[spyider]

hey guys, it seems to me all of the pics ive seen/found of a v6 in the back of a aw11 seem as if they had to cut and move back the trunk wall about 2".. is their any way to get a 3vzfe or 1mz into the back witought cutting the trunk wall?
Also is their any good aftermarket support for these older v6's..? as i cant seem to find anything. i was thinking turbo..?

bassicly trying to figure if a v6 is worth it or 3sgte it.. thanks guys.

 

[Conor]

I'm doing it.. no cutting but plenty of clearancing with a hammer. V6s do NOT fit in mk1s very well at all. It's not like a mk2 where you can practically bolt it up and it looks like the factory intended for it to be there.

The 3SGTE does NOT fit will either (I'm building one of those as well).

If I had to start over again on my V6 mk1 chassis I would be using a 4-cyl engine.. 5SFE/3SGE hybrid, 2ZZGE or a 2ARFE. It just doesn't feel worth it to be cramming so much engine into a shallow engine bay.

Without cutting/hammering:

The intake manifold is 1/2" from the firewall. The timing cover is almost touching. The alternator is almost touching the front firewall/coolant pipe. I'll be rearranging the coolant pipes, hammering the _______ out of the rear firewall and the motor will be on 5 mounts to make sure it doesn't bounce around a whole lot. Once the mounts are built the engine will be coming out so I can hammer-clearance everything.

I refuse to cut out the trunk firewall or the engine lid latch.. It's so ghetto when people do that.. :/

 

[sonnicX]

I did my 1mz in my mk1 with no cutting of the firewall I did have to beat an area with a hammer so the timing beltcover wouldnt hit the rear firewall but thats it. Its tight between the manifold and the engine latch. I can only put the edge of my pinkey inbetween them. Its probably about 3/8 of an inch away, but i can still remove the upper intake with out moving the engine.

 

[Kotaru]

My Mk1 has a 1MZ in it without cutting, hammering and using the stock mounts (Fabbed up adapters). Cutting the trunk does make it ALOT easier to service that head.

 

[John Caucasian]

Ditto, my 1mz fit in my aw11 nice and snug with some hammering. Also removed and made new latch for engine lid. Crank center (bolt) on the v6 ended up a couple inches forward of where the 4age sat

 

[Conor]

Could any of you guys do me a huge favor and show me your shift cable solutions? That's be helpful. I have a good idea of what I need to do but it's always useful to see others' approaches.

 

[kevinMR2]

is their any way

is their any

Sport. I hate to do this, but: "their", "there", and "they're" and not interchangeable.

Just saying. Lord, that pains me.

 

[mechanicgram]

..

 

[Gouky]

Could any of you guys do me a huge favor and show me your shift cable solutions? That's be helpful. I have a good idea of what I need to do but it's always useful to see others' approaches.

i haven't done a V6 in an MKI so take this for what it's worth. but why not use the SC MKI shift cables? it's already made to go to an e-series transmission?

33821‑17040
33822‑17010

they'd run about $400 total buying them new. but usually they run about $50-100 used if you do a bit of junkyard hunting.

 

[paul woods]

Waves to Marc.

Another solution is to use a Celica shifter assembly (trans end) , use Mk3 cables and a custom selector, this will let you route the cables well away from the exhaust, although i'll be honest, i nearly always use the stock Mk1 cables on a S54 setup and just modify the shifter cable bracket in the cabin.

 

[Conor]

Thanks Paul, I'll look into that. Will probably just cobble together some stand-off brackets.. hrm..

i haven't done a V6 in an MKI so take this for what it's worth. but why not use the SC MKI shift cables? it's already made to go to an e-series transmission?

33821‑17040
33822‑17010

they'd run about $400 total buying them new. but usually they run about $50-100 used if you do a bit of junkyard hunting.

Unlike our mk2s, the mk1 shift cables exit the firewall in a bad location that basically a points at the bank1 exhaust manifold once there's a V6 in the car. :/ length and connection is fine, the cables just have to make a much sharper turn once they enter the engine bay. I'm using a non-precat manifold like I did on my mk2 swap, which helps, but still isn't enough for the mk1.

Like I said I have an idea of what to do, but am curious ti see what other swappers have done.

I'm usomg a proper e-series trans, too.

 

[John Caucasian]

I cant remember which cables I used but I changed the length via a welder. You can cut the rod end of the cable (shifter end) in half and add or remove metal then weld the end back on. It is a very tight bend by the exhaust, I had to fab a bracket to keep the cable from touching and used manifold heat blankets as well and have not melted a cable yet. I do like Pauls idea of going mk3 style, has anyone tried that yet?

 

[Kotaru]

Could any of you guys do me a huge favor and show me your shift cable solutions? That's be helpful. I have a good idea of what I need to do but it's always useful to see others' approaches.

Lots of DEI Titanium exhaust wrap over a fiberglass reflective sleeve. It does touch the manifold, but with the stock manifold's heat shield in place I think I'll be ok for awhile. For the length, I cut the rods in the cabin and threaded them before using a series of rod couplers to extend/adjust them.

 

[reece146]

Old thread but hoping to get participation from people that actually own(ed) a 1MZ powered AW11.

Down the rabbit hole of what to do with my tired 4AGE and looking at this swap.

How hard is it to maintain this engine (1MZ VVT-i) once installed if you don't cut any sheetmetal?

The stock intake manifold makes accessing one head a big pain. If you did something different (converted to ITBs) would that effectively make maintenance on that side of the engine "easy"?

The car is new to me but I'm pleasantly surprised how easy the stock engine is to access for maintenance given the layout.

I expect that the car with a V6 is more difficult to work on and that makes me not want to go much further with the mental gymnastics... but if there is an opportunity to make things easier to work on (ITBs) maybe it is worth pursuing?

Full disclosure: built NA 20V torks aren't that impressive and that is what is making me look at this swap. I have no interest in totally butchering the car to make a 2GR fit. It's a cream puff of a car and I am looking at reversible options. A little hammer massage doesn't bother me too much. I don't want to create a car that is a total pita to work on from a physical access point of view.

Any input appreciated.

 

[JimKing]

So the rear bank is buried under the stock intake manifold. Ok. What's back there that needs maintenance?
Spark plugs? How often do you change 100k mile iridium plugs?
Valve cover gasket? How many years before that starts leaking assuming you install a new one during the engine swap?
Plug wires? OEM Toyota wires last a very long time.
That's about it.

I wouldn't worry about maintenance access too much.

Put another way, designing and tuning a ITB setup on a 1MZ would probably be more time consuming than several engine-out maintenance cycles on an OEM engine. And certainly more expensive.

 

[merryfrankster]

The stock intake manifold makes accessing one head a big pain.

This is true in every vehicle that has a 1mz-fe vvti. On some, like the lexus rx300 or sienna, you even have to remove the entire windshield wiper tray. Pray to providence you do not ever have to get down to the knock sensors, that these vehicles eat like candy. Like the song says, "you got no complaint. It is what it is, and it ain't what it ain't."

 

[reece146]

All totally valid points.

I'd really like to hear from someone that has lived with a 1MZ AW11 though.

Would you do it again?

Was it not really a big pita?

Or...?

 

[steve108]

I just skipped hooking up the coolant lines to the TB on mine, so removing the top part of the intake manifold is no biggie since there are no fluids involved. I don't think it's any harder to work on than the 4A-GE was.

Only thing I cut on the chassis was the old side engine mounts, battery tray, and a little trimming around the engine cover latch. I didn't have to hammer clearance anything. I would do it again, although I'd probably think about doing a 2GR instead of the 1MZ at this point. 200 HP is quick but with good tires, suspension, and the LSD I could use more power if it was available.

 

[reece146]

Thanks, that is helpful.

I'm still doing the mental gymnastics of which direction to take the car. Built black top, 7AGE with ITBs, big port with rotrex, and 1mz all floating around the brain pan.

 

[ThreeD]

If this will help:
Material: regular .1mm sheet metal, lengths as needed; small angle iron for flanges, 6 small (10mm) nuts and bolts, old tire tube for gaskets, silicone and a wire feed mig welder.



I cut the old firewall out (approx. 36” ) and built a box “firewall” to fit two extensions set into the rear trunk. The complete new firewall is approx. 7” deep (initial wall 3.5', box wall also 3.5”) into the rear trunk and the rubber insulator for the lid fits into the top of the metal "box".

Using cardboard to measure and fit makes this fabrication so much easier and better fitting to the contours of the rear area (good snug fit all round). Various holes for wiring cut in the cardboard first, then when happy, cut in metal. I found the setup for both pass and driver's side bolt in set up worked very well.

This set up gives me ~ 3 inches clearance from engine to metal. Also, good room for overflow bottle (but I changed that in another MR2v6 and set up the overflow bottle in the trunk for ease and a larger bottle).

Advantages? With this new firewall removed, replacing ANY parts (removing heads for gaskets, valve cover gaskets, plugs, etc.) SOOO much easier. Well worth the time invested.

And, as always, a shout out to Paul Woods for his initial work and sharing his knowledge with others attempting these V6 conversions. Thanks again.