1MZ-FE V6 swap: how-to

I will try to provide a how-to swap in a 1MZ-FE V6 into you're Celica. This is a general overview of what needs to be done. Since there can be many different variables with an individual swap, I'll cover what I did and try to identify the areas where there may be options and what some of the options are. First I'll provide a parts list from my swap, then a modification and custom fab list and finally the general steps to perform the swap.

Parts list:

'95 Avalon:
ECU - from automatic car
ECU to engine harness
Lower intake manifold
Upper intake manifold & plenum
Throttle body
Air tube with MAF sensor
Fuel injectors
Fuel rail - has return line, same as Celica
Igniter
Ignition Coils
Exhaust manifolds
Exhaust flex pipe

'02 Camry:
Engine
Alternator
Power Steering pump
Fuel pump
Starter

Tranny:
'00 Camry E153 5-speed
'92 Tubro MR2 inner axles (mod needed on passenger side)
4th gen All-trac main and outer axles
3S-GTE clutch & pressure plate
4th gen All-trac top tranny mount
All-trac rear tranny mount bracket (I used a 5th gen, but a 4th gen should also work)

Misc (unknown origin):
Carrier bearing mount with engine mount


Here are modifications and custom work I did for my swap:

Clutch master cylinder adjustmentThe Celica clutch master cylinder will work with the Camry tranny, but I found that my push rod was in too far to pump enough fluid to release the clutch. What I ended up doing was to weld 4 nuts onto the adjuster end of the pushrod giving it the effect of lengthening the pushrod. You may not need to do this, but I thought I would mention it since I had to.

Passenger side inner axle (modification): The carrier bearing needs to be moved about 1/4" closer to the tranny. This is accomplished by removing the bearing, cutting a new groove in the axle for the retaining clip and making 1/4" spacer for behind the bearing. Reinstall the bearing with the spacer in place and install the retaining clip in the new groove.


Transmission cross-member (modification): The transmission cross-member will need to be notched in a few places to clear the bottom of the engine block where the engine bolts to the transmission. I added some angle-iron to reinforce the cross-member in the areas that were cut. New holes will also need to be drilled in the cross-member for the rear tranny mount. The holes will need to be drilled about 3/4" to the drivers side of the current holes. Relocating the holes should also be done when using the MR2 LSD tranny in the 4th gen with any motor.



Rear tranny mount bracket (modification): The holes in the tranny mount where the long bolt that goes through the will need to be slotted about 3/4" towards the transmission. Some grinding on the mount may be needed to make a smooth surface where the long bolt or nut will contact the mount bracket.



Rear exhaust manifold (modification): I used the stock short tube exhaust manifolds from an early Avalon, which are the same as early Camry manifolds. The front manifold can be used without modifications, but the rear manifold is longer and points directly at the steering rack at a slight angle towards the driver's side. I had to shorten the manifold and point it straight down to allow clearance. I also had to change to orientation of the O2 sensor to point more towards the tranny. When shortening the exhaust manifold, I eliminated the ERG fitting that the pipe for exhaust would connect to. I don’t have to smog my car and don’t care about the ERG valve. If you need the EGR valve, you will need to integrate this fitting into the exhaust manifold when modifying it.



Front motor mount (custom built): A custom front motor mount, a.k.a. passenger side motor mount, will need to be fab'd to mount the front of the motor to the stock Celica mount brackets that are welded to the chassis. I used part of the stock Celica mount and some angle metal to make this mount.




Rear motor mount brackets (custom built): If you use the carrier bearing support with the motor mount, which is recommended, you can fab 2 "L" brackets to connect the motor mount to the suspension cross member. This mount is a 5th mount and is probably not necessary, but it won't hurt to have it since it's on the back side of the motor where the motor torques down.



Shifter cable (modification): You can either use the All-trac shifter cables or modify S tranny cables...to be continued.

Throttle cable/pedal (modification): The TB on the V6 has the throttle cable connect from the front instead of the rear like the 3S TB. With the cable conected to the TB and the throttle pedal, there's not enough movement of the pedal to open the TB all the way. What I did was to bend the upper portion of the pedal lever away from the firewall and bend the lower portion out as well. This moved the pedal higher off the floor when the thorttle is fully open and gave enough movement to open the TB all the way.



Power steering pump/front mount bracket (modification) : The power steering pump bracket on the '02 motor also had a motor mount. I cut the motor mount bracket portion off at the line in the pic below.


Here are some options that I know of, there may be more:

3VZ-FE :
Some 2nd gen MR2 owners use this V6. I wouldn't recommend it as it is a cast iron block engine, unless you want to really boost the motor or use it or drag racing as the additional weight may help traction.

Fuel system :
Early Camry's have a return style fuel rail, like the Celica. Later Camry's have non-return fuel rails. I used the earlier Avalon fuel rail which has the FPR built in and has the return line. This car also used the same fuel filter as the Celica and the rubber line from the fuel rail to the filter was the exact length, so nothing needed to be done. With the later none return fuel rails, you will need a FPR regulator. The later fuel pump assembly will have the FPR as a unit that can be removed and installed on the Celica fuel pump assembly. You will need a high pressure fuel pump with the V6. I used the fuel pump from the '02 Camry that I got the motor from, which had a non-return style fuel rail. I kept the FPR from the Camry.

A/C :
I didn't install the A/C compressor; in fact, I had completely removed all the A/C components some time ago. If you want to continue to use the Celica's A/C system, you can use the A/C compressor from the V6. You will need to either fab a custom bracket to support the compressor or you will need to have a custom radiator made as the lower radiator outlet is located where the compressor would be using the stock V6 mounts. To use the newer V6 compressor, you will need the metal hose ends that connect to the compressor. These hose ends will be welded to the hoses of the Celica hoses.

Tranny shifter cables :
If you use the Camry tranny, you will need to either get a set of All-trac cables that match the generation of your car, or you can modify the FWD cables, which are cheaper and easier to find in the wrecking yard. I'll provide a drawing or mocked up pic of the mod I did.

Trannys :
The Camry E153 tranny will definitely work and so will the MR2 tranny with the LSD once it has been converted to FWD shifting. An S tranny, like the S53 & S54, while it may be strong enough for the V6, is not a good choice for this V6 swap. In order to use the S tranny, you would have to have a custom bearing support made for the carrier bearing on the passenger side inner axle. The bearing would end up being very close to the engine block, like much less than 1 inch. There's plenty of room for the Camry tranny, you just need to look around for a while. A Turbo MR2 non-LSD tranny will also work once converted and be pretty much the same as the Camry tranny, just easier to find. The LSD tranny will need LSD axles and the non-LSD tranny will need non-LSD axles.


How to do the swap :
This write up is assuming you will be using the 1MZ-FE motor and Camry/Solara manual tranny.
* Remove the exiting engine, tranny, axles, harness with fuse/relay box, air tube, air box, charcoal canister, ECU, suspension cross member, tranny cross member.
* You will want to remove the 4th connector from the harness. This would be the connector that goes to the chassis harness. This will contain the wires for the circuit open relay, a.k.a. fuel pump relay, the wire the check engine light (C.E.L.) and the oil pressure and ware temp gauges. The rest of the harness is not needed. Most of the Celica wiring documentation should be found in the PDF file I have linked to.
* Raise the car up to give plenty of room to work under the car and set the car on jack stands.
* Either swap the shifter cables or mod. the cables as I mentioned above.
* With the tranny bolted to the engine, hoist the assembly into place in the engine bay. You will most likely need to use a jack or two to get the motor leveled and with the correct tilt.
* Install the 3 tranny mount brackets including the modified rear bracket.
* Install the top tranny mount and connect to the chassis. You will know you have the tilt close when the long bolt passes through the top mount easily. This will take some patience and work with the hoist and jack(s) to get right.
* I used a level across the top of the front valve cover and the top of the intake plenum to get the motor close to being level. Actually, I raised the front of the motor, on the passenger side just slightly, to allow for the compression of the mount with the motor mounts in place.
* Attach the rear mount to the bracket on the tranny.
* Attach the front mount to the tranny cross member and raise the front of the cross member to connect the mount to the bracket.
* Raise the cross member aligning it with the bolt holes at the rear of the cross member and mark the places where the motor hits the cross member. Keep in mind to cut small amounts of material from the cross member and keep trying to raise the rear of the cross member until it connects to the mount and the chassis. You'll probably want to remove the cross member each time you cut on it to give you room to work and avoid sparks from get in or on your car.
* Once the tranny cross member is in place and all the bolts hand tight, you'll know the tilt is correct on the motor. Now time to work on the front mount.
* Designing and fabbing the front mount will be your choice. I used part of the stock mount. I will attach a pic of what I made. Once it's installed, you no longer need the hoist and jack(s). The motor is now in place!
* Tighten up all the mount bolts.
* Now attach the engine harness and route the wires to the location where the fuse/relay box will be mounted. I mounted mine in the stock battery location. You will also have to connect the chassis harness connector, which is the 4th connector on the stock Celica harness. And you will have to connect the harness to the front chassis harness. I would make all connections temporary by twisting the wires together and tape them. Then after you have tested all systems and driven the car, soldier all connections. I did this and got every merged connection right the first time.
* Modify the rear exhaust manifold. Before you start this, you will need to decide if you will be using the ERG valve. If so, you will need to figure out where to position the fitting and the O2 sensor. If not, just the O2 sensor.
* Connect the All-trac axles to the MR2 inner axles and install those axles.
* Connect and/or bolt on all the various other items that need to be connected or bolted on, like the evap canister, heater lines, fuel lines, etc.
* You'll have to figure out how to connect the cooling lines between the engine and the radiator. I used 1 1/2" copper pipe and some 90* bends. I also used a combination of rubber hose from the stock Celica motor and the Camry hoses. I also moved the top of the radiator forward about 3/4" by drilling new holes in the top brackets. This gave a little extra distance between the radiator and the exhaust.
* Get the exhaust work done.
* The flex line from the clutch master cylinder should connect to the hard line on the Camry tranny without needing to be modified.

Once you have tested all systems and driven the car, finalize all connections and permanently attach everything necessary, like the igniter, fuse/relay box, air cleaner, etc.

This is about all there is too the swap. It's actually pretty easy once you figure out the wiring and all the correct parts to use. I will be more than happy to answer any questions about the swap.