Newbie in need of help & advice

[ADVANT123]

Hello guys/gals,
I'm new to the board and new to the world of Toyotas. I have a 97 BMW M3 that I'm using as my daily driver and I recently acquired a 95 Toyota Camry 4dr. LE (4 cylinder automatic). I was basically given the Camry for free since the motor and transmission don't seem to be working. My sister gave me the car after she didn't change the oil for 30k miles and the engine seized in traffic(no oil left in the motor). Ever since(about a year ago) than the car has sat dormant in her driveway and this past weekend I offered to take it off her hands.

So heres the story. The car is a 95 Camry LE, 4 cylinder & automatic. The current engine has 130k miles on it, but from what i can see, the engine wasn't maintained as well as it should have been. The car doesn't start, probably because it hasnt been started in over a year. I jumped the car and it barely started. There was a loud, rapid clicking noise coming from the engine bay and I had to hit the gas a couple times to get her started. When the engine is running, it seems kind of lumpy, but it runs. When i backed it down my driveway(slight downhill), the engine didnt stall. However, when I tried to drive it back up, the transmission seemed like it was slipping and when it did grab, the engine stalled.

So heres what I need to know. Where is the best place to start looking for a new engine/transmission for this car. The more important question I have is, can this car be converted to a manual transmission fairly easily? I really hate driving automatic. I plan on getting a new motor and transmission, so will the swap be easy or will I run into major problems since the car was originally automatic? Are there any other engines in the Toyota family that will fit into this year camry?

Here are some basic questions I also have:
What is the engine code name for the 95 4 cylinder?
What generation camry is the 95?

Any help you guys/gals can provide with me is greatly appreciated.

Joe

[Luc]

The '95 Camry you have is a Generation 3, the 4-cylinder is 5SFE. Yes, you should be able to change to a 5-speed as someone else on this board has done it already, SpectraBlueCam. I drove it when he was in town last weekend (Chicago), and it ran very nicely. Check with www.car-part.com, www.taprecycling.com, or www.nix99.com for the engine and transmission availability. I wouldn't doubt it if your current engine has oil sludge problems. You can always do simple checks on the battery and alternator if the car doesn't seem to hold its charge, and/or change the starter as the car has been dormant.

Luc

[4DoorsofFury]

ok you have a 4 cyl engine that is called 5S-FE. if you are going to swap out your engine get the 3S-GE or 3S-GTE. it drops right in place will relative ease. this by the way is the same engine used on the high-end celicas and old mr2's. now here is why i recommend this engine. these two engines are related to each other in that they share the same S block family. so whats the difference? well what seperates the two is the FE and GE head packages. when the F series head package first came out it was designed for high torque and reliability.....most definately not performance (but still can be done), while the G series head package WAS designed for high performance. the G series are found in many of the engine families including the A series, S series, M series, and the JZ series (supra). GE is the pride and joy of toyota obviously. and in some G series head packages (i.e. 4A-GE) there is a special cam phasing mechanism called VVT-i (around 100 hp per litre) which is almost like an equivelant to the honda iVTEC. too bad for us camry owners, only the 4th gen 3S-GE engines have the VVT-i and its expensive to get your hands on. but ultimately the GE means 200+ hp with a 1.8-2.2L 4 cyl engine. the GTE version can reach 300 easy with few simple bolt-ons. major damage for 4 cylinders!!! i hope you got all that.

now there is a small loop-hole that im trying to do more research on. i believe "The Wraith" is working on this project. we'll call it the 5S-GTE.
ive heard rumors, and i suppose fact, that earlier model 5S-FE engines can be fitted with the head package off a 3S-GTE. ive talked to The Wraith and he says it is true. ive also talked to a group called Burien Toyota (they make a turbo kit for your 5S-FE if youre interested) and they said that they are also working on a similar project.

since youve got a good reason for an engine swap.....youve got lots of options.

[ADVANT123]

Thanks for the help guys. Although I would love to put in the MR2 motor, i just don't see it being very practical. This car is gonna be my daily commuter so I can keep the miles off my M3, but that Bruien Toyota turbo kit for the 5S-FE looks like a nice option. I'm gonna start looking for a new engine/transmission combo today. Hopefully by the end of the day I will have at least found one.

[BoogieMan]

Actually, if you're looking for just daily driving and reliability, you should go with 5S-FE but this will limit your future. Although they do make turbo for this engine (5S-FTE, 5S-FE-T), it is highly not recommended to do so. Since the engine is not made for performace and putting a turbo on top would just shorten the engine's life.

Why not just get the engine that comes with a turbo from the beginning, and which is actually good for the car? 3S-GTE or 5S-GTE.

If its a daily driver, whats the point of the turbo? I suggest you do your research and get your thoughts straight, and then go ahead with everything.

[ADVANT123]

Well, going from a 275hp M3 to a 140hp camry is a big step, so thats why I considered the turbo kit. Right now, I'm looking for an engine that will fit into the car with little to no problems. Like I said, i'm a newbie and don't know much about 3S-GTE or 5S-GTE conversions. If someone can direct me to a link where I can learn more about these conversions, I will consider them as replacement motors.

[BoogieMan]

You do have another option. If you just want a little more power than the 5S-FE and 3S-GTE will be too much, you could go with the Camry V6 engine, 1MZ-FE. But for that, I think you have to change other parts of the car, i'm not too sure maybe somebody else will be able to say something about the V6's.

[ADVANT123]

I would like to stay with a 4 cylinder due to gas milage. One reason I like the 5S-FE and 3S-GTE engines are because of their great gas milage.

[Stremf1]

just have the engine rebuilt