I am on the fence about doing a 3RZ-FE swap in my 85 4Runner. I want feedback from people who have done this. The people I would really like to hear from are those that have 4.XX gears and 31 - 35" tires. When I see people rave about their 3RZ swap, they often have 5.29 gears and 35-37" tires. I currently have 4.56 gears and 33" MTs. It is doubtful I will ever go to a 35" tire and my gears are only 6 years old with maybe 16 or 17k miles so I am not regearing.
I want to know about road manners. Yes, my truck is more for off pavement, but I still drive it to and from trails and often take it when going hiking. Extended hill climbs on the highway are 3rd gear 45-50 mph @ 4000 rpm. Any slight incline at 65 mph in 5th results in having to shift into 4th. This is around 3500' elevation too. If I were to ever go to over mountain passes in CO/WY/UT, it would be 35 mph in 2nd gear.
Anyway, before I take the 3RZ plunge, I would like to hear from people on their rigs' street mannerisms. Oh and I don't have a tired old 22RE either. I did a full rebuild in 2009 - 0.020" bore, higher lift cam, header, 2.25" exhaust and the engine only has 43k miles on it. It runs great on flat roads (especially when the heavy top is off) and off roading it does fantastic. Just those darn hills on the highway...
Not looking for a hot rod, that is what my Mustang is for. Just want a little more ooph when driving to and from trails.

 

this is an old thread, but seeing as how i just finished my swap ill chime in for someone in the future. its amazing. i am in the boat now of not understanding why anyone would rebuild a 22re..ever. the 3rz fits perfect, uses all oem parts to swap in other than maybe some chilkat engine mounts, and has considerable more power, with the option of stupid more power with turbos and SC options. you get obd2 and can keep all the creature comforts like ac, better power steering (i went psc). the dash stays the same, i used an 85 cluster and it didnt require any mods for the tach to work. driving my 87 now, 36s and 5.29 gears, is a BLAST with the 3rz.