Engine swap parts/tools list?

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alkalinetaupehat

Senior member
Mar 3, 2008
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Ah, now it's making sense. You're in the military. My good friend is a Marine, and he bought an old Wrangler essentially because he wanted a "project" and could wrench on base. You guys do have access to some nice equipment, so you should have a lot of fun with the project. Let me know how it goes. My 91 is long in the tooth - 203k miles, but the body is clean. I'd love to take on a project like this, but now that I finally have the space to do it, I don't have access to fab anything, nor do I really have the time with our first child on the way. It's rare to have the time, space, money and tools, so go for it and don't look back.

Also, this car isn't your daily driver, right? Because things will go wrong. And you might want to push the whole thing into the nearest body of water :)

13 mpg for the 7M-GE is abysmal. I average 19 combined on the 7M-GTE. There is something wrong with it, and the only cure is a new engine. See what I did there?
It's my only car, but I don't actually need it for work since I live/work on post and have access to alternate transportation. I'm still in-training, going to be my one-year mark in a few weeks.

13mpg is almost pure city with moderate-heavy throttle. I remember the 7MGTE doing a little better on mileage, which makes sense. 7MGE's were paired with a 4.30 final drive and 7MGTE's had either a 3.9 or 3.7 depending on the year. And yes, I see what you did there. :D

:embarrassed: so it is.
I've been pointing out nice cars wayy before I owned one ;)

Sweet, thanks. I'll get to that the next time I drop the tank (PITA).
The Supra has an access panel in the trunk, don't know if the "trunk" in MR2's have the same thing?
Hope to be joining with my 95 Camry 3SGTE swap soon.

Though with 600 HP in that it will still only run 13s :p
Yeah the wait sucks. I'm probably about three/four years from project completion and a year or so before the 1UZ goes in. I think I need to make 850hp or so to put the 3,500lb tank under 11's.
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
The fuel pump in the MR2 is in tank located somewhere under the center console in the area of the shifter. The fuel tank runs lengthwise in the middle of the car. I've pulled it before, and it's less fun than it sounds...haha.
 

alkalinetaupehat

Senior member
Mar 3, 2008
839
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I think it's been a month or so now since I did this, but thought I would add some content to what's becoming my build thread. I got this idea from a thread on SupraMania, and it comes from the fact that the silver wheels have a machined face underneath the paint. Some will strip the paint off and just run the wheels as-is, and others will polish them.

I decided it would be cool to polish them, but black-out the holes for contrast. Once I got started though, I realized how long it would take to do by hand and resigned myself to waiting until I have a drill and a long weekend.

What I ended up doing was painting the wheels black, just for a change. It's since grown on me, and I like the police-wheels look. Ultimately still want to polish them, but it's on the back-burner for now.

Now for the pics:
http://s283.photobucket.com/albums/kk300/alkalinetaupehat/Temp wheel color/
 

alkalinetaupehat

Senior member
Mar 3, 2008
839
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So I figure that this may as well be my build thread/pains-of-ownership diary, since it's already underway.

Time has come and gone and the Supra still lives. I hadn't drove it for about two months between class/duty and finding someone with the right tools to change the driveshaft carrier bearing. Found out how to do it for a lot less, and am happy with the result

http://www.supramania.com/forums/sh...ce-a-MKIII-Driveshaft-Carrier-Bearing-for-50&

Car drives much better, but there's still a bearing noise that sounds closer to the differential than the transmission, though it's quieter. I'm just driving the car until something expensive gives, then parking it and waiting to do a motor swap. Since I have AAA coverage for 100 miles and the Air Force will ship my car to my duty station, this plan works well given my cash flow.

The engine runs smooth, although the rod knock is very present. I changed the oil a couple weeks back and found a couple copper shavings on the drain plug, and added a quart of Lucas oil to the other 4 quarts and so far the knock is much quieter as well as the valvetrain (and it starts easier). It's a bandaid, not a fix. I can drive the car longer and not spend money on taxi's etc.

Class is still going well, and hopefully a year from now I'll be done with training and can look at starting the motor swap. Some might not like it, but I got into Gen IV Chevy V8's and, so far, plan on putting one in the Supra.

There are companies that make adapters to go from the R154 5-spd to Chevy V8's, and it's rather easy to get a remanufactured Gen IV 6.2L V8. The catch? It's for newer Escalades and Suburbans, and has a truck cam/valvetrain. The upside? It's otherwise exactly the same as the LS3 (alum block/heads), and GMPP conveniently sells the LS3 valvetrain components and their Hot Cam for LSx applications:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07SNqC2ykdw

This with headers, intake, and tune should net around 480whp. Yup, LS7 power with a maintenance schedule of oil changes every 5k and spark plugs every 100k. Suck it.

This is going to be awesome. Parts collecting will start when I'm operational, and in the meantime it's all about saving up.

Oh, and one more thing: This car currently has a 4.3 LSD. I can get 3.91/3.73 LSD's, or maybe not. muahahahaha

Issues with the car so far:
Rod knock
Transmission does a rev-and-grab sometimes at low speed
Bearing noise at 20/40mph
Various interior/exterior blemishes
Suspension clunks around corners sometimes.
Glazed rotors
Worn front tires.
Woo!
 
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FuzzyDunlop

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2008
3,260
12
81
geeze, according to the comments that guy spent six years working on that truck. But gah, it sounds like porn.
 

alkalinetaupehat

Senior member
Mar 3, 2008
839
0
0
It's the perfect lope too. Present but doesn't affect drivability much, and still good for something like 50hp (per dyno charts).