auto to manual or 4cy to v6?

[wrightfox]

i am an idiot that let my dream 87 5spd sr5 v6 no rust slip through my hands. so now i am trying to figure out which will be easier and cheaper.

4cy with a swapped in 6cy??

or an v6 auto swapped to a v6 standard??

oh and i am not a mechy at all. alternator things like that yeah. anything beyond bolt of and bolt on im not doing.

so what do you guys suggest.

 

[Joehert]

Don't do it. You just saved yourself a lot of greif by losing that V6. Do some more research and you'll find that most people prefer the 4cyl to the V6. You can modify the 4 cyl to get just as much HP as he V6 with mostly "bolt on" aftermarket stuff. The problem with the V6 is gas mileage, low power, and it blows head gaskets.

 

[wrightfox]

okay. and i have really been looking at just buying an sr5 5spd 4cy.. so the next question is what are these simple bolt on modis... i mean TBS and removing the cat was something i was already planning on. also i noticed alot of the lifts ask what size leafs we are using. either 2.5 or 3.5 i think.. my only guess is the 3.0 has the 3.5 and the 2.5 is the 4cy..??? or does thar have to do with vehicle model??

 

[turboSR5]

It would be alot easier to swap a manual trans in place of the auto than to do an engine swap. But if you are dealing with the V6...why bother, hehe.

For mods to the 22RE, it's all top end. You can buy a new head with larger valves, ported, polished and with a performance type cam. Then slap on a decent header with a 2 1/4" exhaust WITH free flowing cat/free flow muffler. That is about as far as you would ever need to go. You can go further with stuff like underdrive pulleys, electric fans, silly blaster coils etc.. I see that stuff as mostly fluff for people that can't leave things alone. They will improve slightly over stock though.

AFAIK, all 4runners whether 4cly or V6 have 2.5" leaf springs.

 

[DuckieAZ]

My runner with a 22re 4 cyl just wheeled a decent trailed without a hiccup. I ran into one yota on the trail that had a 3.0, and he wasn't happy. He had wished he'd waiting for a 4cyl.

 

[wrightfox]

okay.. but why is everyone against the v6. i understand the heads warp easy, but lc engineering says if you replace the rod bolts? and better heads you should be good????

thoughts?

also if you do a little work on the engine and then re gear you should be fine flying down the highway with 35's on right?

 

[turboSR5]

They aren't horrible motors if you aren't blowing head gaskets. But even one that is running great is weak on power, sucks gas, parts can be expensive and they are a royal PITA to work on. The 22RE on the other hand can nearly match the power, is better on gas, easy as hell to work on and parts are cheap and plentifull.
No contest if you ask me.