4AC blown, what the hell am I getting myself into??

[Ryusei_Date]

So yeah I blew out the head gasket on my 4AC, and since I got another daily, I figured it's finally time to lay the old single cam to rest. Although I've been researching and digging up any guide I could on ensuring a smooth GT-S swap, I just don't have enough money right now to buy all the parts at once, rent's hard to make lol. I guess I could either find a junked GT-S that has the engine intact and pull that out, even though I know that's just not happening at the junkyards around Norcal, and even if they did they'd last for all of 5 minutes before they're torn apart lol.

But yeah I got time to collect all the parts, I'm in no rush and as long as I take my time to make sure I do it right, I shouldn't have that many roadblocks right? All I want is a bluetop 16v, nothing crazy like a 1UZ-FE. Even if I'm a 20 year old without a whole lot of experience in working on cars, lots of guides are helping me get an idea for what to expect. Even though I also know that whatever a guide teaches me rarely prepares me for the actual thing I'm gonna do.

I'd love some advice and tips on how to make sure my swap goes well, I got time and I can't afford a motor right this moment, so for now I'll brush up and see what I can learn before the time comes.
Also yes, I know this topic must come up at least twice a day and that must get old fast for you 4-AGE'rs out there. I appreciate whatever help or advice I can get right now, after all knowledge is power!
Thanks for putting up with this question that's as old as the forums

[jondee86]

Here ya go... this is a good place to start...
AE86 SR-5 to GT-S Swap - DIY by assassin10000

Cheers... jondee86

[Clouds]

Since you are short on money, I'd try to source a 4AG from an AE101 and work on converting it to RWD. Sourcing a specific type of 4AG won't help your case.

Help will be inbound eventually if you didn't find this helpful enough.

[yellowsnow4free]

So yeah I blew out the head gasket on my 4AC, and since I got another daily, I figured it's finally time to lay the old single cam to rest. Although I've been researching and digging up any guide I could on ensuring a smooth GT-S swap, I just don't have enough money right now to buy all the parts at once, rent's hard to make lol. I guess I could either find a junked GT-S that has the engine intact and pull that out, even though I know that's just not happening at the junkyards around Norcal, and even if they did they'd last for all of 5 minutes before they're torn apart lol.

But yeah I got time to collect all the parts, I'm in no rush and as long as I take my time to make sure I do it right, I shouldn't have that many roadblocks right? All I want is a bluetop 16v, nothing crazy like a 1UZ-FE. Even if I'm a 20 year old without a whole lot of experience in working on cars, lots of guides are helping me get an idea for what to expect. Even though I also know that whatever a guide teaches me rarely prepares me for the actual thing I'm gonna do.

I'd love some advice and tips on how to make sure my swap goes well, I got time and I can't afford a motor right this moment, so for now I'll brush up and see what I can learn before the time comes.
Also yes, I know this topic must come up at least twice a day and that must get old fast for you 4-AGE'rs out there. I appreciate whatever help or advice I can get right now, after all knowledge is power!
Thanks for putting up with this question that's as old as the forums

Seems like you've got a good head on your shoulders; I'm sure your swap will go fine.

That link jondee86 shared is probably the best write-up on the swap. It's worth noting that you can keep the SR5 driveshaft and rear end for a while if you're having trouble sourcing them.

Since you have another car, you can take your time and gather parts (like you said, finding a GTS donor car is probably pretty unlikely). As Clouds said, a FWD 4AGE longblock is a good place to start, but you'll still need some RWD 4AGE bits (accessories + brackets, water pump, water piping, water inlets + outlets on the head, just to name a few). There are some threads on this topic, so just search around.

[Ryusei_Date]

Thanks, everyone, I'm feeling a lot more confident now My biggest fear on this is just messing up in the swap, then having to take everything apart just to plug in a fuse or something. But hopefully by the time the engine's ready, I'll be a little more mechanically inclined and I'll have assassin1000's awesome guide memorized. That's my swap bible for now lol

[yellowsnow4free]

Thanks, everyone, I'm feeling a lot more confident now My biggest fear on this is just messing up in the swap, then having to take everything apart just to plug in a fuse or something. But hopefully by the time the engine's ready, I'll be a little more mechanically inclined and I'll have assassin1000's awesome guide memorized. That's my swap bible for now lol

Np Good luck with your project! Once you start work on it, make a build thread if you can. They're fun to read, but if everything is documented it'll help people here diagnose your issues if you run into problems. Plus, it'll help future people with the swap

[Ryusei_Date]

I was thinking of getting some friends and making a funnny/informative video tutorial on the swap. I'll do a build log at the very least! I don't want the future generation of SR5'ers to feel like they're treading uncharted waters

[grappletech]

If you can find the link for project 15-16 on pdf... it gives great instructions as well

[yellowsnow4free]

I was thinking of getting some friends and making a funnny/informative video tutorial on the swap. I'll do a build log at the very least! I don't want the future generation of SR5'ers to feel like they're treading uncharted waters

Awesome

If you can find the link for project 15-16 on pdf... it gives great instructions as well

http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/forum ... -Taka-Aono

[grappletech]

Thanks yellowsnow for the bucket.... grappletech with the assist.

[saiGone]

Sr5-GTS survivor. Feel free to AMA lol

[Ryusei_Date]

I never doubted survivors were lurking lol. I guess my biggest concern is if everything is just plug and play. Strip the 4-AC and all its stuff, drop the 4-AGE and all its goodies, plug everything in the harnesses or the ECU, then that's basically it? I'm sure there's a lot more than that to an engine swap, but since the chassis was built for the 4-AGE, I can't imagine it's gonna be SUPER complicated to hook everything up.