twotone's 1UZ Swap Progress Thread!

[twotone_ra64]

So... I didn't think it would be happening so soon, but it is.



That's right folks, I'm 1UZ-FE swapping my Celica!!! With everything going on, I have a lot of free time right now. When I get back to work again, I'm sure I won't have this kind of time again. This thread will be dedicated to the progress of my swap and perhaps some questions I'll have along the way. ra65gts, rwdfreak, CELEXUS84 and many others have posted and sent me a great deal of info regarding this swap, so I should be locked and loaded! I am making a couple changes to their recipes to hopefully make things a little bit easier.

I'll make a more condensed write-up of this later on, as well as YouTube videos of the process.

Let's get started, shall we?

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In preparation for this whole ordeal, I needed to do two things; fill the car up with 91 octane, and get the AC refrigerant properly removed. I got the tank down to about 2.5 gallons left, and filled up with 13.5 gallons of high-octane fuel. Then went down to my local AC & Radiator shop, and they did the honors.



The first task after that was finding a donor vehicle. Here's my target, a 1992 Lexus LS400, 182k miles, and appeared to be in a rollover. That is a good enough indication for me to determine it was running before it arrived in the yard.



Always choose a quiet yard, because chances are that everything will be there!!



I went ahead and grabbed a few bits off that engine just in case someone else got to it before I did. ECU, intake, non-TRAC throttle body, MAF, engine plastics, and ignitors.





A friend of mine, for reasons unknown to me or him, had an extra 1UZ auto bellhousing taking up space in his garage. He gave it to me for free. w00t!



A few days after getting the intake and bits, I gathered some friends and we headed out to the yard. The car was still untouched, but someone took the IACV and cut the harness! Rats!



No matter, we made swift work of removing the engine and even locating another IACV from an SC400, with the pigtail. Hooray!





She made the journey home in our E350 van.



I gave the engine a real thorough degreasing below the valve covers. I'll do the valve covers and manifold separately, since I'll be painting them.







Next task, of course, was to remove my stock engine. It took me a day, working slowly, to get it ready for extraction.









Side-by-side comparo:



I also removed the front sway bar, since that's getting changed too. What an empty hole!



That'll get put aside for a fellow BACC member to pick up for his newly acquired 1984 ST coupe!



While I got pretty much everything I needed for the motor, I left the power steering pump behind at the yard, but somehow was missing the downstream O2 sensor harness.



As seen in earlier photos, I didn't pull the transmission out with the engine, but instead opted to slide it out from under the car. I removed the bellhousing and input shaft seal plate so I could change out the seals. The trans mount was replaced too.



I wonder - can that plate be resealed with gasket goo, or does it absolutely need a paper gasket like stock?





That's it for now! Currently, I'm waiting for a load of parts to arrive. Adapters, clutch/flywheel, lines, OEM gaskets and seals, exhaust parts, ignition, a cambelt kit, and much much more.

[Teranfirbt]

You'll be fine to use a thin coat of gasket goo if the stock gasket is super thin like the ones in my Tercel transaxle. I recommend Toyota 103, it's expensive but it's much better than off the shelf RTV. Best part is it doesn't cure in the end of the tube, so you can actually use the entire tube.

Should be fun to watch the build!

[twotone_ra64]

You'll be fine to use a thin coat of gasket goo if the stock gasket is super thin like the ones in my Tercel transaxle. I recommend Toyota 103, it's expensive but it's much better than off the shelf RTV. Best part is it doesn't cure in the end of the tube, so you can actually use the entire tube.

Should be fun to watch the build!

Oh good, I already have a tube of Toyota 103 (FIPG), and bought another tube to reseal the upper sump and oil pan, so I'll just use that! Enjoy the ride.

[twotone_ra64]

Well, the FIPG sealed up the input shaft plate well! I got my second tube of 103 just in case I need more to do the sump/pan. I installed new input and output shaft seals too.





I also cleaned up the engine bay! The battery tray area has certainly seen some battery acid, and the paint is yellowed. Might have to touch it up with a bit of leftover Toyota 148 silver that I have in a spray can!



I finally started tearing into the 1UZ; I removed the accessory drive, crank pulley, and the upper and lower intake manifolds. This was a precarious step, since there was a whole bunch of dirt in and around the intake ports, so I got a shop vac to remove dirt once I got the upper manifold off. There's still more cleaning to do.







Thank goodness I was renting this hub puller tool for another job and that I have an air impact driver, it made cake of the crank pulley!



With the upper intake manifold removed, I was able to get the wiring harness out!



There's a YouTube channel with loads of great 1UZFE info - CartuneNZ. He was refurbishing an LS400 1UZ, and there was carnage. Not a single fuel injector plug tab survived removal, and the distributor rotors were cracked. Like fate, mine was the exact same way. All fuel injector plugs cracked, as well as the knock sensor plugs, and the dizzy rotors had cracks. How fun...



Now, time for parts! I got the XAT Racing 1UZ-W58 adapter kit with a Spec Stage 1 clutch, 11lbs chromoly flywheel, ARP bolts, clutch lines, pilot bearing, T56 hydro throwout bearing, and MEAT.





I have so many other goodies coming in, but this is the start of a battery relocation and oil filter relocation!



Still waiting on many, many more parts so I can continue rebuilding the engine. I guess I can do some more cleaning up!

[nick83]

Wish you the best on your engine swap and hope it starts up on the first try. When it's up and running just remember what happened drifting last year and stick to auto crossing. OH, and nice way to keep busy as you self isolate(LOL). Looking forward to seeing all your work this summer IF/WHEN we get out of lockdown.

[corax]

If it's not too late, do your future-self a favor and mod those starter bolts a bit.  At the VERY least, use a die grinder to put a slot in the end of the bolt which is under the intake - doing this makes it easier to remove the bolts later, you simply break them loose with a wrench, and then use a flat head screwdriver to back them out the rest of the way (instead of spending forever swinging a wrench one tiny bit at a time).

Another option is what I did, more info here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/coraxs-1uz-vvti-swap.1021841/#post-11917183

[danf]

Will the T-code diff hold up to the torque of a V8? Didn't you already break something in the axle while it was stock? 

[twotone_ra64]

Wish you the best on your engine swap and hope it starts up on the first try. When it's up and running just remember what happened drifting last year and stick to auto crossing. OH, and nice way to keep busy as you self isolate(LOL). Looking forward to seeing all your work this summer IF/WHEN we get out of lockdown.

Thanks heaps Nick!! I might try a little slidey slidey, and see how it goes. I'm sure with the extra power, I'll get those rears spinning better. Right?!? I figured I wouldn't have the time later on, so it's now or... later on and taking 10x longer! Looking forward to hanging out as well, maybe we could have a covid speakeasy, lol.

If it's not too late, do your future-self a favor and mod those starter bolts a bit.  At the VERY least, use a die grinder to put a slot in the end of the bolt which is under the intake - doing this makes it easier to remove the bolts later, you simply break them loose with a wrench, and then use a flat head screwdriver to back them out the rest of the way (instead of spending forever swinging a wrench one tiny bit at a time).

Another option is what I did, more info here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/coraxs-1uz-vvti-swap.1021841/#post-11917183

I read that part of your thread, thanks for sharing that! Very smart idea. I also saw how you used 2UZ headers for clearance - I'm going to try SC400 UZZ30 headers for steering shaft clearance so I don't have to modify the LS400 headers. Ordered these puppies off eBay, they need new exhaust studs though.

Will the T-code diff hold up to the torque of a V8? Didn't you already break something in the axle while it was stock? 

After some email exchange with CELEXUS84, and how he races his car in Lemons, his stock 6.7" T-code holds up. I'm confident it should hold the power. What happened with the rear end last year is that the axle shaft walked out of the bearing, and the retainer failed. If I want some extra security, I'll tack weld the retainer to the axle shaft.

[NWcelica]

This thread is a great read. I've been lurking around looking for information on the same swap. With all this time at home I've started the same project into my 85 GTS (also silver).

Couple questions for you. I've been looking into a couple w58 swap kits and kinda torn between the Xcessive manufacturing adapter and this XAT kit.  Biggest difference being the single adapter plate rather than a 2 piece and the flywheel choices. Any reason in particular you went with the slotted chromoly flywheel instead of the aluminum or cast steel with non slotted mounting holes? I cant decide how I feel about that mounting scheme. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

Does the t56 slave fit over the input shaft sleeve? I think you have to pop that input seal cover back off and cut off the sleeve for it to work with that setup.

Looks like you're planning to run factory ecu. I just got my 1uz running on a stand with megasquirt 2. If you run into any issues or decide to go standalone I'd be happy to post the .msq and setup details.

Thanks for documenting this build, looks great!

[Teranfirbt]

The main reason to get the Xcessive adapter is price. Otherwise the XAT piece is definitely nicer and I've heard that Xcessive doesn't have great customer service.

[twotone_ra64]

This thread is a great read. I've been lurking around looking for information on the same swap. With all this time at home I've started the same project into my 85 GTS (also silver).

Couple questions for you. I've been looking into a couple w58 swap kits and kinda torn between the Xcessive manufacturing adapter and this XAT kit.  Biggest difference being the single adapter plate rather than a 2 piece and the flywheel choices. Any reason in particular you went with the slotted chromoly flywheel instead of the aluminum or cast steel with non slotted mounting holes? I cant decide how I feel about that mounting scheme. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

Does the t56 slave fit over the input shaft sleeve? I think you have to pop that input seal cover back off and cut off the sleeve for it to work with that setup.

Looks like you're planning to run factory ecu. I just got my 1uz running on a stand with megasquirt 2. If you run into any issues or decide to go standalone I'd be happy to post the .msq and setup details.

Thanks for documenting this build, looks great!

Glad you're enjoying it so far! Thanks! Definitely go with the XAT Racing kit, I chose it for the one-piece design as well. Plus, their customer service is awesome. They even preemptively emailed me to check and make sure I got the right hardware for mounting the BH. Turns out it was all good! I went with that flywheel particularly for the weight (11 lbs.), but it turns out that FW is actually a unit for a '11-'16 Scion tC, and modified by XAT to fit our application, hence the slots.

Oh wow... the T56 slave does not fit over the sleeve on the input shaft plate. Good catch! I'll post pics of that later on.

The main reason to get the Xcessive adapter is price. Otherwise the XAT piece is definitely nicer and I've heard that Xcessive doesn't have great customer service.

Indeed! I only got the oil filter adapter block from them. And my Xcessive motor mounts are used, so I saved money and didn't have to deal with Xcessive for that too.

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Small update! My first YouTube episode is live here and ready to view. I'll be releasing new episodes every Wednesday, so I'll hope you'll follow along! Videos are fun, but I do love making my posts here too.

I received the SC400 headers. God I'm gonna have a hell of a time getting those broken studs out. Any tips on that would be appreciated.



Hmm, looks like a booger weld repair...



I'm also prepping to paint the engine bay! At first, I did the front wheel well hump area (?) but then realized the engine bay is grey, not faded silver. The fresh 148 silver metallic paint looked amazing. I definitely had to do the entire thing.







Aluminum foil works wonders to mask brake lines, bolt holes and other tight areas.





I used up the rest of my NAPA mixed can of 148 silver metallic, and now I'll need some more.



Also going to be doing some work on the brake booster while I'm at it. Turns out it's a Bendix replacement, not OEM! Someone's been in here...



I also received my engine gasket kit from RockAuto. The ITM gasket kit is Taiwan-made, and actually looks decent quality! I'll be using OEM front/rear main seals, cam seals and oil pump o-rings though.

[NWcelica]

I went with that flywheel particularly for the weight (11 lbs.), but it turns out that FW is actually a unit for a '11-'16 Scion tC, and modified by XAT to fit our application, hence the

Thanks for the info! I just wasnt sure how the slots would affect the shear load on the flywheel bolts or if there was any concerns there. Sounds like it's an established product and nothing to worry about. I think I'll be ordering up my kit this week from XAT. Thanks for the feedback on the vendor choices!

I have some 01-04 tundra headers arriving today that I'll be using for my project. If you need any comparison measurements let me know.  Itd be great to establish the differences between the sets to figure out which requires the least modifications on the driver side. The flanges definitely seem to exit in different orientations.

Thanks again for the info!

[twotone_ra64]

Thanks for the info! I just wasnt sure how the slots would affect the shear load on the flywheel bolts or if there was any concerns there. Sounds like it's an established product and nothing to worry about. I think I'll be ordering up my kit this week from XAT. Thanks for the feedback on the vendor choices!

I have some 01-04 tundra headers arriving today that I'll be using for my project. If you need any comparison measurements let me know.  Itd be great to establish the differences between the sets to figure out which requires the least modifications on the driver side. The flanges definitely seem to exit in different orientations.

Thanks again for the info!

Awesome! I still have to figure out the clutch line routing, and perhaps make some conversions to metric fittings. Still need to look at what came with the XAT kit. I got my Land Cruiser master cylinder too, so perhaps I can experiment some more while waiting on parts!

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Blasted the brake booster with some gloss black Rustoleum enamel paint. Mmm.



Also gave the upper and lower intake manifolds a good clean, masked them up, and painted them wrinkle black! The heat & sun today really helped bring out the wrinkles. Wrinkle blue is somewhat hard to find, and that's what I'm going to paint the valve covers in!









I also received my Xcessive oil filter adapter block, came pretty quickly actually. It's got the 1/8" NPT port for the oil pressure sending unit, which is great.



But... the o-ring they provide is wimpy wimpy wimpy and I need one that's more HEFTY HEFTY HEFTY.

[twotone_ra64]

Another update!

So, the Xcessive oil filter adapter should be okay. I'll have to just put some gasket maker on the o-ring surface. Although, there are other designs of such an adapter that have two separate o-rings for each oil port.

The intake manifolds look awesome now, I'm real happy with how the wrinkle turned out and the shaved top section on the upper manifold.







Gave the fuel rail a little clean n' polish too, it's awesome how Toyota used billet fuel rails for the Series 1 UZ motors.



Also threw on new seals on the injectors!



Back to the engine bay - I got the rest of the 148 silver metallic paint, got a couple cans of Spraymax 2K Clear Glamour clear coat, sprayed it up, everything cured nicely, and I removed all of the masking. Looks drop dead gorgeous now with the refreshed brake booster in place.







Once that was all cleaned up, I mounted the 3/4" Land Cruiser clutch master cylinder, which needed a small amount of dremeling to the hole in the firewall, as well as an additional M8x1.25x40mm bolt since the LC MC had only one stud in it. The clutch line from the XAT Racing kit also got hooked up.



I also mounted up the proportioning valve, a Wilwood unit from Flyin' Miata, on an existing threaded hole on the LH shock tower. I bought it from there since FM provides metric fittings for the prop valve, which fits Miatas and many other JDM vehicles! I'll be making some custom brake lines to make it work.



Now for the valve covers! I wanted these in a nice wrinkle blue, so I got a can of the VHT stuff. This pic is from a post-scrub, the valve covers were previously filthy. They also received a spray of paint stripper, since there seemed to be a very very light coat of paint on them from the factory.





I was so excited to see how these turned out, so I threw them onto the engine with the manifolds and spark plug covers, and ohhhhhh maaannn. She purdy.





Getting a little ahead of myself there, I know, but I wanted some kind of motivation to help pull me along for the rest of the journey.



So now, transmission! I know NWcelica was wondering about the T56 TOB fitment over the W58 input shaft plate sleeve. It didn't fit, so I chopped off the sleeve to see how the adapter plate would fit.

This was a mistake.



You have to remove the input shaft plate entirely, put a new input shaft seal (provided with the XAT kit) on the back of the adapter plate, THEN the whole thing goes on. Don't forget to swap out the fittings on the TOB for the new ones that come with the XAT kit! Those original GM ones won't be used at all.



THEN you can slide the 1UZ bellhousing over the whole thing, bolt it on, and voila!





The last step is to drill holes for the clutch lines to poke through the side of the bellhousing!



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That's it for now, more to come! I have two more episodes of this build out now, go check 'em out!

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

[Teranfirbt]

That's definitely a good looking engine bay and engine! I'd say you have the throw out bearing on upside down, the bleed port definitely needs to be at the top.