well, got some more work done today. The superstrut is completely out and on the pallet. I was surprised at how easy it was to drop everything, just a few bolts and the subframe lowered without problems. I took the time to measure the lock to lock rack travel and found it to be 4.75 inches. This means all I have to do to swap over to superstrut is find a set of rims with the right offset.

I'm not going to make it that easy on myself though, I have access to a sand blaster at school so I plan to strip all of the factory paint and coat everything with a layer of por 15. should be fun.

Aside from pulling the superstrut, I also took off the valve cover to see how bad sludge is.

here are the photos:


I need to transfer over my st204 steering rack and this guy will be ready to bolt in.




couple hundred pounds of gt4 goodness right there. Gotta love it.


This is a terrible photo if you're talking about sludge, but I thought it looked cool. Anyway it looks like this engine wasn't maintained too regularly. Its not the worst I've seen, but I'm sure they stretched the oil change intervals. Another reason to rebuild this motor


So this was the last thing I had to remove from my clip. I am officially done with that part of this project and can now focus on actually rebuilding the engine I plan to do the rebuild in two steps to keep myself from getting overwhelmed with scattered parts. Step one is going to consist of a complete rebuild of the head where I will do all of the measuring to decide what machining is required. I don't trust shops to tell me what is out of tolerance. Step two will see the bottom end rebuilt with oem bits and some arp goodness.



This post has been edited by enderswift: Sep 10, 2014 - 7:17 AM

It's coming along great, Luke! My only question is why convert the E154F to FWD when you could get a lighter E153 or even recycle your S54? I'm sure you stated your reason why earlier in the thread but I missed it.

>

Just from seeing the pictures and whatnot, I believe he's using the E154F because he can use the GT4 axles since he will be swapping the whole subframe out. The S54 is probably too short, gearing wise, for what he wants to do, and with the E153, he has to mix and match the axles with the mr2 and st185. It also seems like he would save some money in the end, but that's how I see it

You're both close.

By removing the center section of the e154f I'm effectively turning it into an e153, only with gt4 specific gear ratios and triple cone synchros on 2nd and 3rd. The weight difference between an actual e153 would be minimal. I don't want to stick with the s54 because it has shorter ratios and an open diff. Furthermore it would be just as much work trying to upgrade the s54 as it would be to convert the e154f. I know I could buy a used transmission that has a factory LSD, but I really do not like viscous differentials. Helical all the way

Besides converting the e154 isn't some impossible feat. It's alot of work, requiring a press and some specialty tools, but not difficult. Like everything organization is key. A basic rundown of the process involves removing the center section and covering the opening with the plate from an e153 (get the mount too). Then pull the transmission apart to replace the differential with either an mr2 viscous or an aftermarket like the quaife I want (might as well replace any worn synchros and bearings too).The reason for replacing the diff comes from the fact that the current diff is splined to accept the shaft from the center housing, not an axle.

Axles are going to be a pain no matter what route I take. GT4 axles are equal length so removing the center housing from the e154f means the passanger side axle needs to be longer.And I still need to find out whether or not gt4 axles are splined properly to fit into the quaife lsd. If not, I'm going to have to get creative.

I think I can make a working axle by using the transmission side housings from an mr2 turbo and keep the wheelside housings from the gt4 (since those fit the superstrut hubs). Then the challenge would be to find a halfshaft that is the correct length and of the correct spline to accept the corresponding inner race's. Worst case scenerio I'll have to get custom halfshafts made. I'm confident I'll find a solution

This post has been edited by enderswift: Sep 10, 2014 - 7:18 AM

Hey 6gc,

long time no update. I've been busy with school and that means no time to work on the 3s, or make money for that matter. I expect things to pick up during winter break though. Till then I'm gonna have to be happy with slowly taking the motor apart and taking care of the tedious parts of this project.

anyway, current plans for the head involve a complete disassembly and tolerancing. I plan to check all of the specs and determine exactly what kind machining is required, and what parts have to be replaced. I plan to get the following done regardless of the condition of the head:

-ultrasonic cleaning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWs_8RyBLyo (hopefully someplace local offers it)
-3 angle valve job
-head deck

Then, depending on the condition of the head I may also pay for this stuff:

-Valve guide replacement
-Misc parts replacement

If theres one place to be OCD in a rebuild its in the head. Here are some photos


I spent a lot of time thinking about how I'm going to keep everything safe and organized while I gather the funds for the master rebuild set and machine shop. I eventually came up with what you see here, its not complete haha. I promise its more elaborate than this




I had a hard time with the belt tensioner since the fsm wasn't too clear on how to position the #1 idler pulley. They tell you to torque the pulley bolt to 61ft/lbs and to position the pulley in order to slip a 3 mm allen into the head. Thereby removing slack from the belt... not too detailed imo. I would appreciate it if someone could explain the proper procedure. I eventually ended up bracing the pulley with rubber before cutting the timing belt. It prevented the tensioner from extending violently at least.


I also had some trouble removing the camshafts. The caps near the timing belt pulleys wouldn't separate from the head as I was loosening their fasteners. This resulted in the camshafts going crooked during removal. A few strikes with a rubber mallet freed them up, but I wish I caught that sooner. I don't think I damaged the head but its just annoying when you're taking care to do everything the right way.


I was planning on taking the valves out right away, but my valve spring compressor doesn't go deep enough into the head. I'm going to have to borrow one from one of my buddies in the sae.



I was surprised to see that the cylinders and pistons are all in great shape. You can still see the factory crosshatch on the walls

Well thats it for this week. Hopefully next week will see me removing and measuring the valvetrain. After that I'll be checking out some of the shops people have been recommending to me. Stay tuned.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Dec 22, 2012 - 9:52 AM

what do you mean I need to transfer over my st204 steering rack and this guy will be ready to bolt in. Rack and Pinion from all 94-99 celica's regardless of the model are the same.... only difference is the tie rods from superstrut models.

>

You're forgetting that this clip was rhd while my celi is lhd, so I have to swap over the steering rack. There was a thread debating on whether or not the st204 steering rack can be used with the superstrut suspension. Some were saying that st204 steering racks had a larger lateral travel than the st205 steering rack, and that this would over extend several of the parts on superstrut at full lock.

I went and measured the travel of both racks and it came out to be ~4.75 inches. Therefore I can just bolt the st204 steering rack from my gt onto the st205 subframe without worrying about hurting the superstrut during full lock turns. The only thing I'll have to worry about is replacing the tie rods with the bowed out st205 parts. Also, the reason I'm using the st205 subframe is because it has no rust compared to my gt subframe.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Dec 22, 2012 - 9:55 AM

Hey 6gc,

I've made some good progress today Nothing major, but every little bit gets me THAT much closer to slamming into a median at 17 psi. The majority of the work was in head disassembly, which I'm thankful to have finally finished. I had a tough time sourcing a proper valve spring compressor, and actually spent the last two weeks researching all the different styles. I tried buying one at specialty stores, modifying one from work, and borrowing some kits from friends. Unfortunately every time I found a compressor or adapter it was always just short of what I needed. I considered buying online but the shipping would have taken too long and this saturday would have been wasted. So, I made my own. Its a very crude, very primitive chunk of steel. I'm almost embarrassed to show it since my welding skills are still pretty inadequate, But hey it did the job beautifully and allowed me to move forward. Its basically a 17 mm socket with a portion of the wall cut out, and some handles welded on one end. I would compress the retainers while my brother removed the keepers with one of those awesome extendable magnets. Although my custom tools worked, I will be using this in the future http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFTaeu4GIPo.


Dont judge me haha

With the head apart I was able to move towards cleaning everything in preparation for tolerancing. As with the valve spring compressor, I also spent a lot of time looking for the perfect degreaser to use. Its important to make a good selection because aluminum is a finicky material. You can easily lose a few thousandths of an inch if you let a machined surface oxidize. Therefore I avoided all of the common degreasers and asked around for recommendations. One of my sae buddies pointed me in the direction of simplegreen extreme motorsports. http://www.simplegreen.com/products_extreme_motor.php This stuff is safe on aluminum and is amazing at dissolving engine crud. Observe:

BEFORE:



AFTER:


Still have a ways to go but quite an improvement if you ask me. Basically I sprayed the head with the simple green and went to town with a tooth brush to work the stuff into the dirt. Thankfully my brother was a willing assistant otherwise I'd still be brushing haha. Anyway, after the toothbrush session I hit the aluminum with a pressure washer. This process was repeated a number of times and the head just kept turning out better and better. Unfortunately I cant reach all of tight spaces so I plan to buy a few gallons of the simple green and simply soak it until next Saturday haha. The pressure washer should be able to take care of the rest by then

During this whole process I made sure to keep things organized and put my cardboard template to use


The cardboard has a fixed orientation printed on it so its easy to keep track of the seemingly endless amount of tiny parts that compose the valvetrain. All I have to do is match a zip lock bag to the cardboard and I know exactly where those parts belong.

Anyway, thats it for this week. Next week I'm going to continue cleaning and plan to start measuring stuff. Stay tuned

This post has been edited by enderswift: Sep 10, 2014 - 7:22 AM

Very detailed and well thought-out process to dealing with the head Luke. Even though you find it crude the tool you made works and works well so that's something to be quite proud of.

Also, I couldn't help but laugh at this:

>

I know you're joking but I truly hope this never happens.

Good luck on the project. Seems like you know what you're doing!

looks good luke!

Hey everyone,

long time no update, but I've been busy with work and school so there's been little time to focus on the rebuild. Luckily the semester is out for winter break and I've had the chance to get some stuff done. As I've mentioned before I am focusing on the cylinder head until it is completely done before moving on to the bottom end. So with that in mind I've been busy cleaning, measuring, and ordering parts:


A quick before picture:


My first round of cleaning involved scrubbing the cylinder head with a tooth brush and simple green extreme before rinsing with a pressure washer


The real stubborn stuff required a brass brush and more simple green (brass doesn't scratch aluminum but is much more effective than tooth brush bristles).
This was an extremely tedious process but I'm really happy with the results.


I obviously couldn't reach everything with brushes and a power washer, so I went to Grainger supply and picked up 3 gallons of Simple green Boeing Cleaner and soaked the head. I was AMAZED at how awesome that stuff is. The hidden crud in the oil channels exploded off the head right before my eyes. In retrospect I probably could have just soaked the head from the beginning and avoided all that scrubbing. But oh well

http://industrial.simplegreen.com/ind_products_extreme.php





I also took the time to clean and spray the valve cover in VHT wrinkle paint. Painting with this stuff is no easy task since the slightest change in temperature will cause it to wrinkle in patches. I took a lot of time cleaning, sanding, and painting to avoid that problem. I think it came out pretty well.


Next step was to start measuring in preparation for machining.


Measuring turned out to be much harder than I expected simply because Toyota maintains specifications in the ten-thousandths range. This meant that I had to borrow a micrometer accurate to 4 significant figures and check all of my values. It was very time consuming.

Everything was within tolerance but the exhaust valve stems were only 2 ten-thousandths away from being worn out. This concerned me so I measured the center of the valve stems (which doesn't wear) and saw that the valves were on the small end of tolerance when brand new. Confused, I measured the valve guides with a bore gauge. The difference between the bore diameter and the valve stem gives you the oil clearance spec. In my case I was comfortably in the tight end for all the valves. So even though the valve stems are small the oil clearance is good, which is ultimately the important measurement.



I also went on to measure absolutely everything the FSM called for and thankfully the cylinder head is in fantastic shape; despite the lack of oil changes. In light of this information I've decided to get the following machining done:

head resurfacing: The head is not warped, but metal head gaskets experience shearing forces due to the difference in thermal expansion rates that comes with having a cast iron block and an aluminum head. Therefore a smooth surface is required to avoid failure.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/ar996.htm

Cam shaft polishing: There are some directional scratches on the cam journals which probably occurred during cold starts. They pass the fingernail test but any little scratch can disrupt the extremely thin oil film that separates the camshaft and the head. Therefore since I cant polish the head journals, I'm going to have a shop polish the cams with Emory cloth instead. This should increase the longevity of the head without affecting the oil clearance.

3 angle valve cut I spent a TON of time checking the valve seating and the exhaust valves have a little bit of pitting in them. I could just lap the exhaust valves by hand but I figured I might as well go big and get a 3 angle done on exhaust and a refresh on the intake. Go big or go home. The downside is that I'll have to replace all of the shims or shorten the valves since cutting makes them sit deeper in the head.


Finally I found one lifter that is going to need replacing, I think something went wrong during case hardening because it looks like the carbon diffused unevenly around the sides. Fortunately the lifter bore was unaffected by this so I can get away with just replacing the lifter.... for ~$20

Currently I'm in the process of selling extra stuff from the clip and saving money to buy the master rebuild kit, and pay for machining. The Toyota dealer near me is active with the Toyota scene so they gave me discounts on a lot of my rebuild parts. Its pretty awesome, but unfortunately a bunch of stuff has been discontinued and I'm gonna have to dig around to buy stuff like the oil and coolant pumps.

anyway, here's my humble progress thus far. I wish I had some more interesting stuff to post, but I want to take my time and be thorough with this.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Jan 14, 2013 - 7:11 PM

Wow... That's thorough. I used Simple Green to clean my engine bag last week. Totally worth the money!

i can't wait till spring!

Do you think some of us will make it to another level car show in late july? I went last year and was the only celica there except for 2 1st gens.

This post has been edited by Stambo: Dec 29, 2011 - 7:36 PM

>

I'd be down for a car show. Not sure if the swap will be done by then though

Hello everyone,

I decided to refurbish the fuel rail and fuel injectors last night and figured I'd post the results:


First the fuel rail was disassembled and all the components were cleaned in a variety of simple green products. In my opinion one of the more satisfying aspects of this rebuild is making something look new again. That was definitely the case here, I wish I had taken a before shot to show the contrast..


Next all of the hoses were replaced with fuel injection and vac lines.

Finally I turned my attention to the fuel injectors. Normally you would just send them out to get cleaned but I was inspired to try cleaning them on my own after watching a youtube video showing a way to cycle them with carb cleaner and a battery. In my case I had to be careful because the st205 uses low impedance injectors, which means a large current will cause damage to their solenoids. In fact the gt4 harness has a resistor pack built in to step down the voltage to avoid exactly this problem. Unfortunately there was no way for me to tell what voltage these injectors actually operate at since my resistor pack was not labeled. Therefore I had to start small and wire AA batteries in parallel until i got a response from the injectors. Eventually I switched over to a single D cell battery and got the injectors to actuate. From there it was a matter of connecting the injectors to a can of carb cleaner and cycling them until I was certain they were clean. I had to flow the cleaner backwards since these are side-feed injectors and my options to connect them were limited; still I should get the benefit of flushed screens that way. I recorded a small video demonstrating the process. Its crude, but effective.

http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i277/sub...nt=MVI_1188.mp4

I still need to purchase new injector o-rings and perhaps a new fpr before the fuel rail is complete. But that's gonna have to wait until some more funds come in. Anyway, next week I should have the cylinder head completely finished at which point I'll be taking the block apart.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Jan 3, 2012 - 12:46 AM

nice video man! I'll have to try that sometime when i have my intake manifold off.

Quick update:

cylinder head has returned from the machine shop and I put it together for a final check of the journal tolerances and the valve lash:


All ready for one last round of measuring




Head was decked


Camshafts were polished, including the tips of the cam lobes.

This is only a mock up assembly since I still need to install a set of new valve seals and a new lifter. When they arrive it'll just be a 20 min affair to pop them in. I just came back from Toyota and purchased a new cap and rotor and my rebuild kit is on the way. I also ordered a set of Denso plugs and wires from work and they should be there in 2 weeks. All told I spent a lot of money today. But I'm not done. Next I'm gonna order so ARP headstuds. Broke again woooo! Well I think its safe to say that the cylinder head rebuild is nearly complete. Soon it's gonna be all about the bottom end for the next few months

This post has been edited by enderswift: Dec 23, 2012 - 12:44 PM

Lots of nice work!

I'm digging the picture of the Lotus on the wall. Inspiration!

WOW! This makes me look lazy. Did you say you were goin to convert it back to AWD?

yes. I plan to convert the e154f to fwd for the 2nd phase of my swap. Later I plan to reinstall the center differential and weld in the rear subframe. My reasoning is that although I can weld, I can't weld well enough to do a quality job quite yet. Plus I still have to buy my own welder and gear. So instead of buying an e153 with a possibly worn out viscous LSD, I'd much rather convert the e154f to fwd with a helical diff. That way I can replace worn bearing and synchros and end up with a really strong LSD trans. I have the fsm on the e154f, it's really not as difficult as one would think.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Sep 10, 2014 - 7:29 AM

why didnt you upgrade to 1ZZ-FE buckets?

shimless buckets would be nice, but the benefit doesn't really justify the cost. Shim under bucket can already rev high with little risk of spitting a shim so the ~25 grams saved per bucket wasn't really worth it to me. I think the money can be better spent on balancing the crankshaft and connecting rods instead.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Jan 8, 2012 - 5:51 PM

So if this is going to be done by the next Midwest Meet, we will need to see how many people we can cram in your car and YOU WILL take us for a ride.

>

Sure, but I already know the answer. It's 7 lol. Whether or not we come back alive is another matter haha

>

It's one of my favorite cars, and I like the whole design philosophy of doing a lot with very little.

Quick update:


Current state of cylinder head.




Got some parts in. Rest should be in this week

now you making my motor look bad

I absolutely love those plugs. They compliment the 5S's well.

>
Really?
I have them in my 5s an it seem to run better before them

Any chance of an update?