HI My name is Andrew, I own a 1994 GT Coupe Front Wheel Driven. It was manufactured in Japan ( i know this because of the J starting at the beginning of the s/n). This car was handed down to me from my father when he bought it 10 years ago. Its in decent condition, everything works mechanically(radio is starting to come apart but i know how to fix that). There has been no modification made to this car. The only thing ive change is the clutch(for same one but newer) and the antenna.
The only problem i hear is when sometimes i turn left it starts to squeal as if to rough metal pieces are rubbing againts each other. NOt a lumpy kind of squeal a solid one that ends only after the car starts to straithen up. However this does not happen every time, it happens once in a while. I am a aggressive driver and i love this car. I have seen the possibilities with this car and finally got a job that will pay me enough to spend money on this car.
Now the problem is im not very familiar with aftermarket parts. I have a very generall knowledge about the car(i.e. I know where most things are brakes, engine, exhaust, raidiator, etc, but i dont know the specifics which make all differnece in my car). Now im not doing this project alone i have my dad and my uncles to help, They know alot about "fixing" cars. But what i need help is what parts should i buy for my car and where should i start. Im looking in to buy ithe best or something close to the best for my car. So if anyone can help please post. Also the last thing i plan on buying is a 3rd gen 3sgte to swap with(I belive this is the best engine to swap my current one. Unless theres a better one please post). So the parts i need, need to work around this engine.
...Appreciate the help...

As far as parts, i'd suggest checking the "stickies" at the top of each sub forum page. We have a lot of info there. Welcome to the site.

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Not a problem, we dont have any

oh, for-real though, if you want to go thru with a swap; then you need to get on that first, it's going to be the hardest thing to do. And study the crap out of everything that everyone here has posted about it. Even if you just turbo your 5sfe; it requires a great deal of knolage!! and we got it all right here

http://www.6gc.net/parts - Parts archinve

This post has been edited by D-Man: Jun 20, 2008 - 12:04 PM

My idea was if i swapped the engine first it would put to much strain on my car causing more problems and worst damage on chasis? cause that 3sgte is not friendliest of engines. or am i wrong?

First you need to know what you really want to do with the car. Do you want to work on exterior, interior, or performance? You can do even all a little bit at a time, you just need to know what you like first. That is the first step to modifying a car.

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THe st205 & st204 & st202's chasis are identical.

No stress and strain calculation applies here. The only place that gets stressed & strained after a 3sgte swap is your body.

The 3sgte is a friendly enggine, only if you are a friendly driver.

Hold tight.

Ya my idea was start with performance because id rather have my car tuned out then to have my car look all pertty.
But what do you guys think is worth paying someone else to swap the engine, like a professional, or doing it myself? I dont doubt that i cant do it but it probably take 3 times as long because id be really slow to make sure i didn't mess up.

Well if u have someone else do it when something goes wrong again u wont know as much about as if u did when u did it urself no matter how longs it takes once ur done u will know the engine in real detailed way so u can do routine matinence urself instead of taking it to a shop or dealership to overcharge or a shop to do something stupid i wouldnt trust a shop with my swap anyways its all up to you

hmm good point,
Another question,
I have seen FWD to AWD conversions done however they were done on hatchbacks and dont believe an were american mostly European my question is how difficult would it be to convert my FWD Coupe to AWD?
I know there are some threads on this( still looking for them) but if you know a thread pls post to direct me.

AWD conversion is pretty expensive. A 3sge turboed is pretty good already to me.

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i say just keep the engine a do it up save you money and time . intake,exhaust, mags and so on,up to you.

DIRTYCON:

AWD conversion is a hard thing to do in the US because of parts. the AWD GT-Four was never sold here, and is unavailable through USDM suppliers. So, you have to import the parts, or have a spare GT-Four laying around

Now, luckily the 3sgte as well as the 5sfe were also put into MR2's that were sold here. So that makes life a bit easier And if you want to pump up you're car, but dont want to tackle a full fledged swap; Why not Turbo the 5sfe that you already have? It's been proven time and time again, that a 5s is capable of pumping 250-300 HP like a champ. Pressure has had a 5sfte in the neighboor hood of 250 (+) for over 3 years now, without any problems. Totaly Reliable.

Infact, alot of guys will argue that the 5sfte (When done right) Is more reliable than 3sgte swaps.

Just an idea for you. Check the stickys for the BIG 5sfte post. It's in the Forced Induction Thread.

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=5574

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The parts itself is not hard to find if you know where to look for it, the conversion itself is the hard factor.

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Done right meaning you need all the good parts, maybe some internal works. In the end you'll probably spend more money than the 3S swap itself.
The 3SGTE is designed specifically for racing and it is a very well design. The 5S is a reliable engine but when you turbo it, it is NOT more reliable than the 3SGTE (for the same boost and hp).

No no, Lubu, Please dont misunderstand
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I'm not saying the 5sfte is better than the 3sfte, that'd be a dirty lie. I was simply saying that guys who've owned both, always say the 5s was more dependable than their SWAPPED car. But it's to be expected when you swap out an engine, the slightest most insignificant things that you never see or even know to look for, WILL come back to haunt you. I know a guy with a swap right now, that he had swapped elsewhere; and he's been busting his butt trying to work out all the kinks and gremlins that were installed along with it.

The 3s swap can be reliable; but the amount of work is immense.

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I understood u the first time.
It doesnt matter whether the 3S in the st204 or the st185/205 shell. If he didnt cheap out on little parts and used the correct parts and most importantly did the swap right then the swap should be fairly reliable.

the squeal could be a belt. check em for aging. welcome to the forums man

edit: spelling error

This post has been edited by xs94st: Jun 27, 2008 - 1:21 PM

thanx guys been very helpful

A factory turbo is always going to be more reliable than a boosted NA.

I think the problem you US. guys have is that because you have different cars to begin with, If you could imagine the problems with things like sensors, ecu inputs/outputs, wiring looms... USDM has different car electrics than JDM... A 3S-GTE conversion in my JDM SS-III would work out better than it would in your USDM GT.