Yes i know there is a plethora of info out there on this, but what's one more topic ey I've been reading and reading but I'm at work, and anxious, and just looking for 'in a nut shell' response from ones with 3.4 swap experience. I'm at a crossroads and there is no rush. i bought this last year and knowing it needed a motor and trans (no compression on 2 cylinders and no reverse) pulled a setup from a junkyard only to find what I pulled had no compression on #2. I don't know why the lack of compression on the original engine. I then decided fine, I'd buy a reman with MLS gaskets and ARP head studs, or rebuild what was in there and attempt to do it myself. I assumed that would all come out around $2-3k. I just want to make sure than when I do whatever I end up doing, it's a high milage solution.

I always see the aggressive suggestion of a 3.4 swap and dismiss it. Today i started pondering though, what if?

Is it a reliable solution to my current situation? Can I rely on the engine/wiring/ecm swap as a family vehicle? I read mixed theories of the head gaskets on 3.4 but it's obvious it's nowhere near as much of an issue if any.
Will the 3.4 bolt to the 3.0 trans?
The milage is roughly the same right?

I'm getting anxious because i'm tired of not having a running 4Runner because something else always comes up. if the 3.4 swap becomes a reasonable solution, then I can get the lady onboard for it and start buying stuff within a month even.

 

its very reliable. and yes a 3.0 trans will bolt to the 3.4.

 

Bring it to Tuscaloosa and I'll show you how reliable it can be.

Like anything else, it all depends on the quality of what you start with concerning the donor vehicle, your vehicle and if you cut corners. Done right it's as fine a motor swap as you'll find.

:wabbit2:

 

Cutting corners is typically not an option for me. When you say bring it to Tuscaloosa, we talkin you do swaps? o_0

 

Just a few



https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f221...p-shop-247223/

:wabbit2:

 

Brian - Fly out to california and put my 3.4 swap in you know you want a vacation!

 

Weasel will be playing baseball until Halloween so no vacations for me.

I also have several vehicles in shop work lined up until June already. Hopefully my 88 gets the 3.4 swap as the motor has been ready a year! Lol

:wabbit2:

 

You sir may be the solution to my probs o_0 I'll need to either borrow a flatbed or buy one, and get the parts lined up. I have no donor vehicle. Is it doable if I buy a JDM setup off ebay with the ecm and harness? Then again there's the risk of the engine not working and being outside the warranty there :/ but I could do a compression test before anything which in theory would show if the motor was ready to go. I'm in no hurry but I know you've a reputation here and looking at the pics and your work, I'm as giddy as a school girl in a candy store right now. I want me a tube exo too! Can you msg me a ball park for a tube exo on a 95 and what a 3.4 swap typically runs. Is it easier if I pull the motor from the 95 for you or better if I leave everything put?

 

Email me

Wabfab at gmail dot com

:wabbit2:

 

Did I just read an "tube exo" and "family vehicle"? LOL I like it. My wife wouldn't have it. You'll be in capable hands with Brian. B-)

 

Indeed. My dad used to take us offroading when we were kids (In fact I put myself between that 89 4Runner and a tree to make sure he didn't slide back into it during a 'tires-caked-beyond-any-use' adventure off the Pearl River. It was my illadvised doing, but no harm .), and I would often take my children in 2wd trucks when I could, but it's been years and I feel we're all missing out. With such a thing on the 'family vehicle' I feel that I could once again be spontaneous and venture away from the boring blacktop.

Yeah from the pictures I'm seeing and what I've read, wabfab sounds like a reliable safe bet.

 

I can tell you it is a very reliable swap if done right, and I do routinely get better fuel mileage than before, but not alot most of the time. One time, I got pretty close to 24 mpg, going up a section of the 101 in Oregon and cruising easy at 55 to 60 mph. If I drive 65+ the lack of aerodynamics with our 4wd's makes the engine work considerably harder, so I average about 18 mpg out here in Eastern Sierra part of Cali. Once you do the swap and drive it, you'll know why everyone who's done it suggests it so "aggressively."

 

Better gas mileage for me. MUCH more power, less crap all over the motor and should be much more reliable.

I think that the swap is a no brainer. I wouldn't put a dime into rebuilding a 3.0.

The tranny will bolt up without a problem.

 

If I understand correctly wabskillywabbit informed me that I would need to use the 3.4L trans. I'm aiming to keep it auto. I guess its the matter of finding a donor vehicle now and then getting arrangements made whenever waskillywabbit is ready for me cause I believe I am sold.

 

This is the company I got my conversion pieces from(wiring harness, some adapters, hoses, etc.). No longer in business unfortunately, but here is their view and advice on swapping autos.
http://www.offroadsolutions.com/old/...sion_auto.html