3VZ-FE V6 into SW20 MR2 (56k be warned!)

[Jaemus]

hey everyone, ive been lurking on toymods for ages, but i figure that since ive got a project going, it might be time for me to make a thread about it, and bring it back home to oz, cos ive been blogging it on the UK based http://forums.twobrutal.com, since those crazy brits have been there and done it many times, and theyre a bit more sociable than the americans on mr2board and mr2oc.

so, heres the rundown!

donor motor: 1996 3VZ-FE with 140,000k's, ex VDV10 Camry,
- which is a 3.0L quad cam V6, iron block, alloy heads, ~150kw with massive torque and JZ / UZ like tough internals. also found in the early lexus ES300, superseded by the all alloy but difficult to tune 1MZ-FE



the motor, as i purchased it

target vehicle: 1990 SW20 MR2, aus delivered, 3SGE gen2, 260,000ks.

duration: motor picked up end of december, so 9-10 weeks so far.

target completion time: my rego expires completely on 20/3. so im hoping to get it done before then to avoid hassles.

workers: entirely DIY, done by myself, with moral support and occasional assitance from mates. the mount (see below) was outsourced, as will be the exhaust, but hopefully thats it. im always happy to have someone lend a hand however!

mounting: the 3VZ, due to its camry heritage and the S series as the camry's other motor, fits into all but one of the 3S-GE mounts. the mount that has to be fabricated is the timing belt side engine mount. i had this made up by Tony (username: FourVeeSix) from twobrutal - http://forums.twobrutal.com/ - PM him if you want one. Thick mild steel, tested to be stronger than the OEM camry bracket.



gearbox: the 3VZ bolts directly to the 3SGE's NA gearbox. naturally, it works just as well with the turbo box, which would obviously be preferable, but im not going to that extent just yet. the S54 should deal with the v6 as the power delivery is smoother than the 3SGTE, and if it dies and i cant afford an E153 conversion, then another S54 can be had for peanuts.

flywheel: this is one of the more regrettable drawbacks. you can use an OEM 3VZ manual fly, 1MZ fly, fidanza make alloy 1MZ lightweight flys, or a modified 3VZ-E fly. however all of these cost more than what elongating the holes on my 3SGE fly will, so thats what im doing. if it all goes to hell, then ill deal with it later, and the experience will be useful to others attempting this swap. and yes, it has been done, and no, it hasnt caused any problems yet.

ECU: unfortunately all i have at the moment is a A/T 1993 ecu, this will theoretically only give me a 180hp tune versus the 1996 spec 200hp. hopefully i can source a 1996 one by the time it gets wired up. being A/T isnt a problem as this ECU is relatively placid with its requirements for sensors and solenoids and whatnot.

fitment: the 3VZ fits into the mk2 bay with plenty of room to spare. as you can imagine its shorter than the 3S, so theres lots of extra space on the timing belt side. the 60' heads occupy a bit more space front and back, and getting to the rear bank plugs will be difficult (ill be using some sort of platinum plugs for this reason), but its not impossible. heightwise its much the same, a little taller, im not sure if it will foul the stock strut brace, but aftermarket ones will fit.


UK car with 3VZ swap completed.

piping: the throttle cable is a simple fit. the cooling system is plug and play with some longer hoses, aircon CAN be made to fit but you cant use the 3S compressor as the pulleys are different. fuel system is the same type, everything else is pretty simple.

tacho: the camry tach board fits into the mr2 cluster to convert it to 6cyl. the sweep of the camry tacho face is almost identical, the result is a near perfect tacho.

cost: the motor, with chopped loom, no ECU and various small items missing, cost me $800 second hand, with 140,000 as mentioned. the prev owner supsected the rear bank HG, turns out he was right.


BHG

so far i have spent a few hundred on misc stuff, including tools and a full gasket set, and alot of that was geniune toyota. im aiming to get it all running, hopefully for less than a good 3SGTE conversion would have cost, and think about improving it later.

HG's: HG's are a known problem. The up to date replacement gaskets are fine if you torque it down properly.


gasket set i purchased from ebay

potential: being an F type head style, there is said to be major gains to be had from porting and valve work. i skipped this however, as mentioned above. also, the camry exhaust is massively long and crushes down to silly small sizes and has baffle plates in it, just for fun. simply fabricating some nice downpipes will free up (reportedly) 20bhp, also due to the much shorter MR2 exhaust system, and i will be doing this for my stage 1. there are people in the states working on NA cams, valve springs (valves are stainless) and other NA tuning goodies. 3SGTE shimless buckets will drop in for revs higher than 6500. also they are developing cams and other stuff for turbo applications.
as far as forced induction goes, it had a very low stock CR at 9.5:1, making it good for running some boost without detonation. the advantage then, is that it retains pretty stock driveability off-boost. it is said, and proven in the US, that it is good for 12psi at this CR with a good IC setup and tuning. it is also easy to stick a turbo off the exhaust y-pipe, and there is a bolt-on TRD supercharger (for the 1MZ) that fits, but cant be intercooled and is expensive and rare. im toying with the idea of a couple of SC14's, just for something different.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...33678601632680 - supercharged with TRD charger, playing in a tunnel

in standard trim, its just behind the 3SGTE in terms of peak stock power, but all over it in under-the-curve torque and power.
weight is similar to the 3SGTE.
and it will sound awesome:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Pks...elated&search= - 3VZ NA runs up to 3rd gear, with good sound

thats about all i can think about atm, so heres some photos to get you up to where im up to now, which is getting the last few accessories and wiring together on the 3VZ before i start stripping the 3S out of the MR2.

[Jaemus]

this is how much space i have... but i have my own crane


cams out


cleaning and painting


cleaning the block faces


cleaning the crankcase


new HG's


heads back on


cams cleaned and ready to go back in


cams back in

[Jaemus]

valve covers back on


timing belt and pulleys, heat sheilds back on


new mount and timing belt cover back on


intake manifold and fuel rails back on


wiring, v-bank cover and intake chamber on

and thats pretty much up to date, since then i have painted the throttle body black, and put the alternator and water inlet back on with a new thermostat. once i get the TB on there, ill be pretty much done with prepping the v6!

id love to have comments and questions.

im on MSN at [email protected] if you want to go it IM styles!

cheers toymods ppls

[jfallen]

Looking good, pity about the chopped loom.

If you've got the time and resources bring it to Toyonats over easter at Dubbo.

Keep up the good work
Jordan

[Cuts]

respect dude, nice work. Ill be keen to see how it goes, hhmm 3vz/1mz 205 anyone

[Jaemus]

its been done, 3VZ-FE with an ST185, using some RAV4 drivetrain components, iirc

[JustenGT8]

1MZ is the go. The prob is that with the RAV centre diff you have seriously compromised your driveline strength. I reckon the alloy block on the MZ could be 'clearanced' so you could still use the GT4 diff but this is just my educated guess and needs verifying.

Nice work Jaemus, should be a ball tearer. The iron block definitely has strength on it's side.

[Jaemus]

heres an extract from the guy who got the 3VZ-FE working in his ST185:

The gearbox comes from our old friend, the Rav4-vintage circa 2003, as does its transfer case.
The transfer is internally identical to the lexus rx300 unit i bought but the outside, although similar, dosent share the same bolt patterns, so it couldnt be used.
Not only that, the lexus rx transfer was only ever fitted to the automatic box, there was never a manual option.
The rav box is almost bolt for bolt compatible but even it wont go on the V6 without a struggle. Its angle grinder time! I love it!
Anyway, after much ado it will go on the 3vz-fe with a struggle.
I suspect that itll fit the 1mz-fe as is cos the lexus rx used the 1mz with the similar rav 4 transfer case attached and no clearance issues there.

Only have to source a "tripod" style inner osf cv joint and its all wheels driven!

Other issues that need to be addressed are the ratios; The ravs geared for 115 in 5th...not good for motorway cruising methinks, but since the alltrac/gt4 and rav boxes are almost physically identical its possible in about an hour to swap the 5th gear clusters off the gt4 and into the ravbox giving around 130 top end...better but still not reallly good enuff methinks.
The solution is an overdrive 5th of around 0.55/065:1 to give a top speed (theoretical) 160/170.....cor!

so yeah. id want to use a 1MZ in a GT4 too, you need to get the weight down! lol. its just that their a bit trickier to tune unless you want to go standalone, not as great for boost, and arent so strong, but they do have more stock power and newer tech bits like coil-on-plug etc. later ones have VVTi also.

the 3VZ should be good for some boost, once i get the stage-1 initial install make-it-work phase complete. thats another reason i didnt go nuts with headwork, cos boost will nullify alot of the effects.

thanks justen! im not sure ill be able to get to dubbo but ill be at the next toymods event that i can, once its done.

[barned01]

fantastic work
curiously can you chuck the engine on some scales and get an exact weight, I can only get 'reported' weights, would be great to know for other conversions (ra40 celica for instance...)

[AndyTTR]

nice work man, +1 for going out on a limb and doing something different. Good luck with the rest of the build, looking forward to seeing results!

[Jaemus]

thanks andy and barned, all i can tell you so far is that it flattened a 100kg rating bunnings platform trolley, but that wasnt really suprising

it stood up to the block and heads alone, but all the crap and the intake squished it into the floor

anyway ill try and get a more scientific measurement before it goes in

[mtp_69_i]

nice thread, I've long considered this as an option for my 162. Keep us posted.

[-==L=a=N=c=E==-]

its like the NSX, but Toyota Style.

All you need is more revs and vtec y0.

[Course_Out]

Thats the coolest thing I've ever seen, absolutely love it mate!

[Jaemus]

thanks guys!

lance: hehe the thought crossed my mind. moreso if i paint the turret black hopefully with some effort later on, i can get it making NSX like power...