Random questions. How hard was it to get that hidden hose hooked up? How long has the engine been sitting? What oil weight did you use for this and will it be different than the oil weight you'll use when it's running? Don't most people hand crank the engine to get the oil spread or is using the starter pretty normal these days? Any theories on the rattles, such as bad motor mounts or failing harmonic balancer?
Getting the hose off was far harder than getting it back on. I found some pictures online of what I wasn't looking at which helped me figure out what I was feeling. Engine has been sitting a little under 2 years, I think. I just used 10w-40 which is what the 4age takes. I'll run this for 500-1000 miles or so and change it. I'll also be keeping an eye on it to see if it gets dirty faster than I expect. I oughtta put some seafoam in the oil too. Starter vs hand-crank is kind of a personal choice, I suppose? It's hard to get to the crank bolt on this engine. For what it's worth, with the spark plugs out, the engine doesn't even sound like it's turning over; I thought the starter bendix had frozen up at first. So I don't think spinning it with the starter puts too much force on the crank and cam bearings. I don't think the rattle is motor mounts since I've got urethane inserts on mine. Current thought is maybe exhaust, which would make sense since it's been rednecked together. I also recall a mystery rattle from before I parked the car, so odds are that that didn't fix itself by sitting. The constant rattle could also be an alternator bearing since it's coming from that part of the engine and it's a crap Autozone alternator that has given me nothing but sorrow.
Due to the age of the engine, are you thinking about using a slightly thicker oil? I know a lot of people tend to do that on higher mileage cars to help compensate for the loosening of tolerances due to wear and tear. I hear both the 4A-GE and the 4A-GZE are pretty tuner friendly. Are you tempted on modifying the engine much?
I've never had oil pressure issues with this engine (except when cornering hard at speed, but that's because I need to baffle the sump if I'm going to drive it like a racecar). I'm actually not sure how many miles the engine has; the chassis has ~210k miles but the engine was swapped at some point, so all I know is that the engine has more than 30k miles on it. I am very tempted! Now that I have a second supercharged MR2 that most likely needs an engine rebuild, I will save my modding for that car first. This one might eventually get a 20 valve 4age or something else down the road, but that'll be after I graduate. Toyota makes a couple of other engines that are worth swapping in, or I hear that doing an H or F series Honda swap isn't that bad either.
Honda engines sound pretty reasonable actually. I've been to import events where I've seen Civics and Preludes run high 11s and low 12s so they definitely have some room for modification. Seeing as how pretty much all of their engines are for a transverse setup, it'd probably be a relatively easy install. Though I figure, hopping up the current engines would be cheaper and easier if they're in good shape.