I've had my v6 runner a little over a year now. I tore down the 3vze to do the head gasket but got to the heads and got hung up with school. Instead of spending more time with that, I'm gonna man up and do the swap.

So, eBay has quite a few 5vze's for sale and I wanted to see if anyone has experience with these. Many seem to be from Japan?


I'd idealy like to get a full truck to swap from but they're not easy to come by and a pain to deal with.

Any serious downsides to not getting a full truck to swap from?

And how about these ebay engines?

What's a pain about having a donor vehicle. If anything it takes A LOT of the pain out of doing a swap. I (Along with many other) would not do a swap without a donor vehicle. It's not swapping components that hard, it's wiring the ecu. With a donor it takes most of the headache out of it, but some wiring still will need to be done. No offense but if you don't know how difficult a swap can be, let alone thinking it's harder to do WITH a donor truck, it's probably not for you. Throw your heads back one and be happy for another 150k

Yes. I'm going through my first engine swap right now, and I can tell you without a doubt that if you haven't done this swap before and aren't familiar with the 5VZE, you absolutely want a donor truck. Preferably one that you can hear run before you buy it.

If you buy a crate or JDM motor, you still have to find the ECU, the harnesses, the accessories like starter and PS pump and alternator and AC stuff, the smog stuff to make your swap legal, I could go on. Parting out the donor when you're done is much less hassle than dealing with picking up all the little bits that you didn't know you needed a piece at a time and paying junkyard prices for them.

Get a donor truck. Have EVERYTHING you need right in front of you before you start, and if you do it right you'll make a chunk of your money back by parting out what's left of the donor when you're done.

Appreciate the advice guys. Guess I'll keep up the hunt for a donor.

I didnt want one because of space and I have no truck or trailer to tow it around. Not a huge deal to work around though.

I am completely aware of how serious a job these swaps are. I am in no rush to get this thing in the road. Just want to make sure I do it correctly and am not wasting money.