5VZ FE Engine Replacement

[poleclimber63]

Just curious where on the engine you attached the hoist to actually lift the engine out?

After I unboled all the peripheral equipment (ie. ac and ps bracket, alt bracket etc) to the sides with zaps, and removed the engine wiring harness and tucked it under the wiper blades, I bolted 2 chains to the empty holes--- if I remember right, at the rear, to the heads and at the front to ps attachment points (i believe also in the head) and I attached the chain to an engine leveler, this helped tilt the engine up-wards to slip it over the rad bracket

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/membe...-engine+swap...-picture25537-my-son-looks.jpg

And the essential tools:

 

[poleclimber63]

Well i appreciate your input poleclimber. Sounds like you are quite the mechanic or at least DIY'er. Besides helping my dad while growing up, I've only done 2 clutch changes on a camry and civic. That was a bit harder than this swap due to the tight space on those fwd cars.

Was wondering, you don't happen to have the live data from a ob2 scanner saved anywhere do you? You know from an engine running well lol.

I feel like mine is running well but would like to compare if someone has it handy.

Thanks! I like wrenching but when my kids were young I drifted away from it due to time, and space. I only came back to it due to self preservation!
From single to married with kids, we only had one vehicle. When the brood got older and my Wife got a car, I realized that the only way I was going to avoid being broke, all the time, was to fix my vehicles myself. With a garage and more time, I found I enjoyed it, and when something actually broke down we had another vehicle to use. Now, we have 6 vehicles and a boat I wrench, its becoming a full time job!! I did 3 TB/WP jobs this Spring and my Wifes car is awaiting parts from Rockauto for a WP replacement (coolant leak). So, after Christmas the garage will be full!
Sorry, I don't have OBD2 live data, when I did my engine replacement, I did buy a $10 bluetooth OBD2 reader (and Torque Pro) for monitoring purposes only but I've never saved any real time data....

 

[btot588]

Just curious where on the engine you attached the hoist to actually lift the engine out?

If you look closely in poleclimbers first photo there is a bolt hole in the center of the engine right below the valve cover and right above the exhaust manifold. There is one on the other side as well. I used 1 chain and just bolted it there and picked up from the middle with a cherry picker.

 

[baja1]

If you look closely in poleclimbers first photo there is a bolt hole in the center of the engine right below the valve cover and right above the exhaust manifold. There is one on the other side as well. I used 1 chain and just bolted it there and picked up from the middle with a cherry picker.

if I understand this correctly.....so there's only one chain on each side in the middle of the engine, and the engine leveler would control the side to side alignment? these side holes allow a balance point that you adjust fore and aft, by hand?

 

[btot588]

if I understand this correctly.....so there's only one chain on each side in the middle of the engine, and the engine leveler would control the side to side alignment? these side holes allow a balance point that you adjust fore and aft, by hand?

I didn't use the engine leveler. I used 1 chain with each end bolted to the engine. I picked up from the middle of the chain with the engine hoist and let gravity self level it. It worked for me and I removed and installed it myself with my wife operating the hoist (up and down).

 

[poleclimber63]

if I understand this correctly.....so there's only one chain on each side in the middle of the engine, and the engine leveler would control the side to side alignment? these side holes allow a balance point that you adjust fore and aft, by hand?

My JDM engine came on a pallet and the "re-purposed" seat belts were still tied to the exhaust manifolds!
I think most guys don't bother with the leveler. I paid $15 for it and thought it'd be handy---- which it was. When I cracked the engine free from the bell housing, as I lifted the engine I tilted the engine up and I was able to clear the rad mount from the harmonic balancer without having to man handle it. It was even more useful when I dropped the new engine back in--- I was able to maneuver the engine without rocking, grunting and cursing etc etc, and I was able to line everything up with ease.

I didn't use the engine leveler. I used 1 chain with each end bolted to the engine. I picked up from the middle of the chain with the engine hoist and let gravity self level it. It worked for me and I removed and installed it myself with my wife operating the hoist (up and down).

It's great you had your Wifes' help! When I did mine, I got my oldest son to pull everything out of the way and I worked the hoist. It sure helps to have a smooth level surface to work on.

I think my Wife thought I was nuts doing this, so to avoid any debates on the wisdom of spending the money and embarking on this project, I avoided her involvement!! Don't get me wrong, she understands the usefulness of the truck but she would have made a case for replacing it--- I wanted to do this, as I had a couple of months before boating season, so I saw it as a fun project.

 

[baja1]

gracias! hey if you guys don't mind I have a question.....after everything is unbolted and ready to disengage from the transmission, does the transmission have to be supported(with a jack and blocks so it doesn't drop down) and are alignment dowels helpful (necessary?) for re- installing?.....thanks!

 

[btot588]

if I understand this correctly.....so there's only one chain on each side in the middle of the engine, and the engine leveler would control the side to side alignment? these side holes allow a balance point that you adjust fore and aft, by hand?

gracias! hey if you guys don't mind I have a question.....after everything is unbolted and ready to disengage from the transmission, does the transmission have to be supported(with a jack and blocks so it doesn't drop down) and are alignment dowels helpful (necessary?) for re- installing?.....thanks!

Yes it does. I used a 2x4 cut to the length of the tranny pan and a floor jack. when I reinstalled the engine I found it helpful to jack up slightly on the tranny to help align the engine with the 2 alignment posts on the tranny.

 

[poleclimber63]

gracias! hey if you guys don't mind I have a question.....after everything is unbolted and ready to disengage from the transmission, does the transmission have to be supported(with a jack and blocks so it doesn't drop down) and are alignment dowels helpful (necessary?) for re- installing?.....thanks!

I placed a 12" square piece of plywood under the tranny supported on a bottle jack. It helped to have the ability to move the tranny up and down a little to get everything lined up--- as btot588 said.

 

[Skinn.creations]

engine

HI i am looking for a rebuild, used or new engine for a 2004 Toyota 4 Runner 2WD 6 Cylinders U 4.0L FI DOHC can you help me

 

[96 ToyRunner]

So I may or may not have to swap out my engine and I was wondering before I do or buy anything do I need to buy a new computer with the new motor I’ve never done it but I’m going to have people that know what there doing helping me out but again wil I need a new computer or will mine work

 

[Renegade_Medic]

So I may or may not have to swap out my engine and I was wondering before I do or buy anything do I need to buy a new computer with the new motor I’ve never done it but I’m going to have people that know what there doing helping me out but again wil I need a new computer or will mine work

You retain your computer and wiring harness, as long as it's the same motor (5VZ->5VZ).

 

[thegipper]

So I may or may not have to swap out my engine and I was wondering before I do or buy anything do I need to buy a new computer with the new motor I’ve never done it but I’m going to have people that know what there doing helping me out but again wil I need a new computer or will mine work

It depends.

If you find a motor from the same year with the same drivetrain (rwd/4wd), than you won't have to swap anything related to the ECM.

I swapped a 99 engine into my 97 and had to use the engine wiring harness from my 97. The ECM's are different (connectors) so I either had to re-pin the wiring harness (truck side) to work with the 99 ECM or I could use the engine wiring harness from my 97 on the 99 engine, to be able to keep the 97 ECM.

It was easier for me to just swap the engine wiring harness from the 97 and use it on the 99 engine. Everything hooks up fine (engine side) which allowed me to keep the 97 ECM. I believe 96-98 ECMs are the same assuming its the same motor and same drivetrain. It took maybe an hour or so to swap the engine harness. You do have to pull the upper intake manifold off to get the harness off but it only took maybe an hour or so to do the swap.

Hope that isn't too confusing. The easiest solution is to find a donor motor from the same year/model/drivetrain but other years can work.

So in summary, the ECM's on 3rd gens did change throughout the years.

 

[daYoda]

I have a '99 Auto with 221k mi. I want to do a manual swap, so I picked up a '96 manual with 126k mi and the RR locker, complete [frame rotted to hell!]. Both are 4wd SR5's.

So far I've removed the tranny, crossmembers and yanked the 5ve-fe from the '96. Took me a couple weekends and some friends.

The '99 is sort of my DD, but I have another car. -> this is my summer project.

Reading thru the thread I noticed a lot of comments about the differences between the wiring harnesses for the differing years. On another thread, I saw some people had issues when swapping engines from different years.

It appears that since the '99+ 4r's came with OEM Anti-Theft that something about the Body ECU doesn't play nicely with older ECM's. Is this true? Are there work arounds?

I was planning on taking pretty much the whole wiring harness and ECM. The '96 has an aftermarket "Python" branded Anti-Theft. I was hoping to just drop the ECM/Wiring harness in and go with it. Will this work? Is it worth my time?

 

[Willy24]

Oil pan

did you have any trouble swapping the oil pan over? The bolts won't line up right it seems.

 

[gamefreakgc]

did you have any trouble swapping the oil pan over? The bolts won't line up right it seems.

Bolts won't line up? Are you sure it's not flipped around backwards and you're trying to put the front in the back? There's no difference in the oil pan bolt holes, the 5VZ block is the same regardless of what year or in my case, what country it's from. I have a JDM engine from a Toyota Hiace and my oil pan bolted up just fine.

 

[Willy24]

Sweet that's what I thought. I'm going to go in tomorrow to the shop and give my mechanic a hand with it and I'll get everything figured out hopefully!

 

[jgue467]

...
5VZ block is the same regardless ... JDM engine from a Toyota...

Aren't all 5vz Japan Domestic Manufactured engines, some were just installed/shipped to other countries as their start in life, no? Hence why they're all the same. Or is this more to it than that? :cowboy:

 

[phattyduck]

Aren't all 5vz Japan Domestic Manufactured engines, some were just installed/shipped to other countries as their start in life, no? Hence why they're all the same. Or is this more to it than that? :cowboy:

Not where it was manufactured - where it was intended for first use. The 4Runner is a USDM vehicle produced in Japan...

-Charlie

 

[silverbullet4]

I thought if drivetrains are different then oil pans will be different too?