3.0 Rebuild or Alternatives (1 Viewer)

[mattyice]

I'm conflicted. Just finished timing job and intake up refresh on my 89 4runner v6. Got it to the point where it ran as well as an automatic 3.slow will feasibly run. In the short time it's been functioning since I bought it (only the last month since i bought in april/may) it created a loud knock after a road trip. I am reassured by it sounding convincingly top end related but I wont know until I get inside it.

I have no idea what the history of this engine is before 235k miles and I can't imagine it is great from what I've had to deal with. I will definitely be running compression test and an oil change to check for glitter. If compression can tell me my top end is definitely at fault I will be rebuilding but is it worth it to remove the whole engine and ensure my bottom end is within spec too? I would like to not do that, may lean towards replacing with 3.4 if it comes to full 3vze removal but funds are an important consideration because I do not have a ton of them.

Is there anything people would recommend servicing when it comes to full removal of the 3.slow and about how much should I expect this to cost?

 

[gnob]

your money is best spent going to a 3.4

 

[bj70bc]

3.4 5vz...... and there are superchargers for it

 

[mattyice]

Is it worth keeping my a340h or going manual for the hell of it. Manual swapping at the same time means more work and money but if the 3.4 will work directly with the a340h this would be a much more enticing swap

 

[gnob]

i would go manual.
you can use the existing trans ataik. it takes some extra work.
if you need auto, i think you're better off using the 3.4 and adapting a rhd case. however this may also require extra wiring to keep the cel off.

 

[pappy]

Echo. 3.4!

 

[bkg]

Is it worth keeping my a340h or going manual for the hell of it. Manual swapping at the same time means more work and money but if the 3.4 will work directly with the a340h this would be a much more enticing swap

I believe someone on 4x4wire was able to get the 3.4 to work with the 340H... but that was many years ago, and I don't recall how easy it was. Best solution is manual swap or an a340F/trans out of a t100 (I believe they were still passenger drop behind the a340f...)

 

[mattyice]

If I'm reading all the right materials, ORS provides brackets and conversion wiring harnesses to swap basically any setup from 3.0 to 3.4 including automatics. I have a working A340H automatic transmission so it seems I would be looking for a healthy 3.4 from 95 to 98 because it lets me keep my transmission. If theres an engine with a lower mileage trans coming for a reasonable price anyways i'd take it.

As for brackets and extras I would definitely take all the ors pieces I can afford. If they retail something its probably a hell of a lot cleaner than whatever I can make myself. That includes battery and evap canister among other things I'll probably run into. That would add minimum 1500 on top of paying for the engine, harness, ecu, transmission computer, and any servicing extras I might need.

If I am gonna do the swap trust that I'll do it right but I think I'm going to attempt to keep the 3vze alive for as long as possible until I save up the money for that kind of swap. I will pray that the problem I have now is just top end noise that I can solve quickly. Until then I'm curious, what have other paid for a trusworthy 5vze? It's not off the table entirely just not possible immediately. I definitely cannot afford a built/reman 3.4 but there have got to be good sources out there right?

 

[Devils Paw 80]

.. I definitely cannot afford a built/reman 3.4 but there have got to be good sources out there right?

It will be hit or miss at any given time, regardless of where you live. Living in California, your chances of sourcing a decent engine are exponentially greater than mine would be in Alaska or Hawaii. I'm not aware of any strategies other than going through Craigslist and FB Marketplace.

 

[pappy]

Search on car-part.com. You can narrow down the search by region or state.

 

[mattyice]

It would be a 'save up and do it right' build if i were to 5vze so for now I opened my clacky valvetrain on the 3.0. The good news is theres no real damage to the top end so I will assume is has some life left. To anyone watching this for the 3vze work I posted it in a new thread. Too much new info to flood this one with. Keep adding input if you have tips on the 3.4 swap. I am very interested, it would be great to put together a more concise bank of supporting information.

 

[aztoyman]

I personally think you are better off getting a complete donor for your swap. (Running preferably) That way you have everything you need all together. I used a LOT of stuff from my donor and parting out the rest paid for a lot of things as well. The downside is you have to have the space to do it and parts don't all sell overnight. I had to keep my donor at my daughter's place since she had property out back and I had an HOA on my back.

I see a lot of threads where people struggle trying to find parts or COMPATABLE parts such as ECM's or other problems when they piece together their swap. Takes longer and costs more this way I think. JMHO