Michigan 1UZ - MkIII Supra swap

[pres6]

:35: you are my hero.... mine has been sitting for almost 4yrs waiting for alot of these parts to be available in the US, please keep us up to date. and if you have not realized it already....you have come to the right place.. people like peewee, and david are a wealth of information, and atleast from what i have seen, are chocked full of facts instead crap...
ican't wait until you get it all wired up.
how far are you planning to go with the stock ecu and harness? custom dash and instruments?
thanks and good luck...

 

[milisakeracing]

:35: you are my hero.... mine has been sitting for almost 4yrs waiting for alot of these parts to be available in the US, please keep us up to date. and if you have not realized it already....you have come to the right place.. people like peewee, and david are a wealth of information, and atleast from what i have seen, are chocked full of facts instead crap...
ican't wait until you get it all wired up.
how far are you planning to go with the stock ecu and harness? custom dash and instruments?
thanks and good luck...

Thanks, lol. The stock ECU and engine harness will be used until I am satisfied everything is working properly (a year or two of driving around should do it). The dash and instruments will remain stock where possible. The tach signal will need to be converted for the V8 signal and the sending unit for the oil pressure may need to be changed on the engine (and possibly the water temp. as well?). I'll know more as I start putting everything together.

 

[milisakeracing]

A couple of new updates to add since I have been slacking on updating my build threads.

The transmission was recently taken out and cleaned down with Simple Green and the local U-Wash degreaser along with a good rinse. Everything was buttoned up beforehand. Pictures of before and after can be found at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/1uzsupra/Transmission

This week while starting to strip the cut wiring harness off of the engine and inspecting the timing belt (it will need to be replaced after all, might as well do it while it is out of the car), I decided to do a test fit of SuperRunner's flywheel, TTC Performance's adapter plates, and the 1JZ R154 bell housing from Toyota while I wait on my clutch kit and other various little parts. Pictures of the test fitting can be found at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/1uzsupra/TestFit

 

[milisakeracing]

This weekend I managed to complete removing the old wiring harness from the 1UZ-FE engine. In doing so I also removed the starter since both the upper intake manifold (UIM) and lower intake manifold (LIM) were out of the way. Whoever designed the engine and placed the starter in an area which requires so much disassembly should be fired. In my not so humble opinion, this is an excellent example of a bad design decision and/or compromise.

If I were to leave the starter installed as-is, it would require not only the same components to be removed in the future, but also require the transmission to be removed as well due to the interference of the new transmission adapter and the direction the starter mounting hardware is removed. When I reinstall the starter, I will be using new mounting hardware in order to have the ability to remove the starter without dropping the transmission. I will still need to remove the UIM and LIM but I have no other choice unless I want to push start the car every time I need to use it.

While I had the intakes and starter removed, I took the liberty of vacuuming out the valley in the middle of the block. One would not believe how much dirt, leaves and other miscellaneous bits had collected in this area!. Next weekend I plan on starting to install the replacement wiring harness, although I will have to wait to finish the installation until I have obtain new intake gaskets, starter mounting hardware, and a new starter.

 

[cjsupra90]

yeah, it is kinda a crappy location but was done for good reason. Mounting it anywhere else would have caused a lose of room for other items and there was nothing there so hey, perfect place...... Not to mention, starters on most V8's are short lived due to them being in extremely close exhaust components and thus extreme heat..... being in the valley, they are subjected to to far less heat.

 

[milisakeracing]

During Easter Sunday, I was able to take some time and work on the project some more. This time the goal was to finally put together the R154 transmission, F1 Racing Stage 3 clutch kit and various hardware and get it all mounted to the 1UZ-FE engine. Following are the finished shots, albeit there is some blur due to the low light in the garage. Ignore the mess in the background. Also included is a picture of the 1JZ bell housing with a notch machined from the top of it to accommodate the starter gear while it engages the flywheel (I hope I removed enough material…)

 

[Jake Breyck]

let me inspire you

 

[milisakeracing]

let me inspire you

~ So I am behind schedule, lol. Besides wiring, the next hardest item coming up will be plumbing everything. Of course I still need to pull the front of the engine apart too to install a new timing belt. Then it is on to gettting motor mounts fabbed and an exhaust fabbed.

 

[milisakeracing]

Engine is all back together now with the new (used/uncut) wiring harness installed. Looks like Lexus may have changed a few items mid-year in '93. I had two connectors which differed. One was the water temp in the front bridge and the second is the oil pressure indicator sensor (which is getting pulled and swapped for the Supra oil pressure sensor which requires a connector change anyway).

I also took some green and blue scrub pads to the engine bay and removed most of the buildup of grime and grease I could reach. Next up is to sand and clean the corroded spots from the previous owner where he let the battery drip acid (guy must have never done a lick of preventive maintenance on this car). As soon as I get the PS line converted and the ABS and rear light connectors wired, I should be ready to drop the engine into the bay and finish up wiring while I wait for some engine mounts. Pictures to follow.

 

[milisakeracing]

Today was the day we finally dropped the 1UZ-FE engine into its new home, the 1987 Toyota Supra. Having been the first time I have attempted this swap, it took approximately five to six hours to hoist the engine and set it into the engine bay. Some of the complications observed during this time were as follows:


The oil pan's flange on the '93 Lexus SC400 1UZ-FE engine is slightly larger than the distance between the engine mount installation area on the 1987 sub-frame of the Supra. To avoid breaking the O2 sensors or shearing their wire harnesses, they had to be removed and the engine had to be tilted to one side in order to get the flange on one side below the engine mount area before working to get the opposite side below the other engine mount area. It is best if the passenger side is dropped first, then the driver's side, otherwise the brake proportioning valve interferes with the valve cover and the exhaust manifold interferes with the steering column.


All of the harnesses which run along the side of each valve cover/head should be unbolted and set out of the way, otherwise they get pinched and leave little side-to-side maneuvering room. Also, removing the A/C compressor, power steering pump, and alternator free up some more room to shift the engine around within the engine bay.


With the transmission mounted as far forward as possible, there is very little room between the rear of the engine and the firewall. Heater hoses should be interesting to route and connect between the engine and firewall.
The exhaust manifolds from the SC400 will fit in the MkIII Supra engine bay after the removal of the heat shields and weld nuts, which is required to avoid interference with the steering column. The fuel supply and return lines will both need to have some sort of heat shielding on them to avoid vapor locking, heating of the fuel, and possible contact with the exhaust manifold.


Now for the pictures!



http://picasaweb.google.com/1uzsupra/1UZEngineInstallation

 

[milisakeracing]

Further progress. The engine has been centered and leveled within the engine bay. I have taken numerous photos of the engine mount areas as well as a couple of other areas to show various clearances and interferences. I have submitted drawings to my friend to draft up in SolidWorks which we will be submitting to the machinist hopefully next week. I'll be going with solid mounts instead of using the rubber isolators. Because of this, I'll be creating additional 3/8" plates to install inside the sub-frame mount point to sandwich the mount point to provide a bit more strength in that area.

http://picasaweb.google.com/1uzsupra/SupraProject05282008

I also have a bunch of exhaust pieces laying here ready to be cut and welded once the car can be moved to the exhaust shop. Most likely after all the other work is finished I'll just drive it with an open exhaust unless the shop I choose is further away than the locals.

I ordered -6AN fittings, adapters, and SS braided hose from AN Plumbing.com as well which should all arrive next week so I can get my fuel supply and return lines made and connected. Still need to figure out where to route them so they will not touch the exhaust or have the possibility of touching the exhaust.

 

[milisakeracing]

While I have added further updates on my own site at http://1uzsupra.com, I have been slacking adding updates here. However, another milestone in my project has been reached which are the motor mounts. Yes, the motor mounts have finally been fabricated and are a couple of coats of paint away from being installed.

The mounts are made from 3/8" cold rolled steel with a 1/4" thick plate on the frame side. The shims are each 1/16" thick to help center/level the engine. All plates were stick welded for penetration. Since they are solid mounts, they will be pulled during the winter and inspected for defects and repaired if any are found.

Pictures of the mounts may be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/1uzsupra/1UZSupraMounts

 

[milisakeracing]

Engine is finally mounted to the frame. The rest of the drive train has also been re-attached including the drive shaft and the couple of reinforcement bars (one on sub-frame and other on drive shaft tunnel) plus the shifter was put back in so I could put it in gear if needed.

I was also able to break the main pulley bolt loose and remove the pulley in preparation for changing the timing belt. Depending on my schedule, the timing belt and water pump should be completely replaced by next weekend and then I can start putting the engine together and wrap up the wiring and plumbing.

 

[milisakeracing]

Start up is the best moment !! leave the exhaust off, on open headers these engines sound mint !

I will be starting up the engine without exhaust just to get it started and make sure everything is working correctly then probably trailer it to an exhaust shop since we have noise laws here and I could not afford the ticket after sinking all this money into getting the car back on the road, lol.

 

[milisakeracing]

Just a quick project update. The engine is now mostly buttoned up. I'm still hunting for a lower radiator hose and cooling fan. The A/C system was removed and the heater core lines were bridged since the car isn't run during the salt, err....winter season here in Michigan. Working on wiring still as one can plainly see in the new pictures as well as positioning the power steering reservoir which is now finished but I have yet to get a picture of the frame work I put together for it.

http://picasaweb.google.com/1uzsupra/ProjectUpdate06302008

 

[milisakeracing]

Another update, this time regarding wiring. The information I have been able to find thus far has always pertained to the post-'89 Supras so some of my wiring does not quite match the information I have and I am looking for further information, especially if anyone has an '87 Toyota Supra TEWD available as well as the wiring diagrams for the '93 SC400 with wire colors as well (not just the ECU pinouts). Here are pictures of my current wiring mess with temporary crimped connections used to make sure I am making the correct connection before going back to solder and apply a shrink tube. Captions with the photos describe what is being shown. Any insight is much appreciated. Right now I have the car lights and dash working again, but the fuel pump and starter are not activating (clutch pedal switch is jumpered at the moment). Any help at this point would be immensely appreciated.

http://picasaweb.google.com/1uzsupra/Supra_Wiring

 

[cribbj]

Also, if you're running injector firing tests I would do it without any fuel in the system. If you run these tests with fuel in the rail, you'll run the risk of hydrolocking your motor and bending/breaking a rod or two.

If you have any doubts at all, whether you've got fuel in the cylinders, remove the plugs, disable the Main EFI relay, and spin the motor to purge any fuel out of the cylinders.

I had a couple of sticking injectors on the last dyno run and had to purge the motor like this. What a mess......

 

[milisakeracing]

The orange/black wire on the engine loom is power to the injectors, the injectors have constant power and the colored wires that go back to the ecu are earthed out when the ecu wants to fire an injector (side note I recently had an engine refuse to start because the injectors were locked up, to unlock them we applied power to the O/B wire and then tapped the ecu end wire to earth it out on/off quickly and then used a screw driver to gently "tap" the injector (each one) that freed them up.

The orange/black wire and yellow black wire phot 3 should have power

photo 7, the three wire plug is starter, and left and right knock sensor. but thats the plug in near the starter at the back of then engine valley I'm on about and not the plug in your photo (I hope)

Excellent information Anodyne! The three wire plug in the photo is at the front of the engine but I do believe the big black wire is the starter wire.

 

[milisakeracing]

dont run the engine without headers, did that recently the flames are pretty long, will burn lots of stuff, bad idea.

I'll roll it out of the garage first =)

 

[Jake Breyck]

are you really planning on starting the motor up with no headers at all? dont do that inside or out of the garage. burning stuff is not the problem everyone has delt with a small amount of fire not a big deal, what is a big deal tho is the rush of cold air going back into the motor after each pulse, and colling off the valves whitch will destry them. you know what happens to hot things when they get hit with cold stuff? not good, dont do it.


although if its a motor you dont care about and wanta get youll jolly off by running it with no header its great fun.

if you just ment no exaust system bolted to the header thats fine go for it inside or out. the video in my build thead is open header.