V8 Swap (5VZ-FE 3.4L V6 to 2UZ-FE 4.7L V8)

[mtbtim]

Hey Dudes,
[MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] (aka Sean) and I have a very cool video for you. Sean met [MENTION=152326]mikentosh[/MENTION] at a PickNPull in San Jose, CA, and long story short, we found out Mikey was going to do a V8 Swap in his 3rd Gen 4runner. We expressed interest in filming the project and Mikey allowed us to join in on the fun. Mikey has a friend Wes that owns a custom hotrod shop in Santa Clara, CA and that's where most of the work happened. Wes was also cool with us filming at his shop, so to say the least, we were very excited we were getting to be a part of this.

Sean and I have met so many cool people on this forum and Mikey has got to be one of coolest and most generous guys I've met to date since I became a part of this 3rd Gen Community.

So, here's a Thanksgiving Day Treat for all of you. Instead of watching football, play this video and see some things you don't get to see everyday in the Automotive Mechanic World. Enjoy the Show!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fce7IgMTdKg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[LittleCaesar]

If I have to ask the GF to ask her boss for a raise so I can build a tall garage to get Bendpak to install a lift just for this swap I am going to do it after her parents and all leave this weekend.

Thanks Tim and Sean. Happy Turkey Day.

 

[mtbtim]

If I have to ask the GF to ask her boss for a raise so I can build a tall garage to get Bendpak to install a lift just for this swap I am going to do it after her parents and all leave this weekend.

Thanks Tim and Sean. Happy Turkey Day.

I feel ya. I'd love to have a lift but I can't do that where I currently live. I'd need a place with some land where I could build my dream shop.

Happy Turkey Day back at ya. I'm spending it with my bros at the fire station. I made a corn bread sausage stuffing today at my station and tomorrow I'm going to smoke up a couple turkeys that have been brining for the last 4 days.

 

[nc-grayson]

Tim, Sean, Miley, I thank you, sincerely, for this contribution.

I have yet to watch the video in full, but if there were t4r.org Christmas Party superlatives, ya'll would surely be in the running for Most Likely to DIY.

All jokes aside, your videos have helped me countless times, not to mention the thousands of others out there. Your dedication to this community and sharing is part of what sets this board apart from any other forum, I've ever visited, membered, or contributed to myself.

I'm sure I can speak for most of us when I say, thanks for the effing epic diy

 

[mikentosh]

Tim and Sean, awesome job on the video. It turned out great! It's cool to have some documentation of this project...and also reminds me just how much time we put into this thing

I want to make a big shout out to Wes at One Off Customs in Santa Clara, CA who had the fab skills to pull this off. And thanks to Singtoe as his very long and detailed swap thread was the whole basis for this thing.

Funny enough today was the start of the first big post-swap trip and boy was it nice to have the "effortless" power climbing some of the grades into the Sierras.

 

[CdaleR4000si]

Another excellent video! Great job Tim. This will be a “must watch” for anyone considering doing this kind of swap. I really liked hearing Mikey talk at the end about the actual time and unexpected costs. It’s one thing to read someone’s write ups, but to Get to listen to someone explain the whole process.

 

[Kelevra]

That was a really amazing video Tim, you've outdone yourself. A rare chance indeed to view areas of the chassis and body that only factory Toyota assemblers were privvy to see.

That looked incredible involved, including all the chassis mods to fit the drive train, exhaust route, as well as meeting the emission inspections.

Just one question, and nothing but respect intended as it would be unlikely I could ever attempt such an undertaking:
Why, after all that work, would one use a V8 engine/drivetrain with 160K miles for a swap?

 

[mtbtim]

That was a really amazing video Tim, you've outdone yourself. A rare chance indeed to view areas of the chassis and body that only factory Toyota assemblers were privvy to see.

That looked incredible involved, including all the chassis mods to fit the drive train, exhaust route, as well as meeting the emission inspections.

Just one question, and nothing but respect intended as it would be unlikely I could ever attempt such an undertaking:
Why, after all that work, would one use a V8 engine/drivetrain with 160K miles for a swap?

I'm basically answering for Mikey here but here's what I think. Yes, the motor has some decent miles on it, but the hard work has already been done now. All the custom fabrication and wiring is complete. If Mikey ever needs another motor, it's no big deal because he has access to a shop with a lift and he knows how to do it. If things work out with this engine, it's going to be a long time before he has to worry about dropping in another motor. And who knows, by that time, maybe he'll be tired of his 3rd Gen and he'll build up something else, that hopefully we can film as well.

 

[mikentosh]

That was a really amazing video Tim, you've outdone yourself. A rare chance indeed to view areas of the chassis and body that only factory Toyota assemblers were privvy to see.

That looked incredible involved, including all the chassis mods to fit the drive train, exhaust route, as well as meeting the emission inspections.

Just one question, and nothing but respect intended as it would be unlikely I could ever attempt such an undertaking:
Why, after all that work, would one use a V8 engine/drivetrain with 160K miles for a swap?

I'll just add to Tim's answer above. He's totally right that everything is in place now. If something catastrophic were to happen to the motor or trans it's not a lot of work to pull the body back up and swap to another one. I've also read up that the UZ family of motors is just as reliable as the VZ so getting 300-400k miles out of one is possible.

The reason I went with this 160k miles one is mostly because of supply. The basic parameters for this swap were that I needed a Sequoia between 2003-2005 model years with 4wd. This means I'm either buying a used one on the retail market or getting one from an insurance auction. The used ones are very similar to the 4Runner market where anything under 150k miles is priced accordingly high, and I was going to feel bad about ripping apart a useable truck. So we watched the insurance auctions and Craigslist for months. We limited our range to California auctions only and were looking for ones that were in specific types of accidents (rollovers or rear end) so we can have some confidence that the drivetrain is undamaged. There are surprisingly few trucks that fit this criteria coming through so it took about 2 months for this one to show up.

I also did all the necessary refresh work on the bare motor before the swap so it's got a new timing belt, water pump, gaskets, and a starter. One thing I overlooked was replacing the alternator as I thought it would be a straight forward swap in the truck. Looking at it now it's not the easiest thing to get out if needed, so I'm hoping for some more miles on it before it lets go ray2:

 

[MN4runnerman]

If I have to ask the GF to ask her boss for a raise so I can build a tall garage to get Bendpak to install a lift just for this swap I am going to do it after her parents and all leave this weekend.

Thanks Tim and Sean. Happy Turkey Day.

Just get a 2 post in ground lift. That’s what I have. They are very expensive new but I found someone who was upgrading and managed to get a deal. When it came down to it the cost to modify my garage to fit a 2 post above ground lift like a Bendpak was way more than putting in an in ground 2 post lift.

Also cool video!

 

[rkymtnman]

EPIC!! Some day I will attempt something like this.

I'll echo others in heaping praise on your videos. My 17 year old just finished building a '98, basically from the ground up (with very little help from me) and I know we couldn't have done it without your videos. We watched nearly all of them several times over.

And mikey - thanks for helping document this swap. I love stuff like this.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

[LittleCaesar]

Excellent video guys.

Probably the biggest let down was that Mike at the end sounded as if he was second guessing himself on doing the swap. Pulling 7,000 pounds behind a 3rd gen 4runner, no matter what power plant is under the hood, isn't going to cut the mustard as a larger frame SUV or truck would like the GX470.

Did Mike change the timing belt, water pump, etc before installing the 2UZ?

I was hoping for some driving video but no such luck. Maybe an update?

 

[mtbtim]

Excellent video guys.

Probably the biggest let down was that Mike at the end sounded as if he was second guessing himself on doing the swap. Pulling 7,000 pounds behind a 3rd gen 4runner, no matter what power plant is under the hood, isn't going to cut the mustard as a larger frame SUV or truck would like the GX470.

Did Mike change the timing belt, water pump, etc before installing the 2UZ?

I was hoping for some driving video but no such luck. Maybe an update?

He did change the timing belt, water pump and associated parts while the engine was out.

We didn't even think of a driving segment of the video but maybe we'll film something later. I just don't know how we'd shoot this so it would be interesting to watch. Maybe a drone?

 

[Jungoes]

WOW.. singtoe would be so proud .... great job Tim


Really enjoyed the walkthrough right after the engine was removed

 

[Jaysen4runner]

Great video!

 

[mikentosh]

Probably the biggest let down was that Mike at the end sounded as if he was second guessing himself on doing the swap. Pulling 7,000 pounds behind a 3rd gen 4runner, no matter what power plant is under the hood, isn't going to cut the mustard as a larger frame SUV or truck would like the GX470.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the truck after the swap. My hesitation on the video is about recommending it to others to do. Unless you are up for the challenge it's definitely easier to just move to a 4th gen or GX470, but then you'd loose the smaller size advantage. I really like the 3rd gen and was looking for a new hobby project so this swap was a no-brainer for me.

I agree with you about towing. Our main concern is just the relative weight of the truck vs the trailer load and not having the trailer control the truck. The mechanics of the Sequoia are very similar to the 4Runner (frame thickness, shape, shared suspension, differentials) but it's got 13 inches of extra wheelbase and over 1000lb of extra heft working to it's advantage in towing.

 

[alanflies]

Awesome, I'm going to watch the entire vid tonight.

So, who all is in the V8 4runner club now?

I know of 4

Singtoe
Alanflies
Torqueofthedevil
Mikentosh

Are there any others known?

 

[CdaleR4000si]

Awesome, I'm going to watch the entire vid tonight.

So, who all is in the V8 4runner club now?

I know of 4

Singtoe
Alanflies
Torqueofthedevil
Mikentosh

Are there any others known?

[MENTION=84917]GreenbowCounty[/MENTION] is in the club too.

 

[mikentosh]

[MENTION=84917]GreenbowCounty[/MENTION] is in the club too.

Was just going to add this. GreenbowCounty's is the second one from Singtoe and gave me the idea for the 4th gen airbox.

I'd like to think with all of us trying this that we are just refining the formula for future swaps. I've sent InfamousRNR my wiring spreadsheet and he is going to publish it for everybody to use as a reference.

 

[Kelevra]

Was just going to add this. GreenbowCounty's is the second one from Singtoe and gave me the idea for the 4th gen airbox.

I'd like to think with all of us trying this that we are just refining the formula for future swaps. I've sent InfamousRNR my wiring spreadsheet and he is going to publish it for everybody to use as a reference.

Mike, absolutely outstanding work putting that all together, I'm impressed to hell. Yer a smart fella for sure.. I learned quite a bit from watching that vid, and I plan to watch it again, as I love to see how things come apart, and go together on my "new" 3rd Gen.
Tim and Mike, (and all those who helped!), keep up the stellar work!

Jordan