Well, the old girl finally let go. We heard the sickening "knock, knock" noise this weekend from the 3.0. After 265k miles, it isn't a total shocker but it sucks none the less. I've got so much time and effort invested in ridding the body of all rust that I am very reluctant to let it go.........So me and the Mrs had a little discussion regarding the truck's future, and she doesn't want to get rid of it either because she thinks it has too much character.

We also agreed that replacing the dead 3.0 with another one was not an option. No power and horrible gas mileage trumped the simplicity of the repair. The funds for this large of a project aren't a huge concern and I plan on doing much of the work myself. We also don't need the truck and repair space is no longer an issue, so who cares how long it takes. So when I laid out the two options I liked best; 3.4 V6 swap and 1UZ V8 swap, she chose the Lexus engine.

So now starts the search for a 1993 Lexus LS400. I'm planning on buying a complete car instead of the pay-as-you-go for parts route, way cheaper in the long run. And I am also planning on switching to the Lexus automatic and a gear-driven transfer case. The Aussie's and Kiwi's have been doing this swap for a long time so there is a ton of technical information available and quite a few build threads out there as well.

In the mean time, I guess it's time to disassemble the 4Runner while I look for the Lexus.

More updates to come.

Sounds like a very cool project

In for the build, I'm thinking of putting a small turbo on my 22RE for some added power off the line....

that'd be the v8 swap i did too!

What kind of milage do you expect to get once completed?

As milage goes, I talked to a friend with a. 07 fj with V6 auto and he gets 25 mpg. I wonder if that would be an more easy swap?

Well, I've been reading and checking out links to this swap for the last two weeks and have built a mountain of information. One thing that I don't understand though is why someone hasn't come up with a complete swap kit for this. What I found was a lot of different variations of the same thing but nothing really the same.
I like the idea of keeping my manual but don't like the $1400 price for the adapter kit from Australia. There is a cheesey bellhousing option on Ebay from Thailand for $489 but it looks a little suspect. There is a guy in South Carolina that does a conversion harness for around $600, but I need to talk with him about what that includes. If I have to go with the automatic, it seems like the lexus tranny with a 4x rear output is the way to go. Cebby's swap thread Cebby's 93 4Runner 1UZ swap answered a ton of the automatic transmission questions........

Well, I looked at a couple of LS400's this weekend. Real nice cars, both were $2500, both had around 170k and both ran flawlessly. Seems like a shame to tear up a nice car like that but......... Also called a couple of salvage yards and got some real promising information from one place. They have four 400 series cars that are complete except for body panels. He said they'd cut me a deal for all the swap parts I need for $1500. He said that for an extra $1000, he'd pull all the parts from the best car they have (rear-ended '93 with 103k), throw in an A340H and a gear driven t-case. If they could pull this off without butchering the parts as they pull them, this might end up being the way to go because it means I don't have to disassemble a car myself.

Depending on what plays out with the transmission issue, I may not even need the auto's so that will need to be addressed before I make any move on the parts............More to come later.

Please, let me know which tranny or adapter plate that I would need to make this swap work I have a 95 4runner which I am interested in swapping the engine out for the V8 but have no idea what transmission I could use for the swap. The one that I have now is automatic which I don't mind but if you stumble across an automatic that would fit the body style I would really appreciate it.

I am super interested in doing this to my 4Runner to actually make it a runner not a stumbler. I have a worn and tired 22re it does ok for its age and mileage I have given a little help with headers and a K&N new cam and such but the 1UZ is a great tough motor. I wold love to have one with a vortex blower up front too. To go from double digit H.P. to 500 H.P. would be a real treat. Crap I would be happy with the 200 H.P. what am I talking about one step at a time right. Would like to get a follow up on how everything worked out for you. How hard was it to wire up the mechanical stuff is easy to work around the computer stuff can be oh so frustrating during swaps.

Soooooo, the first attempt at this swap back in 2010 never materialized. School, work, life, etc. got in the way and the old 4Runner was sold

Fast forward ......There's a new '89 project truck. And the parts are arriving and being installed as I type. Today was hard top removal, clean-up and soft top hardware install fabric tomorrow when the sun's out.

I'll give you a little background on this one. It's a Craigslist $1500 special, 1989 4Runner SR5, V6, R150, power everything, sunroof and overall not too bad. Lady told me it had a "bent crank, it runs but shakes like crazy" OK, I'll take it..............$64 fan clutch later and it purrs like no other 3 slow I've ever heard, honestly! it's uncanny!

Anyway, the first thing to get done was front brakes, bearings, seals, CV axles, a couple u-joints, Bilstein HD's, 2" rear spacers, T-bar crank, and alignment. Records indicated the truck had been serviced regularly, so I didn't have to even change the fluids. Timing belt, water pump, idlers, accessory belts, cooling hoses and flush had 13k on them according to records. The big test was emissions, which it passed easily, 1/5 of where the limits were. Score!

Santa delivered his boxes from Marlin Crawler as well as a few other places. Loaded front and rear diff's w/ ARB's and Yukon 5.29's, 285/75x16's MT's on new OEM 16-hole steelies x 5, ARB bull bar & stabilizer, compressor w/ stainless air lines to lockers, Painless fuse block, audio equipment, lighting and Optima yellow top.

As I am breaking in my new gears correctly, like a good boy, I’m using the time to sort out all the little bugs the truck had when I bought it. None of the windows, door locks or other power stuff was working when I got it. Before doing anything else, I pulled the door panels and ran the motors on a jump pack…check, the windows work flawlessly. On to the switches, I carefully disassembled every one of them in the truck, cleaned them up, reassembled, and…..everything works!!! Score!! Now I just need new power mirrors (both work but have trashed inner gearing) and a new antenna (works but 1/2 of extension is missing).

The big news is the parts that have begun arriving for the 1uzfe swap. To date, the custom bellhousing, clutch assembly, crossmember/skidplate, motor mounts, steering correction shaft, 3” exhaust parts and catalytic converter are done. The custom billet flywheel, headers, crossover pipe and fuel lines should be done pretty soon, and then the wiring harness should go into production in a few weeks…..I still need to find a donor car, SC400 for all the accessories and an ebay Toyota 1uz because I want the low miles and the Toyota intake logo instead of the Lexus (call me silly). Anyway, more on that as it develops.

The rear axle is also being treated to new Yukon 4340 shafts, Koyo bearings, basically new everything. One thing I have yet to do is to cut down the shafts to fit. These are custom, with elongated splines, so they have to be cut to length…..in my case, it’s 1 3/16” off each side. I’ll take care of that when I go down to my buddy’s shop to press in the bearings. I also decided to ditch the drums and swap in the front rotors and calipers from a solid axle truck. FJ80 brake master w/ internal proportion valve and stainless brake lines will finish it off.

Tomorrow, I’ll drape the soft top over the frame and let the sun soften it up a bit before I secure it. I’m going to use that ‘paint drying time’ to button up the remainder of the audio, lighting, compressor and air lines to lockers, switches and fuse block. More to come on that, for now though, check out a few pics of the day the lady showed it to me, one from post-first work done and 31's off my project '85 turbo 4Runner, and one with new drivetrain. I'll upload some more later.

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I'm still keeping this one, I just can't part with it. It's a 22re, manual, clean body. I'm swapping a rebuilt and cammed 22rte head, stock turbo manifold into hybrid t3/t4 through a Mustang SVO intercooler and single 3" back. Stay tuned, more coming on this one as well.

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see if my build helps you

did a 1uz in a 1989 too

89' "Sleepy" build/experiment

The top fits perfectly!!

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It's been a while since I last updated, but that doesn't mean the project has stopped. As of now, just about everything is ready to go.......New arrivals!!

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Donor LS400....Guy swore it was a bad engine, test drive revealed a really bad miss that turned out to be a totally destroyed plug wire. It had been completely flattened and the trusty volt meter proved the point. Soooo, I got this elderly-owned 91k mile example for only $1100. It was pretty dirty but the fluids all looked good and there wasn't a leak to be found anywhere.

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