Interested in 3SGTE Swap

AxelNavaja

New member
Interested in 3SGTE Swap.... How reliable is it? How cost effective and what are the gains and losses of this swap. Just gathering information right now.
 

celica_gtx

New member
Ctech has more info on swaps. But I've been running mine for 8yrs w no probs. Change the trans if u can. I ran the s54 for years n was limiting myself. It just depends how fast u wanna go.u can look close to 1500-2000 just to get the motor then put in and get it running. That's if u do the work ur self and all the wiring.
 

fussellbug

New member
There are a couple of guys that can make a custom engine harness for your swap that will be simple plug and play for you. It will cost less if you provide your old engine harness and the one from your newer engine so the connectors can be re-used, but it's still several hundred dollars. Forum member MR220V http://www.alltrac.net/phpBB2/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=9383 is well known on the MR2 forums for his harness work at reasonable prices and Dr. Tweak http://www.tweakdperformance.com/index2.html has made harnesses for almost very possible Toyota swap.
 

GT-Steezy

New member
You will read this and hear this again and again. BUY A FRONT CLIP. I wish I would have went that route, but I'm close to being done accumulating parts and ready to turn wrenches to get it started. But in all sincerity, front clip is the way to go. you get a few things to sell or save. All your sensors and other things are there, and you get a good reference point. Hope it all goes good for you, and would love to see another fwd 3sgte lurking around here.
 

celica_gtx

New member
Clips are the way to go. I was sourcing parts last min and digging thro junk yards. I'd do that next time around n get dr. Tweaks harness. Or save up n get a alltrac. Its what ever YOU want
As long as ur happy dude.
 

AxelNavaja

New member
Huh... Front clip...? Ok. I figured it was the easiest route. The main thing Im concerned with is tranny pairing. I have heard that the MR tranny might be a good option and also the rare 5 speed off a camry.... any suggestions?
 
Unless your planning on finding an LSD trans to handle more power your stock trans will work fine... honestly get on over at celicatech.com There are tons of swaps on there, I actually just bought another GT to do a swap to!! Probably start a project thread for it this weekend and hopefully actually post things in it for once. lol
 

AxelNavaja

New member
Its been almost two years since I have posted but it finally is coming together. 3rd Gen 3SGTE with a E153. And I was lucky enough to come across a WRC motor.

More to follow.
 
Good to hear you are still going for it. You should be happy as long as you get an lsd trans. I did just unswapped my 93GT w/caldina and sold the chassis because the stock trans without lsd made first and second gear very tricky to get any speed out of. I was looking at what I paid for the whole car just to get an LSD MR2 trans. I would NOT suggest anyone do the swap without a trans change, there is a good reason Toyota never threw the 3s into the FWD models, too much power. I am assuming some of that was it was too expensive to put LSD tranny into the mix for those at the price point they were aiming for also...
I opted to swap chassis instead.
Bought a 90 Camry Alltrac for 850 and sold the 93 GT chassis for 800.
A lot cheaper than buying an mr2 trans...
Swap is almost complete, still doing wiring and intercooler piping that's about it.
I hope you are happy with it, I had fun with mine but nothing beats AWD.
 

AxelNavaja

New member
Yes. I agree on the trans issue. Thats why I got in contact with one of the guys in the group and bought a FWD converted E153 with LSD. Managing that amount of power is important so between that, the suspension set up and some chassis bracing the car should handle the power and torque just fine. Not to mention that I have some very Celica savvy gents that are guiding me and helping me make this come together. And to my luck I got a hold of a WRC Motor. Nothing crazy but it is pretty cool. LOL!
 

AxelNavaja

New member
So here is an update:
Bought a 3rd Gen 3sgte WRC motor. Motor was stripped down and had all seals redone with the exemption of the head gasket. The top mounted intercooler was replaced by a FMIC by Mishimoto. I ordered a plethora of parts from MR220V @ Prime Performance. We are going with a full 3" exhaust set up. The car is riding on Megan Racing Street Series Coilovers and 17x8 Drag DR-31 on all four corners with 35mm spacers in the rear. The wiring harness (along with the swap itself) is being done by Allen Wood in Wilde Lexus Sarasota.

I plan on stiffening the chassis when I get back next year and upgrade the CT turbine on the motor along with the ECU. It's a long slow process but it's coming together rather nicely.
 

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AxelNavaja

New member
Ok, so after several years of toying with the idea of a 3SGTE here is step one: Removing the engine and getting the engine bay cleaned up .
 

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AxelNavaja

New member
We got extremely lucky and came a cross a 3rd Gen WRC 3SGTE. When I say lucky, I mean LUCKY! The shop I got it from must have sent me the wrong engine on accident and we didn't know until we received it. the Top mounted W-T-A intercooler was removed so we could see the anti lag ports. We have all the parts at the shop.
 

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