Hope Dan finds some time soon and can let us know if he had completed this mod. I am mucho interestedo in this need some directions so I could possibly complete this myself.

 

Alright, so it's been an insane long time since I have been on here. I have moved to Knoxville.....got a new job....been promoted a few times and I'm now the district trainer. So yes, I have been busy and the 4Runner has taken the back seat for a long time. I apologize to those who have been curious about the progess of this build. So here is the progress:

I have the long block in the garage on my engine stand. I am painting the valve covers and maybe the intake this week. I also need to pick up some new studs for the water pump and intake manifold. Everything bolts up exactly the way that I have said it would. I don't have a timing belt yet becuase the 3VZ-E and 3VZ-FE are different lengths.......but it looks like it's going to take the 3VZ-FE belt because the upper idler pulley on the 3VZ-E is eliminated now.

Bottom line is that the engine will be back in the 4Runner by the end of summer. Most of the "Honey Do's" around the house are done and I have told her that I need time to finish my own projects. I'm going to try to post some pictures of the engine after I finish painting it and getting it all back together.

Does anyone here work in a factory with access to a CNC that they could make some header flanges for me? I need 6 individual little flanges....one for each cylinder. I can make a template out of poster board of plexi-glass if someone can cut these for me.

So is this still going to be the first RWD 3VZ-FE or did someone else beat me to the punch??

Also, I ditched all of the ideas of custom work other than the headers which are a must. Maybe a supercharger or turbo later. Speaking of the headers....people have made comments in the past about how this engine will suffer on torque on the low end. Not true if the headers are made with primaries of the correct lengths.

I think this engine will have a nice flat torque line and well worth the time and money that I have spent on this.

I apologize for the long post, there is so much more that I'd like to say, but I guess I'll wait to see if there is still any interest in this engine project.

PS- I had to change my screen name to this.....the same thing minus the underscore. I forgot my old password and it was under a hotmail account so I guess I can't get a new password now. Not a big deal, here I am either way

 

so bring us new to the boards up to speed. I backed up a few pages but most of the info there is history as Cebby doesnt even have his 3.slow anymore....

you running a R150f or A340H or something from a 4wd behind the 3VZ-FE?

 

Hey Dan! Welcome back, had to start over with post 1 huh? I know how projects can get delayed for years myself. BTW I had go ahead and start putting a 5vzfe in mine but best of luck getting your's together.

Mike at ORS has a machine shop making some custom exhaust flanges for his custom 3.4 crossover. Might want to ask him about it.

 

Ok, my build-up in a nutshell:

rebuild your old wornout 3VZ-E (mine spun a rod bearing, good excuse to completely rebuild). I used 3VZ-FE forged and coating pistons. 3VZ-FE heads which I also rebuilt. 3VZ-FE gaskets that were slightly modified to allow more water flow. 5VZ-FE intake manifold, plenum and throttle body. I'll be using the stock transmission since there is no reason to swap it out.

Other than those important parts, I had the engine balanced and blueprinted, oil holes chamfered, oil galleys redrilled.

Like I have said in the past, you can do a used 5VZ-FE for the same price or cheaper. However, at some point you will have to rebuild that engine and have more into the 5VZ-FE. After a complete rebuild on my engine, I will have a very reliable powerplant that makes just as much power as a stock 5VZ-FE. I will also have to ability to add a TRD supercharger or any turbo kit that might come out or be out for the 5VZ-FE.

If you are at the point that you are ready to rebuild, this is the way to go. If you just want a quick fix that you will have to rebuild at some point down the road, go with the 5VZ-FE swap. If you want all of the torque in the world for rock crawling, swap in a diesel.

This project was never about being better than the 5VZ-FE or any other swap out there. It was about doing something that to me made cents for my situation to get the most power out of the parts that I already have or can get for a reasonable price. And again, this route gives me to most options to upgrade later on down the road with minimal cost than any other option for my situation.

After I post some pictures, it might bring everything to light. The engine looks completely different and alot bigger.

 

I kinda lost track of this tread for a while. Good lord you guys have made some head way. You can count me in for 10 bucks here in a couple of days

 

No need to send money, that is something that Cebby or Praufet started back when this first began. I was getting out of the Coast Guard and going through a divorce at the time and didn't have the funding to get this going very fast. Well, very few people gave money to the cause and I had even less time to work on this project as time went on.

I have everything pretty much done financially other than header flanges. At this point, I'm just doing some painting and taking my time about getting it all back together right. The electrical is going to be a nightmare and you will see me post alot when I get to that point asking questions. I'm not sure that anyone here will be able to help though since almost everyone said that it couldn't be done......even a friend of mine that is a Toyota Master Tech. But sometimes more brains working together are alot better, so I'll be posting more as things progress.

Anyway, some of you will get to see the finished product at Tellico and other places around here when it's all said and done.

 

so you got pics of the stuff you got laying around the shop?

i want to see this frankenstein!

 

Good to see you haven't fallen off the map.

 

Good thread!

I have a 3vz-e with a spun rod bearing...
So I am lookign at rebuilding that at some point.
The currentheads have about 100k on them.

A friend of mine has a complete 3vz-Fe w/ 60k miles on it sitting in his back yard that I can get rather inexpensivly.

What I am wondering is, would it be possible for me to use the camry 3VZ-FE complete, with a 5VZ-FE intake manifold?

Or, since the 3VZ-FE is a transverese engine would this not be possible?

Thanks!!!!!

 

Dan, I'm curious about how you're going to resolve the distributor issue with the FE heads, since the dist would theoretically end up in the firewall?

 

Thanks for the great replies guys. Great questions and points.....unfortunately, I do not have a definate answer.

Tigerstripe40- I am not real sure to be honest....maybe with some pictures of the flywheel side, I could give you a better answer. You would have to swap out the 3VZ-E oil pick-up and oil pan at a minimum. Some people are going to ask you why not go with a 5VZ-FE, but as I have said with this project, different circumstances.

Willcipher- I'm not the type to be afraid to cut and weld. I have done alot of that already on the rear suspension and planning to do the same on the front. I will not pay some company hundreds of dollars for parts that I can make right here at home. So the answer is, I'm going to cut the firewall and recess it a bit. Hopefully it won't have to be recessed to much. That is the plan anyway, sometimes things change as projects go on, but we should know for sure real soon.

On a side note, I am getting way off here, but I would recommend that everyone learn how to weld and get a welder. I learned how to weld years ago when I first joined the Coast Guard. I have a MIG welder because they are better to weld small to moderate sized metal than an ARC welder. TIG welders are great, but cost alot more. Also, you can weld very thin sheet metal with a MIG with practice....I modified my stock gas tank with mine. Sorry guys, just a passing thought after thinking about the hundreds of dollars that I have saved by doing the work myself.

I will be posting pictures of the engine on the stand later this week. Stay tuned guys.

 

I have an 88 4runner with a 3.0 and also an 87 with 22re. Both 1st gen. So far I've put an air intake from Downey and a mileage master ignition system from Jacobs and my 3.0 runs great and has lots of power compaired to my 22re, and i get about the same mileage.The ignition system really helps in many ways, first of all better mileage then theres the hp. I plan on installing headers and an exhaust system to help it breath better, but you have to do your research when purchasing a 1st gen V6 because some of the later models have the problem with the heads but fear not for ther is help out there doa claims to have a solution for this problem and when the time comes to rebuild they are on my list.

 

wheres the pics???? i have a 3vze and a 3vzfe and im waiting to see the beast. i want to see how it works,runs and looks. just very interrested being a toyota tech myself. i just might attemt the project myself if it works for you. cant wait to see it!!!!!

 

It seems that I have 2 threads going on this project. I posted pics on the other thread thinking it was this one. The other thread is under the 3rd gen Runners and Taco. I apologize, the pictures have been posted, just on the wrong thread. Here they are of the engine on the stand. Some people haven't been sure that it's actually a 3VZ and not a 5VZ.....in one picture you can seen where it says 3VZ stamped in the block.

 

Holy Cow! How do you fit that intake under the hood?!!?
Nice!

 

yea I wonder how that compairs to the 5vzfe. Probably the same, if so a 2" body lift or a hood scoop will fit it.

 

I must have missed it somewhere, but I thought the 3vzfe heads wouldnt bolt to the 3vze block? I mean, they obviously did, but was it straight bolt on, or modified?

 

that looks like a monster of a motor. i cant wait to see it run.

 

Well, that is a common thought, however, I started working on Celicas and most parts are interchangable on them. Heads swaps are common place on the 5S-FE using a 3S-GE heads or a 4A-FE/7A-FE using a 4A-GE head. Then we would swap in a E153 MR2 turbo tranny because it's alot beefier for the added HP of a new head, turbo, NOS, etc.

I love this board, don't get me wrong, but people on here listen to people that have no clue. I have worked on alot f Toyotas (20R, 22R, 5S, 3S, 4A, 7A 3VZ-E/FE, 5VZ, 1MZ, 3RZ, 5M, 7M, 2JZ) and done alot of real research. Alot of parts are interchangable and if they are of the same engine family, odds are that they are interchangable. Don't believe all of the hype from people who have never seen the wrist pins of an engine.

Another thing that I think, but am not 100% sure of, but I'll say it just to catch some heat. I thin that the 1MZ-FE heads will fit on a 3VZ-E/FE. They are the same heads used on the 5VZ-FE (direct fire ignition). Not that anyone would do it because you could swap in a 5VZ-FE for the trouble that it would be to do it, but it's just something that no one has thought of.

Sorry, I was off on a tangent. Yes the heads bolt right up with the use of 3VZ-FE head gaskets and pistons. I had the water passages made as large as possible on the gasket, but that's just to ease the heat issue that will not be an issue anyway without a cross-over pipe, but I was being cautious.