Plugging In An Efi Engine To My Carina At 170 (Carb)

kalingabd · May 23, 2016

Hey guys,

Need ur input in sorting this out.

I have a carina AT 170 for 3 years and im happily running it H/E, the engine is close to under compression and I am thinking of replacing the engine instead of repairing it.

Current Engine - 5AFE carb engine

Problems with current engine

- Blackish oil..Carb is okay but not at its best.

- Does about 7-8 in city. Previously did about 9-10 but I run about 1500 kms per month, slowly has gone down and as per the mechanic ( who did a good job previously) says the carb and the engine is also UC. The car was running on gaas previously as well (previous owner mucked it. not me )

- Bit noisy

- Doesnt leak oil, but there is a bit of oil on the top of the engine.

I thought of plugging in a 5AFE EFI engine. and I need ur input on this on these factors;

- Whats needed to be done? Replacement of engine/computer box/ and fuel pump? Anything I should be worried about?

- I have got a good engine for a cheap price...Any clue if i can buy the computer box separately? and fuel pump separately?

- Any good places where I can get a good engine? If its a very good carb engine I do not mind actually. Any places I should start looking from?

- Last but deffa not the least, has anyone on this forum done this to AT 170 or any car similar?

Thanks

Twin Turbo · May 24, 2016

First question..how much are you willing to spend?

Second, is worth it?

You may be able to instead of re inventing the wheel, Get a good tune up. and get most of the lost power/ economy at a fraction of The cost of a a new engine while keeping the original engine.

Your car may sill be running on the gas tune settings. The oil on top of the engine will stop with a new valve cover gasket.

Use 20W50 oil for the noisy engine .

There re lots of tuning - guru's discussed in this forum who have done good jobs.

P.s As for your conversion, yes, you'll need a complete wiring harness and ECU . but the hardest thing is that most 20 odd year old cars were chopped and not dismantled by people who did not see the value of wiring.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Twin Turbo

iRage · May 24, 2016

For starters...if you have a 5A-FE engine it means it is already an EFI engine. In Toyota engine codes, the E means EFI....if it is a carb you probably have a 5A-F which puts out like 85HP.

If you want to stay authentic you could go with a 5A-FE (which puts out a bit lesser than 100HP). try to get a later version of the engine. Also, I would reckon a 5A-FE is easier to find as it did come in the Carina T200 series as well...also the Corollas and Sprinters and Corona Premios...

Yes you would need to get yourself a harness, ECU, etc....which again I would imagine can be easily sourced. As for getting the job done...there are good palces who can do the conversion...

So at the end of the day it depends on how much you are willing to spend in money, time and effort.

EDIT: Sorry I can't remember the exact power figures off the top of my head..so don't take it as being entirely accurate..but they were generally around that area...

Edited May 24, 2016 by iRage

Supra_Natural · May 24, 2016

Another thing you might consider if you want a bump in performance is dropping in a 4AGE. Since you're considering doing the whole conversion thing anyway you might as well get some extra power out of it!

iRage · May 24, 2016

Supra's suggestion would be a nice tweak....the T170 series didn't necessarily come in a GT (or equivalent) variant with a 4a-ge...however it did come with a 4A-FE...thus you should not have any mounting issues at least

Again...it depends on how much you are willing to spend on it.....

kalingabd · May 25, 2016

Well my budget is around 2-2.5 lakhs. Well, whether its worth the money is a question.

I checked at a few places and they quote a price of about 85K-100K for the engine (5AFE - efi with wire harness, ECU), without the gear box. All the available gear boxes for sale are auto. I prefer manual transmission. Another point i took into consideration is that the efi engine performs better in fuel, and I am planning to use it for at least 2 more years (I love the car - my first car). Further to this, my mechanic says the engine needs an overhaul, i checked the price difference and it seems the overhaul and an EFI replacement is somewhat the same cost

Few questions;

- Dropping in a 4AGE (or 4AFE) will require a lot of changes. Wont it? I dont think it will fit into my budget

- Any place you guys can recommend for the replacement. Any specialists that do regularly these stuff-

- Any changes I have to do to the fuel pump or any other part.

Sorry if my questions are really basic. I am no expert

RViji · May 25, 2016

Even if you put in another engine,it's recommended to overhaul it before...

Edited May 25, 2016 by RViji

iRage · May 25, 2016

Well..a decent 4A-GE is going to be at least double the price of the 5A-FE. I don't think it will require too much mods to mount it in there as the T170 came with a 4A engine anyway....

Twin Turbo · May 25, 2016

On 5/25/2016 at 8:38 AM, kalingabd said:
Well my budget is around 2-2.5 lakhs. Well, whether its worth the money is a question.
I checked at a few places and they quote a price of about 85K-100K for the engine (5AFE - efi with wire harness, ECU), without the gear box. All the available gear boxes for sale are auto. I prefer manual transmission. Another point i took into consideration is that the efi engine performs better in fuel, and I am planning to use it for at least 2 more years (I love the car - my first car). Further to this, my mechanic says the engine needs an overhaul, i checked the price difference and it seems the overhaul and an EFI replacement is somewhat the same cost

Few questions;

- Dropping in a 4AGE (or 4AFE) will require a lot of changes. Wont it? I dont think it will fit into my budget

- Any place you guys can recommend for the replacement. Any specialists that do regularly these stuff-

- Any changes I have to do to the fuel pump or any other part.

Sorry if my questions are really basic. I am no expert

I am,

Any idea of how an auto trans efi engine will run with an manual gear box? -very badly

Yes, you'll need an in-tank pump if you want the real deal. you might need a new tank with that. Alternately, you can fit an in line

high pressure feed pump run off a relay from the ignition/ecu.

P.S. Kindly upload pics of your engine bay.

Edited May 25, 2016 by Twin Turbo

Hoonigan · May 25, 2016

On 5/25/2016 at 11:43 AM, Twin Turbo said:
I am,
Any idea of how an auto trans efi engine will run with an manual gear box? -very badly

Yes, you'll need an in-tank pump if you want the real deal. you might need a new tank with that. Alternately, you can fit an in line

high pressure feed pump run off a relay from the ignition/ecu.

P.S. Kindly upload pics of your engine bay.

You can retrofit an in-tank pump into the old tank. We did that with my Capri.

OP, As others have mentioned, I think the best course of action is to rebuild the engine and carb you have and get it tuned properly. This will address all of the issues you have mentioned.

This is especially the case if you only have a 2 year horizon with the car. You will be at the end of the two year mark by the time you sort out the little niggles that will keep popping up if you go with a conversion.

Twin Turbo · May 25, 2016

On 5/25/2016 at 1:45 PM, Hoonigan said:
You can retrofit an in-tank pump into the old tank. We did that with my Capri.
OP, As others have mentioned, I think the best course of action is to rebuild the engine and carb you have and get it tuned properly. This will address all of the issues you have mentioned.

This is especially the case if you only have a 2 year horizon with the car. You will be at the end of the two year mark by the time you sort out the little niggles that will keep popping up if you go with a conversion.

Q what evidence do we have for overhauling?

No compression test done

No customer complaints of excessive smoke or oil burning

just the word of an enterprising mechanic. Would you let your DOC PERFORM BRAIN SURGERY WHEN YOU COMPLAINED OF A HEAD ACHE.?

Edited May 26, 2016 by Twin Turbo

iRage · May 26, 2016

On 5/25/2016 at 11:20 PM, Twin Turbo said:
just the word of an enterprising mechanic. Would you let your DOC PERFORM BRAIN SURGERY WHEN YOU COMPLAINED OF A HEAD ACHE.?

Fun story.....so when I was in East Timor, my primary physician was the doctor at the Embassy of Japan in Timor. He happened to be a surgeon.

One day my friends and I were at the beach and I got my foot hurt due to a stone buried in the sand. A bit of skin was hanging as it had sliced out and was a bit sandy. Since the embassy was next door, I popped in to get it cleaned and bandaged. I walked in told the Doc what I wanted....Well...I was put on a bed....given an injection...and well...yeah....last I know I walked out looking like I had stepped on a landmine...

Twin Turbo · May 26, 2016

On 5/26/2016 at 1:19 AM, iRage said:
Fun story.....so when I was in East Timor, my primary physician was the doctor at the Embassy of Japan in Timor. He happened to be a surgeon.
One day my friends and I were at the beach and I got my foot hurt due to a stone buried in the sand. A bit of skin was hanging as it had sliced out and was a bit sandy. Since the embassy was next door, I popped in to get it cleaned and bandaged. I walked in told the Doc what I wanted....Well...I was put on a bed....given an injection...and well...yeah....last I know I walked out looking like I had stepped on a landmine...

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-+

There are Doctors and condoctors, in this case a Makabass .!

iRage · May 26, 2016

On 5/26/2016 at 3:43 AM, Twin Turbo said:
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-+
There are Doctors and condoctors, in this case a Makabass .!

LOL....on the contrary...the guy had neatly cut off the skin and cleansed the surrounding area....and it was this neat and tidy circular little area...just serious overkill

Edited May 26, 2016 by iRage