ST215 Swap Q & A Plus CEL Codes

shadowlife25

New member
Yes thank you. I had found this also.

I suppose I was more wondering if anyone had their own notes on this.
Something like a pin to pin swap list between say... a 215 and a 165 ecu? ;)
 

Speedricer

New member
Here are some of my notes, for a 1992 st185.
These are the two plugs that go from the engine room harness to the body near the ECU.
ST185bodyplugs.jpg
 

lumbercis

Moderator
Could you elaborate on the downpipe? What exactly is the problem with the ST215 item? What modifications are needed? Pics?

So are these the only custom parts needed?
1) Signal converter for the tach
2) Downpipe

Thanks!
J.
 

Speedricer

New member
The turbo flange is different than the ct26 and older version of the ct20b. This will need to be made or bought, I traced my gasket on some 1/2" stainless steel and used a mill to make it. I also needed to cut apart the downpipe I had and change some of the angles to make it fit my midpipe.
Other than that it is a close swap. I used a lot of the original accessories (starter, power steering pump, transmission, motor mounts).
 

lumbercis

Moderator
Okay, I have a tech about to undertake this swap for me. He's looking into doing the wiring himself, although I still have the option to send it out to Dr Tweak if he's uncomfortable.

The tech sent me this today: "Do you know what computer is to be used on the new motor? Can you use the computer that came out of the original car. I am thinking the easiest thing to do is to use the original harness and even if I have to use the new computer all I will have to do is put on the ecu plugs."

Besides the idea of using the old ECU :rofl: does it seem like he is on the right track. Or is this a danger sign and I should farm it out to a specialist. I think he wants to do the wiring himself so he doesn't have the car sitting in the shop for 4 weeks while waiting for the harness.

Thanks for your advice.

James
 

MixMaster

New member
Hourly cost of him doing the wiring, then the CHANCE that he get's something wrong is enough to go to tweak.
4 weeks now or countless weeks tracking down a problem, tracing the diagrams, then waiting on it to be fixed. That's if he can even pull it off. You may end up spending $ twice on it.
What's 4 weeks to be positive it's done right by someone with experience when it comes to the jicky wiring.

On a side note: Does the A/C work after this swap? Any CELs?

Good luck
 

Speedricer

New member
MixMaster":235ri9zb said:
Hourly cost of him doing the wiring, then the CHANCE that he get's something wrong is enough to go to tweak.
4 weeks now or countless weeks tracking down a problem, tracing the diagrams, then waiting on it to be fixed. That's if he can even pull it off. You may end up spending $ twice on it.
What's 4 weeks to be positive it's done right by someone with experience when it comes to the jicky wiring.


Good luck
+1
Just about anyone with wiring experience can figure this out... it just may take weeks.
I bet I had close to 40 hours scratching my head on the lack of info about the st215 wiring and charging system.
On a side note: Does the A/C work after this swap? Any CELs?
I never installed the A/C and no CELs, even running an auto. ecu.
 

MixMaster

New member
My bad, I just noticed that you already answered those questions on the first page.

How is your driveability? Would you do this swap over a 3rd gen and power FC?


Thanks again
 

Speedricer

New member
Driveability is good, no real issues.
3rd gen has more easy ways of upgrading/more aftermarket options available. Wiring is much easier.
 

lumbercis

Moderator
Welp, my tech tells me my engine was in and started up today!!!

He's a little fuzzy on how to get the speedo working. He says that he tried to just put the mechanical speedo gear from the ST185 into the ST215 trans, but said there was no mechanical gear present in the ST215 tranny to run the mechanical sensor off of.

The other option is to use the ST215 electronic speedo sensor, but the question then is, how would one hook it up to the ST185 speedo?

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated!! :)

Thanks
J.
 

lumbercis

Moderator
Don't guys who do ST205 swaps just swap the mechanical sensor from the ST185 in as we tried to do?

The trannys may be the same model (e150f or something like that?) but maybe they didn't bother including the driven gear for the mechanical sensor on the ST215 version. My tech said there was a block off plate on the ST215 where the mechanical sensor would normally go on the ST185 tranny.

Is there anywhere online that has an ST215 shop manual? That may clear up exactly what strategy the ST215 uses for it's speed output.

J.
 

lumbercis

Moderator
Well, I picked up the car today. It runs and drives great, but there are a couple outstanding issues.

1) No speedo. As mentioned previously, there doesn't seem to be a driven gear in the tranny for provision of a mechanical sensor. Speedricer, what tranny did you use for your swap?

2) Related to the above, check engine light is on and throwing two cels, code 13 (RPM signal) and 42 (speed sensor signal.

Wiring was done by Doug, aka mr220v on the mr2 boards. I was going to go with Tweak, but he was backed up about 7-8 weeks while Doug basically did it in 2. He was also about $200 cheaper than Tweak ($330 compared to about $550-$600 for Tweak).

So basically just need to figure out how to get the speedo working and I think the cels will be taken care of. We really need access to an ST215 BGB!!!

J.
 

lumbercis

Moderator
Found this link I thought might be useful to future swappers:
http://www.drivenperformance.co.nz/scri ... oduct=1330

Note that I'm pretty sure the downpipe outlet will not mate up to the stock ST185 midpipe. But from my experience, you will have a much easier time convincing a tech or muffler shop to fab a short extension to mate this downpipe to the midpipe than you will trying to get them to make a flange and downpipe from scratch.

If you are adventurous, you might be able to hack off the flange from this downpipe and weld it on to a standard ST185 downpipe, but it will depend on how closely the bellmouth designs match.

J.
 

Speedricer

New member
lumbercis":1e1wzbaq said:
1) No speedo. As mentioned previously, there doesn't seem to be a driven gear in the tranny for provision of a mechanical sensor. Speedricer, what tranny did you use for your swap?
J.
I used my stock st185 tranny. It bolts right up
 

LeewaiST185

New member
I did a 4gen 3sgte swap on my st185 last fall and drove it a year round with 4th cylinder not sparking or fuel injecting at the right time. I rewired the ecu by myself with some notes from a nice guy from Australia. I am planning to drive it again this summer and it is still running that same problem. I remember researching before that it can be the crank sensor or something that can make the timing go off. I know the sparkplug is sparking and the fuel injector is working because i checked it. I also replace the fuel injector and it still didnt run right. Do you guys have any ideas? I got code 24 for diagnose.
 
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