Hey all, this is my first post. What I'm planning on doing is swaping out my 22RE out of my 4Runner an relpaing it with a 4.3 Chevy Vortec. I was wanting to know the pros and cons of doing this and if it is a hard swap. I am a mechanic and have about 2 years of wrenching experience. What I mostly need is.. What do I need? What should I not do and is it really worth it? I really don't want to get myself in a hole and have a crappy rig. Any help would be appericated. Thanks guys and gals.
4.3 Chevy Swap
- Thread starter Mekanecman
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2ndGenToyotaFan
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Welcome to Mud!!! 
If you dive into this, we'd love to see pics and updates. Here's some reading for you:
http://toyota.off-road.com/toyota/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=274607
If you dive into this, we'd love to see pics and updates. Here's some reading for you:http://toyota.off-road.com/toyota/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=274607
There are companies that make the swap pretty much bolt in. You can even get a painless harness if you want. If you are a mechanic, you shouldn't have a problem stripping the wiring harness down. Why ditch the 22re? Is it dead?
look up Downey Offroad for toyota engine swaps, they have rather complete kits to help remove some headache. I think a 4.3 would be great, perfect sized engine for a toyota sized rig.
Welcome!
look up Downey Offroad for toyota engine swaps, they have rather complete kits to help remove some headache. I think a 4.3 would be great, perfect sized engine for a toyota sized rig.
Welcome!
- Thread starter
- #4
Well the engine is still running but, I have heard the 22RE's don't have a lot of power and I have a friend who put in the 4.3 when his 22RE blew and it gave him a ton more power. My roomate is also looking for a 22RE to put in his truck. If there is ways to get more power from them let me know.
My block is tied up @ the machine shop but I am about to try on a 2.6 liter stroker. I play with some guys that have swapped in chevy engines and they love them, I just like 22r's. if your swap isn't happening right now, then stay tuned, I'll let you know how it turns out.
No if it runs great and has good compression though, I was thinking of offering to buy it 
If you want more power out of it a good rebuild is in order, there aren't many bolt on mods that will net you a LOT of HP on a 22re.
If you want more power out of it a good rebuild is in order, there aren't many bolt on mods that will net you a LOT of HP on a 22re.- Thread starter
- #7
The engine runs great could use a valve adj. The engine was rebuilt 140,000 miles by John Elway Toyota no leaks and has great compression. Truck starts up everytime and has never broken down on me. I did a tune up on it last summer and put a new fan clutch on it. Other than that she is strong.
^Imagine the scales of justice though......on the left, low power and long long long engine life, on the right, power with less reliability.
Cause you cant have both, typically the more power in a motor the harder it is on the internals
And say goodbye to 20mpg!
Not at all saying the 4.3 is a bad choice but I will say it wont last as long as a PM'd 22
.Also take it easy on the tranny that 4.3 would shred it if I drove it.
And say goodbye to 20mpg!
FWIW, bolt on power would kill about nine birds with one stone.....
we've all been there brother....
and WELCOME!!!
<MUD newb salute- Thread starter
- #9
What kind of bolt on power upgrades are there? I want to be able to run 35" tires and still be able to drive it on the interstate without the engine reving at 5000 rpm.
35's and 5.29 gears and you'll be a happy camper. I've done a 3.8 and a 4.3 swap. Hated the 4.3. Started looking around for a 22re to swap back in, but sold the truck instead.
KY854RUN
SILVER Star
As BKG said, with the 22RE you are going to want 5.29 gears with the 35's. But, with the 4.3 you will be happier with 4.88 gears and the 35's.
The 22Re can easily be rebuilt to put out 150+ HP and still give good mileage. Just read the FAQ on more power.
The 22Re can easily be rebuilt to put out 150+ HP and still give good mileage. Just read the FAQ on more power.
Mine has 35s with 5.29s and can still run 80mph. I love the 22re. I am just starting to help a buddy swap in a 4.3 in his 4skin after his engine blew because he wants more power. I guess we will see which will be better in the long run and in the rocks since we go wheelin a lot.
I have a 4.3 in my '90 4Runner... it's no sports car, but for a 4x4 it's a tonne of power with absolutely stellar throttle response. The first transmission was shredded, so a W56 was swapped in and it's be two years of the thing getting bagged since... completely problem free (engine wise, anyway). 
Feel free to PM me with any questions you may have.
Corey
Feel free to PM me with any questions you may have.
Corey
stripping a 88 astro 4.3 with 60k on it tommorow to install in my sami. i have 5.29's but dual yota cases and a th350 will help turn the 37" mtr's . i too have worries but have made a decision and am going to follow through with it. im not a mechanic by any means but have learned through trialk and error over the last 20 years. never thought of a 3.8l as stated above and i have a buick ultra supercharged sitting in my driveway waiting to be sold, sounds like more wok than i can handle tho. so the 4.3 it is. im leaving it one stock ( i hope ) for reliability and ive heard its a pretty simple wiring swap.
ill let you know
ill let you know
What year is the truck? If its 86+ and has independent front suspension, you'll eat CV's like none other running 35'' tires.
If its a solid axle, then you're fine.
Also, I don't recommend swapping the engine, I've thought about it before, but I'd rather have the 100% reliable 22 series engine than a GM built piece of.. well, you know.
Wow how many of you have done this swap
By the sound of it none you think 4.3 is not reliable???? I get better milage than I ever did with the 22-RE. Power I have the high out put w series vin that puts out around 200hp stock. If you haven't done the swap STFU. I think it is way bettter the no power, s***ty Toyota heads. I would take the Vortec anyday. I will be swapping in an LS2 soon.
By the sound of it none you think 4.3 is not reliable???? I get better milage than I ever did with the 22-RE. Power I have the high out put w series vin that puts out around 200hp stock. If you haven't done the swap STFU. I think it is way bettter the no power, s***ty Toyota heads. I would take the Vortec anyday. I will be swapping in an LS2 soon.
My 22R made it 300k miles on original everything :l Even water pump.
The 4.3 is generally a good motor and personally, I'd rather have a motor that goes 200k and has almost double the HP of a 22RE than have a motor that goes 300k and has close to half the power of the 4.3. At least it's 200k of having a truck with some nads, haha. Then again, the GTR's motor only lasts 60-80k miles and the R1's motor only lasts 30-40k miles, but I'm the type of dude that'd rather have the performance over that time frame than be riding/driving a slow bike/car.
Then again, the GTR's motor only lasts 60-80k miles and the R1's motor only lasts 30-40k miles, but I'm the type of dude that'd rather have the performance over that time frame than be riding/driving a slow bike/car.
Also take it easy on the tranny that 4.3 would shred it if I drove it.
And say goodbye to 20mpg!
I'm swapping in a 4.3 tbi and I'm going to run a t5 trans w/dana 300 t-case. All im going to do is send out the d-shaft and have toyota u joints on one end and spicer ends on the other. Should live fine behind a 4.3 and have a lot more kick than a 22r. BUT...... 22r is a true workhorse engine. You cant go wrong either way
- Thread starter
- #20
So what I'm getting is the 4.3 will have more power but it isn't as reliable as the 22RE. The 22RE is way more reliable but has not a lot of power. It kinda sounds like I really need to decide if morre power is worth it. How many miles can u expect to get from a 4.3? If it is not going to get me past a couple of years I really don't want to it.
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