Well recently I got some PM's concerning questions about this swap and request for help and inputs. Intead of answering the same questions over and over and driving myslelf mad or become harsh with people I decided to create that thread to share the info and thoughts instead of answering everyone one by one.
For now lets keep it simple. and I,ll update the first thread as infos are spread along time.
I'll start with some stuff I a was asked recently.
Long term review and pros and cons about the swap from my own perspectiveWell where to start. First good thing the car is still in one pieces and driving well. I've got small issues with cooling but I should be able to fix that with an oil cooler. It perfectly fine for street driving, but for hard driving and racedays its hard to keep the temperature down. Second I don't have any regrets but I must admit that now that I'm looking to skeeze a few ponies out of it it become a little tricky. I honestly don't know where to start. There isn't much space for a supercharger and the piping of a turbo would be a real pain in the ass. Then if I could build a nice exhaust system with a better manifold and proper size, buy lextreme stage 1 cams, shorten the intake manifold and tune the ECU (probably AEM FIC piggyback). I certainy do not wish the 22re was still there. I managed to nail a 14.281 at 97.2mph at the dragstrip. The engine is realiable, runs smooth and pull hard.
Cost is around 3grand with good clutch, aluminum rad and a bunch of nice goodies. The engine is leaking oil and it's making weird noises, but still pulls strong. The tranny is dying, but it was already in bad condition when I instaled it.
The 1UZ is a nice engine, but it's hard to get power out of it. A LS1-2-3-4-5-6 is a far better engine in terms of power to money ratio as soon as you pass the 300whp zone. I think it wouldn't be an harder swap than the 1UZ and moneywise it shouldn't be that expensive. Even if your not saying it now you will get use to wathever power it will make.
The only regrets I have over stock, is what the car became. I only enjoy driving it when I can lay on the gaz pedal. The car is brutal. The suspension is stiff, the diff locks hard but has play, the clutch grab like hell and the exhaust is leaking. As soon as you start modifying the car you run into problem and the more you get into it the more problems you generate. Even if it's running fairly well you always need to spend time on it and at one point you'll start loosing interest in it.
Would I do it again and was it worth it??? HEEEEELLLL YEAHHH!!!
Info about the donnor enginePreferably you should be looking for a 1989-1991 engine from a LS400 (front sump). 1992-1995 ECU need the secondary TPS from the TRAC system. I no you can overcome this easely, but my buddy had a bunch of problem before he gave up and instaled a magaskirt. 1995-1998 has weaker rod, but aslo a bit more power.
Mine came from a 1991 LS400. If you can have the whole front clip/car, that will help a lot for the wiring and you'll be able to slavage a bunch of screws, switch, relays and such and it will make your life easier.
Putting that thing in the holeIt was painfull, but I made a bunch of errors. First you need to remove the brake proportionning valve, the heater valve, the charcoal canister, the sway bar, the rad and the steering rack hoses (all them stacked behind the crossmember). You must also remove all the engine mounts (on the car and on the engine) and exhaust manifold.
If done right the tranny mount will bolt straight to it's factory location and the shifter will fit right in the middle.
Engine mountsI used stock 22RE pick-up engine mount instead of the celica ones as they are more low profile and there is more availability for urethane and semi solid engine mount for this model. In my case the engine is wobbling around, but it never realy caused me any problem.
I don't think the side plate would work, it's more of a weld in place method.
This is how mines look like
wiringHere's what you have to hook form the 1UZ harness to the car and vice-versa. I maintained the Factory Circuit opening relay, but rewired the 22RE EFI main relay inside the car with the six pin model from the Lexus.
-Circuit opening relay (1 ground, 1 to ECU, 1 from starter relay, from efi main relay and various EFI (through IL1 connector) and 1 to FC on ECU)
-Ignition main relay (2 grounds, 1 plus from 30A FL fuse, one to the starter, 1 on the main Black-Orange wire, 1 to the Black-Orange wire to injectors and igniters)
-Starter (trigger) you can use a starter relay and connect a kill switch or use the same wire from the 22RE starter
-The alternator to the fuse box
-Tachometer: The good news is that the 1UZ sends a 4cylinder signal. Both Igniter are identical, but one as an extra wire that feed the tach. It's basicaly plug and play.
-Oil pressure to cluster. Well I used a autometer unit so it's totaly custom.
-Oil level to idiot light (cluster). Not usefull at the end as the oil level light in the LS400 cluster has a capacitor to dampen the information and prevent false alarms due to bumps, hills and other variable.
-Water temp to cluster. Came out to be fairly acurate compared to 22RE unit. On the digi dash, it reaches normal temperature at about 180degree and stays in the middle until 210. (compared to Autometer unit mounted at the thermostat water neck
Then on the ECU itself
-plug automatic transmission switch neutral wires together (to make it think it's in Neutral). Might not work for 1992+ ECU's.
-couple of grounds
-FPR to fuel pump/circuit opening relay)
-BK to brake light
-W to check engine
-Mrel to EFI main relay
-Batt to a EFI 20A fuse.
-Secondary O2 sensors. If not there the ECU will send a clogged catalytic error code. I don't think it will change anything in the ECU mapping, but the check engine light will constantly be on.
CoolingIt was a pain in the ass. I achieved it by using stock hoses and a 45 degree brass plumbing coupler. I don't think there's any way to keep the 22RE rad and it will overheat anyway. There won't be any room for the stock clutch fan and I'd be supprised to see someone fit a puller fan on there with a real 3row rad.
I ended up using a Nissan SR20 powered S13 silvia rad unit since it was cheap and perfectly sized. I also tryed MKII and MKIII units and they should also fit with minor custom fitting.
I reused the stock Celica heater valve at it's factory location. It was a real pain in the ass to play around the hoses and heater core pipes and IIRC I had to remove the plenum to have access.
Exhaust and admissionAll custom. Plan to make a bit of thermal protection here and there to avoid melting the floor liner
Fuel deleiveryThe stock EFI fuel pump is perfectly fine for the power. It's the same unit as the 5M unit and proved to be efficient and reliable on a lot of 7M-GTE projects. LS400 pump is bigger and also feature a double speed motor when idling.
To feed the fuel to the rail I bended the 1UZ feed tube and bolted it upside down so it would go straight to the passenger side along the the rear fuel rail cross tube. From the stock fuel line I cut the rubber hose at the stock filter and hooked a Dodge Caravan filter. I guess you could reuse the Celica filter, but good luck finding someone to crimp everything together as most shop around don't deal with pressurized metric hose.
Return and evap hose sre pretty straight forward.
AccessoriesPower steering:
You only need to find a good hydraulic shop to crimp the LS400 PS line and the Celica PS line togheter. Better to have it slightly longer the first time than shorter. Return line can be custom made with standard hose and tubes available at your local parts store.
This pictures shows the stock PS cooler (U shaped tube) and then routed a rigid tubing at the bottom of the rad support (aluminum color under the fans).
Sway bar: I made 3inch blocks to shim the stock bar. The good thing about this method is that it can be removed and swap back to stock in less than 15minutes without screwing up the aligment. I'd like to try a AE86 sway bar to see if it could fit as it has the same shape on the sides, but feature a check around the oil pan. Camaro rear bar wont fit for this swap, I've tryed it.
A/C removal: If you remove the A/C along the way you will need this strap: Dayco p/n 5060635
Busting carachter limit
Topic: 1UZ-FE swap information thread (Read 30895 times)
