TURBOROLLA (4efe to 4efte ep91) SWAP

[Frankieflowers]

OFFICIAL (working) TURBOROLLA Project

 

Hi guys. I made my dream come true. I swapped a 1.3 4efe Toyota with a Starlet Glanza V 4efte engine on my 1998 Corolla Hatchback.

The project started researching for months and thanks to passionate people on forums like this one I could gather enough information to understand that I could make it happen. The main issue was that nobody had the experience of doing this before. The few people I spoke to that on the Corolla with the turbo engine didn’t do the job themselves. I had to take the risk and use logic to reduce risks. I am gonna tell a story. I am not gonna lake a list because it’s irrelevant. Most of the information about the process is already on the 4efe to 4efte SWAP thread.

The first part has been finding a good complete engine and the websites that would provide the replacement parts. The second part was putting together a schedule and a team to save time and money. 

After talking to all the existing dealers on the international market I started to talk to a British local engine dealer shop. I found a half cut with a 88k Km automatic Starlet Glanza V. Unfortunately prices raised almost 40% so thanks to the precious info that @Sam44 gave me I bought the engine without the gearbox. The Corolla gearbox is perfect and strong enough. Gears are shorter compared to a Starlet but because the car is heavier the engine won’t suffer. It runs 113 MPH (185 Km/h) at 5500 RPM before JDM speed limiter kicks in.

The mechanics were pretty easy. I bought the complete gasket kit to be sure I would have all I needed just in case. Luca from LR CUSTOMIZE took care of the whole process under my supervision. We changed most of the oil gaskets beside the one underneath oil pump. We didn’t open the engine because the compression test was very good. We will open the head and change the valve gaskets next year to limit oil dropping in the cylinders. It is pretty good now.

Second think was buying a manual 4efte flywheel to refurbish and get on the engine with a new clutch. All went well. We changed the spark plugs and proceeded with the engine swap.

The main worries were about the steering pump and the AC modifications. We end up keeping the fte pump and switching the input connection on the Corolla pipes to save the original setup. Same for the AC. The AC is still to be electronically adapted as the two compressors have different wiring. We’ll see about that.

The main effort has been adapting the electric harness. We ended up starting piece by piece from the ECU, starting from the 12V to the fuel pump, from the crank to the alternator. Step by step. We kept the Corolla engine bay and cabin harness and we adapted it to the fte ECU harness. Not easy. 

The Russion guy (that’s how we call him) didn’t have experience on 90s cars so I helped him as much as I could. My brother helped us to solve the alternator connection dilemma and the water temp sensor connection issue we had. Everything works perfectly and no error appeared after fixing the recovery mode caused by a false connection bridge done as mistake. The only thing we won’t solve is the RPM jumping in the cluster. Why? The signal that comes from the ECU is a short square signal that the younger Corolla system doesn’t like. My brother says: “Short and high voltage (80V) while your original speed clustet accetto lov voltage (5V) square or sine wave. The voltage was limited with a shunt resistor but it still isn't enough - it has to be smoothed out”.

The project started improving the coils and springs and adding wheel spacers to get rid of the native Corolla defect which is understeering. The second step was finding rear disc breaks from a Levin. I was lucky to buy them from an old British car  they were full of rust but I refurbished them well  All new parts straight from Japan.

We are about to install the front intercooler. Luca was able to fit a mid size IC right behind the front steel bumper that made the cutting unnecessary. We cut the aluminum pipes to get to the inlet and bought a few extra silicon connections to get a straight pipe up to the turbo  My shop is about to build a custom hot pipe to turn left from 30 to 50 mm and get in a 90* rubber.

The pop-off valve will be positioned internally. 
 

I will keep updating pictures and information  feel free to ask details that you won’t find around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2021 by Frankieflowers
I added pictures and text.

[burty]

this is great well done to all involved

 

[Sam44]

That front mount looks smart. Congratulations Frankie really well done and in record time in all honestly an amazing job.

I see so many projects get messy and never get finished. Much respect to you and your crew of lads.

I bet this sounds and goes great.

Love it.

Just had a good read threw, Great explanation on everything. 

  

Edited December 18, 2021 by Sam44

[Claymore]

Looking forward to this Frankie, great work on the rear disc conversion as well. 

Don't forget to copy and paste a link to the other thread. 😉

[Frankieflowers]

12 hours ago, Claymore said:

Don't forget to copy and paste a link to the other thread

Thank you!

I already pasted the link on my main thread.

[Frankieflowers]

On 12/18/2021 at 8:59 PM, burty said:

this is great well done to all involved

 

Thanks!

[Frankieflowers]

On 12/18/2021 at 10:12 PM, Sam44 said:

That front mount looks smart. Congratulations Frankie really well done and in record time in all honestly an amazing job.

I see so many projects get messy and never get finished. Much respect to you and your crew of lads.

I bet this sounds and goes great.

Love it.

Just had a good read threw, Great explanation on everything. 

  

Your words make me very happy after all the months spent dreaming and researching. Your information and involvement has been precious especially at the beginning. I will post more videos of the engine running. 

[Sam44]

Have you managed to get the high low boost valve working. If not do you know what boost pressure it's running/boost gauge fitted?. So much respect for this.

I'm going to do a corrola in a few years I recon. possibly a 4afe, use a 7afe engine making a forged 7agte is the plan hopefully, but we will see. 

Edited December 20, 2021 by Sam44

[Frankieflowers]

7 hours ago, Sam44 said:

I'm going to do a corrola in a few years I recon. possibly a 4afe, use a 7afe engine making a forged 7agte is the plan hopefully, but we will see. 

That’s great! My fream was the 3sgte AWD but parts would have been way to expensive for my pockets.

About the boost pressure. As default it is set to high. My gauge give me a maximum of 0.9 bar. I will upload a video to show it. 

[Sam44]

Yeh the 3sge is a monster of an engine. A true group b rally machine. 

Thanks for the information I didn't know what the default pressure is on the ep 4efte was. 

Yeh the 7agte is not a engine Toyota made its a true mix up of parts. It costs around 3k to make a forged engine but I think a better unit than the more modern 2zz and 1zz. I call it the baby 3sgte. First I've got to finish the paseo and starlet. 

 

[Frankieflowers]

12 hours ago, Sam44 said:

Yeh the 3sge is a monster of an engine. A true group b rally machine. 

Thanks for the information I didn't know what the default pressure is on the ep 4efte was. 

Yeh the 7agte is not a engine Toyota made its a true mix up of parts. It costs around 3k to make a forged engine but I think a better unit than the more modern 2zz and 1zz. I call it the baby 3sgte. First I've got to finish the paseo and starlet. 

 

Got it!

Custom 4efte boost goes at 0.95 bars  you can see it in

video  

 

[Frankieflowers]

We installed the front intercooler. Great job. As I tested it I immediately noticed that maximum boost went from 1 psi with the original setup to 0.9. Why? Apparently there are no air leaks socwhy is the engine so powerless compared to the previous setup?

@Sam44 @Claymore @RoyalDutchie

[Frankieflowers]

Let me know. I remember you telling be I would gain 15% power in the midrange. 

[Claymore]

13 hours ago, Frankieflowers said:

We installed the front intercooler. Great job. As I tested it I immediately noticed that maximum boost went from 1 psi with the original setup to 0.9. Why? Apparently there are no air leaks socwhy is the engine so powerless compared to the previous setup?

@Sam44 @Claymore @RoyalDutchie

IMG_4928.MOVUnavailable IMG_4929.MOVUnavailable

Let me just confirm, originally you had 1 bar of boost and now you have 0.9 bar of boost?

Also the Glanza has a boost cut (overboost protection) built into the ecu at 0.8 or 0.85 bar which acts as a limiter. How are you producing more pressure than this? Maybe your gauge reads a bit wrong. The ct9 producing 1 bar will also be close to its limits as far as efficiencies go as well.

The most likely explanation is that the new intercooler has a higher pressure drop because it is longer / more resistant turbulators than the original Toyota one. The benefit is the charge air entering the engine should now be cooler / denser and give better performance that way. PSI is not the only thing that makes bhp.

What size intercooler core do you have?

[Frankieflowers]

3 hours ago, Claymore said:

Let me just confirm, originally you had 1 bar of boost and now you have 0.9 bar of boost?

Also the Glanza has a boost cut (overboost protection) built into the ecu at 0.8 or 0.85 bar which acts as a limiter. How are you producing more pressure than this? Maybe your gauge reads a bit wrong. The ct9 producing 1 bar will also be close to its limits as far as efficiencies go as well.

The most likely explanation is that the new intercooler has a higher pressure drop because it is longer / more resistant turbulators than the original Toyota one. The benefit is the charge air entering the engine should now be cooler / denser and give better performance that way. PSI is not the only thing that makes bhp.

What size intercooler core do you have?

Definitely the pressure gouge isn’t precise. I have Bres with what you are saying. The only thing I feel is less power in the mid range like before where wheels would spin also in third gear. This set up is definitely more professional and ready for a new ECU Master (EMU Classic) and brand new map. That will be the next step. 

[Sam44]

You have lost power using a fmic? 

It should increase power by having a much cooler air charge, because of the increased volume of the pipes and new core it will come on full pressure slightly later, not feeling as smooth. 

The intake air temps will be considerably lower affecting fueling by way of intake air temp sensor..??

The original top mount intercooler is very inefficient especially with out the bonnet/scoop seal. it could have been over fueling slightly because of the air inlet temperature giving you a better air fuel mix for power. 

It would be good to know exactly what boost pressure you are on and at what rpm.

Drive it around for a few days, do a blink code read out straight away again. And remove number 4 spark plug and send me a close up picture. If possible. Make sure there are no boost leaks. 

If needed a good adjustable fuel pressure reg like the fse units can be used to correct any slight fueling offsets. This will allow you to bring the power back. First these tests need carrying out. 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Sam44

[Claymore]

Its also worth mentioning that about half of the intercooler core is covered up by the bumper and licence plate. 

Intercoolers need to have air passing through them to cool the charge air efficiently, it would help if the bumper could be trimmed but I understand if you want to leave it as it is. Or drill a line of holes below the intercooler slot. I don't think there is room for ducting, could blank off the gaps either side to help funnel air into the core.

*Edit* If you want to check the pressure drop from the intercooler you can measure it by adding a second boost gauge taking its signal from before the intercooler. You can then compare the two gauge readings to see the pressure drop.

Edited December 28, 2021 by Claymore
Added detail re pressure drop

[Frankieflowers]

On 12/28/2021 at 3:15 PM, Claymore said:

If you want to check the pressure drop from the intercooler you can measure it by adding a second boost gauge taking its signal from before the intercooler. You can then compare the two gauge readings to see the pressure drop.

Where do I connect the boost gauge? Which pipe?

thanks for your comments. I am trying to figure out why I had a drastic drop of power. Everyone wrote that with a decent bigger intercooler and correct pipes I would have a 15% gain of power especially in the mid range with the original CT9 turbo without mapping. The turbo lag it’s quite important now and I lost the power that would make driving exciting. So it is obvious that if I change the turbo or get this one refurbished and wider inside with the bigger rotator (if that is the name) and obviously a brand new Achoo and map I will have power. That is in my project but we are talking about €1500. I was hoping that with the money I just spent I would have a good feeling and at least the same power.

 

[Frankieflowers]

On 12/28/2021 at 2:11 PM, Sam44 said:

You have lost power using a fmic? 

It should increase power by having a much cooler air charge, because of the increased volume of the pipes and new core it will come on full pressure slightly later, not feeling as smooth. 

The intake air temps will be considerably lower affecting fueling by way of intake air temp sensor..??

The original top mount intercooler is very inefficient especially with out the bonnet/scoop seal. it could have been over fueling slightly because of the air inlet temperature giving you a better air fuel mix for power. 

It would be good to know exactly what boost pressure you are on and at what rpm.

Drive it around for a few days, do a blink code read out straight away again. And remove number 4 spark plug and send me a close up picture. If possible. Make sure there are no boost leaks. 

If needed a good adjustable fuel pressure reg like the fse units can be used to correct any slight fueling offsets. This will allow you to bring the power back. First these tests need carrying out. 

Apparently there are no air leaks. The intercooler isn’t oversized and maybe it doesn’t get enough air but it’s shouldn’t have  dropped power drastically. Boost lag is noticeable and I see it on the gouge as well. I am basically one point lower compared to before. Please tell me more about the fuel regulator and how I could fix this before changing the ECU and mapping. It will take some time before I do that job and I want to have my power back. Thanks

[Frankieflowers]

On 12/27/2021 at 11:29 AM, Claymore said:

What size intercooler core do you have?

I bought an intercooler but I ended up installing a smaller one because it would fit better and I was hoping it would have less turbo lag as some friends advised. My goal is to change the echo and map it for daily use. As @Sam44 once said do you don’t want to go higher than 180 hp for a daily you. This said again I don’t understand why I had big power drop of power even if everything is attached properly and my pipes are shorter than the usual Starlet setup. I went straight down to the IC from the turbo instead of going all around like the Starlet FMIC do kits do. 

[Frankieflowers]

On 12/28/2021 at 2:11 PM, Sam44 said:

You have lost power using a fmic? 

It should increase power by having a much cooler air charge, because of the increased volume of the pipes and new core it will come on full pressure slightly later, not feeling as smooth. 

The intake air temps will be considerably lower affecting fueling by way of intake air temp sensor..??

The original top mount intercooler is very inefficient especially with out the bonnet/scoop seal. it could have been over fueling slightly because of the air inlet temperature giving you a better air fuel mix for power. 

It would be good to know exactly what boost pressure you are on and at what rpm.

Drive it around for a few days, do a blink code read out straight away again. And remove number 4 spark plug and send me a close up picture. If possible. Make sure there are no boost leaks. 

If needed a good adjustable fuel pressure reg like the fse units can be used to correct any slight fueling offsets. This will allow you to bring the power back. First these tests need carrying out. 

Apparently there are no air leaks. The intercooler isn’t oversized and maybe it doesn’t get enough air but it’s shouldn’t have  dropped power drastically. Boost lag is noticeable and I see it on the gouge as well. I am basically one point lower compared to before. Please tell me more about the fuel regulator and how I could fix this before changing the ECU and mapping. It will take some time before I do that job and I want to have my power back. Thanks

[Claymore]

12 hours ago, Frankieflowers said:

Where do I connect the boost gauge? Which pipe?

thanks for your comments. I am trying to figure out why I had a drastic drop of power. Everyone wrote that with a decent bigger intercooler and correct pipes I would have a 15% gain of power especially in the mid range with the original CT9 turbo without mapping. The turbo lag it’s quite important now and I lost the power that would make driving exciting. So it is obvious that if I change the turbo or get this one refurbished and wider inside with the bigger rotator (if that is the name) and obviously a brand new Achoo and map I will have power. That is in my project but we are talking about €1500. I was hoping that with the money I just spent I would have a good feeling and at least the same power.

The first thing to do before changing turbo (we call the larger compressor wheel install a "hybrid turbo") and ecu, fuel pressure reg, is to find the problem you now have.

Firstly, what did you change on the car before the problem occurred? Not being rude but it is always the first thing to check and if it was only the intercooler and pipe work then that is where to look. Check for leaks from hose clamps, intake manifold ports, Dump valve can leak (remove and block the pipes, go for drive to check), check intercooler for cracks etc. Some people do a "smoke test" to see if there are any leaks in the intake system. Also might be worth doing a compression test. Could remove the exhaust pipe from the turbo and check the wastegate port hasn't cracked too.

If the intercooler is oversized it would add a delay before the boost reached its requested pressure, but it should still get to the desired pressure. If the intercooler is too small / restrictive it will restrict the flow of air and cause a pressure drop preventing the boost reaching its correct pressure. What size core did you buy?

If you want to test the pressure drop you need a second boost gauge. First install both on the intake manifold port and compare the readings. The gauges should read the same. Then leave one attached to intake manifold and add the other to a port on the hose as close to the turbo outlet as possible (red arrow pipe). Then compare the boost readings when at full throttle / boost. If you want to only test the intercooler drop (not pipework as well) you have to install the gauge fittings in the intercooler end tanks, but this is extreme and unnecessary. I would talk to your tuner and see if he can help, they do this sort of stuff all the time, would be a lot safer and easier to control on a dyno. If you still have the bigger intercooler, you could swap it at the dyno and do a power run to compare.

One other thing I will say is that the stock 4efte exhaust manifold has a quite bad restriction (green arrow bad, red arrow ok) in the no.3 runner (and some restrictions in 1,2,4 as well), most people don't recommend running high boost levels with the manifold as it can cause piston ring land damage.

Edited December 30, 2021 by Claymore

[Frankieflowers]

1 hour ago, Claymore said:

what did you change on the car before the problem occurred? Not being rude but it is always the first thing to check and if it was only the intercooler and pipe work then that is where to look. Check for leaks from hose clamps, intake manifold ports, Dump valve can leak (remove and block the pipes, go for drive to check), check intercooler for cracks etc. Some people do a "smoke test" to see if there are any leaks in the intake system. Also might be worth doing a compression test. Could remove the exhaust pipe from the turbo and check the wastegate port hasn't cracked too.

The engine was perfectly fine. We just installed the pipes and the intercooler. 

[Frankieflowers]

1 hour ago, Claymore said:

One other thing I will say is that the stock 4efte exhaust manifold has a quite bad restriction (green arrow bad, red arrow ok) in the no.3 runner (and some restrictions in 1,2,4 as well), most people don't recommend running high boost levels with the manifold as it can cause piston ring land damage.

Which custom manifold do you suggest to buy?

[Frankieflowers]

1 hour ago, Claymore said:

The first thing to do before changing turbo (we call the larger compressor wheel install a "hybrid turbo") and ecu, fuel pressure reg, is to find the problem you now have.

Firstly, what did you change on the car before the problem occurred? Not being rude but it is always the first thing to check and if it was only the intercooler and pipe work then that is where to look. Check for leaks from hose clamps, intake manifold ports, Dump valve can leak (remove and block the pipes, go for drive to check), check intercooler for cracks etc. Some people do a "smoke test" to see if there are any leaks in the intake system. Also might be worth doing a compression test. Could remove the exhaust pipe from the turbo and check the wastegate port hasn't cracked too.

If the intercooler is oversized it would add a delay before the boost reached its requested pressure, but it should still get to the desired pressure. If the intercooler is too small / restrictive it will restrict the flow of air and cause a pressure drop preventing the boost reaching its correct pressure. What size core did you buy?

If you want to test the pressure drop you need a second boost gauge. First install both on the intake manifold port and compare the readings. The gauges should read the same. Then leave one attached to intake manifold and add the other to a port on the hose as close to the turbo outlet as possible (red arrow pipe). Then compare the boost readings when at full throttle / boost. If you want to only test the intercooler drop (not pipework as well) you have to install the gauge fittings in the intercooler end tanks, but this is extreme and unnecessary. I would talk to your tuner and see if he can help, they do this sort of stuff all the time, would be a lot safer and easier to control on a dyno. If you still have the bigger intercooler, you could swap it at the dyno and do a power run to compare.

One other thing I will say is that the stock 4efte exhaust manifold has a quite bad restriction (green arrow bad, red arrow ok) in the no.3 runner (and some restrictions in 1,2,4 as well), most people don't recommend running high boost levels with the manifold as it can cause piston ring land damage.

You pointed an arrow on our custom hot pipe. What do you have to say about it?? It does exactly what the other half pipes I’ve seen do. Thanks