I'm looking to swap out my engine in my 4runner, and was curious if anyone had a suggestion. I don't want it to get too complicated, but would like a noticable increase in horse power. I am sort of budgeted, and my current engine has a knock. I do take road trips, but here in Colorado I do alot of off-roading as well. Much appreciated.

 

if u have a 5speed i would suggest swapping in a chevy 4.3 v6, but if your tranny is a/t you are pretty much screwed unless you want to change the tranny and transfer case

 

What motor do you have now?

Lots of threads on here about various swaps. Search for all the details. The most popular is the 3.4 5VZFE, which appears to be not too bad if you have a 3.0 (3VZE) as the motor mounts are the same.

Since you are at altitude, I would recommend a turbo motor swap, like a 1MZ from a Supra. The turbo will make a HUGE difference by bringing the motor to sea-level.

 

Yeah, it is a 3VZE and also a 5-speed. I'll do a little more browsing. Is it a good idea to switch to a Chevy engine? That option sounds interesting. Thanks for the replies.

 

You may want to look at the conversion kits by Off Road Solutions:

http://www.offroadsolutions.com

They have all the parts you need for the 3.4 conversion. I am doing this conversion in the next few weeks.