Michigan 1UZ - MkIII Supra swap

The 1UZFE EGR Delete Kit is available for sale here.
Sorry, I should have clarified earlier. I meant electrically they are identical.
The values you have posted are more than close enough for our gauges.

Over the years myself and others have done countless swaps between M's, UZ's, G's, JZ's, into all kinds of RWD Toyota's, and we've never had to swap a temp sensor over.

Good to see its finally getting there though, mines just about ready for inspection.
 
Sorry, I should have clarified earlier. I meant electrically they are identical.
The values you have posted are more than close enough for our gauges.

Over the years myself and others have done countless swaps between M's, UZ's, G's, JZ's, into all kinds of RWD Toyota's, and we've never had to swap a temp sensor over.

Good to see its finally getting there though, mines just about ready for inspection.

Thanks Peewee. I notice at idle, the car takes some time before the gauge reaches about 1/3 of the way up the scale and then settles at that spot and even without the fan running remained steady for some time. The hood was off so there may have been plenty of heat transfer to the open air around the engine and radiator but it was also a steady day outside with not even a breeze and I thought even at idle the temp would continue to climb. Thoughts?
 
Mike, for some reason UZ's cool themselves very well..... An example (and I DO NOT recomend this at all) but Jake's car still to this day does not have a fan on the radiator and the car has not overheated once that I know of (even sitting in a bit of traffic from time to time and here in hell, opps sorry, I mean Florida (might as well be hell cause its so damn hot!)). Jake's car does not have a temp gauge (again, I DO NOT recomend this) so we really dont know how hot its actually getting, but it doesn't boil over ever. Im thinking that the engines ability to disapate heat so well is one of the reasons that people are able to run decent boost through these engine's and without much problem.
 
Mike, for some reason UZ's cool themselves very well..... An example (and I DO NOT recomend this at all) but Jake's car still to this day does not have a fan on the radiator and the car has not overheated once that I know of (even sitting in a bit of traffic from time to time and here in hell, opps sorry, I mean Florida (might as well be hell cause its so damn hot!)). Jake's car does not have a temp gauge (again, I DO NOT recomend this) so we really dont know how hot its actually getting, but it doesn't boil over ever. Im thinking that the engines ability to disapate heat so well is one of the reasons that people are able to run decent boost through these engine's and without much problem.

Thinking about adding some more cooler by way of the oil cooler from the 7M-GTE, just have to get an adapter and thermostat, but that is later. Just trying to get the exhaust done and get the car on the road. The oil cooler will remain installed and just be capped off for now.
 
Thinking about adding some more cooler by way of the oil cooler from the 7M-GTE, just have to get an adapter and thermostat, but that is later. Just trying to get the exhaust done and get the car on the road. The oil cooler will remain installed and just be capped off for now.

Mike, dont even bother with a 7m-gte oil cooler. They are Crap to say the least.... They are only intended to flow a portion of the oil, then return it back to the oilpan.... Its a bad design!!!!!!! I would install a means of measuring oil temp and see what they are at before worring about an oil cooler..... Oil only works as its intended to with in a narrow temp range of about 170*F to 210*F (synthetics go a bit higher like 230*F or 240*F or so). Outside of this range they are not near as effective of a lubricant. This is why its bad to take a motor above about 2500 RPM before its up to opperating temps...... If you do find a need (which I dont think that you will) for an oil cooler, the 2nd Gen RX-7 factory unit is one of the best that money can buy.... Dirt cheap for the most part, has a built in thermostat (to obviously maintain correct temp), and very effiecient. The reason why this unit is Soooo Good is because 1/3rd of the total cooling of a Rotary Engine is oil cooled and thus Mazda had to fit a very good cooler to Rotary powered cars.....

An example of how well these coolers work, on the last RX-7 I had, one late fall early winter evening (about 55*F outside), the thermostat bypass became stuck closed and my oil temps, dropped to (that I know of) 140*F while crusin on the highway at about 80mph. They might have been lower then that, but thats where my autometer gauge started at so who knows how low they actually were. I thought that the gauge was messed up and thus the next day I went to a local speed shop and bought another gauge, well still did the same thing, so I came to a quick stop on the Highway and got out and grabbed the return oil hose and it was just warm (no significant temp to it) and thus realized then what had happened. Went home, took the bypass pellet (as they are called in mazda langauge) out, swapped in one from another cooler that I had sitting there and went for a ride, low and behold, the temps were back up to normal....

Again, I doubt that you will find a need for an oil cooler. If you were turbo'ing the engine, I'd say go for it, but other then that, I would measure the temps before bothering to install any type of oil cooler.....
 
oh, funny thing, about an hour after I posted the previous post talking about Jake's car and a lack of a fan, I talk to Jake and he had just got done installing a fan (still dont think that its actually wired though)....
 
Mike, dont even bother with a 7m-gte oil cooler. They are Crap to say the least.... They are only intended to flow a portion of the oil, then return it back to the oilpan.... Its a bad design!!!!!!! I would install a means of measuring oil temp and see what they are at before worring about an oil cooler..... Oil only works as its intended to with in a narrow temp range of about 170*F to 210*F (synthetics go a bit higher like 230*F or 240*F or so). Outside of this range they are not near as effective of a lubricant. This is why its bad to take a motor above about 2500 RPM before its up to opperating temps...... If you do find a need (which I dont think that you will) for an oil cooler, the 2nd Gen RX-7 factory unit is one of the best that money can buy.... Dirt cheap for the most part, has a built in thermostat (to obviously maintain correct temp), and very effiecient. The reason why this unit is Soooo Good is because 1/3rd of the total cooling of a Rotary Engine is oil cooled and thus Mazda had to fit a very good cooler to Rotary powered cars.....

An example of how well these coolers work, on the last RX-7 I had, one late fall early winter evening (about 55*F outside), the thermostat bypass became stuck closed and my oil temps, dropped to (that I know of) 140*F while crusin on the highway at about 80mph. They might have been lower then that, but thats where my autometer gauge started at so who knows how low they actually were. I thought that the gauge was messed up and thus the next day I went to a local speed shop and bought another gauge, well still did the same thing, so I came to a quick stop on the Highway and got out and grabbed the return oil hose and it was just warm (no significant temp to it) and thus realized then what had happened. Went home, took the bypass pellet (as they are called in mazda langauge) out, swapped in one from another cooler that I had sitting there and went for a ride, low and behold, the temps were back up to normal....

Again, I doubt that you will find a need for an oil cooler. If you were turbo'ing the engine, I'd say go for it, but other then that, I would measure the temps before bothering to install any type of oil cooler.....

Funny you mention the RX-7 cooler. That is the world I come from. I use to own two FB's (check out some of my videos at youtube under my siliconoddity username as well as searching for alien_rx7 at rx7club.com) and both had been converted from the 'beehive' oil 'warmer' Mazda temporarily went to in '83 which was known for leaking and not really cooling the oil all that much to the air-to-oil coolers and lines from the per-83 cars. While both the FB and FC designs are similar, the FC (2nd gen.) cooler is superior because of the connections at the cooler. The FB coolers necked out to the hose connection and this spot was known for cracking. Both the FB and FC coolers are aluminum as far as I can recall.

I miss having an RX-7 sometimes, loved the body style, sound, and handling with the nearly perfect 50/50 f/r weight ratio and light bodies, then I realize I get better gas mileage and more torque in the Supra ;) I'd love to take an FD and drop a 1UZ into it. The RX-7 guys would have a fit since this is sacrilegious but I think it would be a nice match. I recall seeing an article on the Supra 7 which was an FD with the 2JZ-GTE in it :drool:
 
Supra is headed into the exhaust shop tomorrow to finally get the exhaust fabbed so I can get the car on the road. Unfortunately I'll be out of the state during next week and the shop does not have an estimated completion date. I am hoping when I return I'll be able to go pick it up and drive it home!

This wiring information is from my conversion using a 1987 Supra Turbo (7M-GTE) MkIII and installing a 1992(1993) SC400 1UZ-FE w/R154 transmission and the 1993 ECU. This is a rough draft and some information still needs to be filled in, however it should get anyone started with this type of conversion. HVAC (A/C and heat) were not wired back in at this time.

This conversion will require the 7M-GTE wiring harness engine bay fuse box connector and dash connector. Other connectors may be required as well such as the oil pressure sensor and water temp sensor connectors

I am not an automotive wiring expert. I am not responsible for your mistakes, the mistakes in the information below or the damage, personal or property, that may follow from using this information. Use this information at your own risk.

1987 Supra -> 1993 1UZ-FE Wiring Conversion
  • Interior
    • Supra
      • M1
        • Pin 7 – Gray/Green -> 1UZ ECU Blue/Yellow (add pin number)
        • Pin 9 – Brown -> Ground to Intake (Water temp. gauge ground)
        • Pins 3&4 – Backup light switch wiring from R154
        • Pin 8 – Yellow/Black -> 1UZ harness 20 (23?) pin orange connector pin 20 Yellow/Black w/Gold bands
        • Pin 6 – Yellow/Green (water temp.) -> Pin 9 Yellow/Green (add connector name/desc.)
        • Pin 1 – Black -> Pin 8 Black (add connector name/desc.)
    • 1UZ
      • Orange 20 (23?) pin connector
        • Pin 1 – Brown -> White 12 pin connector Pin 1 Brown -> E2 on 1UZ ECU
      • Grey 17 pin connector
        • Black/Orange w/Silver Bands (add pin number) -> Small Black/Orange on Supra big yellow connector (add connector name/desc)
      • Grey 14 pin connector
        • Black/Orange w/Silver Bands (add pin number) -> Small Black/Orange on Supra big yellow connector (add connector name/desc)
        • Black/While w/Silver Bands (add pin number) -> Small Black/Orange on Supra big yellow connector (add connector name/desc)
        • Black/Red (add pin number) -> Black/Red on Supra big yellow connector (add connector name/desc)
    • Supra Big Yellow Connector (behind glove box, add connector name/desc)
      • Black (engine bay connection at 1UZ harness at fuse box, add connector/pin information) run into interior -> Black/Blue (add pin number)
      • Red (engine bay connection at 1UZ harness at fuse box, Black/Orange wire, add connector/pin information) run into interior -> Big Black/Orange (add pin number)
      • Green (add pin number) -> 7.5A fuse -> ground (turns fuel pump on when key is in ‘ON’ position)
  • Exterior
    • Supra engine bay at fuse box, yellow 6-pin connector (add connector name/desc)
      • Black/Red (add pin) -> Black/Red (add pin) on grey 1UZ connector (add connector name/desc)
      • White (add pin) -> Black/Yellow (add pin) on grey 1UZ connector (add connector name/desc)
      • Black/Orange (add pin) -> Black/Orange (add pin) on grey 1UZ connector (add connector name/desc)
      • White/Black (add pin) – not used, comes from body ground on fender
      • Black/Yellow (add pin) – not used
 
I have good news and I have bad news. The Supra is back from the exhaust shop, sounds amazing and the combination of the R154 and 3.9 rear seem to match the engine pretty well. I won't know until I really get to drive the car for a bit longer. Just driving the car from the shop to home was amazing! The power comes on right away and the exhaust note starts out being very quiet at idle to really opening up at the higher RPM range. The exhaust shop did an excellent job.

Now for the bad news. When I trailered the car to the shop, all lights were working except for the dome lights which have never worked for me. When I left the shop and drove home, my chase vehicle immediately noticed the car had no brake lights. Currently the only lights working on the car are the headlights, backup lights, and blinkers. Nothing else is working. When I check the fusible links in the engine bay, I have 12V where I should but when I check the interior fuses, I do not have 12V at the stoplights or tail lights fuses. Fuses are good, ground at the back of the car is good (checked from the ground point to the negative terminal of the battery). When I go to measure 12V at either fuse to a ground under the dash, no 12V. I won't get out to the garage again to do any further tracing until most likely Wednesday or Thursday. If I understand the TEWD correctly, at least the stoplights are not inhibited by the Integration Relay so even if it were to have gone bad, the stop lights would still work. Any ideas?
 
Oh yeah, forgot to mention I also have stiff low speed steering as well (still air in the lines plus a leak that isn't helping) which I'll be looking into solving shortly as well as an off throttle stall when stopping however tapping the petal a couple of times seems to solve this issue if I catch it in time and then any stop afterwards it just idles low.
 
I have good news and I have bad news. The Supra is back from the exhaust shop, sounds amazing and the combination of the R154 and 3.9 rear seem to match the engine pretty well. I won't know until I really get to drive the car for a bit longer. Just driving the car from the shop to home was amazing! The power comes on right away and the exhaust note starts out being very quiet at idle to really opening up at the higher RPM range. The exhaust shop did an excellent job.

Now for the bad news. When I trailered the car to the shop, all lights were working except for the dome lights which have never worked for me. When I left the shop and drove home, my chase vehicle immediately noticed the car had no brake lights. Currently the only lights working on the car are the headlights, backup lights, and blinkers. Nothing else is working. When I check the fusible links in the engine bay, I have 12V where I should but when I check the interior fuses, I do not have 12V at the stoplights or tail lights fuses. Fuses are good, ground at the back of the car is good (checked from the ground point to the negative terminal of the battery). When I go to measure 12V at either fuse to a ground under the dash, no 12V. I won't get out to the garage again to do any further tracing until most likely Wednesday or Thursday. If I understand the TEWD correctly, at least the stoplights are not inhibited by the Integration Relay so even if it were to have gone bad, the stop lights would still work. Any ideas?

Fixed the lighting issue! Drove it around town for a few minutes to run a couple of errands, what a blast. Just need to put the interior back together now and put the ECU back in the glove box so it isn't just hanging there in the passenger side. Took everything out while troubleshooting and it ended up being something extremely simple and not even related to the exhaust work.

While re-looming the harness, I had snipped the lug off of the original alternator connection which binds two large black wires. Before I snipped the lug, I had measured 12v there, so I snipped it since I would not be using it so I could fit the wires into the loom and reduce the risk of shorting out on something. Well, come to find out, these two wires need to be bound together for the lights to work.

Watch for videos later this week plus a new weight measurement of the completed swap (won't say completed project since there are numerous other things to be replaced yet such as suspension, drive shaft, etc which could alter the final weight as well). Just recall, with the 7M-GTE in my targa model with a 1/2 tank of fuel, the car weighed in at 3600lbs. Should see a weight savings, just now sure by how much. Looking forward to rolling onto the scales later this week!
 

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I finally had some time today to take a short video of the new exhaust. Unfortunately, either due to the garage opening behind the camera or the camera's microphone itself, the tone is much lower than it is in real life but it gives a general idea of how the car sounds now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3mVYYKmwr0

I also took the car to the scales again, the same I used when the project first started. To refresh everyone's memory, with a half a tank of fuel, the Supra with a 7M-GTE mated to the R154 weighed in at 3600 pounds. This is the targa equipped car as well. This time around, again with a half tank of fuel, the Supra with a 1UZ-FE mated to the R154 weighs 3540 pounds.
 
Hmmm, Seems like the weight should have been more then 60lbs. Scales might not be that accurate..... Never the less, glad to see that everything is going good with the swap......
 
Hmmm, Seems like the weight should have been more then 60lbs. Scales might not be that accurate..... Never the less, glad to see that everything is going good with the swap......

Scales are +/- 10 pounds and I was as close to a half tank of fuel as I could get again so even being a couple gallons off on the high side would be 16 pounds or more (2 or more gallons).
 
With the Michigan winter quickly approaching (sleet can down this evening), the car will soon be garaged and the next stage of the project started during its long hibernation. After driving it as my daily driver since I put it on the road back in mid-August I have a new found respect for the 1UZ engine.

Its power band is smooth from start to gear shift ;) which is a big change for me and after the first few days of driving I quickly got used to the lack of big push coming on later in the gear when the turbo would normally have kicked in. Much of the torque is already available at 1k with smooth onset of the rest of the torque as the rpms climb.

The engine is ultra smooth. I designed and created solid motor mounts to attach the engine to the '87 sub-frame using 3/8" plate for all pieces except for the foot where I used 1/4" plate so as to have the ability to shim the engine using 1/16" steel shims to level the engine out. Having previously owned 2.0L cars with semi-solid mounts I was expecting quite a bit of vibration in the cabin. I can state this is not the case with this engine. It is well balanced and has no more vibration in the cabin then the 7M-GTE it replaced.

As I put it into the garage, I can only note a few small issues which will hopefully be easy to address over the winter:

1. Leaking power steering pump - I do not think this is the dreaded PS leak which most of these engines' pumps are known for but instead the filling neck's gasket/o-ring having dry rotted during storage.

2. Water pump and/or thermostat housing is leaking - The water pump may be leaking from where the metal line slip fits into the housing. Unfortunately I did not replace this o-ring during assembly and the original may have been damaged due to age and reapplication. I did, however, replace the thermostat housing o-ring but it appears it may not have seated correctly in to the water bridge and is now allowing coolant around it once the system has heated up to operating temps.

3. I believe I may be running too rich now. I may address this with an aftermarket fuel computer. Not only do I need to test the mixture to find out, but I also need to check the fuel pressure in the system to make sure that it is not out of spec and that it remains consistent.

4. Tach is functional but off. Need to purchase a converter for it.

That is it for the issues I have observed. Otherwise the engine is running perfectly well without the automatic transmission and no tricks were used to fool the ECU into believing it has an automatic attached to it.

For the next stage of this project I plan on upgrading all of the suspension as it sorely needs it after 196k miles on the original struts/springs. I plan on obtaining the following parts, or equivalents to install on the car before it is time to bring it out of hibernation in the spring:

1. ST anti-sway bars - already obtained just need new bushings
2. Tein Flex coilovers or equivalents
3. One piece Al drive shaft
4. New wheel bearings and ball joints
5. New wheels - looking for deep dished, staggered width 17" or 18" sets
6. Front and rear strut braces - I may have the front, just need to reshape.

Optional (only if I have any budget left over):

1. Rear hatch spoiler/shade for the top of the hatch
2. Move the battery into the rear
3. Upgraded sound system, nothing big, still want to save weight - most likely upgrading fronts to the 6.5" pods, plus tweets and the rear will just have a small sub for fill.
4. Dress up the engine bay - blue silicone hosing, polished or powder coated parts, etc
5. Lip for front bumper
6. Steering wheel replacement and at minimum, driver's seat replacement
7. Composite hood and headlight lids
8. Piece to cover space between radiator top and front valence
9. Piece to cover space between radiator bottom and engine (forget what this is called)
10. Tint rear windows and hatch
11. Obtain clear front signal lenses
 
I may have some bad news although it is still too early to tell. I visited the 1UZ Supra in its storage garage today to start it up and go through its warm up cycle and charge the battery since it is parked for the winter. I plan on doing this each month and this is the first full month (been stored for 1.5 months so far). It appears that I may have misjudged my antifreeze mixture (used ELF coolant and tested with an antifreeze bulb tester, the one with all of the colored balls in it) and how cold it could get in the garage since as the car warmed up, I noticed water leaking into my catch pan beneath the car on the passenger side towards the front of the engine, usually where the power steering fluid likes to leak from as well (hence having a catch pan until I fix the PS leak).

Since I was checking on the car late in the day, had no shop lights with me and a winter storm advisory was in effect for most of West Michigan I decided to top off the radiator with straight coolant while the car was warming up. The radiator was low but I also have a leak at the rear of the water pump where the hard line interfaces with it and the o-ring has not yet been replaced but this leaks into the valley of the block. As soon as I have a free day during one of the upcoming weekends I will have to get out to the garage again to see if I can track down the leak. I am keeping my fingers crossed I haven't sustained any damage to the engine.
 
MIke, on that side right behind the ALT. there is a two bolt sorta diamond shaped metal cap. I dont know what its for but good chance that that is were the leak is coming from.
 


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