Hilux 4x4 Forum

Ok so i was never really planning on taking out the 4y, but it needed a recon and the freeze plugs started rusting through, but i got to the point of reconditioning the head and came across someone that rolled with SFA and had a 7MGE that we wanted to let go.
i thought well, if i can pick up an ALMOST straight swop Motor then might aswell just go for it, came with Bellhousing and ecu and pretty much everything else. The Only 2 things i would need would be a Radiator and fan, EFI fuel pump and new clutch.
i just want to ask, what Clutch is most successful for the swop and i read 3 core radiator, but from which vehicle (KZTE?)
and then which fuel pump? and lastly, would i need a surge tank?

i would probably find all this info elsewhere but might aswell ask, ha ha ha.

Sven

Save yourself some beeeg headaches and give the 7mg a miss!
Rather overhaul and EFi your 4y for more drivability whilst retaining the legendary 4y reliability.


Rich

Yes, you would need a surge tank. If however you fit a HP pump inside the tank, you don't need one. This is the neater option with less to be snagged / damaged under the vehicle, but it's quite a bit more work to drop and modify the tank.

An external pump is of course easier to get to in the event of any maintenance / replacement issues, but what we did was to fit an inspection cover under the rear seat (double cab) - two bolts and the seat is out, six small bolts and the cover is off and I can remove the pump out from the top of the tank (it bolts onto a flange that we welded over the hole that was made in the tank).

Something for you to think about.

IIRC the guys with MGE conversions had success with an aluminium BMW 740 radiator.

Thanks Andy, would this be a VW pump? i like the idea of the in tank pump to be honest.

Richard, you know i have had the 4y since i bought the car 12 years ago, but if I'm brutally honest, i think i have only driven the car 30 000km since i bought it and within those 30 000km it hasn't been quite as reliable as i would have liked and has been standing the last 2 years as a result of a freeze plug that rusted through. i don't really know the true potential of the 4y as I'm running on almost half compression but 2 things I'm most concerned about and it might be a silly things, 1 is nelspruit, everything is a loooong steep hill and 2( my biggest concern) is the quantity of trucks on the roads around here, in the past they used to give a gap between 2 trucks for people to get into if they were overtaking, today they sit on one another arses sometimes 3 trucks in a row, in the past i took chances with the 4y but today with my 2 boys i don't really know if i want to take chances overtaking even 1 truck with the current power. Im not sure if the 7mge will solve my problem to be honest, but i don't know if i want to risk reconning the 4y, then efi'ing it and maybe still not happy with it in the end and still ending up doing a conversion, i fear that if the efi doesn't solve the problem of drivability around these parts of the country i might just end up selling the SFA entirely and looking for something like 2.7 IFS or something. I guess throwing money at a 1uz conversion would still leave me in the dark so this motor that came my way is almost a cheaper option to test if the little extra power is all i will need. i am thinking of keeping the 4y and reconditioning it in any case, perhaps that might be in a years time and i might just pop it back in and efi'ing it in anycase if the 7MGE doesn't do it for me.

Sven, the parts the 7mge becomes vary scary now a days.Just keep that in mid.

If it's cheap enough and the motor is still good, then why not give it a try - just keep the 4Y as you said.

Replacing the welsh plugs is cheap and really not a big deal, biggest expenses are going to be honing the bores, replacement rings (and maybe pistons), replacement bearings, seals and head gasket. If the bores are worn oval, then there will be a re-bore and new pistons. Timing chain and guide / tensioner will most likely need to be replaced as well. It could end up costing a fair penny, but then it's original with less hassles and better resale than a conversion.

As Dawie said, 7MGE parts are becoming scarce, those are very old motors, so just keep that in mind as well.

Then to answer your question, yes it's a VW pump that we fitted, the depth of the basket was almost perfect with about 25mm gap between the basket and the bottom of the tank. I suppose that's a good thing in a way, one also doesn't want to suck up all the debris / contaminants that might accumulate at the bottom. I'm not sure which one it is (we tried a couple) but if you do go this route I can always check which model pump we used in the end and let you know.

Sven, Just my 2cents worth from someone who has owned and driven SFA's with both motors, yes the 7m is older but so is the 4y, if youre looking for an engine that is well matched with the SFA's handling and brake capacities the 7m is a true gem, you can actually cruise at the the speed limit, I used to sit comfortably at 130km with 32 inch tires and fuel consumtion was not bad for an L6 at 7.2 km per litre. Overall the SFA is an aging vehicle, hence the reason we try to make it a little more livable. The 4y and 22r were and still are excellent motors, but when you use your vehicle on the tar, a little more power is appreciated.

Regarding fitting in tank fuel pump, look at my thread where I fitted it into the tank , all OEM, except the adaptor to fit the canister


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Hi Sven,

All of the above is true.
I'm considering hi jacking a Cressida in Khayelitsha just to get my hands on a 7MGE Dizzy at the moment.

As a 7M owner I used to defend this conversion but to be honest, I am struggling with parts now.

Please let us know if he wants to part with the engine, I might be interested.

Ciao!

@knupple, thanks for the threads, can I ask, are you in nelspruit, your orange SFA looks like one around town here.

@kaspaas, I already have the motor next to the bakkie at this point, just looking at respraying the engine bay and then popping it in, got it with bell housing and mountings and computer and so forth for R7000, I took a trip to alert in nelspruit to check parts availability before I carry on and they seem to have stock of everything. In America they still use the 7m for many applications, was wondering if I shouldn't just buy a whole rebuild kit and have it sent.

Sven, No, I am in White River. I have seen the similar looking one in Nelspruit

Good choice ........ I've got a complete 7 MGE with mr Turbo management and harness still connected in my garage yours for R6500.00 you can keep it for spares or fit it straight away clutch pressure plate and starter incl .( If you want to safe fuel rather but it in a Jerrycan and leave it in the garage)

Does it fit in or are there firewall modifications to be made? thanks

So never ended up putting the 7mge in, rather rebuilt the 4y and staying with the carb...
So another 7MGE up for sale. sad to not have felt what it would feel like but my gut said stick to the 4y when i started looking around in nelspruit for standard service items

Wise decision! Retaining originality works better and the vehicle does not lose after-market value as it would with a conversion. If you need more power, consider an EFI conversion, still using genuine Toyota bits & pieces so no devaluation but the vehicle become so much more pleasurable to drive.


-F_D

So FD, I now have all the fuel pumps and surge tank and so forth that I was going to use for the 7mge so the conversion is not too far away, now the 7m has a Mr Turbo EFI computer that I could use aswell although from what I have read most people don't like the ecu. Just need to sort out why my valvetrain is so noisy first and then look at other avenues on the vehicle

You can contact LouisZ in Pretoria, he has done many such conversions. It really makes a meaningful difference in performance. Fuel consumption is slightly improved over the carburettor engine but the sheer joy in driving the fuel-injectioned engine is a pleasure to behold.


-F_D