'90 Es250/'89 Camry Engine Swap

[powerwave]

hello all, new here, not so new to the world of car forums. :)

my husband and i just bought a 90 ES250 with a bad engine to fix up. we have an 89 Camry LE V6 that got smashed up by a hit and run driver from the local bar, and the engine in it is great. the ES is great in every other way. needs a few things beyond the engine, as expected (axle seals, rack, somethin else i don't recall) but the swap should work out just fine. kinda irritated that it needs a rack and we can't just use the one out of the camry we put in a couple months ago... damn!

husband is a toyota tech so he knows toyotas inside and out. particularly the camry, that was the 3rd one we've owned. lexus isn't quite as familiar though it should be similar enough. looking forward to having a second car again! this one's beautiful too, much nicer than the camry.

[ArmyofOne]

hello all, new here, not so new to the world of car forums. :)

my husband and i just bought a 90 ES250 with a bad engine to fix up. we have an 89 Camry LE V6 that got smashed up by a hit and run driver from the local bar, and the engine in it is great. the ES is great in every other way. needs a few things beyond the engine, as expected (axle seals, rack, somethin else i don't recall) but the swap should work out just fine. kinda irritated that it needs a rack and we can't just use the one out of the camry we put in a couple months ago... damn!...

husband is a toyota tech so he knows toyotas inside and out. particularly the camry, that was the 3rd one we've owned. lexus isn't quite as familiar though it should be similar enough. looking forward to having a second car again! this one's beautiful too, much nicer than the camry.

If the camry engine is a V6??? then it will be a direct bolt in, trust me, i had a 90ES250 that i rebuilt from the ground up. it will drop right in and bolt to the tranny too! Mechanically, that car is a 1990 camry...on steroids.

OH!!! and while its out...I have a BRAND NEW power steering pump...i paid $425. My ES got totalled before i could put it in...its still in the bag from toyota, give me $100 and its yours...ill even pay shipping. it has all the seals and everything still in the plastic. also, if i were you, i would rebuild that lexus engine...save you some dough if the camry engine craps any time soon.

[powerwave]

engine and trans out of the ES. fortunately, the camry engine-trans removal was cleaner, that engine compartment was a mess. the camry is much cleaner, no oil leaks or anything.

first few things out of the way

shot of the engine in there

hooking up the cherry picker

and it's outta there

engine compartment pretty much empty

engine and trans in their resting place

[powerwave]

here's an abbreviated overview of the rest of the process:

camry with engine.

camry and engine, separated.

recipient, donor, and engine in question.

engines side by side, after swapping wiring harnesses, intake manifolds and front valve covers- the one on the left is the bad one.

engine dropping in

engine hanging by a couple motor mounts and the bar

enter the transmission

ready for the first drive around the block

whew!!! got all that and cleanup done just in time to walk out the door, LITERALLY, on vacation.

and the cause of the knock in the old engine: a rod bearing. the thing was toast anyway, the block was a real mess. he saved the heads, and the rod bearing for amusement value of course.

needs some suspension work asap and a couple other minor things, but otherwise it runs really well :D

[Transit921]

wow,thats awsome,wish i knew about cars more

[bcplumber]

hello all, new here, not so new to the world of car forums. :)

my husband and i just bought a 90 ES250 with a bad engine to fix up. we have an 89 Camry LE V6 that got smashed up by a hit and run driver from the local bar, and the engine in it is great. the ES is great in every other way. needs a few things beyond the engine, as expected (axle seals, rack, somethin else i don't recall) but the swap should work out just fine. kinda irritated that it needs a rack and we can't just use the one out of the camry we put in a couple months ago... damn!

husband is a toyota tech so he knows toyotas inside and out. particularly the camry, that was the 3rd one we've owned. lexus isn't quite as familiar though it should be similar enough. looking forward to having a second car again! this one's beautiful too, much nicer than the camry.

do you know if you have to switch out the wiring harnesses and the intake manifold? or are they the same anyway? ive been swapping engines from a smashed up 89 camry into my 91 es250 for the past 3 weekends. it's taking me forever. dont really know what im doin.lol. kinda learnin as i go.

[ArmyofOne]

hello all, new here, not so new to the world of car forums. :)

my husband and i just bought a 90 ES250 with a bad engine to fix up. we have an 89 Camry LE V6 that got smashed up by a hit and run driver from the local bar, and the engine in it is great. the ES is great in every other way. needs a few things beyond the engine, as expected (axle seals, rack, somethin else i don't recall) but the swap should work out just fine. kinda irritated that it needs a rack and we can't just use the one out of the camry we put in a couple months ago... damn!

husband is a toyota tech so he knows toyotas inside and out. particularly the camry, that was the 3rd one we've owned. lexus isn't quite as familiar though it should be similar enough. looking forward to having a second car again! this one's beautiful too, much nicer than the camry.

do you know if you have to switch out the wiring harnesses and the intake manifold? or are they the same anyway? ive been swapping engines from a smashed up 89 camry into my 91 es250 for the past 3 weekends. it's taking me forever. dont really know what im doin.lol. kinda learnin as i go.

nope, should be a direct swap...no mod needed....anywhere.

[powerwave]

we swapped intake manifolds, wiring harnesses, ecms. the 90 block had a knock sensor port but not the 89. if you use the lexus ecm you'll have a check engine light from the lack of knock sensor signal. the difference is because of the model year changes.

[bcplumber]

we swapped intake manifolds, wiring harnesses, ecms. the 90 block had a knock sensor port but not the 89. if you use the lexus ecm you'll have a check engine light from the lack of knock sensor signal. the difference is because of the model year changes.

hey thanks for your help. i finally got it running after letting it sit all winter. it only took me 60 man hours!! your right there is a check engine signal. i was wondering if i could just plug in the sensor from the lexus engine block. or jump the wire somehow?

i dont have the code for the radio. any idea where to find one? also how important is the vcv/vsv valve. its broken and not even pluged in lol. shes still runnin like a beaut.

[rfranco892]

On 6/30/2007 at 2:22 AM, ArmyofOne said:

If the camry engine is a V6??? then it will be a direct bolt in, trust me, i had a 90ES250 that i rebuilt from the ground up. it will drop right in and bolt to the tranny too! Mechanically, that car is a 1990 camry...on steroids.

OH!!! and while its out...I have a BRAND NEW power steering pump...i paid $425. My ES got totalled before i could put it in...its still in the bag from toyota, give me $100 and its yours...ill even pay shipping. it has all the seals and everything still in the plastic. also, if i were you, i would rebuild that lexus engine...save you some dough if the camry engine craps any time soon.

Wassup man if you see this text me, my dad has a 1990 es250 and we are looking for a power steering pump and possibly some other parts. We've had this car for more than 15 years and it hasn't even hit 100k miles. If you see this email me me rfranco892@gmail.com !!!!!