m44offroad

To start here is how she sits as of the writing of this post

Specifications
3RZ 2.7 from 1998 4runner
W56 transmission with Marlin 1200lb clutch
Old Man Emu Dakar suspension front and rear
Trail gear Rock Assault rear axle with 4.10 e-locker





I guess I'll start from the beginning. Back in high school I was dirt poor (living in a trailer park), driving a old, beat up, hand me down 1976 Dodge Dart 4 door with a slant six and 3 on the tree. My best friend had a 1982 4x4 Hilux long bed that started my love of Toyota when I would ride along when he went wheeling. I believe it was on summer vacation before senior year we pulled the 22r out of that truck, had it rebuilt and put it back in. During that time helping him reassemble that 22r I realized how simple Toyota's were and the love affair with the early Toyota 4x4s began and I began the search for my own Toyota. Sadly Toyota's in my area held their value and remained out of my price range for many years or in many cases sat in a field with owners unwilling to part with them, one of these was a 1986 4runner owned by my best friends parents that to this day (12 years later) is still sitting with no motor.

My friends parents 4runner With his 82 in the background (keep in mind this is much more recent)

My Dart


Senior year of high school we had a recruiter for a semi-local community college come to talk to the auto shop class about manufacturer training the college offered for Toyota, GM and Chrysler technicians. At the time I was looking at UTI or Wyotech as a option after graduation and the Community College offered much lower tuition, a co-op training system that placed you in a dealer working for half the semester and half the semester at the college for just under 2 years, Toyota calls it the T-Ten program. I signed up for information on the program to look at options but still planned on Wyotech for the hot rod type classes. Now to be honest I think that if that recruiter had been working for the US Army I would have ended up in Iraq instead, but as things worked out I attended the T-Ten program at the community college with a job at one of the local Toyota dealerships and started at the dealership in September of 2004.

After a month of Working at the dealership and the fuel pump catching fire on the Dodge Dart it was time to attend the first class at the community college, and with the college being 200 something miles from home the Dart was no longer a reliable option and I had a Line on a 84 or 85 4runner, for $2000, unfortunately that deal fell through at the last minute and desperation led to buying a 1985 Chevy S10 4x4 that at least got me through college but once again put the dream of a early Toyota on the back burner. In Hindsight placing a 19 year old kid in Farmington NM with a real 4x4 would have probably have been a bad idea. I still got my taste of rock crawling in Farmington and realized I prefer less extreme forms of wheeling.

The s10

m44offroad

Now my search continued on and off for a few years until April of 2008 when after a Saturday night of drinking at the bar I got home and by chance decided to check Craigslist and found a ad with no pictures for a 600 dollar 1987 4runner, 243k miles and "drive train failure" after a shade tree hack put a clutch in it. Luck would have it the 4runner was located about 10 miles from my house and far enough from Albuquerque that on Sunday morning I was the first to call about the ad. 30 minutes later with cash in hand, and a compressor and tow rope in the bed of the S10 I was driving a maze of back roads (FYI MapQuest and GPS suck in the rural areas east of Albuquerque) to stop at a dead end on top of a hill to see this gray 1st gen 4runner in a field 1 road over in the valley below. Got back on track and pulled up to the house to find the owner was expecting me. Talking with the owner found out while driving his brother heard a loud bang and the vehicle stopped moving and I got the whole it ran when we parked it bit. I looked it over and found no battery, the back full of trash, 1/4 of the back seat in the cargo area, the transfer case in neutral and the shifter wouldn't move. no way to confirm the owners story that it ran. I decided to take a gamble handed over the 600 dollars and towed home what would for all intents and purposes was a crap shoot.

BigBluePile

iTrader: (3)

Sounds like an epic adventure

m44offroad

As soon as I got the 4runner home I started messing with it. The first order of business was to get get her started. Installed a battery, turned the key and crank but no start Started going down the list, spark? check, air? check, fuel? nothing. Jumped the FP terminal under the hood and found no power to the fuel pump. start checking inputs and found someone had taken the EFI fuse out of the kick panel fuse block. Replaced the fuse and turned the key and she fired right up . Now on to the next issue, getting her to move. Pulled the center console to pull the shifter for the transfer case to see if I could get the T case out of neutral. As I started to put some pressure on the shifter something popped and I had 2 hi. As I kept messing with it I got it into 4 hi and 4 lo as well and noticed something odd, I found as I shifted the case a would open up to about 1/2 inch and close back to a tiny crack.



On removal of the T case I found multiple bolts missing from the rear cover of the case, still not sure why they where removed to do the clutch but from the looks of everything the T-case ran dry and blew up. I started calling around and found a used case at a local wrecking yard for $100. Installed the new case and took it out for the first test drive and to try some off roading lol

For some odd reason the bald 30x9.50 didn't do much and the auto locking hubs helped even less

BigBluePile

iTrader: (3)

m44offroad

After replacing the transfer case and getting it on the road I got her cleaned up, Got a set of 31x10.50 BFG all terrain tires cheap (probably too cheap) found a rear seat on marlin crawler and removed the hideous running boards. Now I had more or less had a rig to have fun with.I also used a set of pro comp ass a leafs in the rear to temporarly fix the sag.




Now as I said the used BFG's where too cheap they lasted about 2000 miles before the left rear blew out and rather than replace just one I opted to find another set. Just as a word of caution and hopefully any new owner of one of these will have more sense than I did. When the BFG blew out It was at 2 AM in the middle of winter and about -5 degrees out, this is a less than ideal time to discover the tire iron included when you bought the vehicle is a 19mm and the lug nuts are 21mm.

Found a already mounted set of factory tires and wheels off of a 09 Tacoma with low miles that had been replaced with aftermarket for 250. Installed the Tacoma wheels and tires to discover the rims sit too far in in the front and the wheel weights hit the tie rod ends. I used a 1/4 inch spacer on the fronts to correct this and ran the Tacoma wheels for the next 11000 miles

m44offroad

Over the next 11000 miles I fought numerous electrical gremlins that would put the ecu in limp mode. The worst of which was a short in the speed sensor in the combination meter. At a dead stop the ecu would go into limp mode, RPMs would not go over 1500 and if stopped facing up a hill there was no way to get the truck to move. To correct this I cut the Speed sensor wire to the ecu. I mention this due to the complications it caused for the 3RZ swap. After cutting out the Shorted speed sensor I was free of the Gremlins until Christmas eve 2011 when Water from melting snow got into the harness and I no longer had the patience to deal with the truck. A couple weeks earlier I found out Chilkat designs would modify a 3RZ oil pan to clear the IFS (I personally like the IFS system for what I use my truck for) so I dropped the cash and ordered the engine mounts and modified pan from CHilkat and began the search for the engine and all related accessories.

m44offroad

It has been, even though reading some of the other build threads on here make my build seem boring. lol And reading your posts gives me ideas like a Jerry can subwoofer

Roark

M44, very interesting read! It really does sound like an adventure..well put together! I can't wait for what you've got next, leading up to that beautiful first picture!

Waterbottom

Good read. Dig the choice of vehicle and color scheme. Look forward to see/hearing the rest..

BigBluePile

iTrader: (3)

I have my moments


It seems your build has been going over the years? Very fun read!

m44offroad

Thank you guys. I am continuing to write more of this build as time allows between work and trying to track down the rest of the pictures. I think I'll wait until I get the thread up to date with the build before editing the first post to include what all has been done to the 4runner

m44offroad

I better take a step back and go through some more history. I'm sure everyone who has owned a older Toyota with the 22r or 22re has experianced the lack of power this engine is known for. After a few months of working at the Toyota dealer, I found the 5vz-fe, felt the power in a heavier vehicle, easy to work on, reliable amd OBD2 made diagnosis simple. I immediatly began researching this engine swap. After the solid axle 4runner fell through 2 days before moving to Farmington for class I figured a 1st gen hilux was what I wanted and with a 5vz swap it would be a really fun ride. Unfortunately the 1st gen trucks are rare to find here in running condition for a decent price. When I got the 4runner a engine swap was on the list from day 1, first choice being the 3.4l 5vz. After getting the 4runner my research continued and expanded to the 2.7l 3rz after spending time on Marlins forums and for a a short time began looking into a Toyota diesel like the 1kz.

Of these 3 engines each had pros and cons that I will briefly touch on in order to give some insight on my chosen path.
All 3 share the same hurdles with wiring, exhaust and adaptation challenges.

First up is the 3.4l 5vz
Pros:

1. Plenty of power for a 1st gen 4runner
2. Proven reliability
3. Easy to work on
4. Plentiful although expensive in my area
5. Much cheaper sensors and replacement parts than the 22re and wider availability.
6. Easy to fit around the IFS thanks to being used in the T100

Cons:

1. Due to my 22re and lack of access to a r151f would require using a r150 with either a chain drive t-case or an adapter to a gear drive case.
2. Requires multiple parts from a 3.0 in order to bolt in.
3. Required finding one from a manual trans vehicle because the auto equipped vehicles didn't always have the crank drilled for a pilot bearing.
4. Possibility of requiring the transmission cross member and drive shafts from vehicle with 3.0

Second is the 2.7 3rz
Pros:

1. Allows for the use of the existing 22re drive train (at least in my case starting with the W56) thanks to being mated to the W59 transmission, the swap only required the use of the 3rz's original bell housing off the w59.
2. Although rare in my area due to elevation (seems like most 3RZ's ended up closer to sea level) still available and priced similar to the 5vz.
3. Same as the 5vz for parts availability and price
4. Easy to work on
5. Proven reliability, a majority of issues I have seen with this motor stem from a cracked exhaust manifold and burnt valves.

Cons:

1. During my original research no oil pan existed to clear the IFS (later offered by Chilkat designs)
2. Custom motor mounts to attach to frame (also offered by Chilkat designs)
3. Less power than the 5vz
4. Cast iron exhaust manifold that is prone to cracking

And the third and shortest the 1kz turbo diesel
Pros:

1. Fair amount of power
2. Unique swap, very few seem to exist in the US
3. Came in the 2nd gen 4runners overseas

Cons:

1. Expensive to get the engine and accessories for the swap due to never being sold in the US (at the Time I priced out a half
2. cut and was Quoted about 10 grand and my research ended at that point)
3. Expensive and limited supply of parts from overseas

As time went on and little problems arose in the 22re I found many components such as the Vane airflow meter, IAC valve, TPS sensor and even the Throttle body itself could cause driveability issues mimicing a fair amount of components and all where showing the 243k miles of abuse from the previous owner. Pricing out parts, even at employee cost began to show the high cost of keeping my 22re running, A few trips to U pull it yeilded enough used parts to keep her on the road, but showed how the used part supply in my area for the early 22re's is minimal. As I kept putting miles on the list began to grow, first the wonderful sound of the timing chain as the guide disinigrated and the chain started wearing the timing cover, then it progressed to the pressure plate for the clutch intermittently failing to clamp down while driving and the last straw was going into limp mode because water got in the harness.

m44offroad

Early 2010, Toyota Was in the middle of what is probably the largest recall in history, the Unintended Acceleration nightmare. At this point I had my tenure and training with Toyota to be a Master Diagnostic Technician and was one of the very few in a dealership of 30 plus techs to perform the recalls. The recall had us working 6 days a week 10 plus hours a day to get Toyota through the ordeal. As the year progressed my available funds increased with no time to actually spend them. This allowed me to fund the engine swap. Unfortunately a few months later as I was planing the 5vz swap, my life was turned upside down. At this point I was still living at home with my Mom, in a campground that was the family business since my grandfather bought it in the late 50's after retiring from the Army. Although business was booming for me at Toyota, the economy took its toll on the family business and after some questionable financial decisions on the part of the various other members of the family my mom and I found ourselves on the verge of being homeless as the bank began foreclosure.

It was this turn of events that placed the 4runner on back burner as my quest to become a homeowner began. The Boom in business at Toyota got me approved by the bank to buy my own house but as I soon found out buying a home in the middle of a recession, even with the approval letter from the bank can be a nightmare. As 2010 ended I found myself still under the gun after putting in offers on 3 different houses and 3 times my offer was declined. We kept buying more time from the bank and got our stay extended until September of 2011. In April of 2011 after a week in Oregon visiting my girlfriend I came home and I had hit the last of my options and reluctantly decided to place a manufactured home on a 2 1/2 acre lot I had inherited when my grandfather died in 1992.






Cutting it a little too close for comfort I managed to get past the county inspections and moved in to my own home in the middle of September, followed with my mother moving into my house a week later and kissed the family business good bye.

Roark

Sounds like a rough patch through the family business. But hey, gotta start from somewhere.. I can remember when I was younger, my mom holding my hand as we walked through downtown Memphis with no place to go but forward. How times have changed..

Definitely looking forward to the next installment!

m44offroad

As I began to settle into the world of being a home owner, my life seemed to be getting back on track and everything appeared to be on the up swing. The stress of the previous 18 months was gone, I was in a position to start a family with my girlfriend who had stayed with me through all the hurdles life had thrown at me and with the exception the truck fund being spent on the house life was good. Unfortunately this was short lived. Within a month my girlfriend left me, broke up with me via text message, and because she was going through family issues in Oregon that limited her ability to move she used the reasoning that she was breaking up with me so I could pursue other options and she felt she was holding me back, but we should still be friends. Honestly for me this was a knife in the back. I had no issues with waiting for for her to deal with her family before we could be together because it gave me time to work on the truck. Now I probably could have handled the situation better but between the text message breakup and turning me free to cheat, all trust in the relationship was gone in my mind. This left me fighting depression and looking for distractions from this aspect of my life, previously similar situations had results ranging from alcohol abuse to a World of Warcraft addiction. This go round I found researching future projects on the truck kept my mind off of what had happened.

I spent 100's of hours reading about engine swaps on here, marlin and pirate and found myself for the second time looking at the 3rz swap, having forgotten my original reason for discounting this swap I found a engine swap that appeared to be completely possible to perform in my driveway (using a very loose definition of driveway) with minimal fabrication required. Originally my research ended with nothing more than rumors that this swap had been done to a IFS rig and I ended research with the conclusion that, although in many ways the 3rz was ideal for me, trusting my welding to hold oil without leaking was well beyond my ability. This time around my research ended with finding Chilkat designs offered a modified oil pan, and bolt in engine mounts. From here my luck was was hit or miss for the rest of 2011. Although the house left me short on funds for the swap I knew the economy was still unfriendly to niche businesses and after Off Road Solutions had closed down (even though they seem to be back in business now) I was regretting my decision to wait on buying the 3.4 exhaust crossover from them. As December came lady luck graced me with her presence once again, I received a sizable Christmas bonus from work followed by a 2000 dollar refund from the electric company for the installation at the house. With the disappointment of ORS closing in the back of my mind. I used my recently found cash supply to order the modified oil pan and motor mounts from Chilkat designs and figured I would use my tax refund in the spring to find a 3rz.

As December progressed I discovered my decision to order the swap parts from Chilkat had been the right decision. Albuquerque saw one of the worst winter storms in years and the east mountains got hit fairly hard. As I was leaving town for training days before Christmas my driveway was covered in over a foot of fresh snow. I still managed to find time for fun in the snow before leaving to the airport


The storms continued while I was out of town, after multiple flight delays coming back to Albuquerque my flight landed after 11pm on December 23 and I walked out of the airport for find Albuquerque had become a solid sheet of ice, I-40 was closed from Albuquerque to the Texas state line. Even in these conditions my 4runner carried me home safely over the 35 miles of ice, snow pack and blowing snow to find 2 1/2 feet of snow and a propane truck buried at the end of my driveway at almost 2am. Christmas eve began with calling into work because of the bad roads and the early morning return from training. I took my mom to work and proceeded to start clearing snow before the next storm. As I went to pick my mom up from work the melting snow got into the harness and put my truck back into limp mode for the last time. Thankfully the rest of the winter remained mild and allowed me to use my Scion Tc to commute, leaving the the 4runner to sit idle until the build could begin.

Gizler00

iTrader: (1)

Sorry to hear abotu your misfortune, esp with the woman. Ive been there, but on the bright side, you now have more time to focus on more important things that you want to do. Hope the build can start back up soon.

m44offroad

Thank you. Here it is almost 2 years later and I'm still perfectly happy being single. The Truck has progressed a lot since then and I am writing more of the build as time allows.

m44offroad

In early 2012 my search for a donor began, I decided finding a wrecked donor vehicle would allow me access to all the necessary parts for the swap and in many ways serve as a point of reference. I began by searching Copart auto auctions and signed up with www.easyexport.us as a broker for the Copart auctions. Going this route allowed me to take part in the auctions with online bidding and also provided reasonable shipping rates to get a wrecked vehicle transported.

I limited my search to 95 to 04 Tacoma 4x4s and pre-runners with the 2.7l and a manual trans and 96 and up t100s with either the 3.4 or 2.7 and the manual trans. I set my limit at 2000 dollars including the cost of shipping and Easy export had a accurate and user friendly shipping calculator to assist with this. After a few weeks of being outbid I remembered that the 3rz also came in the 4runner from 96 to 02 and having nothing to lose I searched 4runners and found a 1998 2 wheel drive 3rz, 5 speed 4runner with 103k miles in El Paso that had been rolled. the pictures from the auction showed a lot of damage but the engine compartment seemed mostly untouched by the damage, the big plus being the radiator was intact. The down side was that, unlike many of my previous bids, the auction did not know if it ran. Copart has a "runs & drives verification" on many of the auctions saying that the vehicle moved under its own power at the auction yard, this had no guarantee. I ran the VIN through Toyota's national service history at work and found the vehicle had only been into a dealer once in its 103k miles which rarely provides a real picture of the shape of the vehicle, but in this case within 500 miles of being totaled this 4runner had been through the used car department at Hoy Fox in El Paso and received some minor maintenance before being sold. With the odds in my favor that the engine and accessories would be useable I took a gamble and placed my bid. Due to the gamble on whether the 4runner would run or not I Decided to set my max bid at 1500 including auction fees and shipping, with 4 days left before auction end and my bid placed all I could do was wait. I watched as the end came closer and a few bids here and there slowly increased the price until the auction started and I watched the auction on line as the 4runner came up and saw no new bids. The auction ended at $1,350 between the fees, shipping and the vehicle. Now came the wait for my gamble to be dropped off by the shipping company and see If I won or lost.

These pictures where from the auction

m44offroad

A couple days after the close of the auction the transport company contacted me and we scheduled the delivery about 1/2 mile from the house for the following week on my day off. Having no idea what to expect I had my dad bring his Suburban and I brought a tow rope and jump box, after pushing the 4runner off the truck I checked the coolant and engine oil and both where clean, uncontaminated and at the proper level, next I tried to jump start it and nothing happened, had power to the dash lights but no reaction from the starter. We towed the 4runner home so I could diagnose further but I couldn't help having the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that I had made a huge mistake. Upon getting the 4runner in to my drive way I spent about 30 minutes prying the drivers door open to begin diagnosis to find almost immediately that the rollover had creased the floor board causing the clutch to fall well short of the clutch safety switch and had this 4runner been 4wd there would have been a cancel switch on the dash. I unplugged the safety switch, shorted the connector and turned the key and the 3rz fired up and came to life. I took it for a brief test drive and began diss assembly, starting with the dash and Harness. I should mention that this where I was too distracted to remember to take many pictures