MK1 MR2 with 3VZ-FE - 3 litre, 24 valve, V6. Another Q&A detailing all you need to know about this superb engine conversion. Imagine combining the refinement and torque of a V6 Camry with the sharp handling, lightweight shell of the Mk1, what you end up with is a little monster of an MR2.
Using V6 Transmission: Shift Linkage“You will have to drill hole on front side for rod for MR2 linkageand buy a cover (has 4 bolts on other side of linkage)” -derek2000GTBUT:“The block-transmission bolt patterns on the 5S-FE, 3S-GTE, and the 1MZ-FE are the same. Any transmission that works with one engine should work with any of them.” -chall(This includes manual transmissions)Some Info About VVT-IVVT-I Engines availble only in automatic, until 2003. (Manual Tranny bolts on though)Wiring / ECU issues will need to be addressed, due to automatic transmission errorsTRD is developing piggyback VVT-I ECU, available 2003A piggyback VVT-I controller is neccessary to properly run.
(Wolf EMS: ) -derek2000GTDriveshafts: Adaption and Conversion“The V6 intermediate shaft (A) bolt right to MR2 CV joint on passenger side.Use a V6 intermediate shaft that has 6 bolts on CV joint which is same a MR2 so you can bolt to outer MR2 axle” -derek2000GTThe 93+ Turbo drivers side driveshafts should fit properly, without any adjustments.EDIT.Please see the FAQ on this, you will have to machine a new C-clip for the driveshaft to work. No one has successfully found a shaft that will correctly fit the V6 mount and MR2 tranny. Someone please update me once you find the correct part. (I want specific model and year info along with a quick photo if possible)Radiator hoses I used(1)71704 Hose to connect to the factory pipe in the engine bay, left side.(2) 80413 Heater hoses 90 degree bend on the end.These hoses work real well.
I had to cut them to fit,but have the correct bends and are reasonably priced.The right side hose will be a little harder, but consists of cutting the pipe under the car, rotating the bend roughly 90 degrees, and routing the hose up the firewall just on the outside of the Belt. I will post pics of this when I’m finished later this week.Exhaust manifolds will need to be modified, see SCC’s how to install a V6 for the most simple solution.Pete94t.IF you don’t want cruise, you can re-route the main line under the car to the driver’s side and it’s the perfect length to the throttle body, with no junction boxes the pedal feel is better.Edit.This works well, I have this done on my Yellow 91.Chall.Technically speaking, the solara/camry transmission is the E351, not the E153, and I think this denotes the difference in drive gear ratios and final drive. Also, the synchros are much better than in the ’91-’93 turbo transmission. If you have the turbo transmission it will work, but you run out of first gear more quickly.
Also, you can make the diode change that Brad discovered but you are going to have to use an electronic speedo with the solara tranny and so you might as well pick up a guage cluster and use both the speedo and the tach for your swap. This lets you get rid of the speedo cable, which removes one of the major hassles of taking the MR2 guage cluster out. Of course, you will need the linkage from an MR2 transmission and also need to drill a hole to use this linkage on the solara tranny–easy to do.The half shafts are turbo on the driver’s side, and solara on the passenger side only because there is a 1/8″ or 3mm. difference in the carrier bearing position. Turbo shafts will fit nicely in the solara transmission. I had the bearing ring machined so that I could use the turbo passenger side shaft. It is impossible to combine the two shafts to make one as the type of CV joint on the solara shaft is enclosed and the diameter of the shaft in the CV joint is smaller.Personally, I think that the passenger side mount for the engine should be abandoned altogether because you cannont add the supercharger and you will definitely want to add the supercharger.
Front and rear engine mounts are not hard to fabricate and I have autocad diagrams of one design, but not the only design by any means.–I have lowered my compression ratio by using 8.5:1 JE pistons and Eagle 22R rods but the rods take machining to thin them for the 1MZ (by.135 per side) and they are about.012 different in their C-C. But you can get them on Ebay and they are an initial $350 investment plus whatever it costs in your area to machine them. When and if you order pistons, let them know so that you can get pistons with the piston pin positon correct.–I would use the 1MZ alternator. What Luke and I did was to attach the wires to the alternator using simple electrical connections and pouring epoxy around the connections so that now we have an alternator that has the long wires attached.Claire. Edit by Brad, Original was 1cm.Chall.If I am understanding correctly, you are asking whether the turbo transmission without LSD uses the same axles as the LSD E153 and the Solara 351. I put a Toyota MR2 LSD into a Camry 5 speed (year 2000) and it uses the MR2 axles that I had machined to move the carrier bearing retainer groove. Of course, the differential defines which axles are used in these transaxles, so using an MR2 LSD (which fits exactly) guarantees that the turbo axles will work.I don’t have succesful experience with mixing axles.
I tried it but perhaps I used a too new axle to try to change the intermediate shaft, as the newer axles from the Solara/Camry are entirely different from the ’90/’95 US MR2 axles. It cost me $50 to have the turbo axle machined, and I thing that was kind of a rip-off.Here is what I think about the swap:–Not much needs to be done to the 1MZ-FE itself unless you are going to more than 4 PSI of boost.
Rod updateMill down the big and small end of the rod.270 (.135 on each side)Modify either a set of 22R rod bearings so that they fit the new rod width, or modify the bearing locator slots in the rods.You’ll have to radius the big end to get it to fit into the cylinder bore.OR. I think boring the motor.040 would do the trick.Also, be advised that you are adding close to 100 grams of weight to each cylinder. Adding metal to the counter weights on the crank will be necessary.Good news, the Eagle rods will be tons of overkill on this engine. I suspect the block will fail before the new rods.Eagle rods for the 22R will work.
You will need to do the following.
MK1 MR2 with 3VZ-FE - 3 litre, 24 valve, V6Another Q&A detailing all you need to know about this superb engine conversion. Imagine combining the refinement and torque of a V6 Camry with the sharp handling, lightweight shell of the Mk1, what you end up with is a little monster of an MR2.What Do I Get With A Conversion?Every conversion includes a top end rebuilt 3VZ-FE, a Mk2 NA or Turbo gearbox, drive shafts, fuel pump, engine mounts and every component needed to make the swap a reality, all supplied by us. The engine gets new head gaskets, a re shimmed valve train, new cam-belt, oil filter, gear oil and a new clutch kit.Every engine then gets fully detailed and painted in whatever colour scheme you want. This includes a complete respray of the engine bay as well.We can also fit the TRD supercharger unit, but these need to be sourced from the US by the customer.One of our 1MZ-FE v6 engines with TRD supercharger unit fitted.All 3VZ-FE supercharged versions come with a Woodsport ISCV adapter body that ensures the stock idle control valve can still be used.No other Mr2 garage in the world fits the TRD charger to the 3VZ-FE V6, so you really do get something special.
How Much Does It Cost?Typically we can build a Mk1 3VZ-FE V6 for around £3.500 all in, this rises to £4000 for the 1MZ-FE version and to add the supercharger to the 1MZ-FE option is free in terms of labour,to add the supercharger to the 3VZ-FE however is around £500 extra in parts and labour as it was never designed for that engine,but we can make it fit! Of course you need to add the cost of the SC itself.Usually these can be bought for under £1500 shipped from the US.
Is The Handling Affected By The Extra Weight Of The V6?With the 3VZ-FE engine yes it is, but not as much as you'd think, in fact the difference is that it feels a lot more planted than before but we advise the upgrading of the suspension and brakes with every conversion, usually fitting koni adjustable shock absorbers and Gt4 brakes is all you need to keep the handling in check.With the 1MZ-FE engine the handling remains practically unchanged,as it is a much lighter unit. How Long Does A Conversion Take?Around 4 weeks from start to finish, its probably the most involved mr2 engine conversion there is, its very labour intensive and everything needs modifying to make it fit, but a 4 week turnaround is the norm. Will Everything Work As Before?Everything will work exactly as before except the tacho will need recalibrating by a specialist company that we know of so that it reads the 6 cylinder signal properly, this costs around £50 and can be arranged by us.We will have to modify the boot wall to accept the bigger engine and part of this means you get a nice access panel to the rear bank of spark plugs, something the Mk2 boys dont get with their conversions.Also the engine lid will need modifying, you will lose the engine lid catch so we will have to place the engine lid on bonnet pins or similar. What Major Modifications Are Involved?We need to completely remove the old engine mounts from the chassis, and then weld in new engine mounting brackets to support the weight of the new engine.Here is a freshly prepared engine bay, all new mounts welded in,spark plug access panel at the rear (optional) and the engine bay resprayed.The Finished Conversion1MZ-FE above, 3VZ-FE below.