My friend bought a yota 4x4 and has had nothing but trouble with it. The only good thing about it is the suspension system, which is worth thousands. Right now his engine started messing up, and its not that strong running even when it is in good working condition. It's not the stock engine either, its a 231 3.8 v-6 from a Buick. My question is what engines will fit in there with little or no modifiction? I'm hoping that we can find something at a junk yard that will just bolt right up. Any suggestions at all would be appreciated, thanks.

 

Since its been modded with a Buick motor you'd have to un-mod it to get a Toyota motor in there. Toy motors that will fit in there are the 22R, 22RE, and 3VZE V6. You would have to get the bell housing from the junkyard also since you have a custom one in there now.

You say its an '86 and the suspension is the only good thing on it. The suspension must have beem modified to. '86 was the first year of independant front suspension. Does it still have the IFS? That makes a difference in what motors will fit also.

 

Oh yeah. In my oppinion putting a Buick motor in a Toyota is like putting ketchup on chineese food.

Welcome aboard.

 

yes ive known about the 22 R engine and 20 R, and im not that impessed. My brother has one and its gutless. My friend bought the truck with the buick engine already in it, so that wasnt under his control. The suspension is big time modified. It sits way up in the air and has like 4 shocks per tire. It also has those traction bars or whatever u call them...sorry I myself am not too into trucks, so i dont know a great deal of the terminology. I love working on engines and doing swaps so i was hoping that we could find an old v8 and put in it...any suggestions?

 

There have been many people that have done the Chevy 4.3L V6 swap or the 350SB. From what I've heard, the Ford V8 is a good swap also since the engine is narrower and so there's more room.

Salue

Do a search on here, you should find some good info.

 

Just about everything else will require body lift at least and lots of customization. Its been done with Ford 302s, Chevy 350s, twin turbo Supra motors and tons of other motors. Its all in how much money you want to spend and how creative you want to get.

 

..thats not a T-type 3.8 is it? Meaning, does it have a turbo bolted to the exhaust side? I can't imagine anyone would go through the trouble of a swap without installing the turbo version. If it is the turbo engine, that is one potent powerplant, thus why it was choses for the transplant. I would take the time to get it running correctly, and make some real power

btw- I know they can easily do in the 500hp range :eek:

 

Ok i thought i said this earlier but the thing is lifted big time...so that wouldnt be an issue with ANY engine install short of an earth mover diesel. And it's not the Turbo version, just plain old N/a engine that runs crappy. My thinking is find a junk yard v8 that really has some balls for a good price. Custom mounts can be fabricated but anything more than that would be gettin too much since my friend doesnt have a shop and mine is like a 40 minute drive each way, so i'd like to keep it as simple as possible. BY the way thanks for all of the replys, it was really quick!! But is there anyone on this board who actually has the same truck or similar and has done an engine swap? IF so I'd love to talk with ya...thanks