Tdavis03

iTrader: (1)

hey gang, been away from the forum for a while so if there's a better place for this let me know. Long story short My little brother blew my motor (97 Ex Cab 3.4 4x4) while I was deployed. They guy workin on it has been a little shady as I'm not home to directly deal with him and "little issues" keep popping up. The most recent being it's taking a few extra days because some parts had to be swapped because the new/used motor came out of a auto, my truck is manual, makes sense. Also because the motor mounts didn't match, doesn't quite make sense? And now it's going to take a few more days because the wiring harness aren't the same and the intakes need to be changed. I know very little about motor swaps so excuse my ignorance, but does this seem legit?? I was told the new motor came from a 97 tacoma. Thanks in advance

gryphonrunner

First of all, thank you for your service. Second of all, are you still on speaking terms with your little brother or was it not his fault?
As for the engine, it's a 3.4 to 3.4 swap, so it shouldn't be that complicated. I can understand the wiring harness because these are different (different connectors, extra pins from an auto, etc) but this does seem like a lot. For instance, I'd be surprised if the air intakes really are that different and I don't recall there being two different models of motor mount depending on transmission type.
I'm not saying this guy is ripping you off, but something's not quite adding up based on my limited experience. I'd like to know what he's charging for the overall swap and for these little issues that keep popping up. I'd also like to know what his exact excuses are.

Patrick

Tdavis03

iTrader: (1)

It was his fault, but he got a reaaaal good butt chewing. Multiple times. And he's covered 90% of the costs. The guy doing the swap is a family acquaintance, so it's hard to complain TOO much, he's only charged around 6-700 bucks. But it's been more than a few months and frankly I'm just ready to have my truck back 😂

gryphonrunner

Okay, for that price, he's not ripping you off. If he's never done the swap before, I can understand how it will take him a while, especially since he's doing it for about half what most shops would charge.

Patrick

Tdavis03

iTrader: (1)

It's been almost seven months hahaha

dodgefan02

The difference in the intake is probably the throttle body. More specifically the TPS sensor. I ran into an issue with a later model one while doing my swap and had to buy a different throttle body with the correct TPS in order to get my transmission to work. I'm told there's no way to rewire one to the other to make them work correctly, so he's on the right track it sounds like.