Hey all,

My name is Ian Adkins, I am a new member and have been reading about the 3.4l swap. I have a line on a motor and all the parts i need, but it's out of a 96 tacoma. I have heard that you can't supercharge this engine. Why not. I want to install a 3.4 l, but i want to supercharge it. Should i not use this engine? Or can I use a newer computer or other parts in the swap to make it work?

Any info would be great!

Thanks!

Ian Adkins

 

welcome to YotaTech ... s/c a 3.4L envoles you doing a little searchin

 

Welcome, I have not heard of this personally. I thought all 3.4's were superchargeable.

 

I have read that only the 97 and up Tacomas can be S/C'd, and all the 4Runners from 96 up can be. All can be s/c'd but the 96 Tacoma. I am not sure why, but i am sure they can't be done. I am thinking that the engine itself is the same, so it must have to do with the computer or something. Maybe i can use a computer out of a 97 5spd 4wd instead.

I want to use this 96 3.4l i have a line on because the guy wants to trade me for a bunch of parts i have so it would be a free engine. Alot easier to pay for a swap like this when the engine is free. I just want to make sure i can somehow s/c this engine before i trade for it.

Ian

 

just checked the Toyota TRD site and indeed it is only for 97 and up Tacomas.

 

I just fount the info i needed so here is the link if anyone is interested.

http://www.ttora.com/wiki/index.php/...r_Installation

The computer can't handle the s/c. Fuel injectors need to be upgraded as well as a few other parts.

I am still not sure what all is involved to make the 95-96 3.4 work, but if anyone has more info please let me know.

Thanks

 

You need to upgrade everything to make it work properly on any 3.4. Start by going to www.gadgetonline.com and look at what he went through. Then, be ready to tack on another $1000 for additional parts to enable the engine to safely handle boost. Search here as well and you will see a lot of threads on this. Let us know if you have any questions after searching and reading a bit.

What tranny will you be running? That's another concern, and another $1000 or so depending on what you have.

 

Christian, can you think of any reason the 96 Tacoma would be different than the 96 runner in regards to boosting?

 

You can supercharge it but you will definitely have to do fuel mods on that motor. The 96's used smaller injectors and I believe that the ECU's are slightly different.

Also, It's my proven opinion that not all s/c'ed motors require fuel mods to avoid spark knock & lean conditions. Yes, Gadget is a genius when it comes to these fuel mods and I've got a lot of respect for him. I will say that Fuel mods will give you optimal performance and increase longevity.

But unless you're pinging while under boost then you're fine. I've got almost 100K miles (111K total) on my s/c'ed motor and she still runs like a hoss. Elevation is a determing factor..

 

I don't know exactly why. I have heard various answers ranging from different ECU's to intake design to injector size. I really don't know. Nor do I know why they rate the Taco with 7 more HP than the 4R.

All I know is that my 96 did not like the SC'r one bit until I got the mods in my sig all tuned up.

I always chuckle when I hear people say that they don't hear ping so fuel mods aren't necessary. I won't even get into why that's a bad idea; plenty of threads already go into those details.

 

They rate the taco diff. because it has a different exhaust.

You CAN charge a 96, you just need to do fuel mods. TRD says it cant be done because the 7th injector doesnt work on the 96 (and by itself the 7th doesnt work great anyways).

 

And I chuckle when I see people throw money away because they think their pistons are going to melt. I've been working on cars\trucks for a long time and have built a few motors a long the way. I'm telling you that most people are overly paranoid from what they read on the internet. Kind of falls into the category of people who change their synthetic oil every 3-5K miles. I'd rather use my money in other ways but to each their own. I still have a lot of respect for gadget. And I know that a lot of these S/C'ed 3.4's should and need fuel mods. I think mine would run even stronger with fuel mods but I'm not worried about hurting my motor without them. I commute almost 120mi a day in her.

 

Here's a little more on the 95-96 differences: http://www.ttora.com/wiki/index.php/...r_Installation

 

There is just no getting around a few things here:

1. The stock fuel pump simply cannot supply enough fuel to the injectors during a SC’d sustained WOT run. It just wasn’t designed for this type of demand. An example would be going up a mountain pass in 3rd gear at full boost towing something (or fully loaded or both). Granted that is a somewhat rare scenario, but the last thing I want to deal with is a sudden loss of power while mashing the skinny pedal because the stock pump cannot flow enough. How about passing a big rig on a two-lane road with car coming in the distance loaded with people and camping gear? Not good.

2. The stock timing is too advanced for forced induction. Hook up a scan tool before you argue this point and watch the timing values as you drive – they’re way too advanced.

3. The stock injectors are not up to the task. I am surprised that someone with your type of experience would say that everything is ok simply because you do not hear audible ping. Tuning on audible ping is a dangerous proposition. Again, hook up a scan tool and a laptop like myself and others have and you will see a downright freaky-lean AFR all over the map. I’m talking 25% too lean in places.

I am not going to get in a pissing match over this with you. There is no point. But I will say these things: There is a reason TRD came out with the 7th injector. There is a reason they published the free FMU mod as their supplement in the TRD installation instructions. There is a reason TRD offered a larger pulley and colder thermostat. There is a reason Gadget and Brian developed the URD kit. There is a reason that many of us, ranging from early to late model Tacos and 4R’s, have spent a decent amount of money and hours and hours tuning these engines: They simply were not designed to run safely and properly with a supercharger as a “bolt-on” mod.

 

Well, I have been looking around and found some more info. Just like you said, the fuel system cannot keep up. too small a pump, and too small injectors. Also, the computer wont do the timing right, or put enough fuel to the engine.

With the S/C install, the URD kit will make it all work. Comes with bigger injectors, bigger fuel pump, plugs, thermostat, and another ECU to work with the stock one. Sounds like the way i will go when i start this install.

 

Sounds great!

 

The last thing that I intended to do was insult anyone's intelligence and I think this subject is already a dead horse.

I will comment that not all of these trucks display strong symptoms of running lean. I'm sure if I hooked up all of the devices & gadgets I might inadequate fuel flow, lean conditions and etc. No dispute. It's my personal opinion that mine isn't severe enough to worry about it. My plugs always check out fine and don't display characteristics of running lean. My truck doesn't ping audibly. Yes, I can run WOT without audibly pinging. Only time that I can actually make it ping is on extremely hot & humid days. Believe me, I'm not a cheap ass. If my truck pinged, I would/could justify it. Maybe in another 100K miles, I will change my mind....

Blame it on my upbringing moto; "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

 

No problem. Sorry if I came off a bit harsh or whatever. My intentions are simply to help people so they don't get in over their head with the SC'r, then realize later that they need to add on a bunch of fuel/timing mods. Not to mention the VB upgrade for the AT. But that's another horse for another day .

I'll tell you one thing though, my stinking 96 fought SC'ing all the way. The engine just hated it. I am glad other people are having better luck than me cause tweaking this thing gets old after a while. It gets even harder when you try to add fuel in places and the ECU just fights it too. Thankfully it looks like I am golden for the time being.

Anyway, carry on!

 

The Big Bad Wolf finaly bit!

 

Don't worry about it. I didn't take anything personal and I apologize if I sounded harsh as well.

I've heard that the 96'-97' were the most difficult to supercharge due to the ECU and injectors. I've supercharged 2 - 99's and they've run good without any mods. I know fuel mods would benefit them and is a cheap insurance policy but I've got so many miles on mine now that I don't see the point. I supercharged mine in 2000 about the same time a majority of people were having fuel problems. At that time URD nor was the 7th injector kits around. Gadget had put together a list of mods that would fix the problem but it was hard to get a good tune on it and it was expensive. Since I wasn't pinging and I felt that my Tacoma was healthy, I never worried about them.

Knowing what I know now, I would probably have planned for fuel mods at the same time I purchased the S/C. But, going to back to my motto and the fact that I've got so many miles on it. I really don't see the point. AND, I have to wonder if all trucks are really dependant on the fuel mods since I haven't had any problems.

I guess I will have to wait another 100K miles to find out...