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03-06 Corolla engine swap

12K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  ELuis2488  
#1 ·
Hi im currently driving a 99 prizm but I'm looking at picking up an automatic corolla (03-06) and swapping the motor to a celica 2zz ge and turboing it. Is it a direct bolt to the the engine Bay and tranny or will i need a new tranny as well? Itll be my first full swap so any and all info/advice would be helpful.
My goal being a faster yet fuel efficient daily.
Thanks
 
#2 ·
2ZZ swaps are fairly expensive and difficult. You definitely cannot use the transmission as the A245E was not available in any 2ZZ application.

If you want to turbocharge, it would make sense to keep the 1ZZFE. The 2ZZ really shines as a high rpm NA motor. For the money it costs to swap a 2ZZ, you could do the necessary upgrades to a 1ZZFE and attain most of the same power.

Regardless, expect to pay more than the price of the car for this type of swap. The manual transmissions alone are usually over 1K dollars used and well over 2K dollars new.
 
#3 ·
If you want a 2zz, it's cheaper to find a Corolla xrs, matrix xrs, or Pontiac gt. Or even a Celica gts. From what I have researched, the 2zz averages around $800-1000 for the motor and ECU. If wanting trans and engine, it's more around $1400.

Vehicles mentioned average around $2-3k with high mileage of 150-200+k. That's around the mieage for a rebuild anyways.

If doing the swap, as hardtopte72 mentioned, it is possible, but will be longer to complete due to wiring of the ECU for the vvtl-i and finding the donor car.

It sounds to me that you are planning to buy the donor car?
 
#5 · (Edited)
Yes you can hit the 200hp mark with the 1zz. After owning a 2zz for the past 2.5 years, the lift is fun, but other parts are needed to keep the wheels in contact with the road. The claimed HP from the factory was 170hp and 130 for torque.

There are videos out on the interwebs that owners hit the 200hp mark on a 2zz. The Celica GTS had closer to 180, 03-04 1st gen vibe gt/matrix Xrs were around 178, and 05-06 Corolla XRS was closer to 170.

The 1zz is around 150/130. It's more balanced and with the longer crank, it has more room to use boost.

You would need to increase the torque on the 2zz with more specific parts compared to the 1zz which you can use more universal parts. The parts for the 1zz is more affordable compared to 2zz.

Hope it helps.