First up a bit of history why I decided on the 3vz conversion. I've been looking around for a donor engine to put in my Rav4 as the 3s engine was smoking at startup & I was considering replacing the engine with a rebuilt 5s, 3s, 1mz or 3vz. The cost of a rebuilt engine was about the same for all of the engines, so it really came down to whether it was worth the extra effort to get a V6 into the engine bay.
The 5s was clearly the best option as it was the simplest to install & would get the extra capacity & torque, and would drop straight in re-using all of the existing 3s manifold, ecu etc. essentially just dropping in the long block engine would have been easy.
The 1mz-fe was what I was really keeping an eye out for as the mountain of power from this engine with only a couple extra Kg weight over the 3s installation would have been awesome. Installing the 1mz would have been the most complex. Finding a manual transmission 1MZ camry or getting a front cut / engine with wiring loom, then rebuilding it would have been the most expensive option as well. Either that or buying an already rebuilt 1MZ then sourcing all of the parts for the conversion would be a mammoth task.
Finally the 3vz with it's forged crank, steel block & forced induction potential is what really what pushed me in that direction. The extra weight (25kg) over the 1mz was a bit of a downside and the fact that I found out later the 3vz has head gasket problems with the stock head gaskets.
I had been keeping an eye out for 92' - 02' Camry's for wrecking as a donor car was the best option, and a 95' V6 camry vienta turned up for less than $600. As a bonus it had a manual transmission (E53) so the ECU & Flywheel issues were not a problem. Later after testing the engine, I found out that it had a leaking head gasket, so a rebuild was inevitable.
Much of this conversion process is valid for the 1MZ-FE and if you can find a manual donor car with the E153 Transmission, you'll be in the best position for a conversion where you could possibly get away with not rebuilding the engine and getting a decent life out of it.
Posted by ST: 9th May 2013
Much of this conversion process is valid for the 1MZ-FE and if you can find a manual donor car with the E153 Transmission, you'll be in the best position for a conversion where you could possibly get away with not rebuilding the engine and getting a decent life out of it.
Posted by ST: 9th May 2013
I have a 3SFE engine, 5 speed E250, 2WD, 1997 RAV4, USA left hand driver seat. Question: Did you use the same 3SFE computer from the 3VZ engine(OBC) or did you use from the 3SFE engine computer for the V6?
ReplyDeleteThe ECU that came with the 3vz. You cant use a 4cyl oem ecu on a 6cyl engine.
DeleteBut I CAN use my E250 transaxle with the 3VZ-FE engine, am I correct?
Deleteyes, the reason I put the AWD diff into the E53 was because I wanted the taller gear ratios in the E53, and it is physically a heavier/stronger gearbox. The E250 gearbox should be fine, just don't do any burnouts in first gear as it may not last all that long.
DeleteNow I just need a E250 FWD LSD. Which one will fit/work
ReplyDeleteI'm working a 3MZ-FE swap on a 99 RAV4 left hand drive with the E250F transaxle. My question is what headers/manifold did you use? I plan on using 1MZ-FE headers or manifolds so that I can install a catalytic converter in it's current location. I'm concerned with clearance issues. Your help is much appreciated.
ReplyDelete