MOAR Information on FJ transfer case swaps!!
Seeing that there are more people starting to show interest in possibly doing the FJ transfer case swap, I'm providing more information here to try and help out. There is some mis-information out there and there is some good information out there and all of it seems to be spread around on various forums or web sites.
These tips should apply to both V6 and V8 4Runners but I cannot verify the V6 stuff since I have never worked on one. This is not a how-to, this is just pics and tips from my swap experience and what I did. All work was done by me, at home in my garage. It's not a super difficult swap.
First off, the only viable transfer case from an FJ Cruiser for the swap is the manually shift tcase from the automatic transmission FJCs.
The AWD FJ tcase from the 6 speed manual trucks can't be used. It physically will not bolt up to anything other than that 6 speed manual transmission. If you want to swap that transmission and tcase into your 4runner, you are on your own.
This is the FJ tcase in my truck. It's from a 2011 FJC that had around 130k miles on it. Still had the OEM gear oil and looked practically brand new. I paid $269 for it from a local used part seller. LKQ is a good place to shop for stuff like this if you don't have a local self-service wrecking yard. Prices seem to range between $225 to $350 depending on mileage and condition. Make sure you get one that includes the shifter so you know the tcase hasn't been opened up or shit gotten into it.
The next big thing and a major source of confusion and misinformation from various sources, is the front axle.
For the AWD V8 4Runners, you do not need to touch anything! I will say this again...
YOU DO NOT NEED TO SWAP TO AN ADD FRONT DIFFERENTIAL.
V6 trucks, you can either leave the ADD and figure out the wiring to engage/disengage the ADD or eliminate the ADD all together by swapping in a non-ADD axle and axle tube to your existing ADD differential. There are tons or write-ups out there that cover doing this. Here's a good one over on Tacoma World.
How to: Deleting ADD system | Tacoma World
There is one company that has spread this rumor/misinformation regarding the V8 4Runners, because all they want to do is take more money from you and then never deliver the parts that you paid for. Avoid RST, that's all I'm going to say.
The AWD front differential is the strongest IFS front diff setup you can have from Toyota. Period. The FJ tcase already has an internal oil pump that is driven off the chain in both 2wd and 4wd. Neither frothing nor pressure build up will happen when driving in 2wd with the front driveshaft turning. You aren't going to destroy the transfer case.
This shows you the inner workings of the FJ tcase, including the oil pump that you can see, is driven off the chain.
From my experience, having a body lift makes things a little easier when doing the swap. It's not a requirement, it just helps give you more room to work and bonus of making more room for bigger tires. I went with a 1" body lift in preparation for the swap. Lots of body lift information out there, so I'm not going to get into that here. Personally, I don't recommend anything over a 1" body lift. Mine was from Toytec.
Another strong recommendation but not a requirement is a new trans mount for the swap that I posted previously. These 4th gen 4Runners are getting old and have higher mileage so a new mount is a good idea and easy to do while you're in there since you need to remove the old one anyhow. This is the one for the V8. Since I've never worked on a V6, I don't know if they are the same or not but I assume they are since the FJC was V6 only.
The original mount on the left from my 4Runner with around 290k on it at the time.
Toyota part number for the replacement mount.
Wiring: There is no wiring that is *required* to be done for this swap to work. Only wiring that you *might* want to do is for the 4WD and 4LO dash lights to work.
For my swap, with the V8, there is no 4WD light in the dash. There is the CDL (Center Diff Lock) light however and I used that as the 4WD indicator. The 4LO light remains the same.
Different years may be slightly different, so check the wiring diagrams and locations for your specific year first. For my 2003, the 4WD computer, which is where you need to pull the wires from, is under the glove box on the passenger side.
NOTE: you do NOT need to remove the glove box like I had done here. The lower panel can be unbolted and removed without removing the glove box.
That little grey box on the right is the 4WD computer. The wires needed are in the left hand plug when you have the plugs facing you to unplug. Not sure if the wire colors are consistent across years for the 4th gens or not but for my 2003, it was the green w/ red stripe wire for the CDL light and the brown w/ white stripe for the 4LO light.
Make a new harness for the swap and connect them to the shift solenoids on the FJ tcase to complete the circuits and turn on the dash lights. I strongly suggest extending the wires from the shift solenoids BEFORE installing the tcase, to make them easier to access when the tcase is under the truck.
Another thing that you will need is some way to lift/lower both transfer cases from under the truck. I already had a good floor jack, so I made a cradle for the tcases that worked on both the FJ case and the 4Runner AWD case.
First 2 pics are the FJ case on the cradle.
Here is the AWD case on the cradle.
Drive shafts: Your stock driveshafts will have to be either modified or replaced for this swap. I have new driveshafts.
- Front driveshaft gets shortened by about 1 1/4".
- Rear gets lengthened by about 1 1/4" as well.
Your measurements might be different, those were what mine ended up at. Find a good driveshaft shop for this work and they will tell you exactly what they need for measurements.
My old driveshafts with the original u-joints and over 290k miles on them.
Brand new driveshafts.
Doing the actual swap: With the driveshafts out, swapping the transfer cases is very straight forward. Unbolt and lower the old one, raise and bolt up the new one. Simple. But then you need to cut a hole in the transmission tunnel to allow the new manual shifter access to the cab.
Here is the hole that I cut for this. Note that the trans tunnel is dual layer. I used a jigsaw for the majority of the cutting. Just have a shop vac handy to vacuum up all the steel shavings. You can probably get away with a lot less than this, especially on the side where the shifter is, but it does allow you access to the top of the transfer case for removing and installing the shifter. You don't want the shifter installed when removing or installing the FJ case as it makes things much more difficult.
And the tcase in place to figure out how to re-route the shifter. It needs to clear the bottom of the transmission shifter and come up through the center console where the ashtray/cig-lighter was.
My modified shifter. I stuck with the single stick but you can also go with a twin stick if you want. Ether one will need to be cut and modified to fit. This requires welding so you need to do that yourself or find a welder to work with.
Just make sure the shifter clears everything and there is room to shift from 2HI to 4HI and 4LO. You can then fabricate up a cover for the hole you cut in the trans tunnel. I used some thin, around 22 ga, zinc coated sheet steel from Home Depot and cut it with tin snips and then shaped it as best I could to fit the trans tunnel. It's sealed to the tunnel with black RTV to prevent water from getting inside. Note how small of a hole the shifter actually needs to move through the whole range of 2WD/4HI/4LO.
I also used half of the boot for a twin stick (I have a twin stick for future use if I decide to do so) to make a shifter boot and used self tapping screws to keep it in place and seal it to the tunnel. Maybe overkill but I'm OK with that.
One thing I originally forgot to mention about this swap and where the shifter handle comes up, which is realistically the ONLY place that it will work without major modifications to other stuff. You will have to permanently remove the tube for the rear AC vents that come out of the back of the console. It's directly in the way of where the shifter handle is and the range of movement it needs. I used duct tape to seal off the attachment point under the HVAC controls and gutted everything I could of the system from the console. Vents are still there but do nothing now.
Continued in the next post because the forum won't allow more than 20 images in one post. This forum software sucks balls and is severely outdated!
