drive the car on the open road (what I did was illegal). So it is a lot cheaper to swap it and to sell the parts I don't need.

Besides I've got a E56 gearbox (with LSD), so the most grip on the front wheels.

[Sinyk]

if it was that easy to get the car through the port, why didn't you just keep the ACUAL GTFOUR??!?!?!! I woulda sold the SSII for the AWD...

Agreed. I may be wrong, but it looks like you bought a nicer car and are gutting it

[99GT]

A lot of U.S. guys are going to be shocked.

[zero07]

So lucky....

If your gonna part out any other parts can you please let me know.

Front and rear strut tower bars, gauges, in particular.

This post has been edited by zero07: Apr 15, 2008 - 4:45 PM

[azian_advanced]

Well I could have done that, but: I hate RHD, doesn't feel right, so if I wanted to drive the GT-Four it had to be converted to LHD. And in Holland we've got a nice government tax that you have to pay if you want to drive the car on the open road (what I did was illegal). So it is a lot cheaper to swap it and to sell the parts I don't need.

that's understandable.. to me RHD is nothing special.. and it doesn't really make you 'stand out' cuz yur soo JDM! in the long run it'll be annoying making left turns, but the left hand shifting and right hand turn signals one can get used to... and if u don't really need the AWD, extra ~300lbs weight, plans for fairly high HP (where 2WD with LSD is no longer good enough), and high insurance cost, then your decision for swapping brakes and engine and selling the extra parts to get some of your money back is best. heck, i'd do the same IF i was in your position. except here, i need the awd

[DEATH]

Makes sense to me. Good write up man - I look forward to the rest of it.

[phattyduck]

and if u don't really need the AWD, extra ~300lbs weight, plans for fairly high HP (where 2WD with LSD is no longer good enough), and high insurance cost, then your decision for swapping brakes and engine and selling the extra parts to get some of your money back is best. heck, i'd do the same IF i was in your position. except here, i need the awd

The stock ST205 motor in FWD with an LSD (my setup) is already too much. You can spin the tires in second (yes, both tires and yes, they are sticky) with just intake, exhaust and boost controller...

On the other hand, I understand wanting to work reasonably within the law...

-Charlie

[mrgt4]

nice job man, hell i would of kept the st205 though(no offence to the fwd boys but fwd is not quite the same as the real awd deal!) but good work either way man! good to see something different! top stuff!

[Cuts_the_Pilot]

your a nutter , but good luck with it all. hope your ready for torque steer

[scothaniel]

Hey Paul - aside from the center diff, how does the ST205 trans visually compare to the E56?

I've always suspected that the E56 and the MR2's E153 transmissions are basically interchangeable, and therefore the axles from the E56 would be the right size for those of us with FWD-E153 cars. What do you think?

[Paul_Celica_GT]

I think, that with E56 axles, you won't have the short axle problem. I'll check later today with the BGB. The bgb has the exact sizes of the axles in it.

Also, the first part of the transmission of the E56 and E154 are exactly the same. So is the shiftvork. Gears maybe also the same. Diifferential is totally different of course.

[phattyduck]

Hey Paul - aside from the center diff, how does the ST205 trans visually compare to the E56?

I've always suspected that the E56 and the MR2's E153 transmissions are basically interchangeable, and therefore the axles from the E56 would be the right size for those of us with FWD-E153 cars. What do you think?

E56 axles (full with the carrier bearing) woult be perfect for a 6gc with an E153. Almost all of the E-series transmission stuff is interchangable. The problem is finding those axles in the US...

-Charlie

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

I'd be curious to see if it worked, but I'm actually doubtful it would fit 100%....I'm beginning to believe that Toyota changed the axle shaft dimensions slightly with the design of the E153.

I'm using an inner stub on my drivers side from an older E53 transmission from a Lexus, and it fits....but not quite properly. Splines line up, but theres too much back and forth, and up and down play in the axle when it sits in the differential. Ive never seen quite so much play when working on setups using an MR2's E153 stub, so I'm beginning to think that the smooth "un-splined" part of the inner axle where the oil dispersion holes are is slightly smaller in diameter.


On that basis maybe the E56 axles would have this same variance in size...? Maybe thats an important difference between an E1xx tranny and a Exx tranny.



We shall see though....I have an MR2 inner on order so I can compare the dimensions of the two.

This post has been edited by Silver94CelicaOwner: Apr 19, 2008 - 4:33 AM

[celicaGT96]

I'd be curious to see if it worked, but I'm actually doubtful it would fit 100%....I'm beginning to believe that Toyota changed the axle shaft dimensions slightly with the design of the E153.

I'm using an inner stub on my drivers side from an older E53 transmission from a Lexus, and it fits....but not quite properly. Splines line up, but theres too much back and forth, and up and down play in the axle when it sits in the differential. Ive never seen quite so much play when working on setups using an MR2's E153 stub, so I'm beginning to think that the smooth "un-splined" part of the inner axle where the oil dispersion holes are is slightly smaller in diameter.


On that basis maybe the E56 axles would have this same variance in size...? Maybe thats an important difference between an E1xx tranny and a Exx tranny.



We shall see though....I have an MR2 inner on order so I can compare the dimensions of the two.

so ur axle setup on ur e153 still has play? wouldnt that affect ride quality?

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

Nope.

Rides and drives perfectly fine. You can just hear it quite a bit when turning because the axle shaft is moving slightly off center during turns in relation to the inner stub....its a clacking sound, most likely because of the thickness of the part of the inner axle that rides in the oiling channels, not the actual splines.

Only a few more days till I get my MR2 axle stub, and I'll be able to illustrate what I'm saying alot better.



Anyway, I don't want to get this thread off topic too much. I'll make a new thread with my findings sometime this week when its in.



-Corey

[st202_turbo]

hello every one, i am new to this website so please take it easy on me.

I have the same celica as paul and i want it to be faster (170hp just isnt enough), i have two options but im not sure what would be easier. Is it better just to swap the motor with a 3sgte or to turbo the existing 3sge?
I am also on a budget and going to be doing most of the work my self. thanks

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

I think either is a very viable option.

The 3SGE has been turbocharged very sucessfully, and it flows great and is a very strong engine. It shares alot of the same bottom-end assembly and top-end components with the 3rd gen 3SGTE, so it handles turbocharging very well....biggest difference is the compression ratio, cams, and lack of a turbo. Scothaniel on this board turbocharged a 3SGE using stock ST205 components and ECU, so if this route interested you I would talk to him.


The 3rd gen 3SGTE is a very direct swap and its already turbocharged from the factory, so its just a matter of installing everything over to the ST202 body and doing some wiring. I did this on my ST204 and the actual installation is very straightfoward but the wiring was the most difficult part since I had to extend the harness for a USDM left hand drive car.


But really both are a great route to go, as long as you do your research before hand.




-Corey