For those who are considering or undertaking an engine swap...

[ShooterMcGavin]

I got to thinking about the many threads I have read about engine swaps into the 3rd gen 4Runner. I have to admit, for myself, the extra torque of almost anything seems intriguing (yeah, it's cool). However, my 3.4l, with about 270,000 miles, will not be in need of replacement for a long time. Doing an engine swap into a 3rd gen 4Runner seems a little like putting a bigger engine into a Honda Civic. It'll never be a race car and never be a luxury car. The 3.4l powers the 4Runner admirably, and far longer than its rivals. If you are undertaking the expense of a swap, why not upgrade the vehicle to a LC or something else?

If you have 400,000+ miles on your 4Runner, this question isn't for you. You are due for some new power at that point For those under 400,000 miles, or even under 300,000 miles, what pushes you to swap out a great engine for another? Is it the diesel (economy, torque, and coolness)? Is it the V8 coolness (and torque)? Do you have a real need to make the 4Runner faster?

I'm NOT knocking it, because I clearly see the coolness factor. I'm wondering what the main push is for you?

 

[TCMach]

So I dont get made fun of by the cool kids with their superchargers and 4th gens. cough cough [MENTION=78892]Fishwerks[/MENTION] [MENTION=122219]Twenman4[/MENTION] [MENTION=94888]EatonKyleH[/MENTION]

but really. For me if I ever go through with an engine swap it will be 50% for the added power and ease of driving up mountain passes and 50% because I would enjoy doing the swap. For the sake of this thread my swap would be a 2JZ.

 

[Konkordmusk]

Do you have a real need to make the 4Runner faster?

I'd like to really only address this question:
For me, the main reason I would do a swap is to achieve highway speeds with ease with MUCH less load than it would take the 3.4L. I'm even overgeared with 5.29's, and while achieving highway speeds is much easier, it still does take some time and a lot of engine load. Getting up to speed faster with less load on the engine and ideally fewer RPMs is an ideal situation for me. With enough power, and the right setup, passing on the highway might not even require a downshift, which means saved MPG's and drivetrain life.

I am still perfectly happy with my original 220k old engine. It serves me fine, but I would not hesitate to swap in any Toyota V8.

 

[absalom]

I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a ton of fun to spend all day downshifting on the freeway. But, at the end of the day, it's a sub- $10k toy, so who cares?

 

[meRockboost]

People like to tinker with things, especially when they are paid off and 17 years old and you have the skill and spare cash.

4bt, nv4500 and SAS for me

 

[7echo]

My '99 has a little over 110K at this time. If the engine goes to 250K that will be approx ten years from now.
So, then it will be about 26 years old. At that point will it be worth re-powering?

I wonder if it will be worth replacing the engine.

For my use the OEM engine is fine. If I needed to pull a heavy trailer and run really fast I would consider a swap.

And for those that are doing a swap or thinking about it what engines did/would you choose?

 

[KidVermicious]

I got to thinking about the many threads I have read about engine swaps into the 3rd gen 4Runner. I have to admit, for myself, the extra torque of almost anything seems intriguing (yeah, it's cool). However, my 3.4l, with about 270,000 miles, will not be in need of replacement for a long time. Doing an engine swap into a 3rd gen 4Runner seems a little like putting a bigger engine into a Honda Civic. It'll never be a race car and never be a luxury car. The 3.4l powers the 4Runner admirably, and far longer than its rivals. If you are undertaking the expense of a swap, why not upgrade the vehicle to a LC or something else?

If you have 400,000+ miles on your 4Runner, this question isn't for you. You are due for some new power at that point For those under 400,000 miles, or even under 300,000 miles, what pushes you to swap out a great engine for another? Is it the diesel (economy, torque, and coolness)? Is it the V8 coolness (and torque)? Do you have a real need to make the 4Runner faster?

I'm NOT knocking it, because I clearly see the coolness factor. I'm wondering what the main push is for you?

Not faster. Stronger.

For me, the 22RE just wasn't enough. Fine for scooting around town or wheeling near stock, but it wasn't very competent on the mountain passes to begin with and the addition of big tires and heavy armor means I need more muscle. I thought the 3RZ was a no brainer, and I'm sure I'll be stoked for 150hp instead of 110, but I don't know that it'll be worth the hassle to be honest by the time I'm done. Now that I know what's involved, next time I swap a motor I ain't screwin' around, I'm gonna go big. LS, 1UZ, either of those motors in a 1st or 3rd gen would open up a whole new world.

Not that motor swaps aren't cool - they are. But for me at least it's more about the practicality than the cool factor. My first gen fits almost all my wheeling needs, but is a bit rough on the road trips, and I don't have room for a trailer or the money for a proper tow rig. The motor swap will help that, it'll make the truck do what I want it to do better, and isn't why we mod our trucks?

But yeah, in future I'm not going to mess around with any more dinky little four bangers. If you're going to swap, do it right. 1UZ at a minimum, and if you've got the skills to make it work a modern motor like a 3UZ or 3UR would be excellent. Small block Chevy has a lot of potential, too, you can pick up an LS crate motor with harness and computer already set up, fab it into place and hook up fuel and have 300 horse ready to go.

 

[cashmoney]

I'm a power junkie, plain and simple. If I had the space to drop a 4.8 chevy in this thing it'd have been done already. Maybe once the bronco is done I'll focus my attention on this thing.

 

[Supermoney]

3.4 2JZ instead of 3.4 5VZ

 

[white_n_slow]

Having owned a few swapped vehicles, I think the 4runner drivetrain (with a 5 speed) is 100% adequate for every situation including running over the continental divide at highway speed. Cool/fun factor has to be the determining reason here.

Now if you're talking about a 2f or a 3fe powered land cruiser, you actually become a road hazard trying to drive at highway speeds in the mountains. In this case, a swap is a real practical investment--basically brings your truck into the post 55mph max speed era.

 

[cashmoney]

Your definition of adequate and mine are entirely different.

 

[JeepKiller]

It's all dependent on YOUR 4Runner. If you've got stock everything or even just a mild lift then the 3.4 will be great. However if you're like me and most everyone else on here with 33" tires, armor, roof racks, large suspension/body lifts then the 3.4 will be inadequate for anything other than flat ground. I live in the "foot hills" of SC at the base of the Appalachains and with my added wind resistance and increased weight MY 4Runner is sluggish on hills and an absolute drag on tall mountains. If you've got a 4Runner that's similar to mine or has more weight then you'll agree. I would swap so that I could "kill 2 birds with one stone", I most likely wouldn't have to regear and I'd get more power. It's kind of the equivalent of regearing and adding a turbo/sc. That is why I'd swap. Not for lightning fast speeds, but for convenience......... And maybe a few proper donuts/burnouts :lol:

 

[white_n_slow]

Your definition of adequate and mine are entirely different.

My definition of adequate is actually pretty simple. Can it drive over Vail Pass or through the Eisenhower Tunnel at 65mph? If the answer is yes, power is adequate.

 

[GSPRunner]

My 4Runner is my toy. It's not my daily driver, and it's a hobby. I've found with the stock 3.4, it's rather unenjoyable to drive especially over the mountain passes. You have a 5 speed so that's a lot better than an auto. I added a supercharger and I'm pretty satisfied now. A motor swap would be a lot more time and work than I'd like to spend at this point, but damn it would be badass to have a V8 or diesel in there. If there's one thing I've learned and don't do anymore, is telling myself "I'm not going to do anything else to this rig."

 

[cashmoney]

My definition of adequate is actually pretty simple. Can it drive over Vail Pass or through the Eisenhower Tunnel at 65mph? If the answer is yes, power is adequate.

If mine could maintain 65 on flat ground without downshifting I'd probably think that way to.

 

[gamefreakgc]

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Enjoy.

Supercharger for me though. Reliability, easy install AND power.

 

[1985taylor1925]

I used to think I wanted to do an engine swap on my 3rd gen. I can no longer find a rational reason to do so. The 3.4 is such a good engine, and can easily be given a substantial power increase via the supercharger. Why go through the process of swapping the engine, unless of course you just like the idea of the project. But, with 3rd gens slowly dying off, I want to keep mine close to oem to maintain its value.

As far as gas mileage goes, who cares about getting slightly better gas mileage on an 18 year old square suv? For the cost of doing an engine swap one could just buy an older civic and get 40mpg for commuting. Also the cost of engine swap by far outweights the money saved in mpgs. If one spends $2K on an engine swap, how long will it take to get that back in gas money? The problem with the 3.4 is lack of power, which can easily be cured without swapping

 

[absalom]

I used to think I wanted to do an engine swap on my 3rd gen. I can no longer find a rational reason to do so. The 3.4 is such a good engine, and can easily be given a substantial power increase via the supercharger. Why go through the process of swapping the engine, unless of course you just like the idea of the project. But, with 3rd gens slowly dying off, I want to keep mine close to oem to maintain its value.

As far as gas mileage goes, who cares about getting slightly better gas mileage on an 18 year old square suv? For the cost of doing an engine swap one could just buy an older civic and get 40mpg for commuting. Also the cost of engine swap by far outweights the money saved in mpgs. If one spends $2K on an engine swap, how long will it take to get that back in gas money? The problem with the 3.4 is lack of power, which can easily be cured without swapping

I agree completely; DD'ing a 4runner is about the worst thing you can do to your wallet.

For a toy though, the 3rd gen runner is a great candidate for a motor swap. It's got a large engine bay, modern suspension, extensive safety features, etc. Doing a swap for mileage reasons alone, will make it more enjoyable to drive the truck, but you'll most likely never recoup the cost of the swap.

 

[Oprah]

I only have 230,000 on my 3.4, so I imagine it has plenty of life left. If it ever does die I imagine it would be cool to do a diesel swap. This would be for the power (torque) and fuel tank range (because of the efficiency; lets be honest, we'll never have good mileage on our trucks). I don't really want my runner to be faster, but I want it to be less affected by added weight (from people, hauling, or towing), as well as wind on the highway. I am mostly happy with my 3.4, but with 33's and a lift, it gets to be a bit of work on the highway sometimes with wind resistance, and shes pretty much a dog if I'm towing/hauling anything at all.

I'm hoping to get some 4.88 gears (to go with the 3.4 and auto trans) that will help solve these issues. If that doesn't do it, I'll possibly look to super/turbo charging. If that doesn't get the results I want, then I'll want a swap.

 

[SpidermanGeek]

I agree completely; DD'ing a 4runner is about the worst thing you can do to your wallet.

I love having the 4Runner as our second vehicle. I fill it up when the fuel gauge gets south of the 3/4 (E) indicator... which is about 10 Gallons once a month.