Rav4 3SGE engine info needed

[dragonx]

hey

I see there is a late model NON BEAMS 3SGE rav4 engine, it has a different valve cover layout to the gen 2/3 3SGE engines

i cant seem to find any info on compatibility etc..

i was thinkng of dropping it into a MR2 as a replacement to the current shagged 3SGE, i can get it with the full loom and ecu etc.. i dont mind the hours if rewiring is required, but i dont really know it is has a whole heap of extras etc.. (i can deal with the normal alternator etc issue im sure)

[xsspeed]

what year? could be the beams engine that got chucked into the rav4. iirc it doesnt have the same power as the red top beams but i guess could have more torque seeing it came from the softroader?

google rav 4 and beams

[Alex B]

Looks like a gen 3 3s to me. Beams manifolds are totally different.

[strx7]

Looks like a gen 3 3s to me. Beams manifolds are totally different.

seconded......

[xsspeed]

anyone gotta pic of the rav4 beams? just out of interest?

my bad for being completely wrong in my guess!

[AE86less]

The normal rav4 beams is usually called the Greytop. Not as powerful as the red or blacktops.

It does look more like my gen 3...

[dragonx]

The normal rav4 beams is usually called the Greytop. Not as powerful as the red or blacktops.

It does look more like my gen 3...

yes it does look a lot like a gen 3 i guess its was the bad angle of the photo and the Type G that had me confused.

[sam clarkson]

I'm just finalising to buy a '99 Rav4 with a greytop beams and a manual gearbox. My understanding is that is a very rare combination as there were few beams engines to start with and that nearly all of them were autos.
So what I'm now trying to understand is just what is the difference between a grey and a redtop. So far the best I can discover is that the grey has a different exhaust manifold incorporating a cat, the red doesn't. Other than that it's purely ECU. So I've owned any number of TDi motors over the years and I have always remapped them. Can I reflash the Rav ECU to redtop (or better?) spec?
Secondly I'd like to fit cruise control to it, any thoughts on suitable donor cars I could vulture? Including variable intermittent wipers while I'm in that part of the woods.
Now all I need is a hi/low ratio box.... I wish!

[sergei]

I'm just finalising to buy a '99 Rav4 with a greytop beams and a manual gearbox. My understanding is that is a very rare combination as there were few beams engines to start with and that nearly all of them were autos.
So what I'm now trying to understand is just what is the difference between a grey and a redtop. So far the best I can discover is that the grey has a different exhaust manifold incorporating a cat, the red doesn't. Other than that it's purely ECU. So I've owned any number of TDi motors over the years and I have always remapped them. Can I reflash the Rav ECU to redtop (or better?) spec?
Secondly I'd like to fit cruise control to it, any thoughts on suitable donor cars I could vulture? Including variable intermittent wipers while I'm in that part of the woods.
Now all I need is a hi/low ratio box.... I wish!

You cannot reflash Toyota '90 ECU without butchering the ECU and using specialised equipment...

[sam clarkson]

Thanks spongebob
It seems the exhaust manifold is the major issue anyway. However changing it, and the resulting freeflow will likely push any power gains up the rev range. I'm thinking that might not suit the power I require in a rav. I live at Ruapehu and get to drive in real snow...the cops let us locals through when the roads are closed to get up to our jobs on the ski fields.
FUN!

[xsspeed]

Is it factory manual? as I recall the power diff is in the auto ecu, if wikipedia is to be believed - you could possibly try to find a red top ecu and see if it works but it might be hard to find.

I don't know about the rav4 exhausts, but the redtop extractors themselves are evry good for factory, is there a pinch point somewhere where the exhaust gets squeezed?

[RomanV]

Check if it's got catalytic converters in the 2-1 section, if so then swap it for a manual one from a gen 3+ celica or whatever if it fits.

Apart from that, just leave it.

If you want more power and something 4wd, just get a Caldina GTT instead.

[Grrrrrrr!]

Since we are talking gen 3 3sges.. would the exhaust manifold from a gen 3 3sgte bolt directly to a gen 3 3sge with no dramas, or are the heads different castings?

[sam clarkson]

@ roman...that's exactly the conclusion I've come to. I don't want more power per-se, I just want to remove any artificial detuning in the system that may have pertained to protecting an auto box, for example.

@ grrrr....isn't the turbo cast into the 3sgte manifold? Are you wanting a turbo? If so the compression will be too high won't it?