What's up duders. I recently purchased a '94 4 runner 5sp manual 3.0 with 186k original miles from its original owner. A rare find for only 3k. I had saved up funds because I thought I'd spend way more money on it originally. I have seen many posts about the 3.4 swap, but my question is, has anyone tried to swap the 3.0 with the 2F 4.2 inline six? Or should I just flip this truck for the money and buy a land cruiser. I really love the 2nd Gen 4 Rnner body and would hate to see it go. Let me know what you think

 

2F? Why?

 

What's your opinion on the 2f? I thought it was regarded as one of the most reliable toyota engines?

 

3.4 5vze is the perfect engine for the second gen. 4Runner. Strong, efficient, decent mpg., and the boost in horsepower the 3vze was desperately missing. Plus it’s been done before by many, you’re not having to reinvent the wheel.
The 2F is heavy, terrible mpg, and better suited where low speed high torque is needed.

 

Got impatient and I'm a glutton for punishment. Decided to just tear it down and rebuild. Maybe In the future I'll consider the 5vze. Before I bought this I had 99 tacoma with the 5vze that gave me 17 years and 350k miles. Sold it 15k. I was just looking for something different, not necessarily speed, because after all it does look cooler offroad the slower you go. I'll keep you updated 🤙🏼 thanks for the input.
I might just drive the 3vze until it blows up on me.

 

Also read somewhere that the reason these engines run hot and wear out the head gaskets is because the exhaust runs back up and behind the engine and firewall and thus burning out head gaskets. Has anyone else had that problem? Or had/ have a problem passing smog? I'm in stupid ass CA so I don't think an egr delete is possible?

 

Headgaskets blew simply from the lack of asbestos. The 3vze built prior to January 1990 still had asbestos and they lasted like any other Toyota gasket. The replacement material used in lieu of asbestos just couldn’t handle it, and the gasket commonly blew at the rear cylinder(6?). It took a few attempts to get the gaskets right, but once they did the 3vze was pretty durable. Still needed 10-20 horsepower, but at least it was mechanically sound. The amount of metal between the cylinder wall, the cooling jacket and the exterior of the block wasn't great back there, so maybe it heated up faster. definitely the Achilles Heel.
Im in California and my EGR works fine. I really don’t see the point in deleting, though some swear it makes a huge difference. But if Cal emissions is a concern than you definitely don't want the 2F. That's be a nightmare to retrofit all the emissions. While the 5vze would be a breeze in comparison.