7mge to 7mgte swap

[Carlos Machado]

Hey guys,

So I have a 1990 Supra, non-turbo and I am doing a 7MGTE swap. What I want to know, is what else do I absolutely NEED (as in, it is mandatory for the swap right away? if it can take place later on, then it will have to wait) for the swap. I know along with the engine, I will need the ECU and wire harness. I have heard that I will also need an Oil Cooler and an Intercooler (though I do not know if the intercooler can wait for now). Asides from those, I'd like to know if there is anything else that I ABSOLUTELY need to get it rolling. Keep in mind, I am not making this a race car or anything of the sort, I simply want it to be comfortable to drive and have some speed. What I want for the moment, is just to get the engine in and get the car on the road.

Any and all help is appreciated, thanks.

 

[Midwest_Mudder]

oil cooler and intercooler are NEEDS. if you want a fairly simple swap, make sure your ECU/Wire Harness, and Engine are all from the same year as your supra (90-93 should be grey plug). obviously if your motor mounts are thrashed get new ones. past that its fairly simple

 

[757_supra]

If OP didn't know that the 7mgte needs an intercooler, perhaps an engine swap shouldn't be attempted...I'm just saying.

 

[suprarx7nut]

You need the engine and all its sensors, an oil cooler and oil cooler lines, intercooler and intercooler piping, turbo, downpipe/exhaust, ECU, wire harness. I think that's it.

You should try to get an engine, harness and ECU that all match your year. There are subtle differences year to year that will be a pain to figure out if you mix and match.

 

[Carlos Machado]

Hm, I figued all of the above is a must except the intercooler. I thought that was more... optional? For the sake of hp and boost levels.

 

[atmperformance]

maybe if you want to run 2-3 psi of boost? the intercooler bolts in easy is borderline required, there's no reason not to run one

 

[hvyman]

There has been a sticky with all this info for many years. It's in the na section at the top.

Here is the link.
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?113579-Non-Turbo-to-Turbo-(NA-T)-FAQ

 

[suprarx7nut]

Hm, I figued all of the above is a must except the intercooler. I thought that was more... optional? For the sake of hp and boost levels.

Without the intercooler, you would need to stay completely out of boost at all times. You'd have to drive very slowly. Everywhere. All the time. The intercooler isn't used simply for WOT pulls. A turbo motor's air gets much hotter after going through the turbo, even without compression (boost).

IMO, you're a fool to run without an intercooler on a 7MGTE. It's a big mistake and a shortcut not worth taking. You can normally find somebody selling one with piping for very little. If you have to cut corners like this then you are not ready for the swap. Keep saving up until you can afford to do it right.

Plus, If you don't run an intercooler, you either have to bypass the turbo altogether... which seems really dumb, or you have to plumb a bunch of custom piping going from the turbo and back up to the intake manifold. It seems like more work to NOT use an intercooler.

Driving a GTE without an intercooler and keeping the air temp reasonable would probably mean driving much, much slower than you could drive an N/A. So.... what's the point?

 

[Carlos Machado]

Alright, so I have that down. Money isn't the issue here, I just want to get the car on the road. From all that I read, most people talk about running more boost or more hp, which isn't my case necessarily. I simply want to get the engine in and the car on the road as I mentioned earlier, nothing fancy. With that out of the way. I've got one last question, what would be the easiest or more efficient way to instal the oil cooler and intercooler? I've heard of the sandwich method but I haven't heard of any other ways. Along with that, I'd like a brief summary of how to do so.

 

[gtsfirefighter]

You'll need an igniter and gte resistor pack as well.

Every chassis is drilled the same. If you get an oem intercooler and oil cooler the bolt holes are already there. You'll just need to get the metal piping for the oil cooler as well.

 

[Carlos Machado]

Can you recommend the easiest way to mount both the oil cooler and intercooler, well actually, more about the oil cooler. I want to know the best and easiest way to mount it with an intercooler in place.

 

[suprarx7nut]

The OEM intercooler and oil Cooler sit next to each other in a convenient way. That would be the easiest way to install an oil cooler and intercooler. If you are asking about aftermarket, then that depends on a ton of variables. How big are both coolers? where are their mounting tabs? Where are the outlets?

The OEM Toyota parts are cake. If you are asking about how to mount aftermarket that's an incredibly broad question. If you're not going for big power, I'd try to find a small intercooler about the size as OEM and mount them side by side. The "sandwhich" approach will probably provide worse performance for cooler in the back (usually the oil cooler).

 

[suprafreak123]

Hey if you need a stock intercooler with all the piping except the clamps.PM me

 

[Emeraldage]

When I converted my NA it had already all the drilled and threaded holes to mount the IC and oil cooler. Depending on the engine I'd highly recommend getting the head gasket work done and at least replacing valve seals or it's likely going to burn oil because it's so old.