Being doing some minor *thinking* about a 3.4 swap potentially in my truck (probably won't happen for a few years - but I'm compiling info/background now - reading much of what I can). Had a look at my pickup on the lift and man, oh man, the exhaust running down the left side, where the 3.0 stock one, is much "roomier" than trying to squeeze it down the right side past the transfer case and gas tank where the 3.4 would be. I was told by someone that it can be done and obviously has judging by the sheer number of 3.4 swaps we hear and know about, but another solution would just to be to run headers and have a custom crossover pipe made (or maybe you can reverse the built ones that some companies such as downey sells) to bring the 3.4's exhaust over to the left side like it would be if you had the 3.0 with headers. Thoughts?

Also, I have a 5 speed manual. I'm told the transmissions are the same essentially. Are we talking the transmissions are the same right down to the gear ratio for each gear? Do they even share parts? Or are there some minor differences?

 

I've used downey headers on my 3.4 swaps.

extend them down and crossover to the driver side, and route it like how the 3.0 stuff was routed.