duckhead

Sorry fella's. New to the forum after gaining a wealth of information to do my rebuild... 4 days in and I'm nearly down to the frame, hopefully will start a build thread with pics soon. I already had a 3vz replacement on order from Denny's Auto. I began to get conflicted and worried my new 3vz would be just as bad as my current worn out 3vz so I started considering a 3.4 swap and began researching further and tried to learn.

I was ready to pull the trigger, even though I don't have any of the parts, and I called Denny to see if I could trade up for the 3.4. Welllllll... Denny's a great guy but he really put out my fire He went on to tell me that he knows many ppl that try and fail during the swap. "Not as easy as it seems from seeing it online...."

I know it'd be a curve but is the swap that terrible? Never done a swap or anything like it so should I stick to the old and hope my current 3.0 is just old and worn out? Any advice would be appreciated!

Goddamnboh

From my limited experience, deciding which transmission you will be using is crucial. I didn't think this through on my swap, so I have a freshened up 3.4 in my 94 4Runner with no workable combo at the moment. Manual seems to be most popular, but Stock A340h will work with t100 computer and harness, while the 3.4's A340f will work with an passenge side drop adapter and a gear driven case alongside the 5vz harness and computer.

Understanding with certainty which direction you are going here will help you choose the correct donor for your needs. I mention donor instead of engine because it is much more practical to have an entire vehicle at your disposal to take everything you need from. This was my 2nd mistake.

Having a solid understanding how how wiring diagrams work and automotive electrical systems will also be indispensable. Many posts will say the wiring takes very little time and can be done in-house to save hundreds of dollars. While this may be true for some, it's a difficult process for your average 'shade tree' mechanic. Companies such as Toyonlyswaps and ORS can do this work for you if you are willing to spend the money.

Whichever route you go, I'm certain that it will be expensive and time consuming, but on the other hand, it will most definitely be an upgrade over any 3.0. The mechanical process is straight forward and I think anyone decent with a wrench can tackle swapping an oil pan, bolting on new mounts, and other more straightforward parts of the swap. With careful planning and a flexible budget this can be a great way to breathe life into a really cool 4wd truck platform. I can't wait to get mine finished.

Please keep in mind that this is only my opinion though and based on what I've encountered working through my swap. I'm sure others' experiences vary greatly. Good luck with whatever you decide!

RBX

^^^Good points
This is a buddy of mine doing the swap,
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f160...5vz-fe-277414/

You will need the wire harness and computers, and as stated, it is easier with a donor vehicle, but not impossible. You will need to understand how to use a multimeter.

Learn by doing, but be prepared to spend $$ on your learning curve.

SacRunner

I completely agree.

Duckhead, whatever you do, DO NOT buy just a motor and then plan to "figure out" the rest; you will nickle and dime yourself to death trying to find all the various parts from the junkyards, and then you may end up with the wrong versions of those parts if you decide on an ECU later on.

It's been said over and over and over and over, but I'll say it again: the ideal scenario is to buy a donor, short of that, find someone parting out a vehicle and make sure to get EVERYTHING you can from that vehicle (this is anything and everything that could possibly touch the engine or transmission, including all the EVAP stuff (early years are under the hood on the driver side fender, later years are back by the gas tank)).

I'll say it, the wiring isn't that complicated, but it is confusing and time consuming to reverse engineer the Toyota wiring diagrams for both your truck and the donor truck to a point where you have a good understanding of both systems, then you'll need to splice those 2 systems together; that's the hard part. There are so many variations and differences (some major, others subtle) that essentially no two swaps are identical, but this is why ORS and Toy Only Swaps can charge what they do for a harness; they're basically re-inventing the wheel each time.

Something else to consider is any potential emissions laws in your state. I live in California, and as such I need to pass SMOG which introduced a whole other level of challenges, which are completely doable.

Now, all that said, the 3.4 swap was without a doubt the best thing I have ever done to my 4Runner and I would do it all over again if need be. My swap took me about a year and a half working on it weekends only, and set me back, easily, $3,000 or a little more.

duckhead

Yikes... Thanks for the fast replies!

Well I may need to just bite the bullet and cross my fingers with that reman 3.0.... I have a 91 manual pickup so my transmission would have worked great with the 3.4 but.......... I was going to do exactly what you said not to do sacrunner Buy the motor and hit a junk yard... I live out in the boonies of WI so there is nothing conveniently located near me. Because of this a donor vehicle would be ideal but I have a feeling most will be gutted and not sure I feel comfortable dropping $1-2k on a donor vehicle. What do donors typically go for?

Reading the ORS guide and other rebuild threads it didn't seem like a large list I didn't have but I'm glad you guys set me straight.

Goddamnboh

Seems like a lot of people get good deals on donors in the $6-800 range, but I would be more than comfortable paying $1000 any day to have a complete swap at my disposal. A lot of people were paying that just for an engine. And if you found a manual, it would be worth spending even more in my opinion. Also the only way I would ever drive a 3.0 again would be to just to 'get by' until it blew and I could swap another engine in.

duckhead

My only prob is I already have a remanned engine paid for in the 3vze waiting to ship. I can upgrade and pay the extra $200 for that but I don't know what the policy is on cancelling an order. I would really rather not do that because I feel that's bad business.

So would you still pay over $1000 if your not even gonna use the motor? The 3vz has honestly been a great motor for me over the 13 years I've ran it. Last few years she's dogged out though. Lost compression and can only go 50mph on a slight grade uphill when I'm pulling my little boat or 4wheeler Problem is... I'll be pretty upset if I experience similar issues with all this money tied into a remanned motor. When I bought it in Denver of 2002 I dogged pretty bad on I70 but I just assumed it was the elevation

duckhead

I know there is a large selection of donor vehicles to choose from through the research I’ve done but are there any in specific I should look for that are “better” than others?

I did find a 94 T100 for $1k... If I'm not going to use the motor but just grab the evap, harnesses, ECU, power steering pump, air intake, etc. Would I be able to make a majority of my money back by parting it out? Engine, tranny, etc.... Also would there be EGR issues? My understanding is there's no room for EGR in the conversion but maybe I misread something...

EDIT: Upon further review of ORS conversion page it looks like the 5vze started with the 95 and not the 94 I found. Still curious as to what you guys think about getting most of the money back though on a vehicle if I don't need the engine though.