I'm in the process of buying all the things needed for a tII swap. I have an 88 GXL and this is what i have purchased so far: Ecu, Engine wiring harness, AFM, Selenoid resistor, boost sensor(all from an 87 TII), throttle cable, emmission block off plates, dual alternator pulley. Short of the drive line which i plan on replacing shortly after the car runs again what else should i need. The plan is to keep the dash wiring and such. I'm under the impression i'm going to need a "knock computer" and a brake booster line? Any pictures of what they look like? and what exaclty do i need to do to integrate the car harness with the ecu harness? The plan is to get a j-spec motor. Should that cause any more problems? I want to make sure i have everything i need and make this as smooth as possible. I respect a lot of your opinions so please help me out and lets get another turbo rx7 on the road.

 

Kabooski

 

Kevin landers has it all up on his site, (http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/) but as a quick reference on a S4 you will need:

13BT motor, including Intake duct, accessories, AFM
ECU (N333 or N332 or N338--S4 T2 ECUs) and harness.
13BT throttle cable
Boost sensor (passengers shock tower)
Knock Computer (top electronic box in passengers kick panel)
Motor mounts (if the ones that you have are worn out)
T2 Hood or FMIC
Boost gauge and mount

and tools to do the swap.

that would be the bear min. But to do it right your should also replace the drive line (tranny, tranny mounts, rear end, flywheel, clutch, starter, clutch slave, half shafts, drive shaft,) swaybars, springs, and dash harness.

A Jspec motor is a great choice to rebuild, and get all your accessories, but most of the Jspec motors have been sitting in Junk yards for the last 5 to 10 years and will have problems within 5k-10K miles unless they are rebuilt. I would not (and no longer) install a Jspec unless it has been rebuilt.

On both the swaps I have done now I built custom harness out of the parts of the cut harness that came with the motor. I have a back ground in designing harnesses for automotive applications (security and CPUs for one of the Big three), so it was no big deal for me to move pins or add plugs as needed.

IMO: unless you are very mechanically inclined (in other words ready to pop the motor open yourself) would not recommend doing the swap. You would be much better off (and spend less money in the long run) just selling your car and buying a T2. The only exception to that rule would be for someone with a 'vert or a Sport where there are other advantages to the swap.

But swaping on a GXL... well a GXL is almost a T2 with how it is equipped anyway, so there is no real reason to swap when you can just buy a T2 very simularly equipped.

 

My motor in my GXL is on its last leg and thats why i'm going to do the swap in the first place. Also i purchased the car for next to nothing and this is something i want to do. That being said, i install car audio for a living and deal with all kind of wiring all day so i cant imagine that the harness' issues cant be all that bad with the proper direction. Thats why i turned to you, icemark. Your the man. anyways so think you could explain what will have to be done to mix the ecu harness from an 87 and 88 car harness? No huge hurry, but i'm extrememly interested in what you have to say. Thanks!

 

Plug em in...

Everything works right 'cept for (IIRC) the alternator wiring which requires very little in the way of custom work, and I think the coolant temp gauge on teh dash needs rewired. Those are the only things Ive noticed in my swaps...

 

Yeah, like Kevin says, plug em in.

The only exception would be like how I did it, with using the Stock NA harness for both the dash and the engine, and modifiying it.

If I was doing it again I would try harder to find a dash and Engine harness for a 88 T2 rather than the custom building route.