I am now reminded of my 2JZ hot rod's heater loop, which looks similar to what I just did for this 2GR, but the internet does not seem to have consensus. My hot rod doesn't overheat, so there's that. But it also has no hood or front body work or turbo. I might leave it looped for now since that worked on my 2JZ.
I discovered a critical error of my past. While cranking the engine with a coil and plug set against the valve cover, I noticed it sparking, which is good. I also noticed it would stop sparking after the first crank or two. I figured it was not grounding properly after the vibration. I now think it was being immobilized in conjunction with the B2799 "Immobilizer Malfunction" code. Here's why:
I cut this one little part of the harness when trying to extract it from the Avalon. It went to something buried way up behind the HVAC and it was too much effort to reach the plug. I assumed it controlled something HVAC related so I cut it instead of removing the whole assembly. Turns out the only part of the harness I cut was one of the few I actually needed. It goes to the "Transponder Key ECU" also known as a ID Code Box, according to an 06 Avalon wiring diagram. It is paired to the car's key and has 2 wires connected to the ECU which without the correct signal will immobilize it. In fact it is more critical to grab the key+transponder ID box than to match it with the ECU, which can be re-learned to any matched set. It looks like this, which is definitely missing from my Big Box O' Wires:
The wire colors even match the diagram. So I scrapped my paired Transponder Key ECU with the car. Big brain move. Options moving forward:
maschinenbau said:Options moving forward:
- Junkyard a new Transponder Key ECU, but then I have to get it paired to the key by the dealership. Which may be difficult when it doesn't run, and also isn't a real car yet. And expensive probably.
- Buy an already un-immobilized and tuned ECU for big $$$
- Pay someone to unlock my ECU for some $$
- Find and buy a rare ECU from a car that wasn't optioned with an immobilizer for less $... Research currently underway
* Buy tool to unlock ECU and DIY for $0.00 budget hit
These ECU's have taken a long time for people to crack. Looks like Frankenstein Motorworks has been able to do it https://frankensteinmotorworks.squarespace.com/shop/2gr-fe-stock-ecu
Other problems:
Doug Copeland at Wiregap may be able to help you as he lists that as part of his wiring harness work he can remove the immobilizer from other Toyota ECU's.
In reply to maschinenbau :
This is a similar problem we anticipate we will have with the RX8 if we try to get the renesis started. It doesn't have a Key and that stupid module in the Mazda sends a coded Pulse width signal over the CanBus to tell the engine.. YES WE HAVE A MATCH. Apparently in the mazda ECU doesn't even know the keycode it just knows to not start unless that module says we good. But It seems with the Mazda all you need is that module and the key to match. The ECU doesn't care because it doesn't know the keycode. "Allegedly"
I much prefer the Subaru method where all I had to do to bypass it's Key match interlock was.. remove the module.
Hopefully you get it figured out. Can you pull the Key/Access Module/AND ECU from a junkyard car so you don't have to pay a dealer to program it?
In reply to nocones :
The ECU thing is similar here too. Only the key and module have to match, and the ECU can be "married" to them by shorting two wires in the OBD port together. The trick is finding a car in the yard that still has the key.
Frankenstein Motorworks has a Discord Server that is reasonable busy and he is pretty active. It might be worth throwing an immobilizer question up there.
I would think a JY would be able to get you an immobilizer and key for relatively cheap.
Your part number is 89784-07011. Still available new, list price is $172. I sure that is closer to $110 online.
Once you have that, programming or reseeding is done at my dealership for 1 hour labor. I would think a reasonable locksmith could do it cheaper especially if you were able to bring it in vs. calling someone to come out. Might not be the most grassroots solution, but not insurmountable.
Hearing that Mazda just needs to see a specific pulse signal to know that the "key is here so we good", made me wonder if the signal could be replicated with an Arduino? Might he Toyota ECU also expect something similar? Then, all you would really need is to replicate the "We good" signal. Then the ECU should just let things happen.
Anyway, that was my out of left field thought...
Good call on that Discord, it's very active including Marc from Frankenstein Motorworks. What I've learned: yes, I can still have my ECU unlocked for a reasonable price by mailing it to Marc. The downside is unlocking basically flashes it to a 2008 Highlander, which may or may not have the same automatic transmission pins, since everyone is doing this for manual-trans MR2's. So it's a gamble there to keep my automatic trans which was a key budget strategy. But if I go ahead and manual-swap my car, he can not only unlock it, but also give it a significant power bump, and prevent any unwanted codes from coming up related to the swap. This comes with the expense of not only the tuning but also adding the manual-swap parts like flywheel, clutch, etc. Phase 2 (post-Challenge life) was always going to involve the manual swap, ECU tuning, and other mods anyway.
Plan A is look for a matched key+transponder in the junkyard, "handshake" them to my ECU, keep the automatic trans for now.
Plan B is read some wiring diagrams to see if the transmission outputs for a 2008 Highlander are compatible with a 2006 Avalon, then send it in for an ECU unlock, keep the automatic.
Plan C is berkeley it just go ahead and manual-swap this thing, send in my ECU for unlocking/big-boy tune, thereby blowing my nitrous ($200) and/or paint ($300) budgets.
I vote for plan C plus lowering your paint budget. I managed to paint an entire minivan for less than $100, and that included the masking tape needed to make the livery. Tractor paint is pretty cheap and can be rolled on for Challenge success. Winning the concourse is more about ingenuity and less about a perfect paint job. And you already have ingenuity in spades with this project.
- Sean
Plan c. Its what you want to OWN.
An automatic V6 Lotus does seem kinda silly, especially when I already did all the clutch pedal, MC, and plumbing work... There are potential unknown costs with the manual swap though. For example I don't know for sure that I can keep these axles, though they are the same splines. I guess I could pull them back out and try to put them in the 5-speed I have...
In reply to maschinenbau :
If the ECU tune gives you some extra horsepower, that can help minimize the sting from dropping the NO2. Maybe.
Dusterbd13-michael said:Plan c. Its what you want to OWN.
The man speaks the truth. 
You can always see how big the pit is for the manual swap before you send out the ECU. If it is too big ($$ or time) for the challenge this year, go with the auto for now.
My vote is you go through the exercise for the manual swap since you are going to do it anyways.... so figure out all the missing pieces, answer the axle question, clutch flywheel, starter etc... and if it can be done under budget, then you send the ECU out for the conversion. My only concerns for the manual swap is what transmission do you have or need? That 2GR-FE is pretty stout but my understanding is that the S54 can take it if you don't launch too hard and you are in a lighter car. The E153 can take it, but those are $$$.
I already have a $100 Solara E153 just sitting here... Only need a flywheel, clutch, and tune. OEM 1MZ/3MZ flywheels are getting very hard to find though.
Then you are way ahead of the game! Finding an E153 for cheap is even harder than finding that flywheel. Search car-part.com they list manual transmission camry's with the flywheel at $75
I called every seller on car-part.com and they either don't know what listing I'm talking about, or the car is still whole and they won't sell the parts I need separately. Unless I score awesome deals on flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing, and release fork, I don't know if I can manual swap this car under budget. Plan A (find matching transponder + key, get automatic running) is still in effect, but I am keeping my eyes out. I do agree this car really needs the E153 manual trans regardless of Challenge eligibility.
This past week I kind of unraveled thinking about this problem. I was really worried that I wouldn't get the engine running on this ECU, and then I'd be forced into the manual swap and ECU tuning, and then I'd blow the Challenge budget and then what would be the point of this car? I toyed with the idea of letting it go over budget and still bringing it to the Challenge, but that really bummed me out because I've made so many compromises and decisions up to now in order to keep it under $2k, so I feel like I'd have to go back on those and do it over again. Eventually I decided hell or high water this will be a $2000 car and I'll find a way to make that work.
To hedge my bets, I am pursuing both "Plan A" (find a new key+transponder) and "Plan B" (get my ECU unlocked by Frankenstein Motorworks). I found an extra ECU at the junkyard and already shipped it out. $20 plus shipping to remove immobilizer (and therefore flash it to 2008 Highlander) is an awesome deal, but it's a gamble. I read a lot of wiring diagrams, the pinouts are the same, the trans is the same except final drive, so I think this will work, though no guarantee since I'm the first fool they've dealt with who is keeping an automatic. After all it is mostly the MR2 community who do the 2GR swap. I sent a junkyard ECU out for hacking for two reasons. One, in case I find a key and can get mine running. Two, they can only hack the ECU's that have a chip ending in "-AGD" inside. The Avalon came with a "-80", so it can't be tuned. So that's in the works.
In pursuit of "Plan A", I scoured the junkyards this morning. Remember, I need a matching key + immobilizer from the same car, preferably a 2005-2010 Avalon, but as a backup I was prepared to nab anything Toyota from the same era. I could not find a single key in the whole junkyard, and not even just Toyotas. Same at the other junkyard. It must be policy to not leave the keys out, or maybe someone steals them all, or these salvage cars just never had them in the first place. At least I have Plan B to fall back on, but if that doesn't work either I'd be frustrated. Just when I was down about not finding any keys, I passed a burgundy-colored sign that maybe everything will be okay.
That sign was a '99 Solara V6 5-speed. As in, the E153 5-speed transmission. The super rare one I need a bunch of parts from.
For reference on how rare this is, I checked Copart earlier this week for all possible V6 MT Camry/Solaras that could be donors, and there are only 4 in the whole country. There are only 2 of these trans on eBay, and they're from MR2's not Camrys. It goes into gear, the oil that drained out looked fine, so I went back home for my truck, more tools, and help from some friends.
We found it best to just sawzall the subframe so the trans splines would slide out then the whole thing drop straight down. They charged me $100 ($75 for trans, $25 core), including the ultra-rare 1MZ flywheel and clutch, which they even marked with paint pen so I guess it's part of the transmission. I had to pay extra for the starter though. Worth it in case the Avalon one doesn't line up. So now I have 2 different $100 Solara E153 5-speeds. But more importantly I have the flywheel (which I have only seen as cheap as $200) and the clutch release arm (another $100 or so). And a backup trans in case one is bad. My odds are feeling better again. This drastically changes the $2000 budget strategy.
I would still like to get the engine running as-is with the automatic, just to see if it works with the hacked ECU. I won't let the manual transmission score slow me down, since I can swap that in anytime. In the meantime I am pluggin away at cooling system and pruning the harness down to the bare minimum. But yeah I'm pretty excited about this project again.
I don't suppose you nabbed the Solara axles, too?
By the way, still inspirational work. Pretty, too.
In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) :
They were torn open and toast. Luckily they are cheap enough to buy new since I saved so much on this score. Also one of the 2GR axles might actually work.
Nice!
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