2GR-FE in a MKII MR2!

[Gouky]

I need some help from down under on this one.

about a month ago i finished swapping a 2GR-FE in my MR2:




the thing is just amazing to drive. the exhaust i built for it seriously uncorks the power:


but here is the kicker, i want MORE power. and i'd like to make this power without going to a standalone ECU system. i'm more than capable of mounting my own supercharger to this motor, but i need the aurion calibration file, along with a few other questions answered. (the latest CUW file is what i need. it's given out for recalls which I'm sure the aurion has had)

is there anyone here that is a tech for Toyota in Australia that has access to this? feel free to keep the messaging private if you'd rather.

also, for those interested, I'm working with a WolfKatz engineering to make this swap possible for other people without all the custom fabrication. but either way, that isn't the point of my post.

[Joshstix]

I love it mate. I just got finished downloading all of the 2GR PDF's you hosted, thanks a lot for that. I really think the 2GR is a great choice for an engine swap in the near future and if you went for something a bit lighter, an AW11 or spider, I think it should have enogh power to keep it interesting long enogh

[Gouky]

Originally Posted by Joshstix

I love it mate. I just got finished downloading all of the 2GR PDF's you hosted, thanks a lot for that. I really think the 2GR is a great choice for an engine swap in the near future and if you went for something a bit lighter, an AW11 or spider, I think it should have enogh power to keep it interesting long enogh

if you want more PDF's on the 2GR, look here: http://www.camrystuff.com/index.php?page=Gen6_Manuals

and absolutely, this motor has quite a bit of potential. especially on a standalone motec m800 or so.

there's a guy 'Blitzo' that has put this in a MKIII MR2 before i ever thought of doing this swap. much lighter car, amazing acceleration.

[Gavatron]

You have PM

[Jaemus]

Gouky, mate have you got a link to a swap thread or diary so we can see the whole project? very interested!

[Gouky]

Originally Posted by Jaemus

Gouky, mate have you got a link to a swap thread or diary so we can see the whole project? very interested!

yeah, sure.

summary post (written after it was done)
http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=332390*edit* corrected link

part 1 - 4 (the mr20c forum has a 100post limit, this is why it is split.):
http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=320129
http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=322927
http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=326475
http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=329078

if you have any additional questions feel free to ask, i do not mind answering

[Jaemus]

sweet, thanks mate!

[big_zop]

Are you able to post it up here (or a link to a pdf copy) as only members of mr2oc can view that thread?

Im really keen to have a look at this in more detail, especially before i start asking questions.

[Gouky]

Originally Posted by big_zop

Are you able to post it up here (or a link to a pdf copy) as only members of mr2oc can view that thread?

Im really keen to have a look at this in more detail, especially before i start asking questions.

actually, for some reason the threadID of the main thread changed.
http://www.mr2oc.com/showthread.php?t=332390

but you're right, i forgot that they don't let non members view it so i'll copy the thread to this forum.

[Gouky]

I just did this swap and some people were asking for an aggregated post with all the steps required: I’m including rough costs where I can remember them. Perhaps someone can sticky this if they deem it worthy.

Keep in mind; I did not go the distance to make the swap emissions legal since I live in Indiana. Also, this was swapped into a '94 turbo so you may need extra parts (like a 93+ transmission, but I’m not sure if it matters)

donor parts (i got the whole lot from a non smart key 2006 Avalon with about 55k miles for 2500$)
- 2GRFE engine
- ECU
- Immobilizer computer (hides between the A/C and the firewall in the Avalon. requires full dash disassembly to get to)
- Immobilizer antenna. This just snaps onto the key cylinder and has a half dozen wires or so going to it
- OBDII connector. (Located at the driver's knees)
- Engine harness, this includes connector A, B & C to the ECU. no need for any of the fuse boxes.
- wiring harness pigtails for ECU connector D & E, the immobilizer pigtail & the immobilizer antenna pigtail
- THE IMMOBILIZER KEY. (this can be worked around but it takes a very cooperative dealer and it still is quite the pain in the rear)

New Parts
- 1MZ flywheel. I used a Fidanza 9.5lb - 300$
- High HP clutch. I used an Exedy stage 3 because I was not expecting this much HP from the motor. I was disappointed. Get a different one (I’m going for a Spec 3+ next) - 500$
- Tranny rebuild - ??$ (I haven't done the tranny stuff yet)
- 61.5" 7rib v-belt (advance carries it, Napa does not for some reason) - 60$
- fuel pressure regulator. i went with an Aeromotive regulator with gauge. The motor requires 50psi - 130$
- Toyota long life coolant - 70$


Optional Donor Parts
- Solara transmission for the stronger input shaft & better rear end ratio - ??$ (I haven't done the tranny stuff yet)
- NA mr2 tachometer face. - 60$ (this needs confirmed yet)
- 1mz tach from late 90's Avalon (6300RPM redline) - 40$ (this needs confirmed yet)
- You may want the volt gauge from the NA cluster also, but i plan on supercharging eventually so I am keeping the boost gauge.

Exhaust Parts
I went full custom here, this isn't 100% required but it frees up quite a bit of horsepower. I’m not going to list prices because stainless steel prices are very volatile and most people won't be able to make this themselves anyways which total changes the price. let's just say my exhaust cost me about 900$ for just the materials and my labour was free.

Other Parts
- Toyota Avalon Electrical Wiring Diagram Book - 25$
- Toyota MR2 Electrical Wiring Diagram Book - 15$
- M14x1.25 helicoil kit


Parts total: 4600$ (the thread said about 4k because I did not realize I needed another new clutch at that point in time)


Those books are absolutely necessary, do not even attempt this swap without them. I cannot stress this point enough!

Swap steps. Some of these are somewhat vague but I’ll try describing this as best I can. If the steps aren't clear enough you probably should not attempt the swap.

1) Get all the parts listed above.

2) Make the engine and tranny mating surfaces work.
2.1) use the m14 helicoil kit to put an m14 thread in the top right bell housing hole on the 2gr motor. it isn't threaded stock
2.2) both dowel pins align, make sure you use both.
2.3) grind out the front of the block where it says "2GR" for clutch hydraulic cylinder. it'll be obvious exactly what needs done when you try to install it.
2.4) do some very light grinding of the same mating surface near the front of the motor for the passenger side output plate to clear. I did this one with a file, it was pretty light interference.
2.5) a bit more grinding towards the back of the motor to get the back motor mount to sit flush. This cuts through one of the unused bolt holes
2.6) ensure the mounting surface is flat from any defects possibly caused by the grinding above. THIS IS CRUCIAL!

3) Install flywheel and clutch

4) Remove any stock Avalon motor mounts from the engine, remove the power steering pump also and the idler pulley to the back of the crank/water pulley (back as installed in the car)

5) Mate the motor and transmission together. You should have two dowel pins, 3 m14bolts around the top and the front of the motor and 3 m12 bolts around the bottom and the back of the motor.

6) Take the old v-belt and cut it up enough to create two wraps around the water pump pulley, use duct tape to hold it there. this is very important for motor mount clearance shortly.

7) Create the passenger side engine mount. I used the stock 3sgte motor mount and simply mounted it top and bottom. a bit of grinding is required to get the mount to clear the water pump pulley but all fastener locations (two top, two bottom) can still be used

Here’s a few pictures of how I made the passenger side mount if you need an idea. The pictures here aren’t the final version, I actually had to lower the mount almost a full inch, but the idea is the same.




8) Use the stock 2GR passenger side axle shaft support. Move the bearing .250" inboard by putting in a spacer and a new c-clip groove. Any machine shop should be able to do this for a minimum charge.

9) Create headers or modify the stock ones. if I recall properly, the rear one works as-is, the front needs a bit of cut and bending to clear the front motor mount. i skipped all this and used 1-5/8" primaries and 2.5" secondary tubes. I used flat 3-1 collectors from here: http://www.coneeng.com/

Here is a rough idea of how mine turned out. If I were to do it again, I would swap which output went to which side. The intention was to make the tailpipes closer to equal in length but it wasn’t worth the headache at all.



Notice the v-band clamps to bolt the exhaust together, I am very happy with how these turned out. I’d definitely use them again.

[Gouky]

10) Wiring harness. I can't tell you how to do this, but I can give you a bunch of tips:
- the circuit opening relay is actually a relay where both coils trip the switch to on. Leave the stock clutch circuit in there and the secondary circuit goes to the 2gr computer.
- hook up the PRNDL sensor directly into the "Drive" position permanently
- The following stuff isn't necessary but will throw a check engine light if you do not wire them (I did not wire any of the following)
- brake switches
- secondary O2's
- speed sensors
- transmission solenoids
- any of the emission solenoids (tank purge and whatnot)
- the fuel tank pressurization stuff.
- the cooling ECU (more on this later)
- the MR2's rear fuse box needs to be modified to allow the ECU to turn the ignition on and off. This simply involves splitting the wire going to the main ignition wire and running both sides of the newly cut wire to the ECU. I used a 2 way weatherpack connector and I was able to squeeze it into the fuse box without a problem
- the power steering wires can just be left dangling, the power steering ECU works fine without them. I’ll figure out what they do later. I suspect eventually I’ll want to hook one wire to the fuel pump control wire so the power steering does not run when the engine isn't running. The second wire I suspect is an idle up command which isn't needed with the 2GR but could be wired up if you care.
- The only wire that cannot be ignored is the oil level sensor. it needs to be grounded to keep the light disabled.
- The communication lines between the immobilizer and the ECU for some reason swap colors 1/2 way through the harness. This caused me problems at first.
- do not worry about the cooling system at all. The 2GR flows coolant the proper way and the MR2's controller that is built in with the A/C system works great for keeping the 2GR cool. it doesn't even throw any codes for not having a cooling ECU.
- The CAN communication lines need 60ohms resistance added between the wires to be able to hook them up to Toyota service tools.


11) Fuel system:
- You’ll need a high flow fuel pump. I’m using the supra pump I had already installed for the 3sgte and it keeps up without a problem.
- I made a small bracket to attach the regulator to the forward head, the regulator has a return on it and outputs to the stock returnless fuel system. I retained the stock fuel filter in the stock location.
- To keep things clean and functional i used the stock MR2's map sensor filter on the pressure regulator's atmospheric reference.

You can see the mounting position here as well as the fuel line routing:



12) Replace the rear bank's oil feed line. They make a solid steel one now instead of having a rubber piece to break in the line.

13) At this point, you can install the motor in the car. no modifications should be required to the car's body

14) The coolant system then needs to be addressed, you need to modify the coolant outlet elbow and add a bung for the temperature gauge (M16x1.5 I believe) and you need to add a 1" nipple for the coolant fill. Filling the motor from this side ends up working very well, easier than with the 3sgte actually.




15) Connect up the stock fuel system lines to the regulator on the 2GR's front head. I was able to just cut down the stock input line and just use bulk hose for the return

16) Install the wiring harness. If you extended the pigtail like I did, you can go to the stock MR2 location, or you can keep it very simple and just go to the passenger side of the trunk and drill a hole back there. The stock wiring for the 2gr will fit back there.

17) Reattach all the suspension pieces

18) Make a tail pipe or two depending on your desired configuration. if trying to match the sound I got from mine, use two 2.5" oval Borla XR1 mufflers.

Here is how I routed my ehxuast:


19) the intake system should be 75mm but that is close enough to 3" for the MAF sensor to be able to adjust. Mount the MAF sensor centered in a strait section of tube preferably at least a few inches away from the filter and a few inches away from the throttle body. Very careful routing will be required to fit your stock strut brace. I personally decided to just make a custom strut brace (currently running without, that will be fixed before taking it to the track.)

20) Mount the DBW gas pedal. I made an aluminum block to adapt the Avalon pedal to the MR2's forward firewall. I mounted the Avalon pedal with a 9.5 degree downward angle and ever so slightly further to the passenger side than stock so in can drive it easier with big feet. The wiring for the pedal can run along with the fuel door release cable all the way to the trunk.


That is essentially all the important bits. Personally I did it in just under 8 weeks. About 200 to 220 hours worth of work. If I were to do it again it would take me about 120-160 hours but there was quite a bit of research to do to figure things out. Things like figuring out what a "circuit opening relay" really does. As well as checking all the warning light polarities and whatnot. Not having a key also delayed me by a few days worth of work.

The trick is to not get carried away with bling. Concentrate on getting the project done as originally planned. You can always add a turbocharger or a supercharger at a later date. You’d be better off saving those problems for later.

[Gouky]

final engine bay, the only thing missing here is the strut bar that needs adjusted to fit around the new air intake.

[Gouky]

this is what you're doing all this work for:


V6 POWER!

[wagonist]

Looks great.

I'm assuming you didn't get the key with the rest of the parts?

From reading through, you used your stock 94 MR2 gearbox, but had to make one hole in the engine for all the bolt holes to line up?
It'd be nice to how different the current Kluger's 4wd box is to the 4wd Celica boxes.

A really minor note:
Would it be possible to ask you to change references to passenger's & driver's side to left & right side?
I can just see a question asking "where the @#$%@#$ is this?" being posted because a sleep deprived, frustrated person can't find something on the left side (our passenger side) because they were looking in the wrong place.

[Gouky]

Originally Posted by wagonist

Looks great.

I'm assuming you didn't get the key with the rest of the parts?

From reading through, you used your stock 94 MR2 gearbox, but had to make one hole in the engine for all the bolt holes to line up?
It'd be nice to how different the current Kluger's 4wd box is to the 4wd Celica boxes.

A really minor note:
Would it be possible to ask you to change references to passenger's & driver's side to left & right side?
I can just see a question asking "where the @#$%@#$ is this?" being posted because a sleep deprived, frustrated person can't find something on the left side (our passenger side) because they were looking in the wrong place.

yeah, the junkyard said they had the key and changed their mind after i traveled 3hours to go pull the electronics. i went ahead and picked up the stuff anyways. i made a minimal harness with just the ECU and immobilizer:



and convinced the dealer to reprogram my key for my 2006 toyota


I had to look up the Kluger, in the US they called it the Venza. i did do some checking into that transfer case and it looks like it would bolt up to an older all-trac compatible gearbox. the transfer case shape is different to avoid interference with the larger motor but the two outputs appear to be at identical locations so it could be used for an AWD setup.

as for editing out driver's and passenger's side out. I'd love to but this board does not appear to allow editing of posts. i actually make it a point to mention sides by referring to driver's versus passenger because lots of people confuse left and right based on which direction they are looking at the car. i guess that created some confusion in this case, sorry about that.

[oldcorollas]

no edit button on bottom right near quote\reply button? can edit in other sections..

don't worry abotu left/right, i think more people make mistakes with that. said sleep deprived people can guess from your location that you are talking LHD

[wagonist]

I saw your location & I knew to swap around the sides in my head.

OC is probably right. A sleep deprived person is prob going to mix up the sides anyway.
Better than the British off-side & near-side

I already have an GT4 (all-trac) gearbox. They are a bitch to disassemble to modify & I don't want to use the Kluger/Venza gearbox as they're all automatics, not manual (stick shift)

Might have to go back to the plan for an MZ type motor then.

I'm assuming that the other 3 vacant plugs on the ECU are for the engine loom which goes into the engine bay?

[Gouky]

Originally Posted by wagonist

I saw your location & I knew to swap around the sides in my head.

OC is probably right. A sleep deprived person is prob going to mix up the sides anyway.
Better than the British off-side & near-side

I already have an GT4 (all-trac) gearbox. They are a bitch to disassemble to modify & I don't want to use the Kluger/Venza gearbox as they're all automatics, not manual (stick shift)

Might have to go back to the plan for an MZ type motor then.

I'm assuming that the other 3 vacant plugs on the ECU are for the engine loom which goes into the engine bay?

actually i was simply referring to the transfer case part of the kluger box. it should bolt right up to an E153 or similar manual transmission

yes, the three other plugs go to the engine harness, but they aren't needed when reprogramming the key.

[wagonist]

Have you ever pulled apart an AWD Toyota transmission before?

[oldcorollas]

gearboxes are simple dude