drivetrain conundrum (1 Viewer)

[jamister1]

All this talk of winter projects has got me thinking of what i want to do. The 55 is in need of a new drivetrain something fierce. The 350 leaks oil and water, the sm465 trans has a vibration to it and i can't say I'm crazy about the 205 tcase. So i need ideas... i would love to revert to Toyota running gear if i could find something heavy duty enough.
Here are my prerequisites:
Ability to tow up to 7000lbs
Reasonable power
Gas mileage is gonna be crap no matter what but maybe at least making it in the teens would be nice.
Lower weight than say a diesel
Would consider an automatic or manual.
Reasonable cost for a diy kinda guy.

I would only consider Toyota or Chevy. Most transmissions for Chevy are low tech heavy pieces of poo and most Toyota drivetrain's seem entirely too light duty. I really like the 4.0 in the fj but it seems almost no one has done any kind of swap with it. The 3.4 is really too small although i would consider turboing it. The 4.0 v8 outta the old lexus's is interesting although not much for torque. The straight sixes seem to be mostly boat anchors. I like the engine in the new is350 which has had more swaps done with it but then I'm back to a transmission problem. The 4.7 in the tundra interests me but i haven't researched it yet. most likely i will end up with a tbi 350/4l80E and an adapter to a np241 passenger drop. Any suggestions?
Oh yeah, I'm reducing tire size to a 37/12.50 a/t for onroad and taking out another 4-5" of lift. Probably pick up some more skinny 38" boggers with beadlocks for offroad. Keeping the axles unless i can find a FF toyota rear end and a 80 frontend to match it.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

I would say a newer chev V8 out of an '05+ pickup and the chev auto and an Atlas case.

 

[bruzer75]

Bring a trailer on Saturday. I've got a Turbo 400 tranny pulled from an 82 Chevy 4X4. The price is right and it will be much better in your yard than mine.
Mike

 

[mobydick]

My old A440 auto tranny is still sitting here. Maybe do an extreme Rodney style rebuild on it or just a rebuild with a Rodney valve body..? If you want it it's your , or anyone else for that matter. Always thought I'd keep it and get it rebuilt but it ain't gonna happen so if someone could use it come get it.

 

[Kief]

I'd say get a wreck with a good drive train.. Vortec or Tundra.. Adapters are expensive..

 

[jamister1]

I'm going with the 2uz 4.7 liter v8 and 4 speed automatic out of a 00-04 4wd Tundra. Non-vvti of course. That should last the life of the truck. I will look into getting a complete wrecked Tundra sometime in the spring. In the meantime I will redo the suspension of the 55 and fit some 37's. Probably look into buying a 220v welder this winter.

 

[gnob]

IMO the 4.7 is an underpoweted turd. The only reason the tundra outsold the t100 is because of the v8 badge. Fxxxing americans are stupid as fxxx. If youre going for a tundra do yourself a favor and try for a 4.0. If i were wanting a v8 the uz isnt even a consideration.

I mean we are talking about ten hp difference. A t chain as apposed to belt. A real manual trans option and marginal price difference for something already piled.

 

[Kief]

IMO the 4.7 is an underpoweted turd. The only reason the tundra outsold the t100 is because of the v8 badge. Fxxxing americans are stupid as fxxx. If youre going for a tundra do yourself a favor and try for a 4.0. If i were wanting a v8 the uz isnt even a consideration.

I mean we are talking about ten hp difference. A t chain as apposed to belt. A real manual trans option and marginal price difference for something already piled.

Gnob, don't hold back-- how do you really feel?

I forgot about the V6 putting out more power than the V8 in the built version in the 4-runner.. Is that the same drivetrain as the Landcruiser V8?

 

[ThreeEyedBandit]

I'd say get a wreck with a good drive train.. Vortec or Tundra.. Adapters are expensive..

I'd vote for the Vortec, at least that's the way I'd like to go. I drove my father's Silverado with the 5.3 and it is a pretty sweet engine and the auto matches quite well. Then there's always the manual.option too. Just my two sense. And heck theres even a 1uz just sitting in my shop(not mine) and I'd still go GM power.

 

[mobydick]

I love listening to Aric talk tech! He really ought to have his own Toyota Mechanic's Bible published at some point.(with copious footnotes referring you to some other page in the same book for verification) Can you imagine his grandkids around the fireplace when he's 85 talking about them Good Ol' Days!....? Still waiting for that winning lottery ticket so I can have him custom build my '62 with money being no object of course.

Or a ready made one like: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/12H-...7889395?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3f1d805573

OK, sorry, back on topic.

 

[jamister1]

I hear ya Aric. My dad just bought a f150 and I tried to convince him to get the ecoboost v6 but of course he had to have the v8 even though he also owns a diesel dually. Anyway, I do love the 4.0 but it seems that it has a lot more electronic crap to it and I believe it is drive by wire which means even more wiring along with the security key features the 05+ come with. The 4.7 does have about 50 ft/lbs more of torque which is what I was really looking at. What's interesting is the 4.7 and 4.0 share the transmission between them!? The tow capacity is 5k-6500 lbs in everything that the 4.0 is in and the 4.7 usually is between 6500-7200lbs but the question is why? I know the brakes are slightly bigger, maybe the suspension is stiffer but are there things like upgraded cooling capacities in the V8 models to handle the extra heat involved in towing something big?
Also the non vvti 4.7 is more commonly swapped so I would be able to ask questions to those who have done it whereas I swear most of the 4.0's are swapped by shops and there aren't many of them on top of that. The 4.7 will be at the limit (if not beyond) of my swapping abilities so it would concern me to add a whole nother mess of complexities on top of it by going 4.0 with digital everything. I will be going with the automatic because I find myself stealing my wife's auto FJ more and more instead of taking my 4runner even though I like my 4runner better. I'm just getting old I guess.