joeal

i have a 95 2wd 4runner, with a worn out engine that im lookin to swap. im really not satisfied with the power, and really like the challenge of swaping in a 350 v8 engine. ive had a couple of questions though. what year and type of v8 should a look for? carbuerated or fuel injected? should i buy a crate engine, or find a junk yard engine and rebuild it? Should i use a th350 or 700r4. is there any way my stock automatic tranny could hold up? i was hoping the swap would be a lot easier since i dont have to mess with 4wd. any tips a welcomed. thanks!

arjan

You might want to look into a 5.0 Mustang engine. That would be really easy for you if you want to use the mustang 5spd. You don't have to worry about mating a transfercase to the transmission. Check out advance adapters on the net. They have a lot of information about engine mounts etc.

Dan_90SR5

They sell complete V8 swap kits that will give you lots of engine options for your 4Runner. I tell you even though I thinks it's a sin to swap in an engine other than Toyota/Yamaha. At least Chevy is in a 15% partnership with Toyota.

My personal opinion on the matter is swap in a "UZ" series engine (Toyota V8) or a Supra engine (5MG, 7MG or 2JZ)......I have seen all of these engines swapped in 4Runners and I'm sure you could find write-ups on the web.

It's your choice. I am just a loyal Toyota owner. At least you have some options now though. If you go with a Chevy or Ford V8, search the web. Like I said, there are complete conversion kits availible that will tell you what year engine you need, etc.

joeal

thanks for the replies, anybody here ever done a v8 swap. Has anyone seen a toyota v8 swaped into a 2nd gen 4runner? I really love the idea of a v8, im not particular to which brand however, I just want it to be the most effective and worthwhile swap. thanks again.

Dan_90SR5

Yes, I have seen a Chevy 350 in a 2nd generation 4Runner. I had thought about doing that myself when one of my rod bearings spun. I decided to look into other options and rebuild my engine so that it will have about the same power as the 3.4L. I'm considering doing a write-up on it when I finish it.

But yes, I have seen a Chevy 350 in a 1st and 2nd generation 4Runner. I've seen 5MG and 7MG Toyota engines put in 1st and 2nd generation 4Runners. Do some searches. Weigh out your options and go from there.

toy283

I see a V8 swapped truck every day. It sits in my parking space at my apartment complex. There are certain pro/cons for both a small-block Chev and small-block Ford: The Chev fits a little easier since it's a little shorter. The Ford has a front mounted distributor which negates some of the clearance issues. Both are gonna explode your stock tranny, no one offers adapters for it anyway. A 4.7 tranny may hold up but I haven't seen adapters for it yet either. Since you are 2WD, the cost of a swap will be considerably less than for 4WD, no transfer case adapters to worry about. Motor mounts, etc. are readily available from a variey of sources. For an engine, you need to get one of the same year as your truck or newer to be legal. Any and all emissions equipment must remain on the engine.

joeal

hey toy283, is yours an efi or carbuerated 350? what kind of money and time did you put in? How much of a difference did it make? mine will be mainly onroad with just a lil offroad for fun. I've got another vehicle for offroadin, so im not worried about my 4runner being trail ready, just want a lot more power out of it. also do you know any sources that can help give me an idea of the process it will take to put this swap together? thanks!

joeal

I'm sorry, i just realized you have a 283, not a 350. what is the difference between the two? will the 350 work better or worse?

Dan_90SR5

Actually, I have know of a company that makes adaptors the will allow you to bolt a small block Chevy engine to a Toyota W series transmission. They make all kinds of tranmission adaptors. If you do some research you will find all kinds of info on engine swap for 4Runners.

Again, I had considered alot of these options when my engine had problems, but decided that I'd still it out with my Toyota engine. I know alot more about Toyotas than anything and I'm not looking to make my 4Runner a huge HP running truck.

Do some reseach guys. You find alot more info from actual site that have done these swaps than asking people that are just speculating without actually trying it.

joeal

I've tried searching many times, and have come up with very little to answer my questions. if you know of a site that has where someone has done a 350 enigne swap that would be great. i have never seen one however, and have searched a lot.

kernel

I put a 305 into a 1st gen and I'm just finishing a 4.3 Vortec into a 2nd gen. Lot's of work, lots of money, lots of options. Toy auto trannies won't work, has to be manual or GM/Ford. Personally, I wouldn't do a V8 again, cooling problems, space issues. It can be done but it takes a lot of planning. I got my stuff through Advance Adapters. Pretty $$$ but good stuff.

toy283

Seeing how a 283 and a 350 are externally identical, there is no difference in the swap. For me, swapping a 350 would take a couple hours and no money spent (other than on the engine itself) FWIW, I started out carbed and have since swapped in aftermarket EFI. If you're EFI now, you pretty much have to swap in EFI or possibly face serious emissions hassles. It took me about five weeks to do the swap, but I did a lot of extra things as well like steam clean the entire engine bay and under side, have the gas tank professionally cleaned, etc. If you have all the things you need (which you won't) and some help, it can be done in a weekend of hard wrenching, I'd plan on using a full week at least though. Kernel has a good point though, cooling is always an issue with a V8 swap, much less so with a 4.3 V6. I'm currently running the largest non-custom Griffin radiator in the bed with twin 15" fans. In this configuration, it does quite well on the trail but suffers a little on the highway.