Greetings all.
I've got a 96 T100 long bed with the 2.7 L 3vz engine with a recently blown head gasket.
I purchased this vehicle a couple years ago from a guy who had the head rebuilt at 197k. I've put 50k on the engine since then.
Truck is in great shape otherwise and I would like to keep it rolling along...especially since I put new ARE camper shell on it and spent countless hours and money building out the inside (this is currently my only vehicle as well as my home!)
I am seeking advice on how to proceed:
Would it be worth it to have this engine rebuilt again or replaced with another 2.7?
Is it possible to swap in a different engine, 3.4 L V6 perhaps?
Any insight yall could provide would be greatly appreciated as I am not super savy on all the tech.

 

To answer the big question, yes, it's totally possible to swap in a 3.4L 5VZ for your 3VZ. I haven't done it but I know Yotashop has a page devoted to the various bits it might require. In my opinion, the 3VZ is not a great motor and the 5VZ really is, so I'd seriously consider the swap before a complete rebuild on the 3VZ.

As for rebuilding the current engine... these are V-configuration motors, so it might have only had one head rebuilt the last time, and you might be dealing with the other one now. If you haven't been dumping coolant into the engine oil through the bad gasket, you might be able to get away with doing the same this time if you want to save some money.

 

That's slightly contradictory. The 2.7L is an inline 4 cyl, while the 3VZ is a 3.0L V6.
If you have the 3VZ, a 3.4 swap is not all that difficult since you can reuse many of the 3VZ components. In my opinion it's a no brainer, but I'm extremely bias because I've felt the difference a 3.4 makes over the 3.0.
However, if time and money are issues, a direct replacement will always be the easiest route.

 

all T100s from 95+ had 3.4s. This guy probably has a 2.7