I am wanting to know what the final cost of the 3.0- 3.4 swap would be and if it is worth it?

 

get a whole car donor it's cheaper and you can sell whats left you don't need.
salvage car auction or craigs.

thats one thing i would do if i did it again.

for me it was worth it but i went from a 22re to the 3.4.

 

It is all relative to the deals you find and your mechanical abilities.
Some have probably done it for a grand, some $3k plus. .

 

This plus try searching the forums. Lots of topics on this one.

 

I've read of people buying whole donor trucks for anywhere from $600 to $2600 (or possibly more). They then typically will part out the rest of the donor and make most, if not all, of the initial cost back and possibly even a little more, but it takes a noticeable up-front investment and some time.

I was quoted anywhere from $2200-2600 for all the parts necessary from a junkyard, but at that point there's really not much hope in making much money back.

I got "lucky" and found a guy nearby parting out a 4Runner and sold me the motor and EVERYTHING I would need, or possibly need for my swap for $1200 (quotes around "lucky" b/c the motor itself had a blown head gasket and both heads were cracked), but everything else checked out and worked for me.

Then after that, you're looking at, at least, changing the timing belt and related components ($200-500), clutch ($200-500), exhaust modifications, moving the battery, various heater hoses, possibly a body lift to clear the motor, and an assortment of maintenance items to take care of while everything is apart, which on their own could easily be another $600-1000 after the cost of the motor and parts. Or you could skip a lot of things and just pull the motor and install it with the old parts to save some money now.

 

It comes down to just what skills you have .

What things you decide to source to a outside vendor

What your looking for do it yourself or complete turn key build ??

Check out the 3.4 swap section.

Is it worth it in my case worse mistake I ever made besides getting married.

I hope the second one goes better.

 

wyoming9 , can you clarify ? Are you saying swapping to 3.4 was worst mistake you ever made ? Details ...

 

I went 3.0 to 22re and wish I would have went 3.4 every day since . Especially on the hills !!

 

I think I broke even, or maybe even made money after parting out my doner and scrapping it. Granted mine probably isn't as slick as some of the other's who have commented. But yeah, it's all about your abilities, and/or time you can invest in it. I have rebuilt motors and done quite a bit of wrenching, but I had never done a motor swap before. I learned everything including wiring from right here on our 3.4 swap section.

Also wyoming9, what's the deal with your swap that turned out so badly?

 

FWIW, the 3.4 swap was the best thing I've done to my 4Runner and that's including all the hoops I had to jump through to keep it CA SMOG legal (including an inspection).

But do keep in mind, we're talking about engines that are 10-19 years old with varying degrees of maintenance so not all swaps will go as smooth and problem free as others.