How longit take you to do your swap? How experienced were you? This is time spent wrenching, not time spent researching.

 

It is all going to depend on if the person doing the swap has a premade harness by someone or if they do the harness themselves.

 

Ya I know. Feel free to include that in your post.

 

Actually kinda curious about this as well, how long did it physically take to drop in an motor that was ready to go?

 

I think that they key IS the time researching. The more time you put in researching, the less time actually working.

My first one isn't worth mentioning the time because off all the changes, swapping transmissions, getting sidetracked replacing/fixing/modifying lots of other stuff along the way, etc. to pass emissions and somewhat because of my lack of foresight on issues pertaining to smog, and inexperience.

I did another one a few months ago and I think that it took about 4-5 days. He brought the motor in the Runner mounted but that is it. Could I do it faster? Probably, but I don't work in a hurry on something that doesn't need to be hurried. I was on summer vacation and I had plenty of time, so I took it.

Usually on a project like this you end up doing a lot of other things as well along the way that suck up a lot of time. For example, for most of us the motor compartment is 20 years or so of dirty. Cleaning that could take a whole day........or even more. If you racing to get done, that may be something you skip. I'd rather clean it all up/repaint/whatever.

The premade harness would be nice to have. I just really think that it is really expensive for the amount of work to not need it. I could do the wiring but if I could buy a harness for $200 I might. For $700 there is no way. However, I understand why they cost that.......its a lot time to set one up.

 

No one swap is going to be the same as the other.

Too many factors go into it. What are you starting with, what options does your truck have, what is your end goal, how much do you want to spend, etc etc etc.

My first swap was into an 87 4Runner SAS. had to fabricate mounts. It ended up taking over a month, due to many different factors. And that truck has no AC, no cruise, no IFS in the way.

My new swap is into an 89 V6 4Runner. Completely different setup, and will take a different amount of time. No mounts to fab, but it has Cruise, AC, the works. Just take your time, and have a backup vehicle to drive for a few weeks. I finished mine by working on it a few hours a night, and having a guy do the wiring in the vehicle for me.

 

I'm more curious how long I'll be outside exposure to the elements. So how long did it physically take to pull the old motor and then how long did it take physically to put in the 3.4?

 

If you have the 3.4 prepped you can pull the old out and put the new in, in several hours.

 

Couple hours if everything is prepped, and you don't have to fab mounts. Its no different than swapping 3.0 to 3.0, they use the same mounts and bolt patterns.

 

One month from start to finish. The first week I took off of work did the pull from donor, the pull from recipient and the donor placement into recipient. I also freshened up the 3.4 (timing belt, water pump, plugs, etc) in this time.

The next three weeks I only worked weekends and a few nights a week. This time was spent doing all of the ancilary systems. EVAP, bracket fabrication, accessories, wiring harness, etc.

Before any of this was initiated, I had done close to six months of research (mostly on this site) to get extremely familiar with what is required. I also had 98% of the parts required ready to go, so there would be no waiting for anything.

This also included installing the Supercharger and the URD 7th injector setup, fuel pump etc.

I could definetly do the same thing again in under a week.

The key to speed in the swap is research, research, research. Sit down and do the swap on paper, thinking about how you are going to handle each system, and research that specific criteria and come up with plan of attack. This will help you get a feel if you can handle each aspect.

One thing I would advise against would be any kind of timeline that would rush you.

Here is my swap thread. it chronicals each step and the time it took. Take a look at the initial post, you can see that I had my gameplan well in place before ever ordering a part or turning a wrench.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f160...-speed-207371/

 

Good advice. Thanks. Your build was what inspired me.

 

Took me about a month (working Saturdays and Sundays only). It really is not all that difficult, and it was my first one. The hardest part IMO was definately the crossover pipe, that was a PITA. The wiring took me all of....5 hours or so? I will see how fast this one goes, as I just wrecked my pickup that had the swap, so I will be taking the motor from it to put into the 4runner I just bought, which is automatic and will be swapped to manual. Hopefully a lot less time!

 

From start to finish, about a month total.
First week was spent swaping out wiring harness on the 3.4 engine. I got a wire harness from a 96 T100 5 speed and an engine 96 4runner with auto. Also ordered a few parts still needed for the swap, cross over pipe, 5 speed rear drive shaft.
The next week I pulled the old engine and auto tranny. During the swap I also swaped from an auto to a 5 speed. Removed the inside heater and A/C stuff for more room to get at stuff. Preped the 3.4, swaped motor mounts, swapped oil pan, redid the power wires, remounted the battery tray, and installed the 3.4.
3rd week finished installing the tranny and driveshafts. started the wiring and installed the new computor. Also wired the ORB2 port so I can run a scan gauge. wiring was not too bad, Just do a lot of research, RESEARCH, and have all the wiring diagrams handy. Hooked up the fuel lines, installed an Injen intake system, hooked up the exahust system, power steering system.
4th week, got it running, cut the hood supports, installed the hood and it was done.
Yes, I could have been a lot faster, but being the first time I ever did a project like this, I rechecked every thing many times to be sure. It started and ran the first time.
The only problem I had was high idle, turned out to be a bad idle valve.

 

1st one was 2 weekends by the third one it took 2 full 10 hour days. wiring slows you down and if you make your own crossover. and this is starting with a 3.0 vehicle. 4 cylinder will take an extra 2-4 solid days of 10 hours a piece. Having said that, I used to work as a mechanic professionally.