I remember reading some where that the 22RE is actually the preffered engine in the 4runners.

My question is: with my newly acquired 88 4runner with the 3VZE, would it be worth rebuilding that engine with a few mods or just replace it with a moded 22RE, if so how hard is the swap. My truck runs and feels fairly ok. It has 207,000 original miles. I just can't tell if the engine has lost power because of its age. I have been used to driving Chevys with V8's, so its been a while since I drove a 4 or 6 cylinder.

I do want to make my Toyota a daily driver to save gas on because of obvious reasons.

What do you guys think about this? I am a big fan of the GM Vortec 4.3L V6. I had a 98 Chevy Silverado with that engine and it impressed the hell out of me, considering it being a V6. What about replacing the engine with one of these?

hmm from what i know the 22re is a 4 cylinder with a 2.7L
an the 3vze is 6 cylinders but only 3.0L so as you can see the 4 cylinder is almost 3.0L but just 4 cylinders....know what i mean? 4 cylinder saves more gas.. i have a 95 runner with the 3vze moding would probly be better for the 22re thou. i got like 217k miles rebuilt top half an new trans. (previous owner)
hope some of the info help... but if you have an 88 a 22re would be my choice.

Ok first off the 22r is a 2.4 not a 2.7 the 2.7 came in the newer toyotas as the 4 cylinder instead of the 22r but yes the 22r is more desirable because the 3vze has major head gasket problems and for the gas milage has very little power.

I have a 93 with the 3VZE and gas milelage sucks. You probably won't get much more than with your v8 chevys.

If I would of known gas sucked that bad I would of kept my 5.0 mustang... Or got a 4cyl Runner

If you are willing to drop the change for a rebuilt 22re that would give you a little better gas mileage but they are pretty gutless in my opinion. The 3vze's have more power to make it at least tolerable for a daily driver but the gas is mid to high teens. For the money of getting a rebuilt 22re I'd just rebuild the 3vze and drive it until it blows another head. I'm in the process of rebuilding mine with 300k on it and it basically is going to amount to 2 weekends of wrench turning and beer drinking.

The 22re is practically a bullet proof engine and is the desirable engine for these older yota trucks. Gas mileage is in the low 20's from what I've seen/read. I'm sure you could swap a 22re for your 3vze but the wiring and mounting (from what I've read on here) will be different.
I have the 3vze with 113K original miles. I have been getting 14-17mpg in town with no mods, just a recent tuneup. Like gigger said, this engine isn't going to give you much more economy than the v8's you're used to. It's been called slow, but compared to the 22re it's really not...compared to a newer v6/v8 of course it's a little slow.
If you're thinking about a total swap, the 1.9l turbo diesel VW swap sounds intriguing to me. That'll give you seriously better economy and prob not much slower than the 22re.
Also, one last thing. Do a search on this forum or over at yotatech; there have been people that have swapped in a 4.3 vortech into this truck. Now that would be nice.

There is also the option to swap in a 3.4 v6 from a newer 4runner and I think there might be a kit for it too. These are great vehicles and seem to be one of the few suv's that are actually very good offroad. I don't think it's too slow either, it's an suv if I want to go fast or on a long highway trip I have the Taurus.

Thanks guys for the info.

Niteman....so I guess I wasn't the only one thinking about swapping in a vortec 4.3. I'll definitely do a search on that

My 85 4runner has the 22re with 272,000 miles on it. Still gets me 22 mpg on the highway. Not the most power for serious off-roading, but it definitely gets the job done. Really is bullet-proof as far as maintaining it.

Real 22RE heads in good shape are scarce. Dont get a China recast head.

3VZ head gasket problems and low power.

5VZ is a strong engine. Good torque.

The castings by Topline are actually really good. Bigger ports and more material between valves, water jackets etc.. I think they are better than stock.

If I do consider an engine swap, which most likely I will, won't be til the current 3VZE takes a dump. It still sounds pretty good and feels ok. Should last me a few more 10,000's miles, depends how hard I abuse it when I take out to play. Lol

I am still favoring the Vortec 4.3L swap...

I got a couple of friends who ran a China head

water jacket took a dump on both

what !?!? swaping out a 3vze for a 22RE are you serious? These engines spend almost the same amount of fuel off-roading. 22RE even more if in a difficult path.
If you plan to spending time in doing a engine swap then get the 4.3 v6 or some nice v8.
Maby Even import 1KZ-TE 3.0 4cyl Turbo Diesel engine that came in 2 gen 4runner in Europe.