Hey everyone

I have a 1987 4runner sr5 22re that is fully loaded and quite original with it just reaching 175k on the odo. I love this vehicle. The 22re, though, is a bit tired and I'm debating if I should just rebuild the 22re or go for the 3.4 swap. Without a doubt the 3.4 swap is much more involved and expensive. But the power would be unmatched!!
I have read quite a bit on the swap and have a good sense of what is involved. What it comes down to is if I can find a complete donor vehicle (preferably) for cheap, then I would go the 3.4 route. However, wouldn't it be prudent to rebuild the 3.4 before I swap it in? It seems hard enough to find donor vehicles, let alone ones with low milage.
Curious about your opinion if you've done a 22re to 3.4 swap. I read that the 3.4 somewhat struggles with high altitudes in the mountains but don't believe this to be very true.

Thanks in advance
Chris

 

do the swap, the cost totally justifies the gain

 

Depending on where you live a Toyota donor can easy or hard to find; I'm in California and spent a long time looking for a donor (maybe I'm just unlucky) until I found a guy parting one out (I paid $1200 for the motor, accessories, engine and dash harness, EVAP, A/C, and basically everything under the hood/dash that could be needed) and he didn't seem interested in selling the whole thing, but then there are guys in Alabama or Tennessee (for example) that seem to find these things in driveable condition for $500-600 that then part out the rest and not only pay for the swap but are able to make money in the process; it really just depends on what the demand for Toyotas is in your area.

I ended up (long story) dropping a junk yard motor into mine with 150,000+ miles on it and have put 20,000 miles on it without any hesitation. Yes, you could do a full rebuild with it on the engine stand or you could "freshen it up" (new gaskets and seals where easily reached), swap it in, then do the full rebuild later when it needs it (this is my plan).

As for the altitude thing, without forced induction any engine will lose performance, but it seems that the 3.4 either loses a lot less than the 3.0 (I know, not a 22re) or the power difference really is right in that power band where its needed. I can maintain 70 mph in 5th most of the way to Truckee (crossing Donner summit at 7,000') with only occasionally downshifting to 4th to maintain 70 mph (engine revs up to around 3,400 rpm). For most of the drive, I could push it faster (the engine has it in it), but I'm not going there in a lifted truck.

 

^^Thanks for that detailed reply, appreciate it!!
I'm in California as well, northern bay area, and am in the same boat you were looking for a donor. Actually, I have a cousin that has a shop where we would be doing the swap outside of Seattle. Either way the west coast loves toyotas haha, so finding one up there is about the same.
I like your thinking with the "freshen up" idea to the engine cause I'm trying to keep this somewhat reasonable price wise.
Finally your example of driving to Tahoe is exactly what I was looking for. I've driven my 4runner up to Tahoe before and the thing is just a dog going uphill. The 3.4 power sounds awesome!
Thanks again

 

Not so much any more. I looked and looked. There are some stumbled upon deals out there, but they are largely luck. The desirable turn-of-the-century trucks are being shipped to south America in droves. One of the guys in our club recently saw a medium duty truck with 4 or 5 Tacos and 4Runners on a trailer and the trailer/tow rig had Guatemala tags.... right here in North Alabama.

I found my swap donor on Copart. A friend who rebuilds salvage vehicles made the buy for me. I paid $2360 (including all the fees) for a 2000 Taco 5spd with 140K miles on it. The engine and tranny seem to be pretty good, but the frame is rotten as week-old Texas roadkill. The truck was from West Virginia and the frame was nearly rotted through on the drivers side, forward of the front spring hanger, from the road salt. It had been rolled on the driver side, so much of the body was dented up. It ran, though, very nicely but I only ran it for a few minutes because the radiator was compromised - just enough to drive it into the shop....

 

I see I see. Honestly love the idea of having the 3.4 power but I think I am going to stick with a 22re rebuild. It would be too much work, downtime, and money for me at the moment.
In the future I want to buy another first gen and swap a 1uz into it!!

 

I live in Folsom and I feel ya, 45mph at times going up the hill in my 1984 toy sr5

 

Oh just a short note , I saw a guy with a 1984 in pristine condition with only 12000 miles on it in CarGurus, Get this asking $38000 for it! that's 3 times what I paid for mine when I bought it brand new off the show room floor.

 

Googer, so cool you bought your truck new! Any pics of it?

And decided to not do an engine swap. Picked up a 22re block, crank, and rods and planning to start building the engine this summer.