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New 7M-GTE Swap Guide/Pricing

23K views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  Donn29 
#1 · (Edited)
I think there needs to be a clean 7M Swap Guide, and I hope this is it. Keep in mind this is a BASIC swap guide.

If you have question about the swap please make a New Thread in this sub-forum. To suggest a change to the guide, PM me or make a new thread to discuss this guide. This will keep it clean and easy to understand, without having to dig through hundreds of posts and pages.

My 7M Swap Background: I bought my car in May of 2004 and Finally got around to making a 5M-GTE in 2007/2008. This was ok, but I eventually found a good donor for a 7M-GTE swap, and it was only $300. This was pretty cheap but it didn't come with keys, was pretty rough and didn't run. It took me a week to do the wiring myself, but I got it together using the great info on this forum and decided to make it easier for those who aren't in the know, like I once was. This guide will show you what it takes to pretty much have an easy 250+ HP MA60. I made 307hp and 314 ft/lbs according to the dyno shop I went to, and ran a 13.7 with 225 14" street tires, and its pretty much stock(Just missing an IC and has 3" exhaust with high-flow cat).

If you don't buy a donor first, your really doing it the hard way.
This is the best way to do almost any swap, giving you just about everything you need to do the swap, between your old 5M and the donor car.

However, your donor and receiving car probably won't include (Just a Quick List):
  • Raptor Racing Exhaust and RC downpipe(my personal choices)
  • Getting the stock tach working with the 7M-GTE ECU. (MSD 8920)
  • Clutch good enough to hold 300+ ft lbs(I had a good one from a 5M-GTE I did)
  • Wiring books, oil filter relocation(if you want to do it), goofy sized drill bit(13/32") to move the dipstick, and shrink tub/electrial tape connectors, etc.

You will also need to know a bit about removing and installing a 5/7M. Best way to learn is to have done this before. Removing the 5M and 7M from their respective chassis' is a good learning tool.


  1. First you must, MAKE THE DONOR RUN PERFECTLY BEFORE PULLING THE MOTOR OUT! Its a good idea to keep the donor around until you get your new heart running in your new chassis too.
  2. Then you should probably get it rebuilt(MHG, ARPs new rings/bearings), clean the injectors, get the turbo rebuilt, etc. But that line of text could cost you well over $1500. But you won't have to pull it back out again. (Mine had a knock so off to the machine shop it had to go)
  3. Next, buy the wiring manuals for the car the motor came out of, and the one its going into. Should be under ~$60ish shipped From Mark at Vancouver Toyota. This is a Vital Step to your success in the wiring work, and trouble shooting it in the future.
  4. Pull your 5M out.
  5. Snake the 5M Engine Wire Harness out the wire loom hole in the firewall. Now snake the 7M harness in through the same hole(almost imposbile, but you'll figure it out). I left the upper dash pad in but gutted the passenger side. It's probably easy if you remove the AC box from under the dash too.
  6. Make the wiring connections under dash and a few to the engine bay, install MSD Tach Adapter also. I'll make another thread with some info to help out with this rather large step, since its the only hard part of the swap. Other than lining up the engine mounts when you are lowering the motor in, I can never get that done quickly!
  7. Drill a 13/32" hole in the spot where the 5M has its dipstick, on the 7M. You'll see a slanted ridge where it goes. Use a punch and drill it out with a corded drill, as its Cast Iron and takes a long time. Then, plug the hole where the 7M had its dipstick. Lots of options, like tapping the hole, or JBweld ect.
  8. Install 5M oil pan and pump. A later pan and pump is highly suggested. The crankshaft may hit the 5M pump a bit, so make sure to spin the motor over a few times to make sure there isn't any interferance. If so you can grind the bango fitting a bit if it does. Never had this problem myself though.
  9. Install 5M engine mounts. The 5M Mounts go further forward than the 7M ones do, but its really just like installing 5M mounts on a 5M.
  10. I installed the Stock MA70 oil cooler and used the stock 7M oil filter 90* fitting. Then ran the return from the cooler to the return fitting on the side of the late 5M oilpan(the thread is the same on the pan as the 7M's so you can reuse the bango bolt, lines and fittings if they are ok).
  11. If you don't have an 87/88 motor, you'll probably have to change or modify the coolant tube that wraps around from the water pump to the drivers side of the engine. 87/88 ones have the heater core fitting in the right spot, later 7M ones don't.
  12. Install the Oil filter relocation kit to the motor, if not using the stock 90* adapter. If you use a kit, you might need the fitting the oil filter threads onto with a 5M. If you are just going to use the stock 7M 90*, you can unbolt it and turn it off from the dowel pin that holds it to point the filter forward or back farther. Whatever works best.
  13. Install the 7M motor pretty much as you would a 5M.
  14. Figure out IC Piping and IC.
  15. That should be pretty much it!


Pricing. The prices of the following items can vary a lot. IE, if you have someone else install parts/do work for you, buy used stuff, etc. So these prices are just an idea of what to expect. You just won't know till you start looking around and spending. Labour can add up too.
  • Donor car:$100-$3000
  • Tach adapter: MSD 8920: $65.20 (you can skip, but then you have to figure out how to get a tach or buy an aftermarket one, or live without it)


Things you can skip/skimp on:
  • Rebuild: $400-$2000
  • IC and Piping: $200-$1000
  • Clutch: $150-$600
  • Exhaust: $200-$1300
  • Getting a swap harness made for your car or paying a shop to do the swap: $500-$2500(just a guess)
  • CT-26 Rebuild/Aftermarket Turbo: $500-$1000
  • Oil line Relocation kit: $47.99
  • Wiring books: ~$60ish
 
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