Engine swap difficulty? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

nuron · 11-17-2008, 01:47 PM

Hey guys, it's been a while! The body on my '88 is falling apart with the wet trunk and rust, plus the peeling paint. There's a lot of clean and cheap Camrys on craigslist so I was thinking of pulling my motor out and putting it in a good chassis. My current tranny is going out too so I'll have to fix that...What is all there is to it really? I figured: disconnect hoses (radiator, A/C, etc.), disconnect tranny, loosen engine mounts? I'll try to rent a cherry picker too...

TBayToyotaBoy · 11-17-2008, 10:13 PM

Hey, it's a little more involved than what you've listed. The wiring harness must be disconnected with care (no easy task), and the hood, fuel lines, exhaust, and tranny lines and linkages must all be considered. Both driveaxles obviously have to be removed, and the tranny drained first. The cherry picker is absolutely mandatory, and I'd recommend recruiting a friend for at least a day to help. Getting the engine/tranny to hang at enough of an angle to remove them as a unit takes some patience.

If there are clean and cheap Camrys for sale on Craigslist, can you just park yours and use it for parts after you buy another one? Why do you feel an engine swap will be necessary on the car you'll end up buying?

nuron · 11-17-2008, 11:32 PM

TBay, the cheap Camrys usually have some engine or transmission troubles, that's why theyre so cheap and fall within my budget. My engine is still pretty new--one of those JDM low-mileage motors that are so readily available. I assume the wiring harness are just those plugs I see all around the engine bay? I see a lot of people taping and labeling them for easier reconnecting. the fuel lines [I]sound[I] relatively easy, as is the exhaust, with its rusty bolts. Tranny lines and linkages scare me haha.

***HomeGrown*** · 11-18-2008, 05:55 AM

Hey nuron, welcome back. Can't recall the last time I read a post from you. Last time we talked it probably had something to do with basketweaves though.

Sounds like your engine is well worth pulling, and if it was swapped not too terribly long ago, you shouldn't have much trouble with rusty bolts. The car you would be swapping into is a different story though. Tbay knows whereof he speaks, as he's turned a wrench a time or 3 on these cars.

It's certainly not an insurmountable task, but make sure the logistics are well planned out, not the least of which is another car to drive while you're doing the swap.

white90dx · 11-18-2008, 12:57 PM

With the right tools, but not a lot of experience, it is a good weekend full of work.... as long as you don't run into any major problems. The worry I have based on your question is that you probably don't have all the right tools.

The wiring harness doesn't need to be totally disconnected. Just disconnected from the engine bay fuse box and from the interior/ecu. You have to remove the glove box to access all the plugs and pull it into the engine bay.

Like others have said, there is also axles, fuel lines, tranny cooler lines, shifter cable, mounts and lots of other stuff that is just in the way otherwise (intake, A/C, etc).

If you have air tools, it should be much easier. (axle nuts and crank pully can be a pain otherwise)

-Charlie

PS. Make sure the car has the same/similar options - ECT/non-ECT tranny, A/C or no A/C, 4-cylinder motor, same year and origin (Jap or US built, CA or non-CA destination). If you don't, it might require some custom wiring to get it to work 100%, though much of that part we can help you with.

MrBill91Camry · 11-30-2008, 07:43 AM

Having performed this operation on my daughters car in April. It is a very involved task. I have been a car guy fir 30+ years, have built and raced cars for many years.

This was the most involved project I have ever done. I can remove the engine and trans in my 66 Chevelle by myself in 5 hrs.

It took my brother and I all day just to get the motor and trans out of the Camry.

It's not really hard, it's just very time consuming.

I used a Haynes manual, but there are still gaps in the info.

Have a place that you can tear the car apart and be able to leave it there.

nogard · 11-30-2008, 07:06 PM

If you are keeping the trans with the engine it won't be as tough to do without cherry picker. If you have to jack position them further back than the normal jack point. With the engine/trans weight off the car it won't weigh as much and jacking the car at this point won't be a problem. Then you make a wooded dolly with some casters. I used 6 casters on my buddies ford probe because it had the V6. I would do the same with a v6 camry and auto trans. Then you loosen all the cradle mounts from under the car. Set the car, engine/trans just on the wood dolly and remove the remaining upper mount and left the car off the engine/trans. Here are some pictures I have done this three times so far and works good.

TBayToyotaBoy · 11-30-2008, 10:30 PM

Oh, to have garage space like that with no cracks in the cement! I'm turning green. My OUTDOOR concrete pad was poured using the wrong kind of cement (stupid landlord) and so the salt from many winters has eroded it horribly--I have to lay 1/4" steel plates down just to use my floor jacks or a cherrypicker.

One day I hope to have a set-up like that...nice idea on the dolly, too.