Es25/es 300 Engine And Transmission Swap

[Noel Higa]

I'm new here, so please forgive me if these questions have already been answered elsewhere. My daily driver is a '93 es300. I picked up a '96 es 300 as a parts car and have already scrounged enough off of it to pay for the $800 I spent. But, I still have a great engine and tranny in it. I just came across a nice looking '91 es 250 with a blown transmission.

Can I swap the '96 engine and tranny into the '91? Is it a straight swap or will a lot of mods be needed to make it work? Also, the es250 will need some parts. Anyone parting out a 250? From what I can see, a driver's side tail light, some interior bits and pieces, front seats and I'm sure there's more.

I also have three very nice factory chrome rims on the '96 that I assume I can use on the 250. One is badly bent. Anyone have one they want to sell? I can take a picture of mine and email it to you. Or, if you already have a pic of yours, please let me know.

Thanks,

Noel

[Toysrme]

Physically, yes you can.

The problem is the electronics. You'll have to wiring in all the 1mz-fe & A541-E ecu, etc. Now if you did it... You'd have the fastest ES/Camry anything with an un-modified engine by a long way. ES250's / Gen2 Camry's only weigh like 2800lbs. If you're gunna do it. Turbo it before it goes in.

I digress. Don't waste the time LoL!

Dude, there are a TON of MR2 people doing v6 swaps now. Join MR2board.com & go to the v6 section. Tell them what you have. I promise. You'll offload that engine in a week, or two. if the axles & stuff are good, you'll probably get rid of them too. I think there's a guy on mr2board, or mr2oc that's wanting to do a v6 automatic swap too...

Can't use the rims. 92-06 = 5*114.3mm ->91 = 5*100mm.

[Noel Higa]

Thanks for the response. Are all the electronics attached to the engine wiring harness, or would I have to chase them all over the car? If I could swap it out completely, it doesn't seem like it should be too big a problem. Or, am I just delusional?

Thanks,

Noel

[Noel Higa]

One more question. If I pull the engine and trans from the '96, would the trans be a straight bolt up to the '91? What would the engine be worth to an mr2 guy? I can get a compression and leak down test done before I pull it.

Thanks again,

Noel

[Toysrme]

Warm the engine up & do a compresson / leakdown test. Tell me the numbers on all the cylinders.

In real good shape the engine is probably worth $700-1100usd bucks by itself. Especially if you can get the wiring harness<es> out without killing them. They're gold. (Not worth anything) but a huge selling point.

Obviously the transmission is useless to those guys, but there is *one* guy that does want to do a v6 a/t swap. he's probably jump your for the entire drivetrain. Engine to axles. otherwise just ditch the tranny on ebay.

The ECU's & such are behind the glovebox. You'd wind up ripping all that out & all the harnesses.

[Noel Higa]

Thanks again! I'll get that info on the engine. Unfortunately, it's stored away from here so I don't know when I'll be able to get out to do that. But, my other question is can I put the transmission into the es250 without a big hassle?

Thanks,

Noel

[Toysrme]

No. The gen2 camry / ES 250 uses the A540-F. It's non electronic. Later ones used the A540-E which is electronic gear changes & torque convertor lock-up. The 1mz-fe is the A541-E & you would need the 1mz-fe's ecu to run the transmission. It's even more complicated.

Physically. You could put the engine & transmission into an ES250 & have a pretty quick little car. Alot of 87-91 Camry owners would love you for being the first. The problem. Is why would you go to such trouble for a car worth like... $1000-2000???

[Noel Higa]

The problem. Is why would you go to such trouble for a car worth like... $1000-2000???

Hey Toys -- You make a good point. That's why I asked the question. Had it been a straight forward deal, it'd probably be worth it to me, since I'm looking at the '96 as basically free. I figured I could find a '92 to '96 es 300 or V-6 Camry with a blown head gasket or the like to put the motor into. But, the problem I'm having is that these damn engines just don't seem to fail. I haven't found a single one in this area in months of looking.

So I'm looking for options. I found the '91 es250 and figured it was worth a try. I have to move the '96 soon and would hate to see it go to the wrecking yard with that great engine and tranny in it. Thanks to you, I now know what I need to know. A stupid fast car and the love of the Camry community are not what I was striving for. But, it does sound kinda fun, doesn't it?!?!?! At least this time I restrained myself long enough to get some answers before I bought the 250!

Thanks for the help and advice. Noel