Xiwei

i have a st185 automatic 4afe celica currently in my possession. jarco is shipping me a st185 alltrac clip for the swap. but i have a few questions.

1. what sort of wiring mess am i expecting?

2. how about harness extension? any of that? would the jdm gauge cluster working in the usdm car?

3. will the clutch pedal assembly from the jdm car work in the usdm vehicle?

4. transmission wise, i know i need a 5sfe tranny, what sort of power am i expecting that to hold?

even if you guys odn't know, a point to the right direction is much appreciated. thanks!

kbprice

You may be better off getting an MR2 tranny, it will hold up better and you can get one with an LSD unit. They are more pricy but will hold. I don't think the JDM clutch assembly will work, someone correct me if I'm wrong. If your going from auto to 5 speed you're going to need all the clutch components anyway, master cylinder, slave cylinder, shift linkage, shifter, pedels, etc.
You may be able to call XAT and find out for sure I know they are doing a bunch of 3sgte swaps.

toyotajoe1980

what Celica do you have because the st185 never came with an (a) motor

the st162, which was the body style from '86-'89, came with an 3sge(GT-S) and a 3sfe(GT & ST)

the st165 (same years) came with an 3sgte(all-trac, GT-4, or GT-All wheel drive depending on the country where you purchased it)

the st182 early 90's and also came with another (s) motor the 5sfe

the st185 on the other hand came only with a 3sgte all-wheel drive

there was an (a) motor in some 5th gens but the cassis code was (at)...somthing

to understand why in any chassis code the first designation is the motor 4a=a 3s=s 2jz=jz
the second designation is the vehicle e=Corolla t=Celica a=Supra
and lastly the numbers at the end are to designed to let you know other key parts about the chassis the higher the no. the more structurally sound the chassis




but any way the answer to you question is if you are going to swap an (s) motor in to an (a) car you will need little more than what comes in a complete front clip.
the main thing you will need is the 2wd tranny either the one from a Celica GT-S or a Celica GT

and then to finish your combo throw in a mega-squirt in place of the computer

if 3sverizon ever gets back on he can tell you everything you need to know about the swap his name is Ryan

Mike431635

Make sure to go to Celicatech.com, register there, and post this in the Forced Induction forum. Everyone will be very interested in seeing this done, as nobody has (to our knowledge) completed a 3SGTE swap in a 5th gen ST.

1. what sort of wiring mess am i expecting?
There is a FAQ by Dr Tweak on the Celicatech board that talks about how to wire up your car for an engine swap, it's a MUST for anyone doing it themselves. If you can read wiring diagrams, you shouldn't have *too* much trouble.

2. how about harness extension? any of that? would the jdm gauge cluster working in the usdm car?
You can either extend the harness to go into the passenger side of the USDM car or you can just put another hole in your firewall and do it the same way it is on the clip. People have been successful both ways. Extending can be a little tedious but I believe ChrisD on the Celicatech boards does any swap wiring including wire extending for pretty cheap.

3. will the clutch pedal assembly from the jdm car work in the usdm vehicle?
No, sorry. Go to a junkyard and grab all the parts you need for the transmission swap from a GT or GTS. 4th/6th gen parts may work but don't take my word for it. Check out toyotacelicaonline.com and go to the Modifications section, then look for Hooligan's Auto-to-Manual swap FAQ. It's pretty detailed, but you will also need extra parts for yours since it is an ST, and those vary depending on which tranny you go with.

4. transmission wise, i know i need a 5sfe tranny, what sort of power am i expecting that to hold?
Don't expect it to hold very long if you drive it hard or up the power. A lot of people have used the 5SFE's S53 trans (and the S54 from the 6th gen Celica), but the majority conclusion has been that it's more worth it to swap in an MR2 trans (E153). If you look hard enough you can find a LSD one for $400-500. That's really the way to go. You need the GT-Four crossmember to use this trans (comes with the clip), and of course you will need to do some mount work whether you go with the S53 or E153. Oh, and don't forget-- the V6 Camry and Solara transmissions (already FWD, no conversion necessary) are also E153's and can be used. No LSD on those though. You can find more info about all this on Celicatech.

I hope that's answered some questions. You might also want to talk to Ryan at XAT Racing about this swap, he should be able to offer some advice.

Mike431635

Oops, he posted while I was typing that. You can also find information on chassis codes at Toyotacelicaonline. The one inaccurate thing mentioned about is structural integrity-- the numbers don't necessarily mean that. For example, an ST184 (5th gen GTS) is actually less structurally stable stock than an AT180 (5th gen ST). The reason-- the ST is a coupe and the GTS is a liftback. Less rigidity. You see my point.

toyotajoe1980

Sorry mike431635,
I was miss informed,
thank you.

Orion ZyGarian

When did you get this and where is it? Is it for a customer?

3SVERIZON

accually my name is Sean and all you have to do is give me a call at my shop 727 572 4340 and i can answer any of your st18x or 3sgte questions

Xiwei

it's a at184, 91 model, 4afe 1.6 liter. and yes, it's joel's car. the car looks like mike431635

and we are getting a whole st185 front clip, so i figure we would have all the parts to swap to 5spd

Mike431635

Just fyi, it's an AT180. Don't want you to feel dumb or anything, but it's on the firewall on the passenger side, top of the engine bay