Hello all. So i am new to the forum but I have been visiting it for a while. As a gift i was given a pretty beat up 2001 ls430 but I love it so much i cant bare to part with it. so I plan to fix it up ( over time because i'm broke lol) and make its something special. one thing i really want to do is to swap my 3uz-fe V8 for a 2ur-gse into my ls430 down the road. I want to know though what are some things I should look into when doing this because i know nothing about swapping engines and I have no clue what I should look for other than engine mounting but i don't know about wiring, fuel etc...

So does any have a list they could give me so I can start to plan this out?

 

So I'm no expert but just looking on eBay that motor is going for over $11k USD and well beyond (minus a display motor missing parts). For that price, it makes way more sense to supercharge. Unless you will eventually have considerable cash to play with and just REALLY want to do something unique, I wouldn't even consider such a swap.

Again, I'm no expert but I can see this easily being a $20k USD swap. Between the engine, transmission (I don't know if you can use the 3UZ-FE transmission in the 430), ECU, mounts, various other parts (again, I'm no expert so I don't know what), and all the labor, I think at least $20k is a reasonable estimate. Someone correct me if they think I'm wrong as I don't want to give bad information.

 

Start with an ISF half cut or wrecked car. You're going to need literally EVERYTHING from that half cut to make it all work properly. Anything is possible given enough time and money, but considering you can buy a complete 1UZ and 2UZ engine for a fraction of the price of a 2UR swap and build yourself a hybrid stroker motor that can probably take boost, I'd sooner go down that road.

Its hard to give estimates because one-off swaps such as this will vary wildly in cost. We were doing TD04-16G turbo upgrades to my partners Mitsi VR4 Legnum wagon and the cost ended up blowing out nearly double of the original estimate

 

Hey man not trying to be a downer but its going to cost you $25,000 doing your own labor to swap the motor and trans over and make the car drivable. If you have a shop do it its $40,000-$50,000. May I suggest starting off with fixing your ls430 getting used to fixing cars and maybe revisiting it when you have more hands on experience and funds.

I have done multiple engine swaps into cars and let me brake down some of the stuff you will need.

isf motor and trannys $10,000-$20,000
Custom wiring harness $2000
custom driveshaft $800
new fuel pump plus wiring and lines $400
coilovers of some kind $1000-$2000
upgrade the brake system $1000
upgrade suspension to handle the new motor $2000-$4000
OEM ecu $700-$1200
custom headers $2500
custom exhaust $1500
Pedal assembly for drive buy wire $200

Possibly get a cheaper car mod/brake/work on that first then up your game to the ls430. If you know nothing about cars starting work on the ls is not a great idea lots of factory only parts that if you brake you can only buy them from lexus.
Maybe get a honda do a motor swap in that and decide if you want to motor swap a car with a motor 2x the size and no aftermarket support.

Also just an idea but get a cheap $1000 miata go to a drivers day at a track and learn how to drive properly if you want to make any car faster driver upgrade is a first.

 

Hey thank you for replying and giving me this list. im honestly having some second thoughts on this but I will take your advice and start with fixing up my car. is there any where that you suggest that i should start?

 

No problem I was not trying to be a jerk it would just suck to waste all that money and have to sell/scrap everything because it did not work out. Just start off with little stuff and go from there whats broken on your car? There is a bunch of how to threads on this forum that show you and give you step by step directions how to fix stuff on your ls430.

Maintenance is a big one spark plugs, drain and fill all the fluids timing belt & water pump, give the car a good detailing fix scratches dents stuff like that.

 

since you originally stated your LS was pretty beat up, i assume you have some maintenance items and cosmetic items that might need attention, i would start off by doing all required maintenance first since its a pretty good start to learning about car components and stuff. From there you'll pick up some good experience and like a member stated above, maybe pick up a cheap beater and build it from there and take it to the track.

 

I have thought about putting an LS into my 430. You would be much better off with an LS for power and reliability, however like the guys on here state.....20k or more. If you have enough skill, you may be able to cut down to 15-16k