7mgte Opinion needed. Help! 87 Gte motor to 89 NA supra???

[MK3LVIN]

So, I've found a 7mgte complete motor online for $500. Owner said it has about 110k miles when they pulled it out because he wrecked his 87 MkIII. :3d_frown:

The only missing from the motor is the turbo and the wiring harness.

* Here is where I need a second opinion from the community *

The motor has been siting for more than 4 years now and that alone got me thinking of a possible corrosion on the engine or some other ware.

So I have to ask.

Is it worth getting it?

If there is a corrosion, what does it need to get it running again?

And lastly, My supra is an 89 NA (7mge). If i get that motor can I use another harness (from an 88 or 89 turbo car) to bring it back to life again?


I'm new here and I would like to ask you guys if what you guys think.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

I have an '87 GTE motor in my '89NA chassis now.

I bought the complete car, which had everything that I needed. I also bought a complete gasket set and replaced all of the gaskets and seals throughout. The head gasket had gone, and the rod bearings followed about 3 years after I installed the engine.

The '87 (or '88) harness and ECU works fine int he '89 chassis. It won't work in the '90-'92 chassis as well. The only issue is that one wire needs to be moved, or else the headlights will turn on and stay on. Oh, and the ABS harness (if you have it) needs to be adapted, but that's not very hard.

My engine had sat for an unknown length of time, but at least 4 years before I installed it. It was still in good condition inside. The outside was pretty grungy though.

If you can get an '89 wiring harness and ECU, that would be best. If not, and '87 or '88 wiring harness and ECU will work, as above. Do not get a '90-'92 wiring harness and ECU, as it will not connect to the body harness.

$500 isn't a great deal. For that I'd want to get a wiring harness and ECU with it, as well as additional parts (Ignitor, Injector resistor, etc) that you'd need for the swap. I bought a complete 7M-GTE for $200, with turbo, wiring harness, ECU. No igniter or injector resistor though.

Plan to spend some money preparing the engine for a swap. Just dropping it in with no additional prep is asking for trouble.

From Driftmotion:

7M-GTE gasket set $99
OEM Head Gasket $95
7M head stud kit $119.95
Clevite 77 bearing set for 7M $115
57 trim upgraded CT-26 $650
3" downpipe with elbow $199
7M-GTE intercooler kit w/ BOV $425

Add in some for machining. If everything is in good shape, you can possibly just put it all back together with this, but I'd probably get the block and head hot tanked, magnafluxed and decked, bores honed, crank polished.

If you do get the block and head work done, you'll be in position to consider a metal head gasket, and be set for a totally reliable engine.

 

[JStoked]

The 89 was a screwy year for the supra as I recall. Don't quote me but I believe that the 89 came out with 3 different ecu's. so make sure you get the right harness for the motor and the right ecu. As far as the motor rebuild it! Yes you can go by what the po tells you. But that motor just setting is never good for a motor that already has oiling issues. If you chose to to just put it in the car. Pull the valve covers, pull the cams and at least put assabilly lube on the cam journals and check the tourque on the head bolts. That's my 2 cents.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

According to Jeff Lange, there was only one electronics package for the '89, and it was the same all year. The only thing that changed mid-year on the '89 was the crossmember, where it changed from the older square motor mounts to the newer round (Compatable with the JZ blocks) motor mounts. The ECU is the same.

That said, '89 is its own "special" year where the harnesss plugs are all grey, but the connector to the chassis harness is the same pin diagram as the ol.der yellow plug harnesses. The one pin for the headlight "idle up" signal is in a slightly different location, which causes the '87 ECU to turn the headlights on for an '89 chassis. You can correct the harness (recommended, and the info is on the forums here) or do what I did, and cut the wire to the headlight relay and run your own wire from the relay trigger to the #2 integration relay. (This means that my idle up is nonfunctional, but I feel this to be insignificant overall. Still, I'll probably just fix it when I pull my engine this spring.

 

[MK3LVIN]

Much thanks for the help guys.

I'll make sure I get that engine, wiring and ecu prepared for a swap before i put it in my MKIII, that's if the owner gives me a deal (considering the status of the motor at the moment). Offered $200 and still hesitant on that offer. Just waiting for a word from him.

Thanks again.

 

[MK3LVIN]

Here's some pics I got of the motor as of today.