PLEASE READ!! Time is short!! 3.4 swap into '94 4runner
 

FIRST OF ALL please do not hate these are the circumstances: i've been planning on doing this swap for a great deal of time but had no idea the below was going to fall into my lap so quickly. i've researched this swap a great deal but not under these specific terms. i would just search And do the research myself but i have 2 shifts between now and tomorrow when i have to make a decision on this. here we go....


Wife rolled husbands '99 4runner (hahaha women)
Husband wants to sell 4runner (insanely cheap)
My understanding is the engine is untouched and was running on its SIDE for a little after the crash
The 4runner is an automatic, mine's a manual ('94 4runner)

ok wondering if i can use the same ecu (i don't think so...) and what could be some reproductions of the runner running on its side for some bit of time
also if there are other questions that i didn't ask and SHOUL'VE asked let me know :)

ALSO it has the factory supercharger =D hence why i feel i must do this swap sooner now than later.

any questions i should've asked about the supercharger let me know :)

THANK YOU AGAIN TOYOTA BRETHREN. I AM FOREVER IN YOUR DEBT!!!

Well you you need to to carefully get that runner running and determine is its a useable motor or not. Then you can go from there. As far as using an auto ecu in a manual truck. You need to look into that further. It can be done by jumpering the park/neutral safety switch into neutral. However, I cant tell you everything will be hunky dory and perfect. But you will be able to drive it. Since you want to run the sc, I would strongly suggest that you do everything you can to make sure you have no CEL or trouble codes. Last thing you want is to have the motor go boom after you swapped it. Next question is... does it have any fuel mods done to it? If its without fuel mods then there is no gaurantee that its worth while unless you have pulled the heads and checked the condition of the pistons and valves.

http://slo.craigslist.org/cto/2343043534.html

nice, i would get it, you can re pin an auto motor to a manual but you'll need a manual ECU and wiring harness , you can find them at a junk yard or eBay, man that supercharger would be fun! go for it!

hey thanks a lot guys yeah seems like a great deal to me! the sc alone is worth $$$. im meeting up with him tomorrow to check it out. smithy are you from slo??

used to live in socal, now i live in oregon

Manual requires manual 3.4 ecu or you'll have codes is what the guy who does mine said. Manual engine harness helps.

:wabbit2:

You don't need to worry about it going into a manual tranny vehicle!!!! Jumper the park/neutral switch!! It will work just fine. A lot of people have done this with success. The issues only come up when you are wanting to swap an auto into an existing auto, and re-use the existing auto!!!

Get the donor already!

It will throw codes and therefore not pass a smog check in California if you go the jumper route.

the right way to do it would be to swap in a manual ECM. I have no clue on the availability of finding a manual SC ECM but I would think that it is possible, but not so simple.

You would then need to repin the harness for the manual setup. They use the same plugs I am pretty sure...........maybe someone else can confirm. Alternatively, you could pick up a manual, SC harness.

Sounds like a good deal but a tad risky.

dntsdad - your sig says you've done the jumper route and it looks like you're in ca. so did you not pass smog?

keep em comin guys thank you so much for everything! also, like i said the rig was running on her side for a while after the crash. is this an issue? i remember reading one thread here where that kid rolled his rig upside down and tried running it just a couple hours later and this was a very BAD idea. so im wondering if theres a quick way of checking to see if this motor is good or not? just see if it turns and starts, if it does im in business right? obviously i cant take the whole top end off at the tow yard before giving the guy cash or is this just a gamble? thanks guys!!!

I didnt do the jumper route. I rewired the whole harness. It was an auto harness and I took the essential wires out and placed them into different locations on the manual plugs that mate to a 97 manual ECM. So effectively I have a 97 manual harness...........with a few extra plugs that I was too lazy to fish out of the harness. Yours would be the same plugs (auto and manual use the same plugs starting in 98 i believe) so that would make sourcing the plugs a nonfactor, which is a pain.

Essentially, my harness IS a manual harness in effect. Jumping the neutral wire will work if you do not need to smog; lots of guys have done that. The BAR referee will be pissed for wasting his time however.


ALL BELOW IS SPECULATION ON MY PART!!!! I am not a motor expert. Someone chime in here. I wouldn't mind learning a little here in case I happen to put mine on its side.

My main two concerns would be how long did it run without oil, and is it hydrolocked.

I would surely not try to just walk up and start it. Better to pull the plugs out and crank it for a good long time to clear everything out. After it quits spewing crap from the spark plug holes, assuming it does, maybe then try to fire it up.

Secondly, if it ran on it side, then likely oil was not being pumped through the system as there was nothing getting to the pickup. This could cause an issue now, or in 5,000 miles.

If you have the time and the money, and this is a spare vehicle, I would probably gamble on it. If you are spending your savings on it, and your 95 Runner is your only vehicle.............I honestly dont know what I would do. You could probably make a profit in parts I would think.

well i am in the process of doing the same thing now my uncle bought a wrecked 4runner for scrap and im pulling the motor...mine was upside down and hydrolocked and i had to do just what dntsdad said to do but once i got all of the oil out the motor cranked up and runs like a champ! one other thing is make sure you have checked out dntsdads thread he did one of the best swaps out there he sure knows what he is talking about:rockin:

Guys- I couldn't of asked for better replies thank you so much! any other inputs are MORE than welcome!!! dntstdad i need to see this thread what should i search under? just 3.4 swap? thanks!

Thanks again!!!

So WTF?? Did you buy this thing or what? :think::think:

Thread is in my signature.

3.4 SWAP DONE <-- Click DONE

The craigslist post has been deleted by author so... maybe he got it? :think: Sounds like a deal if the engine is still in good condition; 'chargers sell for $$$$ too... might be able to part it out if the engine is toast and make back the buying $.

>>Dan

dude guys sorry i've been up north for a few days, didn't use my comp at all i was just wheelin too hard for technology. im still talking to this guy. . . hes holding off selling it to me because the "insurer is going after the county because of the pot hole that was evidently the 'cause' for the rolling of said 4runner".... its starting to get sketchier and sketchier... i was supposed to meet with him today to actually see the damn thing but he hasn't returned my calls at all today, he told me that he was also in the process of moving so im still just crossing my fingers on this one.... ill keep you guys posted.

thanks everyone!

Is that think still in the impound yard? The fees are going to be crazy if so.

nah he got it out. ok, now hes telling me hes moving out of the country but he told me to keep in touch cause he's going to have to sell to me this next week. said he might just give it to me for a grand :S that would be insane but im not holding my breath. even if there was something wrong with the motor, a master rebuild kit from LCE is only $800, and i can sell that lame auto tranny and other parts. i want this truck sooooooooo bad!!! i dream about a 3.4 in my rig almost every night, just racing my other buddies with their 3slows and laughing at em... damn. im hoping. we'll see!

later fellas i'll keep you all informed! if i get it, plenty of pics i promise :)

UPDATE: the 4runner guy is holding out still. I check craigslist every day for tacos and 4runners that have been rolled when suddenly!! GOLD!!! grandmas 2000 taco got rolled with only 65,000 on her!!! with the locker. the guy wants $3500 which to me is pretty fair. brand new engine and all.... anyways i go out there yesterday and guy tells me this:

yeah after it got rolled and they brought it back to my house i started her up and lots of white smoke bellowed out the tailpipe.... (this is when it gets real stupid..... i think) so rather than shut her off he told me he kept running it ( never added any oil, there was a good deal of oil all over the engine bay) told me hes ran it a good many times and theres always white smoke. he started it up for me and there was pretty good smoke. my buddy told me if this thing smelled sweet at all that meant its burning coolant. it didnt smell sweet at all. my other buddy said its bad news bears when its smoking cause that means blowby and and having to rebore and a number of other things, other buddy said theres an overflow valve from the valve covers to the intake and thats how oil got into the intake. same with the EGR apparently. SORRY ABOUT THE ESSAY JUST TRYING TO BE THOROUGH!!!

is this motor toast? sounded great when it was running. sounded cherry.. CHERRY.

thank you for your input let me know!!!!

I am not really sure but you might want to post this exact post in the 96-02 Taco forum here and maybe at Ttora.com as well.

You will get MUCH more traffic and probably more eyeballs.

I would also be curious as well as to what others guys smarter than me have to say.

Good Luck.

Jason

Couple of things I know I'm late off the bat here but better late then never first of what have u found out from other people so far? Did u get this vehicle? Secondly keep in mind I'm just a kid going by what I've heard but from what I was told when I first started checkin out the 3.4 I'm using in my swap that was rolled I was told the motor will usually smoke at first when u start it after its rolled...but idk if he has ran it a lot I would think that it should come out of that phase but maybe its because he didn't add oil? And there is always bound to b oil in the engine bay after a roll...when I first got mine going I had to pull all the spark plugs and crank it over for quite some time to throw all the oil out of the cylinders because it was i hydrolocked I believe I went through this in my thread at the time but it has been a while since I did this so I am not for certain keep us updated!!! Hope this works out for u!!!