Hey everyone, i'm an extreme NOOB when it comes to rx7's and all the terms u guys use, so i'm trying to ask some questions here. I have an 88 rx7 non turbo, and i am going to swap out the engine for the 13b turbo engine. Will that bolt right in and hook right up with the sensors and wiring harness and all??? or what will i have to do? Also, what year turbo engine should i find that will work easily with my vehicle, i've always been a honda guy, and a toyota guy so now i'm trying something new. Any help would be GREAT, thanks in advance.

 

I'm doing pretty much the exact same thing... it's costing me about $4500. Except I'm replacing a few odds and ends for... 'reliability purposes'. It's going to be a pain in the *** if your a newb. I'm not going to lie, I'm a mass newb as well. Except for the past 3 months I've been doing research on every little thing that will be needed for this swap. When I'm finished with my swap I plan on having pictures and write ups of everything I did and I'll post it when I'm finished in a .pdf file most likely. Enjoy your n/a!

 

yeah i'm enjoying the vehicle alright, i kinda wanna keep it NA and just add on some bolt on parts, 4500 for the complete swap is kinda spendy.... something weird with the vehicle is that the idle is bouncing up and down when you start it and kinda bogs... should i replace the tps sensor???

 

okay to answer the how to swap/what is needed to swap the easiest answer is everything from a turbo car. unfortunately there are so many differences that by the time you convert and do it right it will most likely have cost you the price a good condition turbo model. but if you really like doing things the hard way or are after something not available (ie turbo convertable, left hand drive because yeah yeah i know turbo verts in japan, bastards!) but you will need a complete turbo motor including all engine sensors, intake and exhaust manifolds including turbocharger, intercooler, bov, turbo inlet pipe. complete engine harness (passenger side from ecu out), turbo model transmission as your non turbo one probably wont last but a very short time under boost, turbo differential again due to non turbo (either wise known as n/a for normally asperaited) diff not being up to the task and most lack the limited slip. now early model (S4 87 & 88 years) have a mechanical limited slip where newer models (S5 89-91) have a vicsous limited slip. the latter tend to wear out faster especially if run through the ringer a bit. you will also most likely want/need to upgrade to turbo spec brakes (4 piston front) because accelerating faster is all fun and games until its time to slow down and you cant! i also believe that the suspension is stiffer on turbo models, but by now your car is probably due for some fresh stuff anyway so that should be easy. as you can tell it is a very involving conversion, that can be done but for the time. effort, and cash invested it is most likely cheaper to sell the n/a and purchase the turbo. now i may have left out some odds and ends, such as, i am not sure if the rear axles are different (ie stronger turbo ones) the driveshaft (i think is the same but again double check with people that have done the swap) and fuel pump could also be different flow rate. but you can always use the search function and find an amazing amount of info on this swap and why to or not to on the forum here. sorry to rant so long but its an involved situation.

secondly your idle bouncing issue and bogging out problem, search for idle issues or idle problems and you will find a plethoria of topics on this which is usually related to bad vacuum lines due to age and heat cracking or bad gaskets somewhere on the intake tract. the tps can be causing the bogging when you start it but so can a million things like clogged/dirty fuel filter or fuel injectors, bad spark plugs and/or wires. i recommend that you hit the archives, read read read, pick up a service manual (the factory one is available online at teamfc3s.org) and remember that sports cars are a like professional atheletes, they are expensive to purchase, expensive to fix, break often, are expected to perform well, like to whine plenty if mistreated, but damn if they arent awesome when its time to win.

 

ive been down both roads owning a real t2 and owning a swaped base model.... id take a real t2 anyday.

but a swap can be had for a relitivly low price if you shop around....

cheapest way... weak link is the rear diff however....
need the following
complete jdm long block t2 engine with trany of correct yr 87-88 $1100
complete passenger side harness ,ecu, knock control box,AFM, pressure sensors.you need t2 throttle cable also!!!$300
now you will use the NA rear diff, and either get a custom fabed driveline or buy one from mazda trix, to go from t2 trany to na rear diff---- $350
getting an exhaust system will cost as much as u want 100-800 depends on what u want
if u got a turbo u would wnat exhaust anyway so i dont count exhaust as cost of the swap....
you would want a FCD also which is another 100

so you can do the total swap for 1800,
in my case, but i wouldnt recomend i took an automatice driveline ( fits t2 front and na rear) and fabbed up a 1" plate metal spacer, because the auto driveline is a bit too short....
so u could get the swap going for 1500 or a bit less if u shop around


right way which cost alot more is to have t2 rear diff driveline, and half shafts....

 

Ahh hell. My rule of thumb is any planed swap will cost twice as much as planed and take 3 times as long as thought. Granted someone experienced can shop it around and can find the best deal but generally this doesn’t happen for a n00b.

I wish I could do a swap as cheep as ^. When you get into it I just have to replace the rest. Figure a easy 3.5k for a good swap and get car back to good running conditions.

Hell this is just my opinion and experience take it or leave it. I am going to feel like IceMark and get my pantys in a wad. All of this is coverd in the FAQ and archive.

After 16 years allot of **** needs replaced.

 

My goal is $4500 if it ends up costing double then I'll kill myself 8). I've done extensive research on every little aspect of this damn swap so I'm pretty sure I can do it for that much. If not, there is something wrong with me. I'm planning on my swap taking 3 months. Of course I'll be using my dad's shop to do the work in, so I got lifts and every tool imaginable. If you aren't going to be using a shop, then it might end up taking longer. But my goal is $4500 in 3 months.

 

^ Well good luck bro! I am sure you can do it for that and in that time.

 

Thanks for all the great info guys, i was wondering if i stick with NA are there good bolt on parts that will give it some decent power??? I got the car for dirt cheap, and i just wanna make it a decent vehicle. Do they sell any bolt on turbo kits for the NA model???

 

www.1300cc.com

 

thanks for the link, but thats just partial kits, know of any complete kits???? Or maybe just some good bolt on parts that'll help me out.

 

Full kits do not exsist. That kit is the best you can get. If you want to turbo your NA and have as little of headaches as posible, get that kit. If you have ?'s of what ells is needed SonicRat will help you put together a parts kit in combination with his kit.

If this is to much for you the easiest HP gains will be exhaust, EMS, N2O, CAI.

 

I wouldn't spend the money on that kit. For $50 used, you can get a set of TII intake manifolds and port them to match the 6 port block. I just don't see the point on spending $1400 on a kit that includes a bunch of stuff you DON'T need, and nothing you actually DO need (ie. turbo, exhaust manifold, etc.) SonicRat's opinion may differ, however.

Regardles, please read the FAQ as it covers much of this.

 

I started my swap three to four weeks ago. Thought I could do it in a weekend because I was able to convert my auto 91 fc to a standard in a week end. HELL NO! I've had to stop and do more research, find and buy more parts and right now I'm being held up on the whole drive line part and I cant find a S5 pressure sensor. Anyways, I'm about 2600 into it and thats because I had to pay 800 for shipping on my S5 Turbo II Engine and tranny. After the driveline then about 2900. So if you want to do the turbo II swap, make sure and research every little bit before you start. It's really not that hard to do. It's just a matter of having all the parts to do it. Don't be like me. I've been kicking myself in the *** over stuff I didn't research .Good luck!

 

Don't do what I did and jump on an S5 T2 long block for cheap, just to find out that I'd have to run standalone, or deal with the wiring to get it to work in my s4 T2.

 

Well if you need help on doing a S4 or s5 swap in a na I've done it. Its not hard at all. You leave the power harness alone and get yourself a emission harness, 13bt long block, transmission, and rearend. You have to wire in the two wires that go to your altanator. Change water temp pin on x16 wire. The rest just fall into place.
Thanks Robert

 

 

That's kind of like saying why spend $1500 for a GT35R when you can buy a used stocker for $150. They're both turbos, go cheap, it'll never bite you in the ***!

Hows this for a new kit:

Used rubber hoses from various parts vehicles
Rusted bolts found in parts box
Used turbos, manifolds, and gaskets of unknown origin
FPR with the return welded shut and a smaller hole drilled to raise pressure
I'll drill a hole in the oil cap and hotglue some rubber hose in there for the return, no drilling required!
I'll throw in a stock downpipe with clogged precats someone threw away years ago
I'll cut a couple of radiators in half and weld them back together to make an intercooler, use some PVC stolen from the neighbors basement for piping

Hell, I'll even dub it the Aaron special.


xoxo

 

Dude you're not supposed to tell them our secret install methods from the Supercharger Install! gah!

 

I think my original message may have sounded a bit harsh...I didn't mean to say that your stuff was crap or anything to that effect.

What I was pointing out was that if someone wanted to go the route of changing the intake instead of making a custom exhaust manifold, the stock TII intakes are more affordable alternative then all the custom stuff that your kit contains. Or even better, leave all the intake manifolds alone and just make a custom exhaust manifold...

Not really....Saying a GT35R is the same as a stock turbo is about like saying the 12A is the same as the 13B. Two different turbos for two different purposes.

As long as it's under $300, you could probably sell one to half of the 2nd gen owners here.

 

I'm in :-)

 

1Revvin7 will make anyone a killer exhaust manifold for the task if keeping your stock intakes, so I have no need to design anything like that.

If you want to hack up TII intakes, you don't really need me to do that, so there's no use in me making anything cheap.

So, my 'kit' was never aimed to be cheap or a way for morons to go turbo. It's kind of just there for the people who want everything in one location and it's all simply open the box and bolt it on.

Though, if anyone would've bothered to email and ask, if you're willing to pay for it, I can get you damn near any turbo/manifold/wastegate for a pretty competitive cost and have a complete bolt-on setup if so needed.

Problem with that is everybody wants different, and I don't have the time to field the calls and help people decide on what they want.


You seem to get the idea of purposes when it comes to turbos, but when it comes to what I'm doing it seems to go out the window awful quick