I will make an offering to the wheeling gods for your 3.0 too! (I do one - once a week for Ron - troy's truck)

Well let's see here. Most 3.4's are picked up at under 100K (The one I have has 70K) Most 3.0's are running over 200K (Ron (Troy's rig is at 232K) Tippy was at 229K when her HG went (and this is after the re-call and with the better HG!)

So if you have the money... HELL yeah do a 3.4! Plus seriously the power makes a huge difference. I dunno where you guys live but in c-rado getting to the trails, we are like 5 miles behind everyone else driving up into the mountains to get to a trail!

 

HA! good luck finding a 3.4 with low miles around here. Everyone sells them for 600-1500 bucks, with probably about 150k miles average. Lowest I've seen is around 115k, highest was 294k (they wanted $750...all original... )

Usually, the yard engines in my area come all hacked up too... They are sloppy and don't care. They cut the harnesses, vac lines, bend hard lines, loose/cut rubber lines. They are ruthless...

Only way I'd do a 3.4 swap in my area is if I were to say, roll my own 4Runner where I could pull the engine without hacking it all up... But if I had to go out and buy an engine, I don't think I would ever do it, thats a lot of money for minimal gains (~+40-50 HP). If I am willing to invest the time and money into engine swaps, you better bet I will be swapping in a 7M (~+100 HP with good exhaust)

:

 

Wow... well then I guess doing a 3.4 swap over just doing the 3.0 HG really depends on where you live and what kind of deal you can find. (You guys don;t want to know the steal I got for my 70K 3.4) You'd cry.

 

i bet molly.. it was an insane deal wasn't it?

The 3.4L i put in mine had 135,000 miles on it. Got the swap done for under $1500. Got everything that i got from the donor truck for $800..

 

do tell. I understand pretty much anywhere but here the prices are very reasonable. Sucks owning a Toyota in hick country. everyone around here drives domestic. Finding a Toyota in a yard is sort of rare, and when there is one, they are usually stripped of the parts that you need haha. Thats why the 3.4 brings a lot of money around here haha.

on the other hand, I could get a 4.3 Chevy for 200-400 bucks in good shape, but I would never put a Chevy motor under any of the hoods of my trucks lol.

 

I considered an LS-1 swap; the weight difference is minimal.

 

So I got the donor motor from a Toyota tec in Colorado springs with 70K for $800. Then the original builder of Tippy (another toyota tec) knew I recognized the blown HG in a block and knew I didn't do damage, so he bought the blown 3.0 for $400. So essentially I paid $400 for my 3.4

I gots me some good connections in c-rado

Too bad tippy is in such absolutely sorry shape to really put it in her. The new thinking is plasma cut all the goodies off tippy (bumpers, sliders, and take the axles and drop all this into a 1st gen runner or pre-taco. When I have money. Um yeah that'll be like 1 MILLLION years) So the engine sits. SO does Tippy.

 

after i took mine to the dealer for a recall ( one time deal) i did major research here are my findings all alum/ steel engine combos will have head gasket issues .. due to rate of expansion
toyota didnt think about it or figured it into the cost of a recall but it will hit u about 75k mikes i have a spare motor from japan about 4 years old the plan is when i hit 250k im pulling my current one out having it rebuilt here by a place that (only does these motors ) and put the japan one in .. they said the deck was not machined perfect and the head needs a oil drain hole to prevent valve gasket leaks..
but ive heard its its a biatch to change those hg with the motor in the truck ...
and if you do no guarntee theyll pop again the stock gaskets are supposed to be the most reliable not the extra thick after market ones ...
well im at 177k putting on 15 k per year but who the hell knows when it will blow !!!

 

Still running great. I've been getting between 15.48 and 18.64 mpg depending on how deep I plant my foot into the skinny pedal....

 

Thats bout what im getting, though she is runnin really rich.

And I constantly have my foot into her

 

sorry to hear about ur second hg ordeal. ur thread is making me a little apprehensive because i'm currently in the process of completely rebuilding a 3VZ-E, but I also won't be pulling a trailer at 90 mph so hopefully i'll be ok Also, any tips when putting the engine back together would be greatly appreciated, as i'm getting everything back on tuesday, and hope to start working on it labor day weekend.

 

Just make sure you have BOTH the heads & block resurfaced & use OEM head gaskets. I torqued my second HG about 1/8th turn past recommended, and I also loaded up all the head bolt holes with PB Blaster & left for a day before blowing it out with an air compressor & chasing the threads all the way down TWICE. I also torqued the heads to thru the 1st 1/4 turn, then backed them all the way off & retorqued in the correct sequence. Seems to have worked this time....

Also, since I was running super high compression, I turned the VAFM 3 clicks richer. Thinking about going another click or two....

 

Thanks for the info. I did get everything resurfaced and vatted, and the block bored for new pistons so i should be good on that part. Also, you don't recommend any aftermarket head gaskets? I've noticed the OEM ones are pretty expensive and was hoping to be able to use a different brand, but not if theyre all crap. Also, whats PB blaster? I've never heard of it.
Thanks again

 

Nevermind, it's kinda like WD-40 right?

 

Yes, it's a spray lubricant/rust buster; you can get it at WalMart for about $2.00. It's much better at breaking loose rusted stuff than WD-40, though.

 

Pb blaster is like next to our bed.... We leave the WD-40 in the garage... LOL


And don't get any sick ideas. The buttons on my alarm clock keep seizing!

 

likely story

 

Why don't ya just throw them MLS HG in it and solve everything? Mine has been driving over 13,000 miles and still runs great, and this is my 3rd HG replacement... I am having problem on cylinder #1, leaking anti-freeze. Well there was a gap near the #1 that was block off from letting anti-freeze pass through so I use some JB Weld over it and resurface it as smooth as possible and it work. I notice a HP gain though... LOLZ!!!

 

You don't "just throw in" HGs on the threeveezy.

That said, she's still running great with plenty of power.

WTF is ATF doing in your head??!??!?

 

I mean by, anti-freeze... << Fixed >>