iToaster's GS300 Chronicles
08-24-14, 09:56 PM
#1
Pole Position
Thread Starter
iToaster's GS300 Chronicles
Seeing how I'm on the home stretch of a 2JZ-GTE swap in my GS, I guess it's time to start one of these build thread things. Short backstory: Around the beginning of the summer of 2013 I decided to use some savings to buy a Lexus, the reasoning being that it should satisfy my luxury feature fetish instead of spending more money on upgrades for my Celica and Corolla. So, I found a cheap GS that some foolish person had smashed the side of into a pole. It was well within my price range, so I took her home. Two new doors later I had a (mostly) repaired GS. Of course, as I should have known, I can't leave a car alone, so the goodies started rolling in. Following a year of research and the use of my knowledge of Japanese to get cool stuff, I collected enough bits and pieces to begin my swap.
Mod list:
Suspension:
-Megan coilovers at slightly lower than stock height
-Urethane caster arm bushings (and yes, new balljoints)
Interior:
-Full black wood swap, first JDM, then SportDesign to eliminate center console gap, including JDM steering wheel
-Complete LED interior swap with stock-ish green backlighting
-JDM Multi Display climate control unit
-'01+ radio swap (plus negative screen inversion)
-'01+ cluster bezel and center vents
-JBL MS-8 signal processor in the trunk driving bi-amped 6.5" JBL components in the front, 6.5" coaxials in the rear, and a Rockford Fosgate 10" sub in the trunk.
Exterior:
-'01+ taillights
-OEM yellow fog lights
-Hybrid USDM/JDM power folding mirrors and associated stuff (a post about it)
-Slightly misaligned driver's door.
-A couple stylish dings and clear coat flakes
Go fast stuff:
-Complete Aristo 2JZ-GTE VVTi swap
-TOM'S TEC II ECU
-Sard 3" stainless steel down pipe with catalyst
-HKS FMIC
-Aftermarket thick Aristo full aluminum radiator
-Big ol' tranny cooler
Some pictures for anybody interested:
Your standard black on black GS (her good side):
Interior (pre SD wood):
My swap:
Box of swap goodies:
Farewell to the 2JZ-GE after 290k miles of service (somewhat of a shame, as it still ran fine):
My swap, as it sits the night of this post:
Mod list:
Suspension:
-Megan coilovers at slightly lower than stock height
-Urethane caster arm bushings (and yes, new balljoints)
Interior:
-Full black wood swap, first JDM, then SportDesign to eliminate center console gap, including JDM steering wheel
-Complete LED interior swap with stock-ish green backlighting
-JDM Multi Display climate control unit
-'01+ radio swap (plus negative screen inversion)
-'01+ cluster bezel and center vents
-JBL MS-8 signal processor in the trunk driving bi-amped 6.5" JBL components in the front, 6.5" coaxials in the rear, and a Rockford Fosgate 10" sub in the trunk.
Exterior:
-'01+ taillights
-OEM yellow fog lights
-Hybrid USDM/JDM power folding mirrors and associated stuff (a post about it)
-Slightly misaligned driver's door.
-A couple stylish dings and clear coat flakes
Go fast stuff:
-Complete Aristo 2JZ-GTE VVTi swap
-TOM'S TEC II ECU
-Sard 3" stainless steel down pipe with catalyst
-HKS FMIC
-Aftermarket thick Aristo full aluminum radiator
-Big ol' tranny cooler
Some pictures for anybody interested:
Your standard black on black GS (her good side):
Interior (pre SD wood):
My swap:
Box of swap goodies:
Farewell to the 2JZ-GE after 290k miles of service (somewhat of a shame, as it still ran fine):
My swap, as it sits the night of this post:
08-26-14, 12:19 AM
#3
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Tonight's progress:
-Hood reinstalled
-Hooked up driveshaft
-Shift lever hooked up to linkage
-Fuel feed and return lines hooked up
-Heater hoses dealt with
-Other small hoses dealt with, too
-Temporary throttle cable installed until I get a Supra cable
-Major electrical connections hooked up (grounds plus alternator and starter positives)
-Transmission cooler hooked up
-Power steering pump reinstalled
-Power steering lines modified and remote reservoir installed
-FMIC installed, then lightly painted black on the front facing bits for "stealth mode"
-Horn relocation due to intercooler
-Hood reinstalled
-Hooked up driveshaft
-Shift lever hooked up to linkage
-Fuel feed and return lines hooked up
-Heater hoses dealt with
-Other small hoses dealt with, too
-Temporary throttle cable installed until I get a Supra cable
-Major electrical connections hooked up (grounds plus alternator and starter positives)
-Transmission cooler hooked up
-Power steering pump reinstalled
-Power steering lines modified and remote reservoir installed
-FMIC installed, then lightly painted black on the front facing bits for "stealth mode"
-Horn relocation due to intercooler
08-26-14, 04:43 AM
#4
Pole Position
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I also have a toms tec ecu! May I ask how are you going to get that thing to work since it does have an immobilzer chip in it? And btw great work!!
Last edited by handoverfi; 08-26-14 at 04:46 AM.
08-26-14, 07:47 PM
#6
Pole Position
Thread Starter
That said...
Tonight's update is brought to you by the following sponsors: iToaster's Running Engine Club, The Foundation for Not Forgetting to Plug In Your Ignitor, and the Association of Not Buying Enough Transmission Fluid.
Today was productive, to say the least. I installed the center section of the exhaust, which is a factory Aristo center section that allows me to reuse the rest of the stock exhaust until I get something nice to put on in its place. The radiator was installed and the coolant filled with fresh Toyota red. I mounted the intake to the engine after making a small extension from some 3" aluminum pipe I had and installed the Aristo MAF. The TOM'S ECU went in, then finally the battery. Finally, it was time to crank her over, but I couldn't get it started for some reason. I checked the fuel lines before noticing that I had left the ignitor unplugged after adding the tachometer wire. After that was dealt with, the motor started right up.
So, I'm pleased to say that my swap is on the home stretch. The engine is running and everything works; A/C, heater, power steering, and so on. The only minor issue is that I underestimated the amount of tranny fluid I needed, so she's spending one more night up on the jack stands.
As always, I appreciate everybody's comments.
Some pictures of today's progress:
All intake piping and hoses hooked up, radiator installed, etc:
The proud moment (and no CEL!):
A picture of the engine running (because you can tell...):
The bumper hanging off of the front waiting to be bolted back on, plus the very stealthy FMIC:
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08-27-14, 04:05 AM
#8
Lexus Test Driver
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There are 2 versions one that doesn't need an immobilizer 98-00 and the one that does need a immobilizer 01-05, if you bought the one with the immobilizer and they didn't sell it with the key then you my friend have a paperweight. All Tom's ecu that i have seen for sale came with the key and some with the ignition cylinder included.
08-27-14, 05:34 AM
#9
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There are 2 versions one that doesn't need an immobilizer 98-00 and the one that does need a immobilizer 01-05, if you bought the one with the immobilizer and they didn't sell it with the key then you my friend have a paperweight. All Tom's ecu that i have seen for sale came with the key and some with the ignition cylinder included.
08-28-14, 07:07 PM
#10
Pole Position
Thread Starter
After sorting out a few minor issues, I'm proud to say that the car is officially back on the road. I'm quite happy with how straightforward of a swap it ended up being, as I never really encountered any major setbacks. The only major hair loss moment was a mysterious coolant leak, but it turned out that the limited access to the heater hoses prevented adequate tightening of the clamps which was subsequently dealt with. All I have to do now is figure out what to do next.
Now for the pictures:
The remounted bumper following a little trimming for the intercooler pipes:
...and proof that I at least made it to the gas station:
Now for the pictures:
The remounted bumper following a little trimming for the intercooler pipes:
...and proof that I at least made it to the gas station:
08-29-14, 04:35 PM
#13
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Thanks, you could say I was fairly motivated. No videos yet, but I should have some later on.
The TOM'S ECU works well, as it runs just like the factory ECU but with a more aggressive map and the removal of speed and boost cuts. I'm even able to pull codes from it using Techstream on Japanese regional settings.
On a side note, one interesting thing that I noticed is that according to the trip computer in my Multi Display, I'm now averaging over 26 mpg after my last fill up. I would be skeptical, but the needle on the gas gauge seems to confirm it (and yes, I do have an Aristo pump, so it should be accurate).
Here's a picture for proof. You'll notice the metric units and Japanese, but the trip computer just reads the actual trip information as a number calculated in the gauge cluster without units tagged to it there, so the numbers are actually in miles and miles per gallon.
The TOM'S ECU works well, as it runs just like the factory ECU but with a more aggressive map and the removal of speed and boost cuts. I'm even able to pull codes from it using Techstream on Japanese regional settings.
On a side note, one interesting thing that I noticed is that according to the trip computer in my Multi Display, I'm now averaging over 26 mpg after my last fill up. I would be skeptical, but the needle on the gas gauge seems to confirm it (and yes, I do have an Aristo pump, so it should be accurate).
Here's a picture for proof. You'll notice the metric units and Japanese, but the trip computer just reads the actual trip information as a number calculated in the gauge cluster without units tagged to it there, so the numbers are actually in miles and miles per gallon.
