Engine swap

1.8-liter VVTL-i (2ZZ-GE) and VVT-i (1ZZ-FE) engine, transmission, exhaust, intake, and performance tuning discussions
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Gilbertg4955
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Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2019 8:04 pm

Engine swap

Post by Gilbertg4955 »

I’m looking to swap a 2zz in to my base vibe with an auto is there any way I can find one with the auto trans am a compatible ecu
zbyers
Posts: 1769
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:12 pm
Location: Sheffield, Pennsylvania

Re: Engine swap

Post by zbyers »

Only the '03 Matrix XRS came with an auto trans.

Swapping a 1ZZ for a 2ZZ is a fair amount of work, let alone swapping auto to manual. You'd need a donor car for the engine, trans, ECU, engine bay wiring harness, slave cylinder, shifter cable, clutch pedal, master cylinder, etc.

Honestly, your best bet is to sell the 1ZZ vehicle and purchase a 2ZZ vehicle. You can buy a 2ZZ vehicle for $2000, while selling your base auto for basically the same price.
'74 Thing, '79 El Camino, '83 VW DoKa '91 Vanagon, '03 Base, 04 GT
'06 CRV, '06 AWD, '07 Base, '12 Highlander Limited, '17 Frontier CCLB

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joatmon
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Re: Engine swap

Post by joatmon »

I think the auto tranny used in the 2003 Matrix XRS was a different auto tranny than was used in the Matrix/Matrix XR/base Vibe, but I can't confirm that. Seems likely, but I don't know if Toyota used the same tranny in other models. Almost all of the 03 XRS's were 6 speed manuals, so if they only used that tranny in 03 XRS's, it will be a relatively rare thing to find. Then there'd be the question of whether an ECU out of anything other than an 03 auto XRS would really be compatible

people have replaced base 5 speeds with GT s-speeds, so that implies the tranny fit and bolt up are compatible between the 1ZZ and the 2ZZ. I would be concerned about using a base tranny with the 2ZZ unless you can verify it can handle the extra 50 HP of the 2ZZ. Would truly suck to sink that much time and money into such an extensive mod to then blow the tranny the first time you hit lift.

I'm with zbyers, it would probably be easier and cheaper to swap your current Vibe for a different car, potentially even a non-Vibe with the power you seek.

I found one 03 Matrix XRS with auto tranny on autotrader.com, https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sal ... =534383442 Its in Minnnesota for $4.7K. Sometimes you have to be careful about the accuracy of autotrader listings, but this does look to be an actual XRS with auto tranny, pic shows auto shifter, no clutch pedal, and zooming in on one of the interior pics shows the tach with the 2ZZ redline, which is higher than the 1zz redline
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zbyers
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Re: Engine swap

Post by zbyers »

joatmon wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2019 2:55 pm I think the auto tranny used in the 2003 Matrix XRS was a different auto tranny than was used in the Matrix/Matrix XR/base Vibe, but I can't confirm that. Seems likely, but I don't know if Toyota used the same tranny in other models. Almost all of the 03 XRS's were 6 speed manuals, so if they only used that tranny in 03 XRS's, it will be a relatively rare thing to find. Then there'd be the question of whether an ECU out of anything other than an 03 auto XRS would really be compatible
The '03 XRS auto trans IS different than the base auto trans. No idea if it was used in other vehicles though. I would presume the '03 XRS auto ECU would be compatible w/ an '03 Vibe GT, since you can throw a Matrix ECU in of that year with no issues. '04 XRS/GT is also likely, since those are also interchangeable. However, that is a presumption as I don't know of anyone who has done such a swap, because an automatic paired with the 2ZZ is just boring.
people have replaced base 5 speeds with GT s-speeds, so that implies the tranny fit and bolt up are compatible between the 1ZZ and the 2ZZ. I would be concerned about using a base tranny with the 2ZZ unless you can verify it can handle the extra 50 HP of the 2ZZ. Would truly suck to sink that much time and money into such an extensive mod to then blow the tranny the first time you hit lift.
the C59 (5 speed) would work with a 2ZZ, however, the 2ZZ would be boring as all get out. You need the shorter gears to stay in lift and enjoy it. If it weren't for lift, the 1ZZ is more...torquey. It also can handle boost better, which is why TRD offered the supercharger kit stateside for that, and why the 2ZZ SC kit is rare candy $$$$$$$$

To note regarding swapping a C59 for a C60 (6 speeD)... the CLUTCH itself is the same for the 5 speed or 6 speed. The difference will come in at the FLYWHEEL. That is engine specific. IE: if your engine is a 1ZZ, use a 1ZZ flywheel. If it's a 2ZZ, use a 2ZZ flywheel.
'74 Thing, '79 El Camino, '83 VW DoKa '91 Vanagon, '03 Base, 04 GT
'06 CRV, '06 AWD, '07 Base, '12 Highlander Limited, '17 Frontier CCLB

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