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Aristo 2JZ-GTE VVTi Swap Doc

532K views 795 replies 138 participants last post by  derekpittx 
#1 · (Edited)
Mods, this is not done, but by all means sticky if necessary. Also, all you swap/turbo guru's please post any corrections if necessary and I'll update my post.

This is not 100% done and I will be updating as I make more and updating pics as I find them somewhere in the 2TB on my computer...haha Enjoy! :approve:

How –to- swap 2JZ-GTE VVTi in an IS300


Throughout the years the 1st Gen IS has been around, many have done some very innovative things to the car. Be it turbo, supercharger, NOS, suspension, sound, engine swap whatever the case may be. There has never been a good guide to swapping an engine for the IS. Well we should change that right now.
My choice of performing an engine swap over buying a turbo kit was PURELY on the uniqueness factor. Let me start off by saying this:
IT IS MUCH MUCH EASIER TO INSTALL A TURBO KIT ON THE GE MOTOR!!!!!
Putting a kit on the motor is easier and faster and COULD possibly be cheaper. Each circumstance is different when purchasing an engine, but the kit will always be priced the same.
And now without further delay, the install!!

2JZ-GE Removal

Your first step should be to remove the engine. I will not go into detail on how to do this, because if you have no clue how to remove an engine, DO NOT DO THIS SWAP!!! You will make a $40K paperweight. I will give you some tips on removing the engine.
Start from the rear and work your way to the front.
If you feel like you won’t’ remember what is what, label them. If you don’t know what the parts are called then go buy some rolls of different colored tape and put a piece of 1 color on both ends. That way when you’re putting it back together, you’re just matching colors, just like assembling a Dell :p Trust me; it helps more than you think. (ESPECIALLY if you don’t have a TSRM)
It’s beneficial to remove the upper radiator support. Makes pulling/dropping the engine a breeze.
Any bolts you remove either, screw them back in the holes so you don’t lose them or place them in a plastic zip lock bag and label them. (There will be ALOT of bolts from start to finish)
Okay now that you have that done, it’s time to remove your accessories, unless you are buying new ones.

Pick-a-Part from the 2JZ-GE

You will need to remove the following:
Power Steering Pump
A/C Compressor
Alternator
Starter
Water temp sensor (this is located right behind the water pump attached to the block if memory serves)

And obviously the wiring harness, unless you are going to go with the Aristo harness. (LABEL EVERY CONNECTION PLEASE!!!) Yes they should all connect in only 1 place but this will help you during the rerouting process; as you can work it around where the connections are physically. It will also help you identify what connections to extend if needed.

Repair/Replace/Maintenance on 2JZ-GTE VVTi

This is the PERFECT time to perform this on the new motor, BEFORE you drop it in. Things are going to get VERY TIGHT, VERY FAST once that bad boy is dropped.
Remove all the accessories you took from the GE and replace the GTE counterparts. Make sure you put NEW gaskets, O rings, clamps, oil filter etc.
Also, do yourself a favor; buy a new timing belt and spark plugs NOW. Inspect the spark plug wires and coils. I believe you can use wires and coils from either engine as they are the same. However, it may be beneficial to use the coils from the GE cuz you know they work!!
You could take this opportunity to remove the fuel rail and get your injectors cleaned/replaced IF you like.
Depending on what transmission you are going to use, remove the Aristo tranny and replace with yours. If you are going to use the stock IS tranny, YOU MUST USE THE IS TORQUE CONVERTER or you will have to modify your drive shaft. The Aristo tranny is a tad bit longer and the TQ is fatter and a bit longer too. But the biggest thing is it’s a 4sp and the IS has a 5sp.
Also take this moment to upgrade your valve body on the IS transmission. It’s a WHOLE LOT easier to install the kit with the transmission on the floor upside down. You don’t have to worry about any check balls falling out or any levers snapping out of place. VERY EASY. Make sure you have an air ratchet for this, your wrist will thank you over and over again. At least 40 bolts to remove the VB.
Reattach the tranny to the engine. DO NOT FILL with fluid at this point. But make sure the converter does have fluid.

Transfer of Wiring Harness from 2JZ-GE VVTi to 2JZ-GTE VVTi

You can do this many different ways. Disassemble the harness brackets/sheaths and put the other harness in those. Completely reroute it the way you want.
My method was as follows:
Connect the fuel injectors and work your way around it. The IS harness can be rerouted very nicely if done properly. TAKE YOUR TIME and GO SLOW. No need to rush, this is VERY, VERY important. Every connection on the IS harness will get used. On the other hand, every connection on the Aristo motor will NOT. This is mainly on the exhaust side. Mostly VSV’s under the #1 turbo and what not. There is also a turbo pressure sensor that won’t get connected. I believe right under that is a valve where that is connected to the intake chamber. You may want to keep note of that. That is the nipple I used for my BOV. But any open port will do. You can also remove any connections on the engine that you are not using. Any extra room in there is beneficial.....trust me!
As for the vacuum lines, here is where you can go either way:
If your engine is complete and I mean complete than all your vacuum lines should be connected and routed properly. Then you can keep them there and use the stock BOV if you prefer. OR
You can remove all the vacuum lines above the turbo’s and plug up everything. Then add the BOV of your choice to one of the IC pipes. I used HKS SSQ. This method maybe easier and more widely used but it’s up to you.

Mods to Aristo Engine

Might I suggest if you are going to perform the TTC mod (this enables both turbo’s to be on at all times thus eliminating the sequential setup) you do it NOW! Once the engine is in the bay, NOT GONNA HAPPEN. I believe there are multiple ways to do this. I removed the valves that are attached to the gates that restrict/allow exhaust on the turbo’s. After you remove them, you will need to wire the gates open. You can use hanger wire or fabricate your own solution. I used a combination of both. It’s up to you though.
One of the major issues that TeckIS300 and I both ran into was the #2 Turbo (rear). This turbo will interfere with the wiring harness that runs above the tunnel on the firewall of the engine bay. I followed Teck’s solution and shaving some meat off the turbo and inlet pipe. You will need to get this to a machinist to make sure it is done properly. I believe it’s about 5/8 of an inch between both pieces. Removing the parts is very easy, 2 bolts on the pipe and there is a ring clamp you’ll have to remove to take the rear housing of the turbo off. You may also need to grind a bit of the small pipe next to the rear inlet pipe. You’ll see what I’m talking about once you try to put the pipe back on the turbo. It will hit that smaller pipe, so get your grinder out and grind some off both pipes. Make sure everything is flush.
Any other mods please, please do them with the motor out of the engine bay.

Mods to IS Engine Bay

Okay, here is where the tricky stuff goes into play. These things SHOULD be done to make your ease of dropping in the engine better and just plain old common sense. Okay here is what needs to be done.
ABS Relocation – Some have gotten it to work with just moving it slightly to the left. I went with relocating next to the battery. This will take some time depending on how you get it done. Some can do it with a tube bender, but the mexicans do it with bare hands...LOL . You will need at minimum tube cutter and a flaring tool. Both are relatively cheap. Unbolt the brake lines and hoses from the ABS. You may want to plug the lines or let the fluid drain or you will have greasy, greasy hands. Modify or make a bracket for the ABS box and set where you want it. (on battery tray) Measure the distance from the first bend along the firewall to the ABS unit itself. Add a few inches more just in case. You make want to mark what line goes where so they all go back in the same port. Get your cutter and cut the line. Now for the flare, you can do this now or after you reshape the line, up to you. Make sure you put the bolt on the line BEFORE you start to flare it. Also if this is your first time flaring lines, practice on the piece of the line you cut off first. Don’t own yourself. At this point, start to shape the line so the end meets the port on the ABS unit, either by hand or bending tool. Make sure you don’t do any 180 degree or sharp bends. The lines are pretty durable but why chance it. Once you’re done with that do the rest. Make sure there are no leaks on the ABS unit or you will get owned...
Heater core pipes – These you will HAVE TO CUT. Cut them down to about 1 inch. I know that seems like it’s not enough, but they should be fine.
Rear wiring harness – this is the reason you modified the rear turbo. Pull the harness up a bit and stick it between the 2 heater core pipes. This will put it in a better place when you drop the engine in. Instead of the pipe mashing the harness, it will slightly touch/lay on it. This pipe is the cold (with respect to how hot the other one gets) one so you should be fine. P4ssm
***to be continued :bigSmile:***
 
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#351 ·
On the radiator fan issue, make sure you have enough fluid. The exact same thing happened to me and all it was, was that I didn't put enough fluid. I filled mine up with water BEFORE draining and adding Toyota coolant.

As for the idle, make sure your TPS is adjusted properly. You should be able to unscrew the 2 screws and adjust it down to where it should be. I have mine idling right around 1k.
 
#352 ·
Congrats on getting it to run !!

On some of the 240sx board they always advised to tilt the front of the car up when filling up with coolant, in order to allow all the coolant reach every gallery.

Get the throttle fixed up and start driving/tuning
 
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#353 ·
In a nutshell.

I have a leak on the #2 turbo where the coolant and oil drains. It leaks over the dp and smokes.

I figured that the leaking caused the fluid levels to be low and not trigger the fans. Ill have an update tomorrow as I am in the process of tearing appart the turbo side to get to the drain lines.

Wish me luck :(
 
#355 · (Edited)
That doesn't sound fun at all...in car especially. I hope it's not a hard pipe back there that's leaking. Good luck sorting it out and hopefully without too much pain.
 
#356 ·
Yeah trust me I am not looking forward to any of it. But its necessary for the engine to have the fans kick on and have proper coolant levels, regardless of how I feel about solving it lol. Anyway I got all the pipes off and I did little test to each set of pipes (you know, oil/water in and oil/water out) I found out that its not the lower set of drain lines, but its where the oil/water feed enter the #2 turbo. So its off tomorrow to the local auto store for some gasket maker.

Ha ha mike I tried using the remainin gaskets off your old set up. yeah haha big fail on that lol , they just crumbled apart.

Anyway, she runs ok now. Thanks Gil for the throttle adjustment tip. I got her to idle at just under 1k. I checked the emu logs and she is sitting right about 950 rpm. When I step on the gas she goes all the way up to redline without missing a beat, I cant wait to take her out for a spin!

ON a side note, anyone elses aristo warm up rather quickly ha ha?

Thanks again to a wonderful enthusiast board for all the help!
 
#357 ·
Cool beans...yeah definitely get that cooling issue fixed....trust me your going to need it. It's going to get VERY hot under that hood very fast.

Yeah my engine warms up quicker than the GE ever did...

Glad I could help!
 
#358 ·
Good stuff here, + and - . Its always give and take with undertakings like this. I took yesterday off work to wrench all day on the car. At the end of the day I FINALLY got the motor/trans dropped into the engine bay! I have a ton of clean up work to do and def. need to make major adjustments as my WG is almost touching the downpipe. Also, my turbo is too close to the strut tower... I move the turbo with adaptor then my downpipe doesnt fit, etc., etc. Its going to be a battle to pull all this together not to mention all the other action items I need to complete. I need more vacation time !!
 
#360 · (Edited)
Nope. It was tight, but it all fits ha ha.

I went out to check on the sealant I put on the unions of the water/oil feed lines to the turbo. hopefuly well be good. I am going to do little fluid tests to each lines to make sure I dont have any leaks.

Good thing mine isnt the only one that heats up quick, I was starting to worry. The needle went from nothing to warm in about 5 minuets of idling while I adjusted variouse things like the idle and what not. Its open downpipe right now so she sounds cammed hahaha, but definately a sound I could get used to really quick as it sounds awesome! GOing to have to get a 3" exhaust now.

Good luck Mike on gettin yours done!


EDIT:
I just sprouted an oil leak from the same #2 turbo. I fixed the coolant leak on the top lines and now I have an oil leak on the bottom of the turbo where the large oil drain connects up into. Fuck my life...

hahah, another day.....
 
#362 ·
Since the turbos heat up the coolant, I think it's pretty normal to have it warm up quicker :)

On a parts note question, what upper radiator hose did you guys use. Napa says no one carries the supra one in the area and autozone didn't have it either.

Is there a 'substitute' I can use? I doubt everyone paid the ~$35 that the dealer is asking.
 
#364 ·
Upper rad. hose as in the one connecting the block to top heater core line at firewall? Surprisingly, I used the GE one....had to cut about 2" off of it and it fit perfect. The lower hose is more of a problem because its almost 'Z' shaped. Had to use two hoses with an npt barb connecting them.
 
#363 ·
Ha ha yup I did ^^^


UPDATE:

Well I fixed the leaks. Hopefuly all of them.

I drove the car around my neighborhood for about 10 min monitoring everything. Engine temps never reached above 198 degrees.

No check engine lights either. I have B1S2 tapped into B1S1 and I have all my other o2's cut. IDk its wierd.

Now that being said, the car cuts out at around 3500 rpm. I have a basemap and I am pretty sure I have it logged into the EMU correctly. ANyway I can see whats going on? Can I post up screen shots of each of my different parameters? I just want a solid basemap to run the car untill I can get it tuned friday.
 
#366 · (Edited)
Cut-out at 3500 is usually due to the MAF.

You could try to zero out everything on the map, and make sure that you have the injector before-after set correctly (230-440 i believe).
Then add +5 (more/less)? fuel wise to everything above the 3500rpm. I'm not sure on the value and I'm sure Gil and paul can chime in. But really you want to be running rich when boost hits.
Having everything at 0 will simply make the car rung off the oem ecu, with fuel removed according to the 440cc injector increase.

Also enable your EMu logging - and log knock, a/f ,maf values and TPS - and post that as it may be helpful
 
#367 · (Edited)
I just checked the map.

For the before it has 440cc and after it says 0

Should I change that from before 230 and 440cc to after?

Also for the boost limiter cut setting it has the rpm going up by 500 rpm and the clamp is 5.0 all the way accross, is that bad?

A few things to note, I went back out to check everyting and run the car again. I got a CEL and flashing TRAC button now. Hmmm something is strange.

I also poped the hood and found a loose coupling on the ic pipes . I tightened that one so we should be good to go on those.
 
#368 ·
the 230 to 440cc before and after feature I believe is if you have an existing tune, that you're trying to have working with your new injectors.

Something along the line of you tuned the car perfectly to 440cc and just want the injectors out to some 750cc. Why retune it all when really it should be as specifying the injectors the map was originally made for (440cc) and the new injector size that the map needs to be adjusted to (750cc)

If the current map has a base tune for 440cc then you should keep it at that.

Log your A/F, Knock, TPS, MAF and attach it here so we can look at it.
Did you verify that your maf voltage was changing while you were driving around?
 
#369 ·
I have not logged anything. WHen I go drive , what should I do. Drive around for 5 min and log it?

I just checked and it doesnt give me a log option for knock.

Heres what I can log

Engine speed
Throttle position
Airflow Adjustment
Airflow Input
Airflow Outpu
Charge efficiency
Vehicle speed Input
Water temp F TY_WT-1
Accelerator
Throttle Opening rate
RPM Rate change
Remote Switch
All the I/J INput duration/duty cycle/output duration/Duty cycle
All the sub I/J
Ignition Adjustment Map
Ignition Timing
AAC Duty
 
#370 ·
Yup... start the log.. go drive around then save and upload on here. I'm sure people that have a lot more experience tuning will be happy to take a look at your logs.
 
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