[Mk2] [Turbo] how far on a standard rev3 ecu...and a few other engine rebuild questions...

[smiffy1982]

due to recent engine problems.... suspect piston damage and intake valve

im planning on taking the engine out and spending some of my hard earned cash on it... however my funds wont stretch as far as a fancy ecu and mapping at the moment.

so my quesition is what can i get away with on the stock ecu?

would i be able to put some cams in for example? as i dont really want to put anything on the car that will restrict me further down the line, when i can afford an ecu uprated turbo etc.

i was thinking of oversized valves as these are going to have to be replaced anyway, but was told to give them a miss due to expensive head work needed and again would they run on a stock ecu?

also the 2.2 stroker kit would i be able to get away with that? dont fancy oversized pistons and from what ive read these use a standard size?

headgaskets.... been told not to skimp on this been looking at hks jobbies but unclear other that being a lil thicker whats the difference between 1.2mm and the 1.6mm (would the thicker 1.6mm affect the running of the car?)

another question is other jobs to be considered whilst the engine is out?? water pump? any others...

im hoping this thread will help me plan ahead and get as many of the parts if not all i need before starting so im not left with any nasty expenses later on, i'll admit im not the most clued up when it comes to engines so sorry for so many questions, feel free to add to the list of parts im going to need

uprated pistons
uprated conrods
cams??
adjustable cam pullys (as nice as they look are thy needed?)
bearings (big end, main, thrust)
uprated headset bolts
valves
Head gasket
cam belt
gaskets (im guessing theres quite a few of these to be changed)
oil/oilfilter
plugs
water pump

thanks in advance
Smiffy

[3sgte]

You really have to think about what your ultimate goals for the car are

If you never plan to go above 350whp then i would just fit forged pistons
and a set of ARP headbolts .

uprated cams apparantly don't live well with the std rev3 ecu .because the map based fuelling doesnot respond well to changes in volumetric efficiency .The ecu bases the amount of air on the pressure at the manifold ,and calculates the rest from the rpm .Being pre-programmed by toyota with the amount of air being sucked per rev on the std cams (well its a little more complicated than that but thats the easiest way of explaining it )
and adjustable pulleys will be a waste unless you have an aftermarket ecu to optimise them with

Std rev3 headgaskets are fine being multi layer steel anyhow
you would only need to change from the std 1.2mm toiyota gasket if you need to lower compression ,or wish to keep the same compression after getting the head skimmed

I have recently built my engine up
with forged pistons
steel rods
uprated bearings
uprated valve springs
264 cams
uprated head bolts
STD toyota gasket set
new water pump
new cam belt and idler bearings

just the litle lot above has come to 2K and i had a perfect runing engine before i started .you may find further damage to yours when you dismatle it

bear in mind i have also got another £2k set aside for the turbo and intake filter .£300 for the exhaust, to flow enough for the turbo
and another £1k for the powefc ,larger injectors and uprated fuel pump .Plus whatever it costs to map it

Once you start to uprate the engine .it is so tempting to go OTT .As the engine was already out i took the opportunity to fit a new clutch £340 aswell

all i can suggest is think long and hard about what you want to eventually acheive .If your goals are big then so will be the bill
If you plan for 350bhp ,and no more then a set of forgies will probably be ok ,The rest will not yield enough of a difference at that power level to justify them

Good luck

[smiffy1982]

around 350at the wheels would seem a reasonable final goal, i dont wanna go for crazy figures, as the cars for the road, with the odd track day or trip to santa pod. new turbo injectors ecu etc. will be on the cards just not quite yet.

clutch would be a good idea i'll add that to the list

[3sgte]

good lad

whilst the engine is in bits then

forged pistons ,smaller sizes are better . keeps more strenght in the block 86mm if you can get away with it
new bearings ,uprated if you like ,no difference in price
Rods if it wil make you happy if not then new rod bolts on old rods
Genuine TOYOTA full gasket set unless you skim the head then maybe go next size up
lap valves in and re-shim the cam clearance
ARP head studs
new big end bolts (uprated if you fancy it)
new water/oil pumps up to you ,as is cambelt idlers .cambelt would be foolish not to change it

Run as is on std cams and turbo

change turbo as and when .replace ecu and map it .than change cams if needed

simple

[smiffy1982]

maybe i was getting ahead of myself there i think most of my original ideas where parts that looked and sounded good...as much as id love a 500bhp+ car, i can imagine it to be a bit much for the road, and dont really want some huge laggy turbo...

lap valves in and re-shim the cam clearance aint got a clue what that means lol


thanks for the sppedy reply gonna start pricing up all the bits... feel free to add any links numbers etc.

[3sgte]

lap valves in and re-shim the cam clearance aint got a clue what that means lol

lapping the valves in means the surfaces are ground together with valve grinding paste , to ensure both surfaces (Head ,and Valve ) mate correctly making a gas tight seal .this will nearly always mean the pointy end of the valve will move nearer the cam shaft as you have taken a small amount of metal from it and the head .This means the distance between the valve and the cam will be out of spec.Too tight and the valve will stay open a little bit all the time .too loose and they will rattle like hell

not to mention that valve clearances affect the duration of the cam timing more than you could imagine

anyway
.the distance is maintained by a shim between the valve and the bucket /cam follower ,these will need removing and replacing to maintain the correct specs

[dai21t]

Get ready to spend a fortune! Mine was only supposed to be a cheap project but hasn't worked out like that, I've got:

Forged pistons
Eagle rods
ARP blts throughout
Cometic head gasket
Piper 260cams
HKS pulleys
New genuine Toyota water pump, oil pump all belt tensioners
Full Toyota gasket set
Fidanza flywheel
RPS clutch


Its over £3k so far and no turbo or ecu yet, another £3k should cover it! Decide at the start what you want to go for and stick to it otherwise costs will inevitably snowball. Plus you'll have to pay someone to do it, I'm lucky I've done all the work apart from machining myself, or you could add a good bit onto the bill again. I assume you're not doing it yourself?

[smiffy1982]

I assume you're not doing it yourself?

haha dai you should know me by now can you imagine me doing any of that? im still waiting for you and your bro to offer your services