5VZ swap, auto or manual? Need your input plz

[joeynational]

I've been scouring the internet trying to find a good donor T100 4x4 manual trans with decent miles for the last two years! I've found a handful but they usually get snatched up before i can get out to get it. I can find auto 4runners and T100s all day but this damn unicorn of a truck is killing me. I really dont want to piece it together either.

I would really like a manual but i'm getting impatient and want to swap my engine already. An auto 4x4 4runner just came up cheap and i'm debating on just going auto. First off does anyone have an auto 5vz swap? Do you wish you had a manual? Should i just wait and keep looking for manual donor?

Thanks!

 

[4Reak Show]

Piecing together is a bit harder... But you're gonna be hard pressed to find a manual 3.4 t100 I think. You're better off with a manual 3.4 taco, using engine/harness/ECU and getting a trans for the older body. Re pin the harness for the body-to-engine connections and you should be good to go overall. (Over simplifying of course).

I did a different route and called a salvage yard and told them what I needed. The hard an 80,000 3.4 engine from an auto 4runner for me the next day, and they threw in a taco ECU, harness and flywheel as well for cheap. Waived the core charge when I told them what I was doing also.

Then after I got the engine prepped (only pulled off heads and had them resurfaced) and also did the oil pan jazz I called again and they had a 93 4Runner manual trans/transfer case ready too.

The oil pan stuff was sourced from a Toyota dealership. Pretty easy to do with an engine stand.

From what I've read, doing an auto is more difficult and would totally require a t100, whereas the manual option can be sourced individually. Only thing to look out for is EGR if you get a taco ECU. You don't want EGR because then you can't have a 7th injector after you supercharge it!

Mine all works and it's a 95 body/frame, 98 4Runner engine, 99 taco ECU/harness and 93 4Runner manual transmission... The 4Reak Show. And it's even smog legalized

At any rate, the 3.4 swap is time consuming to get EVERYTHING done and working right. But totally worth it. I wouldn't change a thing. If you have any other questions I'll help as best I can.

 

[joeynational]

Thanks for the reply, manual Tacos are hard to find especially cheap! I was wanting a complete donor truck to simplify everything. And from what I've read the T100 has the most parts needed for the swap that work, like the oil pan and passenger side drop transfer case. I was just curious if the manual trans is really worth waiting to find. I've read mixed reviews on using an auto ECU with a manual trans. Allot of auto signals must be bypassed.

 

[4Reak Show]

Yeah I would NOT want to use an auto ECU with a M/T. I know it's doable, but seems like too much BS in what is already a bit of a clusterf*ck

Yeah t100 is the unicorn you want, but I think you'll be hard pressed to find one. Don't be turned off to go the salvage yard route. Mine has been a success for 30K and like 9 yrs now.

 

[dorton]

I put off doing my swap for a long time because I couldn't find a manual donor, and finally gave up. Literally the day I installed the t-case adapter on the A340, I had a manual donor vehicle become available. I've been procrastinating on finishing mine up, but will hopefully have it back on the road soon.