Excuse my illiteracy in this subject, my mechanical knowledge is rudimentary

I have a 1990 Toyota pickup that came stock w/ a 22RE. It just hit 170k miles and though nothing is wrong with it now, im pretty sure its not going to last much longer. To get a little more zip i was hoping to put in a 6-cyl, so is it possible to fit a 3vz or any other v6 into a truck that was made for the 22RE? If so, what would i have to do? And this truck is 5-speed manual w/ 2-wheel drive, as many of you probably already know.

 

Just so you know 22REs can go 250k+ miles with out problems (its a toyota). You do not want a 3.slow, Putting a 3.slow in place of a 22re is like putting up new wallpaper in a haunted house. If you are going to do a v6 swap I would reccomend the 3.4 out of the newer tacomas and 4runners, but you will need a V6 transmission to make it all work.

Search for 3.4 Swap and you will find everything you need to know!

 

heh, ill keep that in mind... my main concern with using a 6-cyl though is the size, the engine bay on my truck is tiny, and i would need to know if theres any engine in particular that would fit... i can replace the transmission if need be also

 

stay as far away from the 3vze as possible. Even if you find one in pristine condition chances are the head gaskets will blow in the first 5 miles. ha

 

You may want to check out the marlin crawler forums, they have done a handful of swaps, replacing the 22re with the newer 2.7l 4cyl (3rz?)

the 2.7 is a great engine, and from what I've read pretty bulletproof.

 

Stay with the 22R, if it blows (IF, and a big one at that) they're reasonable to rebuild, if you you need more power and are dead set on spending money get a turbo or supercharger kit. My turbo 22R will wipe the floor with a 3.0 V6.
Lots of guys on this forum know what they're doing with these engines (I'm not one of them-- still learning).

"If it ain't broke don't fix it" quote by someone smarter than me

 

personally if you are going to do an engine swap you should go for a better motor than the 3vz, its not an extremely bad motor, but going for the effort you might as well go for something better. yes it will fit but there are better options

 

22re rebuild is a better bet. I love chains... And simple repair. And no gasket worries.. but maybe that's just me. Then again, I have one of each.

 

I like the idea of a 2.7 liter swap, and it looks like the 3vz is a bad way to go O_O

anyhoo, should i get my current engine rebuilt or buy a rebuilt one? also, will there be any performance gain over my current 170k engine? (sorry if i seem all gungho on performance, but im used to driving around a 91' mr2 and id like to give my truck 1/4 of what that car is)

 

Check engbuilder or LC engineering, they seem like one stop shopping. Head and a cam really wake the engine up, then again so does a turbo.....

130-150 Hp is not hard to get naturally asp.
170-200 HP (or more) is just a turbo away

 

My 92 toy ,truck has 288,000 and still uses no oil and runs fine. Shooooot, that motor is just getting broke in at 170k ...lol

 

I would not worry about having 170k on a 22RE if it runs good. Just keep an eye on the driver's side timing chain guide if it has not already been changed with a steel one. If the 22RE has good compression and no knocking, then there is no reason for a rebuild. Put some headers on there and upgrade the exhaust for a little extra power. If you want to swap the engine for more power, look into swapping in a 7MGE or 7MGTE from a Supra. Check out www.supracharged.com for information.

 

Here is what i've learned. I am doing the opposite of you I'm pulling my 3.0 for a propane 22r. The first is yes the v-6 will fit but the motor mounts on the frame are in the wrong spot. The mounts for the 6 are closer to the firewall than the mounts for the 4 banger,have to be cut from the frame and moved. second you need to get a v-6 trans and t-case they are not interchangable. then you have to get your drive shaft cut to fit, and get a v-6 crossmember cause its different too. Good luck Joe

 

There's no shame in having a slow truck. When I want to go fast, I grab the MR2 keys, when I want to have some mud fun (slow mud fun), I grab the 4Runner keys. You'll be the jack of all trades, and save 2k on a useless rebuild/swap.

 

Yeah, you must be new here if you think trading a 22RE for a 3VZE will result in more zip...

First, is there something WRONG with the 22RE that makes you think it's on its way out? 175k miles is just getting broken in for these things!

Headers and a tuneup and you'll be making as much power as a 3VZE. Heads, cams, turbos (all of which are readily available, unlike for the 3VZE) can increase it from there... I SO wish my truck had a 22RE instead of the 3VZE...a 5VZFE swap in on my list (way down the list, but on it)