2nd gen 3.0L 4runner blown head gasket

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Ryancostello90

10 Year
Joined
May 8, 2012
Threads
5
Messages
9
Location
Prunedale, Ca
hey hey,
just within the last couple days, my car has been diagnosed with a blown head gasket, needing all of the valves done as well. The car has previously had the notorious recall head gasket done. Having 226k miles on it, I'm hesitant to spend a ton of money having it machined or replaced... the local shop wants over $2K for labor and parts. Although I've been looking into the idea of doing an engine swap, but i want to stay away from the 3.0L motor. Has anyone done a swap with a newer tacoma engine? do the mounts fit? is there an mpg increase?
 
you want to check into a 3rz swap or a 5vzfe swap. both of which are all over the FAQ. there is a whole section on Marlin crawlers board for these swaps.


the 3rz is a 2.7 liter 4clyinder motor. a great upgrade for either the 22re equipped trucks or the 3.0 v6 ones. nice and compact. i hear its a little easier to fit in a truck originally equipped with the 22re cause the motor mounts line up, but it can be put into the 3.0 trucks with motor mount modifications.


the 5vzfe is a 3.4 liter? v6 and is probably the way to go for you though, if you can find a lower mileage, unmolested one. im not sure if the motor mount locations are direct swap like the 22re -3rz , but i know its done all the time. i have not done one myself, but i hear that the wiring part is much harder than the install, as most of the mechanical bits can be made to bolt together with factory toyota parts.


definitely check over at marlins site,(http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=19275.0 )as well as toyota only engine swaps: Home Page
they can hook you up if you just want to swipe the credit card and be done. it might cost you some $ though. but if you are somewhat mechanically inclined you can do most if not all of it yourself.
 
^^^^^ Very good advice,i would do the 5vze if money was not an issue.let us know what you decide.
 
The 3.4 is physically (at least outside of the block wise) the same dimensions as the 3.0. It ends up needing a little clearance on the firewall due to the intake. A 1 inch body lift takes care of this very nicely. There is a little wiring involved, but it's not too bad. From what I've heard (still have the 3.0 in my truck) it's night and day power-wise. There's several write ups on the swap (yotatech, marlin crawler board) and it's easily the quickest swap out side of dropping in another 3.0.
 
I had a 1991 4Runner that had about 230k on it when I got it. It had a rod knock. I did some research into doing the 3.4 swap vs rebuilding the 3.0. Initially doing the 3.4 swap was going to be more money. So I rebuilt the 3.0 instead, using a mix of OEM Toyota parts (Forged crank and rods from a 3VZ-FE, gaskets, seals, water and oil pump) and upgraded parts (like ARP head studs, rod and main bolts). I had the injectors cleaned, replaced a bunch of sensors( o2 sensor, knock sensor), fuel lines, vacuum lines, etc. While I was in there I replaced the clutch, ported and polished the heads.
Got it all put back together and...

I had a stumble...

Then I had to hunt down THAT down which wasn't planned for in the motor rebuild:
-replaced the engine wiring harness.
-replaced the ECU
-replaced 2 of the fuel injectors.
-replaced the exhaust system.

After adding up the receipts for all of that, I could have purchased a low mileage 5VZ from a local junkyard, got a 1" body lift from 4Crawler, the Off Road Solutions 5VZ swap-in-a-box that included **EVERYTHING*** needed to do the 5VZ swap including a plug-and-play wiring harness.
And broken even.

The truck ran quite well for about 4 years, then one day I lost all power and the engine was making a knocking sound. I thought I had thrown a rod and, to be honest, I was sick of dealing with that truck.
I pretty much gave it away. Come to find out, it was a bad harmonic balancer.

In any case, don't put any money into the 3VZ-E.
Not a dime.
Swap in a 5VZ-FE.
 
i like it.

Tigerstripe40 said:
I had a 1991 4Runner that had about 230k on it when I got it. It had a rod knock. I did some research into doing the 3.4 swap vs rebuilding the 3.0. Initially doing the 3.4 swap was going to be more money. So I rebuilt the 3.0 instead, using a mix of OEM Toyota parts (Forged crank and rods from a 3VZ-FE, gaskets, seals, water and oil pump) and upgraded parts (like ARP head studs, rod and main bolts). I had the injectors cleaned, replaced a bunch of sensors( o2 sensor, knock sensor), fuel lines, vacuum lines, etc. While I was in there I replaced the clutch, ported and polished the heads.
Got it all put back together and...

I had a stumble...

Then I had to hunt down THAT down which wasn't planned for in the motor rebuild:
-replaced the engine wiring harness.
-replaced the ECU
-replaced 2 of the fuel injectors.
-replaced the exhaust system.

After adding up the receipts for all of that, I could have purchased a low mileage 5VZ from a local junkyard, got a 1" body lift from 4Crawler, the Off Road Solutions 5VZ swap-in-a-box that included **EVERYTHING*** needed to do the 5VZ swap including a plug-and-play wiring harness.
And broken even.

The truck ran quite well for about 4 years, then one day I lost all power and the engine was making a knocking sound. I thought I had thrown a rod and, to be honest, I was sick of dealing with that truck.
I pretty much gave it away. Come to find out, it was a bad harmonic balancer.

In any case, don't put any money into the 3VZ-E.
Not a dime.
Swap in a 5VZ-FE.
Click to expand...

Most definitely an excellent advice,i might have to use this excuse when the 3.0 finally quits.i can count on you guys when that time comes.:clap:
 
lot's of info out there and tons of em done now (the 3.4 swap) i'll be doing it late summer or early fall.
 
Its looking like Im gonna try to swap in the 5vzfe engine in there. I have been looking in yards and all over the JDM motor importers for the last couple weeks. In fact, checked one out today! Going back on saturday for the compression test. What is a good pressure to shoot for? If I install a one or two inch body lift, is it going to compromise the integrity of the frame and body when wheeling? I dont want the thing creaking and what not! Also, I looked into simply putting on a hood scoop to make up for the lack of "head room." Although, everything I have found looks really cheap and crappy? any advice?
Many thanks! :)
 
Ryancostello90 said:
Its looking like Im gonna try to swap in the 5vzfe engine in there. I have been looking in yards and all over the JDM motor importers for the last couple weeks. In fact, checked one out today! Going back on saturday for the compression test. What is a good pressure to shoot for? If I install a one or two inch body lift, is it going to compromise the integrity of the frame and body when wheeling? I dont want the thing creaking and what not! Also, I looked into simply putting on a hood scoop to make up for the lack of "head room." Although, everything I have found looks really cheap and crappy? any advice?
Many thanks! :)
Click to expand...

A quality body lift installed properly won't be a problem for creaking or anything like that. The body lift is also installed to help the exhaust clear the firewall IIRC.
 
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He has the 5VZE as well.... :cheers:
 
Ryancostello90 said:
Its looking like Im gonna try to swap in the 5vzfe engine in there. I have been looking in yards and all over the JDM motor importers for the last couple weeks. In fact, checked one out today! Going back on saturday for the compression test. What is a good pressure to shoot for? If I install a one or two inch body lift, is it going to compromise the integrity of the frame and body when wheeling? I dont want the thing creaking and what not! Also, I looked into simply putting on a hood scoop to make up for the lack of "head room." Although, everything I have found looks really cheap and crappy? any advice?
Many thanks! :)
Click to expand...


hold on...not so fast....i dont think a body lift is required, especially for the second gen trucks. i did some searching around yotatech and found more than one person who swapped the 5vz in and did not need a body lift to clear the motor, OR cut the hood. it fit right in. from what i could tell, its in the motor mounts. im not sure on this, but i think the key is how you assemble the motor mounts. some guys use the bottom half from the original truck and the top half from the 5vze. or some people use all 5vz mounts, or all 3.0 mounts on the 5vz...

i would definitely play around with it and see what you can do before you commit to puttin on a body lift at all. that would be a last resort for me.
 
Ryancostello90 said:
does anyone know if the wiring harnesses between the 3.0L and 3.4L engines match up?
Click to expand...
No, grab the one from the donor truck. You want the engine control computer too. Look around for a few writeups on what you need to do for the swap. Many will say what to grab from the donor truck, and what you will have to get or make.
 
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