1987 7M-GE Rebuild

[zonian91]

So, I decided to drive my son's 1st car around, 87 MK III (7M-GE), after spending $800 to change all the oil seals and have the motor checked out, which ended being a complete waste of money and time because the bottom end gave out. Apparently, the shop did not do a compression test. The jackass who had the car prior to us over tightened the head bolts and crushed the head gasket. To make a long story short, after 2 days of tearing the motor apart, I found that the #6 and #4 rod bearings gave out.

I would love to turn this motor into a turbo motor, but after doing some research online, I have been completely discouraged to do so because it takes a lot of work and money. So, I'm looking to get the most horsepower and torque out the naturally aspirated 7M-GE.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. If I can get an additional 50 or more horsepower or more, I would a happy camper.

 

[Silver MK3]

Getting more power out of the 7MGE without boost isn't easy at all. It's a very efficient motor from the factory already.

 

[zonian91]

Could you get me a step by step on how to boost this motor with a turbo then? That would be awesome! I found a step by step video on YouTube on how to do it, but they guy who posted it has never answered any of my questions.
https://youtu.be/SJhdIqZj_-o

 

[zonian91]

If you watch the video, the motor looks great, but he never shows you if he uses a different wiring harness, CPU, etc and it would have been great if he posted a 2nd video with it running.

 

[andrew_mx83]

Have the shop take 0.050 or so off the head and block to give you reasonable comp
Add cams in the high 260 degree advertised range and heavy duty springs
Add ARP rod bolts and balance the rotating assembly
Add a standalone or at least change the crystals in the stock ECU to raise the rev limit

Should be a fun little package to scream around in for not too many $$ over a stock rebuild and still very driveable

 

[zonian91]

Thanks. Yeah, I already had the head checked and shaved. I asked the guys at the machine shop if I should get a valve job, but they said it was good to go. I'm taking the block and the crank in on Wednesday. Will light weight forged aluminum pulleys make a difference?

 

[andrew_mx83]

I dont like aluminium pulleys personally, the belts tend to eat them over time however the oem steel ones are fairly light and will outlast many engine rebuilds
this particularly applies to cam gears, i would never run a cam gear with alloy teeth as ive seen how badly they wear! i modify the OEM steel gears instead to have an adjustable alloy centre which is extremely durable.
http://technicoracing.com/cs/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=245
i havent had pictures taken with the new ones yet but they are much sexier looking with the outer section in black and a shinier inner alloy section


make sure the guy takes a decent amount off the block then, its all about the comp when going NA. or just skim the block and pay the money to get the head recut to 0.040 off stock thickness... this is still very cheap comp compared to custom pistons and works just as well. ive never taken more than about 0.030 off the block and the piston-to-head clearance probably wont allow for much more on a OEM HG (which is all you will need) anyway

 

[zonian91]

I plan on replacing the oil pump, since it can not be replaced without removing the motor. So, I'm wondering what type and manufacturer I should purchased.

 

[supraguy@aol]

Only one company makes oil pumps for our cars, Aisin, the oem supplier.
However, if you want tighter tolerances, i believe that Driftmotion sells improved stock pumps.

 

[zonian91]

Thx

 

[supraguy@aol]

I always thought that a simple na upgrade would be a 2jzge on the 7mge electronics.
Plus you have a good base for upgrades later down the road.

 

[zonian91]

I found another company who makes an oil pump that I found on Amazon.com called Evergreen? Ever heard of it?

 

[RHDSupra89]

I haven't heard about evergreen. Would defiantly be worth some research though

 

[zonian91]

So, I actually called Evergreen and they recommended the AISIN Oil pump. Can you believe that shit!

 

[AbsoluteSpeed]

Ha! That's funny. Oem is the way to go in my opinion, glad to hear evergreen has the same opinion.

 

[supraguy@aol]

I guarantee you that Evergreen just buys Aisin pumps, and stamps them. I bought an oil pump of Rock auto, and the 'Aisin' stamp was ground off it.

 

[supraguy@aol]

On a related note, I have a brand new Aisin pump still in its Toyota box, if you're really looking for one.

 

[zonian91]

Yes, I am. How much do you want for it? Where do you live?

 

[zonian91]

 

[zonian91]

This what I did to the top of the motor, before the bottom end gave out.