I feel this should be pretty straightforward, but I'm having a hard time finding info on this and i'm really hoping someone here can help me.

I have a 1998 4Runner with a 2.7 3RZ, and even with a supercharger it's an underpowered motor for a vehicle that heavy. Having just returned from a long weekend towing a boat, I want to scope out what would be involved in swapping in a 3.4 in place of the 2.7. Can anyone point me to some threads, a blog, or other specific info on swapping a 3.4 into a 3rd gen 4Runner or Tacoma? Someone must have done this, and it can't be too hard, but I'd like to read up on what's involved before I charge headlong into this.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

this should be plug and play on the electrical side. on the mechanical side you may have motor mount issues and may have to cut and weld in new motor mounts. you will need the V6 Radiator and other odds and ends but this is pretty straight forward it seems.

 

Thanks. I'd really love to find some specifics from someone who has done this before I get too involved. I did find a bit more info by refining my search, but I'd love to see some writeups from anyone who has done this.

From what I've found so fR, it looks I'll need a tranny as well, as the 5 speed behind my 3RZ is a W-series and the 5 speed behind the 5VZE is a R-series.

Given the scope of what needs to be swapped over to make this legal in CA, I probably need to find a donor vehicle rather than piecing this together from parts. That's good and bad -- my wife might kill me if I add another non-working vehicle to the driveway

 

There is a guy at MArlin's board or at Pirate that is doing what you are hoping to. Search around over there. If I come across it again, I'll post the thread here for you.

 

I'd suggest you'd be better off selling and buying a 3.4-equipped truck. And likely money ahead.

 

Thank you, I appreciate the warning, and there's almost no question you are right. All things being equal, I would be better off financially doing it that way. Believe it or not, I have a pretty good sense of what I'm getting myself into if I go this route, and yeah, it will be more expensive to do it as a conversion/swap than it would be to buy a 3.4 V6 4Runner. One of the things I need to determine before I get too involved is just how much I'm willing to pay for the "fun" of having another project vehicle -- and I definitely think it's fun to do this, or I wouldn't even consider this.

The only thing that's holding me back from just buying a V6 4Runner is that I have a fair amount tied up in my current stereo installation and some suspension mods, and I am reluctant to pull all that and swap it over...though I might end up doing that once I run the numbers. It's work, but so it an engine swap...and it's probably less work to move over what I have.

Anyway, at this point I really just want to get a sense of what's involved. Initially, I thought it might be as simple as changing the engine, the ECU, the exhaust, the radiator, and maybe the tach or gauge cluster. Now, it's looking like it's those plus the transmission and maybe one of the engine mounts on the frame needs to be moved and/or re-worked.

Nothing is carved in stone. I'm just checking things out and seeing what's involved. It might be that I can find exactly what I want* in a used 4Runner for $5-$7k, at which point I will have a decision to make.

Thanks for the input,

-Jeff

*Clean 3rd gen. SR-5, V6, 4x4, 5 speed manual, with a motor suitable for supercharging

 

Ya i just reread your original post and realized you have a 1998 already. Guess I am just use to guys having older ones performing the swap.

Anyway, there is no way in hell i would take on all that work to increase the value of your vehicle absolutely $0. There are so many 3.4 Runner around that the massive undertaking of the swap, would make yours no more desirable and possibly even less valuable. Personally if I was shopping for a late 90's Runner and found two; one that you modified and installed a 3.4 into, and one that Toyota installed from the factory.....no offense but I'll go with Toyota.

Not that I swapped mine to increase its value, but the fact is, it is more valuable now than it was.

I have installed many, many car stereo systems. I did that for a living for 7 years till i was 28 and got the good sense to go back to school. Anyway, my point is there is no system that cant be moved. Surely you have many custom made pieces that make your vehicle undesirable to part with. However, moving all the stereo to another vehicle or even letting it walk it still the much smarter play in my opinion.

Make a wise decision here. Not an emotional one after a surely frustrating weekend of underpowered towing. I think that there is no doubt that you can find what you want for that price. Look in the Merced, Modesto, Fresno area. Lots of people hurting in these areas that are looking to unload car payments.

Great resource here for searching multiple cities on Craigslist: http://www.searchtempest.com/

BUY a bigger vehicle or a lighter boat.

 

BUY a bigger vehicle or a lighter boat.

Lol -- it's a 13' aluminum Klamath, which is about as light a boat as they come. The boat is not the sole reason for wanting something quicker and more powerful, it's just one example of the problem with the 3RZ in this vehicle. The 3rd gen. 4Runner is a heavy vehicle. I've owned it for about 8 years now, and it's always been a bit pokey with the 2.7...but it sure doesn't move any quicker when you throw a boat behind it.

Make a wise decision here.

Hey, I'm trying to. I'm asking questions and I'm listening to the answers I'm getting. Neither you or Rockota has any enthusiasm for this swap, and whatever I had initially has faded. I do appreciate the honesty.

The thing is, other than being underpowered, I really like my 4runner. It's been a great vehicle, and I have the rest of it just the way I want it (FWIW, I also installed car stereos professionally at one point, so you'll have to trust me that I have some time invested in this one). I'm no stranger to modifying Toyotas -- I've owned them my whole life, and other than my wife's Camry I've modified every one of them. Putting $3k into an engine swap on a vehicle I plan to keep forever doesn't bother me as long as it makes sense on some level. But this is looking more like a $4-5k swap into a vehicle that's only worth $5k, and for which there's no shortage of factory built models, and in that light this swap doesn't make any sense at all.

So, thanks for steering me clear of doing something stupid. I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for the right vehicle, instead of the right donor vehicle.

-Jeff

 

if you were in the position of having a fried motor.. it may be a decent idea... but seeing to how you have a perfectly running modified rig... i wouldn't bother. Maybe you should regear it for some more low end grunt? Is the rig properly tuned with the sc?

 

regear is a good idea as well

 

I was kind of wondering if you were jonesing for a project like the RTE.

Let's be honest - you KNOW your truck. You TRUST your truck. And with a vehicle swap, you have to start all over in the trust department. Totally get that. And hell, I don't even want to calculate how much I've spend on truck mods over the last 20 years... could probably have paid off 1st house.

It's going to be a conversation on dimishing returns - whether is $5K, month of downtime and tons of work tied up into it... or if you're able to find "THE" replacement and doing a couple of weekends of swaps...

Now... if you asked about a 1UZ (or frankly, any other non-factory engine)... we'd be having a different conversation.

 

Heh, well, of course I'm jonesing for another project. I just want to pick one that I can play with and still have it remain smog-legal at the end of the day.

Yeah, I was obviously hoping a 3.4 swap into a vehicle that came with that motor would be much more straight-forward, but it isn't sounding that way. I've been scanning CL and such and there are certainly plenty of 3rd gen 3.4's out there, and even a few with manual transmissions. It's looking like I could buy one with a 3.4 and sell mine and the difference might only be $2-3k, and probably less if I pull the supercharger off and sell it separately. If I go that route I'd have more $$$ leftover for modding the 3.4

Now, in my heart-of-hearts, I would much rather put in a 1UZ and head down the road to crazy town again...but having already sunk a stupefying amount of cash into one vehicle that's impossible to smog, I can't do that again. Besides, the 4Runner needs to be my DD, so it has to stay smog legal and reliable. Or close enough to smog-legal that I can bring it back to passing in a weekend.

Anyway, as much as I want to do a swap and keep my current rig, I think buying another Toy and selling what I have is the right way to go. Not as much of a challenge, but definitely the saner course of action. ::sigh::

-Jeff

 

good decision in my opinion!