At the moment I'm at a sorta crossroad with my truck. It's got high miles and I think this year I will swap it. That's where I run into the problem, I don't know what I should swap. I've been searching over the past couple days looking at my options.

First, I looked at a 302. My friend has one sitting in his garage that I could probably get cheap.

Then, I started looking at a 4.3l swap. Seems to be pretty decent also.

I've heard bits and pieces of a 2.7L out of the tacoma swapping in, I really like the idea of it.

I want something with more power. 22re that is in there I feel is on it's last leg, I would just regear but I figured the money it would cost to regear I could get a engine that'll last longer and have a little more power to boot.

Now here are the issues I have:
I have access to a welder, I don't know how to weld though so I would like something I can get adapters for mounts etc.
It doesn't matter whether I can keep the W56 5spd that is in there now, I do want to keep it manual.

I guess what I'm asking is what would you do in my shoes? Obviously saving money is an aspect of the swap. If anyone has done any of these and can give their own opinion of the swap please chime in. I'm going to get back to searching now.

 

Sounds like a cop out but it's really up to you. Ask yourself what you want out of the the swap. More power? LOTS more power? More economy? Same economy?

Saving money by doing a swap is not an option. NO such luck, unless the 2.7 will bolt in. If you could put the 2.7 in with no real modifications it might be pretty easy and cheap.

To swap in anything else you are going to need parts and adapters and bits and pieces. The swap process is expensive enough for those with the knowlege and skills to figure it out as they go and to fab what they need. With no skills and advanced knowlege, it will simply cost more and take longer.

For an example of what I mean - if I want to put a small block Ford or Chevy in mine, it will cost roughly $1500 in big parts (adapters, radiator, mounts etc) plus the engine. There is a whole host of little bits and pieces that will need to be scrounged and fabricated - things like power steering and airconditioning brackets, plus lots of head scratching stuff like getting fuel hooked up and throttle hooked up and wiring hooked up and the gauges working again. So, obviously it will cost a heck of a lot less to rebuild my 3.0. So I have to ask myself if it's worth all that time and effort and money for the power of V8.

 

Oh, and for me that answer is more power. I want more power. Worth 2 grand plus the cost a good engine? Certainly! But I can't spare the money, nor do I have the spare time. So hopefully my 3,0 hangs in there.

But, it might not be the answer for you!

 

I guess I wasn't meaning save money but more or less get more bang for my buck.

Regearing would be costing alot of money, looking at it from my point of view, I would get more bang for my buck by swapping an engine in. I would knock out two birds with one stone; power and reliability. I would like a bit more power because my truck doesn't have enough power to get out of it's own way, regearing would fix that but I would still be stuck with a high mileage engine. Replacing it with a low mileage 2.7 or 3.4 or rebuilding a 4.3 would fix that problem.

I'm not worried about spending the money on adapters, as long as it's done right.

 

check my faq: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f120/links-faqs-information-74610/

Personally, i think when the time comes, im goina go 302

 

Nice I was looking for this one:
http://www.mindspring.com/~jayk3/toyota/swaps.htm

I'd seen it a long time ago but now that I'm seriously looking I was hoping to find something like that, thanks.

 

Glad I can help, do have one favor to ask... If you find any good articles, links, faqs, etc, lemme know so i can add them

 

Not a problem, will let you know.