I recently picked up my first Toyota pickup and it has 265,000 miles on it. Obviuosly it smokes and is under powered, so I was thinking about an engine swap. I searched all over and can't find any info on swaps for older trucks.

What would be agood swap for my truck? Also, I can pick up a Chevy 307 for $100, how hard would it be to put that in there? Sorry for all the newb questions. TIA

Austin

 

hmmm wouldnt think it would be too hard I mean theres gotta be places that make engine mounts to fit it might hit the google button for some offroad sites

 

I've googled everything that I could think of to find something on it and I turn up with nothing. Maybe I just don't know how to search for things. Any help from you Toy geniuses hiding out there would be appreciated.

 

Been there, done that. I am no Toyota genius, but have the background info you need. VERY COMPLICATED! Went back to my Toy powertrain for fuel economy.
If you wish to continue, the angle of the toy engine mounts works perfect for the Gm s-block, you just need to decide how far forward you want your engine to sit, then make adapter plates that bolt factory mid 80's GM mounts. Mounting the rad gets tricky also. You will need much more cooling for the V8, so a custom rad, or off to the wreckers you go to find something to work. Fitment of the rad can be a bitch too.
Since you gearing is quite high, even with larger tires, an overdrive tansmission to reduce highway RPM. The toy t-case can handle the power, you can get an adapter from advance adapters (google it) to bolt to the GM tranny, then you may or may not need to modify your d-shafts to the right length. I think Advance has all the mounts you need. You can connect the V8 to a toy transmission, but the tranny will blow easily under heavy throttle. I wouldn't do it myself. It is easier because less drivetrain mods required, but you should go with a Gm trans for reliability.
You will either need custom exhaust work done, or i think you can buy headers for this swap, I used factory GM manifolds that fit. They were mismatched, but the 2 sides are very different with the obstructions you will have to deal with.
The diffs will handle the power as well, but the front birfields blow easily when that much power is applied to them also. I had a 4" body lift that made everything easier since it gave me more room to play with, but without it things get much more difficult.
Since rising fuel costs are an issue for me, I wish I could go back in time and never waste the money I did on the whole thing. My personal recommendation would be to get a used 22R EFI toyota engine, drop it in there, regear if you want bigger tires, and go for fuel economy. 20mpg way better than 12mpg on the pocketbook.
If you want more power, easier to rebuild the toy motor, put a cam and header, than to do all those mods. It is cool to say you did it, but the overall expense to get less fuel economy is not worth it. Drop her in Low Range, and all the power you need for off-road is there. If not, get lower t-case gears from Advance or Marlin Crawler.
I hope this has been helpful.

 

Thanks for your input I'm not pushing toward the V8 was just considering it. How hard would it be to out the 22RE(I assume that is the EFI, right) in my truck? Mostly I want the easier/cheaper route. The current set up in my truck is the 22R with a Weber carb, a Thurley header, and I think a 2 1/4" exhaust. It does have a 3-4" body lift so I don't think I should have any clearance issues.
Would the EFI engine be a straight bolt in, or would there be a lot of work to get it up and running? I would prefer something as simple as possible(although a 3.4 would be nice!) How much of a power difference is there between my current one and it? I have 265/75/16 tires on it, does it need to be regeared? Sorry about all the questions, I'm just very new to this.

 

If you already have the weber carb and header, why not just rebuild the 22r? Do as much work in the head as you can like cam, valve job, Porting and port match to intake and it should be a noticable difference. That or if you can find a 20r head just throw that on and it increases your CR to like 9.3or9.4:1

 

I would like like to get more power than I think that would produce. I don't know what current is and don't know what it would be after what you said but would it be as much as a 22re?

 

here is a good link to a ton of information on doing a 22r to 22RE swap:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...ferrerid=89727

i would stick to a 4 banger, a 307 for $100 might sound good but by the time you get an adapter from someone like Advance Adapters and other assorted stuff plus the negative gas mileage that $100 wasn't a great deal...

more good reading: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...ferrerid=89727

chevy 4.3 swap Faq: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...chevy+swap+faq will have similar information as a v-8 swap might entail

since you are in Eugene, go pick the brains of the guys over at Sky's Off Road

 

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely not going the small block route, but I really don't want to convert my current engine to an EFI. I would much rather put an engine in that is complete. How hard would it be to put an engine like the 2.7(whatever the larger 4 cylynder is) from a Tacoma in my truck? Would there be a lot of fabrication involved?

 

http://www.downeyoff-road.com/EngineComponents/index.htm

http://www.northwestoffroad.com/part...eadapters.html

https://eshop.advanceadapters.com/co...-4-runners.htm

http://www.barneymc.com/TOY_ROOT/TEC...INE/downey.htm

 

That's good reading, but I've decided to put a larger Toyota engine instead of a small block. That is what I need help with.

 

The 2.7L is a conversion that I am considering too, especially if I can find a totalled donor truck cheap.

Marlin Crawler has a bell housing available to do the conversion:
http://www.marlincrawler.com/htm/tra...on/3rzbell.htm

only downside is you need to swap transmissions too...

you might also want to check out his forum, lots of good advice there too.

 

How much otherr fabrication is involved with the 2.7 swap?

 

try searching here: http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php
http://board.marlincrawler.com/index...;topic=28874.0

the stuff i read on Marlin is the only thing I know about it... it involves swapping transmissions etc etc

$700 wiring harness from ORS:
http://www.offroadsolutions.com/prod...e_upgrades.htm

 

You sound like you want more power. What size tires are you running and are you running factory gears??? I eventually regeared mine(what I wish I'd done instead of the V8) and it made a world of difference. Went from Factory 4.10's on 33" tires to 4.88's, and went from 15 to 20 mpg!!! More power and better fuel econ. Best of both worlds. Before it wouldn't go faster than 50mph! Now, 70 no problem.

Your setup sounds pretty good with the header and the Weber carb. These motors have a reputation for longevity, try doing a compression and/or leakdown test to test the solidity of what you have. If you are fairly mechnically inclined, measure the timing chain for stretch. If both are good, your motor is probably fine. For all the money for the 2.7, you may not find it worth the headache.

I don't know how computerized they are to tell you how difficult they are to put into an '83. You will likely need a complete donor truck to see how everything connects, plus to get all the hardware that was designed to work with it. Dirveline mods will likely be required, lengthening or shortening shafts, changing flanges to match the shafts, mounts will likely be different, and there's connecting the computer stuff.

To put the 22R EFI in, you have to drill and tap 1 hole in the head, find a location to attach the O2 sensor in the exhaust, mount the knock sensor on the block, get the distributor from a fuelly engine, and get an electric fuel pump. The local Toyota expert here said the computer is really easy to hook up and is bulletproof. I have been planning this mod myself instead of a Weber carb to get improved hp and economy. He is going to sell me the whole EFI and dist for $400 plus fuel pump (new) $200, complete. Pretty cheap, no driveline mods, and done in a weekend. Over the factory carb, he says improvement of likely 5mpg and 10- 15hp. That is Cheap horsepower. A good cam alone can run $400. You have a Weber, so less gains to realize, but will run at any angle. Way simpler than the 2.7 IMHO.

There is a stroker kit from LC engineering that bumps the 22r up to a 2.6. You might consider that instead of the 2.7. Cost would be the same, you rebuild your engine at the same time, no driveline mods or computers, and more power. Add EFI and good to go!

 

I'm running 165/75/16 tires and I believe stock gears. I know it is getting close to needing something done to it, it smokes a lot including at idle. I don't have a compression tester, nor have I ever tore into the timing cover. I am probably just going to do a rebuild on it, I'll just have to find somone to do it that won't charge me my first born. Moer and more the EFI conversion is looking better.

 

sure you are not running 265's??? 165's are just a hair bigger than what I run on my tercel

...compression tester is a great diagnostic tool, $20-30. You might even be able to rent one from a place like autozone. I have rented tools there before for free, you just have to place a $40 or so deposit on it, bring the tool back, get the deposit back..

 

If its smoking then a rebuild is likely in order

 

Yeah 265s

 

How hard is it to regear these trucks and what is entailed in doing it?