Toyota MR2 Roadster 2ZZ-GE Engine Swap
Discussion
Escy said:
I didn't think much of the Altezza if I'm being honest.
They never appealed to me apart from the qualitat versions just for the specs. Most here were just turned into drift sluts. The mk3 Mr2 are supposed to be a very capable chassis I've only ever driven one and it felt very connected to the road I'd imagine finding the sweet spot with power to match will give you a belter of track carMy brother has a 2ZZ MR2 and has just put some BC Racing coilovers on it so i've got his old Tein lowering springs to go on mine.
The gearbox all finished and ready to be bolted back onto the engine.
Three of the four engine mounts bolt up but one needs to be made. It's simple, just a flat piece of steel with a few holes.
The gearbox all finished and ready to be bolted back onto the engine.
Three of the four engine mounts bolt up but one needs to be made. It's simple, just a flat piece of steel with a few holes.
great build and had some nice Toyota's there. I've also had a fair few ep82,ep91, Levin bzR ae111, celica gts that was supercharged. Love a good Toyota keep up the good work.
Levin is also my Fav that ive owned, kept my eyes open for another but they are so hard to find here in the UK.
Levin is also my Fav that ive owned, kept my eyes open for another but they are so hard to find here in the UK.
shalmaneser said:
Looking at those pictures bought me back to my 205 GTI engine swap - I think I can smell the gear box oil though the monitor!
Good luck with everything, a mk3 MR2 with the 190 bhp engine is going to be a real hoot! Should have been available from the factory with this lump really.
You're not wrong about the smell, my clothes stink of it even though I didn't get any oil on them. Good luck with everything, a mk3 MR2 with the 190 bhp engine is going to be a real hoot! Should have been available from the factory with this lump really.
Jonny_gti said:
great build and had some nice Toyota's there. I've also had a fair few ep82,ep91, Levin bzR ae111, celica gts that was supercharged. Love a good Toyota keep up the good work.
Levin is also my Fav that ive owned, kept my eyes open for another but they are so hard to find here in the UK.
Those Levin's really are fantastic, i'd love another. A few years back there were plenty advertised in Ireland on DoneDeal for under £1500. I'm not sure if that's still the case now. Levin is also my Fav that ive owned, kept my eyes open for another but they are so hard to find here in the UK.
200Plus Club said:
Its a shame the cars are worth so little and are undervalued. It won't be long before decent repairs write them off. Already loads being broken for spares with blown engines or rusty subs.
The MR2 is strange car for values, they seem largely unloved by enthusiasts. The values of the MK1's are still pretty low, especially when you compare them to the Corolla AE86 which was available at a similar time and used the same 4AGE engine. Even today you can pick up a Mk2 Turbo for under £2000. Perhaps they just sold too many of them? I think the low values are a good thing as it keeps them good honest fun.
Escy said:
The MR2 is strange car for values, they seem largely unloved by enthusiasts. The values of the MK1's are still pretty low, especially when you compare them to the Corolla AE86 which was available at a similar time and used the same 4AGE engine. Even today you can pick up a Mk2 Turbo for under £2000. Perhaps they just sold too many of them?
I think the low values are a good thing as it keeps them good honest fun.
it's not nearly as useful as an AE86, sub 2L RWD coupe's have been in short supply for years when everyone went FWD.I think the low values are a good thing as it keeps them good honest fun.
They imported too many rev1/2 Turbo's, most of them were dogs 10 years back! the market's in the rev3+ turbo's, they're the ones worth keeping!.
ribiero said:
it's not nearly as useful as an AE86, sub 2L RWD coupe's have been in short supply for years when everyone went FWD.
They imported too many rev1/2 Turbo's, most of them were dogs 10 years back! the market's in the rev3+ turbo's, they're the ones worth keeping!.
Depends on your perspective I suppose. Some people prefer the more supercar oriented handling of the Rev 1, but many aren't capable of handling one properly. They imported too many rev1/2 Turbo's, most of them were dogs 10 years back! the market's in the rev3+ turbo's, they're the ones worth keeping!.
I've had numerous MK2 and MK3 cars now. I have never really connected with the MK3 in the same way but I still fancy another of either for a little project (again) soon. The idea of working on a MK2 again is the one thing that really puts me off. They all need new sills too if they haven't been done due to a design fault. Even the ones that look like they don't need them do, unless they've never seen wet weather.
Keep up the good work and keep posting the pics. I've had the engine out of a MK3 before but not yet done a 2ZZ swap. The swapping of the diff etc. in the gearbox is really the only part that worries me as I have no clue about that.
TroubledSoul said:
Keep up the good work and keep posting the pics. I've had the engine out of a MK3 before but not yet done a 2ZZ swap. The swapping of the diff etc. in the gearbox is really the only part that worries me as I have no clue about that.
That probably is the hardest part but there are some decent write ups to help guide you. Swapping over the ATB isn't essential, Lotus don't use one in their 2ZZ cars. Escy said:
TroubledSoul said:
Keep up the good work and keep posting the pics. I've had the engine out of a MK3 before but not yet done a 2ZZ swap. The swapping of the diff etc. in the gearbox is really the only part that worries me as I have no clue about that.
That probably is the hardest part but there are some decent write ups to help guide you. Swapping over the ATB isn't essential, Lotus don't use one in their 2ZZ cars. 
But I agree its not essential.The standard Toyota diff (as found in many Mk3's and some of the very last JDM Mk2 NA's) is a TorSen unit though - not sure how similar / different that is to a ATB..
This engine swap is taking me way longer than i'd planned on. I've been ill lately but the biggest setback was the fact I had to take the cylinder head off the 2ZZ. When I was lapping in the valves, I found one of the exhaust valves had worn a groove into it's face. This was not on the cylinder that was low on compression and it was sealing fine but was a potential issue further down the line, also there was no clearance on the camshaft on that valve so the cam would have ended up scored. I ended up buying a scrap cylinder head to get a valve from as motor factors were supplying me with the 1ZZ valve which is different and I didn't have time to go to Toyota.
I then put the cylinder head on and the gearbox. As I was building it up I had a problem. I dropped a valve shim while checking the clearances.
I was sure it had dropped inside the engine. I took the cylinder head back off and the sump looking for it, shook everything upside down and couldn't find it anywhere. It's like it just vanished. I had some spares on the scrap cylinder head. This was a big setback.
Finally got the engine back together and started building it up. You use the MR2 wiring loom on the 2ZZ and have to add the 3 extra wires to control the lift solenoid which is what i'm doing in this picture. I opened up the loom sheath and ran them inside that to keep it all looking decent.
Finally got the engine in the car. Hopefully won't be too long now.
The subframe was a pain in the arse. Had to hacksaw the seized alignment bolt off then get the angle grinder on the other side. Then I had to lever out what was left of the arm/bushing. The subframe was all out of shape afterwards so I had to beat it back with a hammer and use a nut and bolt to close up the opening. I also welded up the small rust hole on the subframe.
I then put the cylinder head on and the gearbox. As I was building it up I had a problem. I dropped a valve shim while checking the clearances.
I was sure it had dropped inside the engine. I took the cylinder head back off and the sump looking for it, shook everything upside down and couldn't find it anywhere. It's like it just vanished. I had some spares on the scrap cylinder head. This was a big setback.
Finally got the engine back together and started building it up. You use the MR2 wiring loom on the 2ZZ and have to add the 3 extra wires to control the lift solenoid which is what i'm doing in this picture. I opened up the loom sheath and ran them inside that to keep it all looking decent.
Finally got the engine in the car. Hopefully won't be too long now.
The subframe was a pain in the arse. Had to hacksaw the seized alignment bolt off then get the angle grinder on the other side. Then I had to lever out what was left of the arm/bushing. The subframe was all out of shape afterwards so I had to beat it back with a hammer and use a nut and bolt to close up the opening. I also welded up the small rust hole on the subframe.
I had a day off work so started on the exhaust. My plan is to reuse as much of the Celica system as I can. This will keep costs down and also it shouldn't be restrictive. I've used cheap Chinese swap manifolds in the past which are basically like the 1ZZ manifold but with a 2ZZ flange. These kill the power, it feels like they rob you of 15-20bhp. I did a 2ZZ swap on my brothers MR2 and we went from the cheap manifold to using the Celica manifold along with 2.5" bore pipework and it felt like a different car afterwards so definately work the extra effort.
This is the standard manifold. I don't need to secondary air injection. So cut it off, it was thick and I made my way through a few cutting discs in the process.
The Celica manifold doesn't clear the MR2 subframe so to make it work you need to cut some wedges out of the pipe, close up the gap and re-weld.
Started making up the rest of system, i'm using the Celica catalytic converter. The exhaust is going to be a tight fit but so far so good.
This is the standard manifold. I don't need to secondary air injection. So cut it off, it was thick and I made my way through a few cutting discs in the process.
The Celica manifold doesn't clear the MR2 subframe so to make it work you need to cut some wedges out of the pipe, close up the gap and re-weld.
Started making up the rest of system, i'm using the Celica catalytic converter. The exhaust is going to be a tight fit but so far so good.
My brother recently upgraded his MR2 to coilovers so I had his old Tein lowering springs. Fitted them already.
I bought a Chinese knock off of the BMC CDA air filter. It came with 2 reducers which are the perfect size for the standard MAF housing (which I hacked out of the Celica airbox). The flexible ducting fitted over the original cold air feed perfectly. The aluminium pipe was just something I had lying around in the garage. Total cost was £20, happy with that.
I bought a Chinese knock off of the BMC CDA air filter. It came with 2 reducers which are the perfect size for the standard MAF housing (which I hacked out of the Celica airbox). The flexible ducting fitted over the original cold air feed perfectly. The aluminium pipe was just something I had lying around in the garage. Total cost was £20, happy with that.
I finally had a chance to finish up the exhaust, it's a bit gnarly looking but only cost me about £100 so I can live with that. I've got a feeling it's going to be too loud and annoy me as the rear silencer is small. Haven't started it up yet as i've got to swap the transponders over and reprogram the keys.
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