Hi all, Im new to the site. Ive got a question for all, Ive got an 88 4x4 regular cab pickup with the 22re. Its got 205,000 on it, and the engine is using some oil, has some timing chain noise, and is generally getting tired. In spring I was going to get a reman 22re for it, but found a possible donor truck with a 3.0l and r150 5 speed trans. Ive heard alot of stories about the 3.0, but if I change the timing belt, and do the head gaskets per the bulletin, and some general maintenance to it, I think it would be a good quick engine in my small truck. I can do either for about the same cost. Ive looked into a 3.4 5vz-fe swap but it looks like way too much time and fabrication to make it work. The 3.0 was optional in my truck, and with the donor, I think i can swap everything over relatively easily. I am concerned mostly with power and reliability, she gets about 100 miles per day put on, and does some general light towing. What is everyones opinion on the swap and the 3.0?

 

Dude, I personally like the 22re, and from the horror stories about the 3.0 I would rebuild the 4cyl for sure. But that's my opinion.

 

The 22RE is a very solid engine, and even though it's weaker than the 3.slow, I believe it would be worth your time to rebuild it. Then, if you feel like you are lacking power, you have more oppertunities to give it some more (ie. turbo charge it) compared to the 3.0.

 

i did this exact swap, but my truck is 2 wheel drive and had a carburetted 22r. it is a lot of work. expect to build new engine mounts, as the engine mount pads on the frame are not in the right place, there will need to be work done to the power steering, fuel system, and of course the exhaust. im not sure about the 4x4 tranny mounts if they are the same or not, but the 3.0 sits farther forward than the 22r does. as far as power and reliability goes i have put 50k on my conversion with only a water pump failure. the engine now has 155k and still runs strong. power is noticably better than the 22r, but torque is WAY better! i get around 16mpg with mine, i dont think that is very good, but at least the exhaust sounds cool! I am in the process of putting the 3.4 in with the TRD S/C.....that should be a lot of fun when i get it done!. actually im thinking i should have done the 3.4 the first time around

 

So I guess it looks like doing a direct 3.4L swap will be better if it's already a lot of work. cr500rider...aren't you planning to do that soon? I suppose you shoulda done it that way the first time around! Props to you for having the nerve to do not ONE, but TWO engine swaps!

EDIT: I just love it when one member is looking for an answer and another comes along who has done the exact same thing.

 

the 3.4 would be a much better swap. same amount of work, and more gain and reliability. the 3.0 wasn't just assembled poorly, it's not a very robust design and it will blow gaskets whether its been rebuilt or not.

 

i will try to post pics of my truck and the new engine sitting in my garage. im wating for my tax return so i can buy the supercharger.....just talking about it gets me all excited......hondas eat my dust, well hopefully anyway, some of those stuped things are pretty fast. lol I dont know if you guys are into lowriders or not, this seems to be a 4x4 forum, but hopefully you guys will still help me out. im not really into going 4x4ing as i have my dirtbike to go in the dirt. im a toyota guy all the way and always have been, but when it comes to dirt bikes hondas are the "bee's knees"

 

If you wanna do something cool then put in a supra engine in there. That will really put those ricers to shame. A TT supra engine with some minor mods and you have a seriously nice truck. I have seen some really fast supras dude.

CJ at toyotafiberglass.com is doing exactly what youre talking about with a supra motor and its about the same amount of work as a 3.0 and way better.

 

Figure out how to swap in a JDM 3vz-fe. Like put a 5vz-fe manifold on it I guess. Or cut the runers off the manifold & spin it around & weld it back together. Less peak torque than a 5vz-fe, more horsepower, more rpm, wider powerband & in theory should bolt up & drop in with the same work as putting a 3vz-e in.

 

is that the 3.0 camry engine?

 

i have thought about doing the supra TT swap, i just think 3.4 parts are easier to come by and also cheaper. but you are right, the supra TT engine has WAY more potential than a 3.4 could ever have

 

With all the work involved, I think either the Supra 7MGTE or go back to the 22re with some add ons is the way to go. Or maybe get a 22rte and install that, rebuild it and the turbo. Jasper has a nice turbo reman 22re but no turbo included.

 

There are three things that really need to be figured out in order to make this work and two of them are deal breakers at least for me. I have yet to see a compairison of the bolt patterns on the FE block and the E block. If you can't put a rear drive tranny on there then that is a deal breaker, The distributer on the FE lines up with the buldge in the firewall and unless there is a cheep way to get an electronic dist in there then that is a deal breaker. Finally the crank is almost deffinately not drilled for a pilot bearing, a machine shop can change that but its something that I would deffinately want cause the auto truck trannies of that erra are crap (for me at least).

 

Eh, the transmissions & such will bolt up. From what I've seen & tried to take pictures of, all the mounting is the same.
The intake & ignition are the 2 biggest problems. With the intake, goes the coolant hoses & such as our engine has a big coolant tree coming off the lower intake manifold.

You could always drill the heads out & flip the tree to the front of the engine. Then bandsaw the intake & weld it back the other direction.


Good luck with the ignition.

 

So is it drilled for a pilot bearing? I've tried to find any pics I can to compare send me some if the FE if yo have them.

Yea I bet you could do something like what we were talking about with the 3vze intake, basicly what you posted would work good. One thing you would have to get rid of is the long neck on the plenum cause there is limited space in there.

This is the final deal breaker, I mean I don't know anything about aftermanket ignitions. Is there a cost effective electronic alternative out there?