3sgte rebuild shopping list?

time to focus on my 3s swap project. my piston #1 is low on compression therefor i need to rebuild. i plan on just doing a mildly stock rebuild for my 93 3s swap. I would like the motor to be reliable for boost from 15-18psi when i feel like it but daily probably just 12-15psi. and i wanna keep it modestly as cheap as possible, my budget is at most $5k but i'd like to go as cheap as possible and get reliable quality parts. heres my list so far. feel free to add something that i am missing with the price if you know it and the website where i can get it from. also do not add anything that will require an ems to control because that's outta my time limit and budget. not going for 300+hp nothin too crazy. because its fwd after all. i just want a really fast and reliable daily driver. and do not worry about turbo and ic, because i have a upgraded ct20b and a st205 ic kit already. labor will be done by myself. this is my first complete rebuild so i am noobie at this.

-arp head studs
-alumnium fly wheel (is it worth the money$)
-arp main studs & fly wheel bolts (are these necessary?)
-toyota overhaul gasket kit
-MHG (no brand in mind yet & does size matter signicantly?)
-cams will be stock unless there are decent cams that are better than toyota for cheap
-should i leave my head stock?
-pistons - i hear toyota pistons cost a grip and so you mine as well get aftermarket forged ones for same or close enough prices? is it true that when you put je .02 over bore pistons in your 3s, then the stock ecu will no longer be sufficient and you'll need an ems? also if that's true, does je make any stock piston size replacements? if so what website can i find them at. every where i have looked i have seen .02 over bore.
-anything else?

for 5k i would do a basic rebuild with aftermarket pistons/rings/rods and go with a bigger turbo and maybe a standalone with a good boost controller . :wink: but what do i know :shrug: i hit 15psi no problem with my t3/t4 on a ST165 engine connected to my slushbox :twisted: taking it up to 17psi on tueday with tuning.

gt_turbo":1ckoaryr said:

-arp head studs
-alumnium fly wheel (is it worth the money$)
-arp main studs & fly wheel bolts (are these necessary?)
-toyota overhaul gasket kit
-MHG (no brand in mind yet & does size matter signicantly?)
-cams will be stock unless there are decent cams that are better than toyota for cheap
-should i leave my head stock?
-pistons - i hear toyota pistons cost a grip and so you mine as well get aftermarket forged ones for same or close enough prices? is it true that when you put je .02 over bore pistons in your 3s, then the stock ecu will no longer be sufficient and you'll need an ems? also if that's true, does je make any stock piston size replacements? if so what website can i find them at. every where i have looked i have seen .02 over bore.
-anything else?

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You can start with a OEM short block from Toyota. It will come ready to install for ~$1450. Contact Thompson Toyota out of Pennsylvania.

Add:

arp hardware
tte metal head gasket
port corrected head

That will be well within your budget.

No, it's not true about the .020" over JE's needing and EMS to control.

I like my Fidanza aluminum flywheel. Next time i'm going with something different though. I personally like fast revs. Some people don't because they fall just as fast. I like it. Won't go back to a stock flywheel.

The WTA IC and Ct20B will compliment the above nicely.


Good Luck with your rebuild.

I dunno where you heard that Toyota pistons were expensive.. Unless you consider about $50 per piston expensive.. Aftermarket forged ones typically run double and up depending on what brand you get..

But if you're going to make this engine output significantly more than stock.. It would be a good idea to go forged along with some rods... Overbuilding an engine never hurts anything except your wallet..

thanks for the replies guys. well i would consider buying a shortblock but i want the forged internals for the boost i'll be going for and extra assurance. do you need to bore out the block for the .02 je pistons or not? also what is port corrected head? and where can i purchase a tte hg for the best price? thanks again for the help

gt_turbo":3gx3qqgm said:

thanks for the replies guys. well i would consider buying a shortblock but i want the forged internals for the boost i'll be going for and extra assurance. do you need to bore out the block for the .02 je pistons or not? also what is port corrected head? and where can i purchase a tte hg for the best price? thanks again for the help

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Typically people go with a fresh bore of .020" over when changing pistons. But I do believe JE offers them at stock size. You'll just need to go with a little bit bigger ring. The put a fresh cross hatch for the size of the slightly bigger ring. The bores are setup for the equipment, so it's not always a set number.

I would just go with .020" over and call it a day. Same work involved really. Plus you get a little bigger bore.

You don't need forged rods. The stock rods are very durable. Just get them shot peened. But if you want, eagles are the cheapest forged rods to get, pauter the most expensive. (there may be cheaper and more expensive, those are just what I know)

A port corrected head is not a full street port. It's mostly just porting around the valves. A street port ports the passages that lead to the valves both intake and exhaust. Depends on the porting though. You can typically get about 85% of the work done just by port correction. And save a little money.

I really suggest that if you are getting machine and head work done to find a builder that you know and trust. AND has done 3S-GTE work before.

You can get the TTE head gasket from a number of suppliers. I purchased mine from ATS Racing (atsracing.net) It was $150 when I bought it.

Hope this Helps,

helps a lot very informational. thanks illgt4.

Since you're going to be building it I would suggest getting some Eagle H beam rods.

thanks for the input griffin. i was just considering eagle's but do you know how good their quality is? and also i've heard you can get je's in pretty much any compression ratio you'd like, does anyone know which compression ratio is the best to get for my applications?

gt_turbo":3a57xccu said:

thanks for the input griffin. i was just considering eagle's but do you know how good their quality is? and also i've heard you can get je's in pretty much any compression ratio you'd like, does anyone know which compression ratio is the best to get for my applications?

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I have them in my engine - the initial quality was excellent - all looked flawless and weighed exactly the same and fit perfectly.

So far they are holding up well to 24PSI and 8500 RPM use.

illGT4":xpgd01xb said:

eagles are the cheapest forged rods to get, pauter the most expensive.

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It should be noted that my remark was NOT refering to build quality. Just price.

gt_turbo":3vsm5etv said:

and also i've heard you can get je's in pretty much any compression ratio you'd like, does anyone know which compression ratio is the best to get for my applications?

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That can sometimes depend on preference.

The general "rule" is that you can run more boost on lower compression. And you get better spool up on higher comp.

BUT, I've seen and read about some engines that were built on 9:1 compression making killer horsepower.. properly tuned mind you.

2nd gen build ups that I've seen are anywhere between 8:1 to 9:1 compression. My last build was 9:1. My next build will be 9:1.

illGT4":2uhwkux4 said:

illGT4":2uhwkux4 said:

eagles are the cheapest forged rods to get, pauter the most expensive.

Click to expand...

It should be noted that my remark was NOT refering to build quality. Just price.

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Actually theer IS one brand more expensive than Pauter - Carillo - they are about $1200 for a new set of 4

Griffin":zo3tfys2 said:

illGT4":zo3tfys2 said:

illGT4":zo3tfys2 said:

eagles are the cheapest forged rods to get, pauter the most expensive.

Click to expand...

It should be noted that my remark was NOT refering to build quality. Just price.

Click to expand...

Actually theer IS one brand more expensive than Pauter - Carillo - they are about $1200 for a new set of 4

Click to expand...

Thanks Griffin

i've decided to post pone the rebuild project and purchase my buddies fully built motor instead. since i am a busy college kid i don't have the time to spend playing with my motor as much as i would like. so my buddies selling it to me for $2k it has je pistons stock bore, forged rods, arp stuff, hks mhg, 3rd gen 3sgte head, ported and polished as well, hks springs, and shimless mrs buckets, but no cams, no turbo, because he sold them sometime ago. and the motor was already broken in for 2k miles. so i'm thinking this is a good deal. considering i would end up spending just bout up to $2k if i did my own rebuild. and he's selling it at i price which i just can't pass up.

if i was in the states and did not want to be going for an aftermarket ecu (ems) i like the look of the remaped toyota ecu. i would be using the st205 set up no matter what car it was in because of the bigger injectors.

also one thing that is an essential engine build part is a good book on blueprinting.

roger