You hear about short block 350s getting swapped into FJ40s all the time. Why don't people swap in a Tacoma, FJ Cruiser, or 4Runner engine. Do they not fit, too expensive, not work? I know some people want to stay solely Toyota and this just seems life an option. What's the deal?
Engine Swap
- Thread starter Bad Mojo
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
DanS HJ-45
SILVER Star
I suspect it has more to do with the high level of centered-diffness in the rear axle. I am not aware of any adapters to adapt a cruiser transmission/T-case to one of the engine you noted there.
So to put in a drivetrain from, say, a 4-runner you'd also have to swap the rear axle. Plus, cruisers are significantly heavier than those vehicles (well, not the FJC or newer 4-runners IIRC).
Last reason: have you ever swapped an EFI motor? It can be much more complicated than you think. You can easily get a 350 to run with minimal wiring, and there are tons of harnesses on the market to make the fancy pants V-8s working. Not so with the 3.4 and whatnot...
Just my guess, I really don't know.
Dan
I believe more people are swapping in new, in production, toyota engines from newer models than you may think. The only thing is they're all diesels like 1HZ, 12HT, and 1HD-t. For the cash you would pour into a 3.4 why not go for something with more powerful and need not forget more efficient?
BDSeff1fitty
1987 Toyota 4Runner
Add to that the fact that I dropped down to sub 15mpg when I was hauling 500-900lbs
you see 15 mpg as bad, i see 15 mpg as good. i get 11-12 city and 14-16 highway if im lucky and thats with an empty bed
DanS HJ-45
SILVER Star
That's silly.
I complain if I get down near 25 MPG!!!
These gas engines are killing us, America!
I think 77cruiser77 is maybe right on that though: for that kind of money go diesel. 13BT or equivalent.
Dan
There is not enough aftermarket support for the mentioned Toyota swaps. Pricing also is a big deterrent. I believe the best Toyota options would be the diesels or maybe the 2UZ V8. This engine may cost too much when compared to the GM engines.
Tigerstripe40
SILVER Star
Marlin Crawler, Inch Worm and a few others make an adapter to go from the these trucks transmissions to a minitruck GRB. Marlin also makes and adapter from the minitruck GRB to a Land Cruiser T-case.
I wouldn't bother putting in a V8 UNLESS I am also putting in EFI at the same time. There are lots of companies that make swap harnesses for EFI v8's.
Also, a company called Offroad solutions makes a stand alone wiring harness for the 3.4 toyota motor.
All that said.
I wouldn't bother swapping in a 3.4 liter unless it's supercharged.
I would do a 4.7 V8 or the 4.0 V6 however, the 4.0 hasn't been out long enough that there are harnesses available for them.
In the end I think it all comes down to money. Lots fo Chev 350's have been done. Parts are cheap and you can get them anywhere. You can get a 5.7 vortec for what one of these ORS wiring harnesses costs. and the 5.7l iter is adaptable to most transmissions found in Cruisers anyhow.
I would love to put in a 4.7 liter v8 a manual. . There is a bellhousing to adapt that motor to an R151 (minitruck 'v6' manual transmission).This transmission is adaptable to any t-case you would want...
'
- Thread starter
- #8
Thanks for the overwhelming amount of information on the subject. I was just wondering if it would work and I got more than I expected. I am liking the idea of swopping in a diesel in once my engine really needs to be rebuilt.
caz
Keystone Cruisers
I have the swap for ya!
3.4L
Jeep AX15 tranny (Aisin) with input shaft and belhousing from R150
Dana 300 - clocked, or Atlas!
Minitruck rear axle
I have been thinking about this for a while now. The perfect opportunity arose when I totaled my 3.4 swapped 4runner a few weeks ago. I just can't bring myself to get rid of the F though.....
3.4L
Jeep AX15 tranny (Aisin) with input shaft and belhousing from R150
Dana 300 - clocked, or Atlas!
Minitruck rear axle
I have been thinking about this for a while now. The perfect opportunity arose when I totaled my 3.4 swapped 4runner a few weeks ago. I just can't bring myself to get rid of the F though.....
i don't think you will regret that decision .
Tigerstripe40
SILVER Star
I looked at swapping in a toyota 2LT turbo diesel into my 4Runner.
Looking at the prices people charged for the blocks, rebuilding the block, getting parts, etc. I decided that going with aToyota Turbo-Diesel just wasn't a worthwhile swap. I rebuilt teh 3.0 instead (though I should have done the 3.4, retrospect is always 20/20).
The biggest issue I had with the 2LT was getting parts.
Most parts for the Toyota diesels just aren't available in north america. You have to special order the parts from Japan and it's 6 weeks to get them.
It was just going to be too much hassel to deal with Especially for a rig I daily drive.
that said, if I lived in a place wehre the Toyota diesels are imported, that woudl be a different story
DanS HJ-45
SILVER Star
Just to be the devil's advocate here...
I daily drive my faux-lux, and will split the duties with the HJ-45 someday soon. I have yet to be stuck due to lack of parts (and a 2LT is LOADS easier to get parts for than a 2LT-E). The only part I have had to special order (a starter) took less than a week to get here. I continue to daily drive the truck--even though I've got the replacement waiting at home.
Mine has also paid for itself in just about 2 years/60,000 miles. It is one of the best things I've ever done (putting the 2LT-E in).
That said, I do keep the part number for the head in my wallet, and always have enough money to buy one if/when my head fails.
Dan
- Thread starter
- #13
Do you think anything like this will come about for a FJ40? It would be nice.
Specter Off-Road Land Cruiser Parts - Page 035 Engines
Specter Off-Road Land Cruiser Parts - Page 035 Engines
Tigerstripe40
SILVER Star
Nope
Either you had a 3B or a 2F motor.
But
with the half cuts you get most of everything you need for a conversion (wiring, sensors, etc). And if you have the money and the time necessary that is about the best way to go.
Either you had a 3B or a 2F motor.
But
with the half cuts you get most of everything you need for a conversion (wiring, sensors, etc). And if you have the money and the time necessary that is about the best way to go.
DanS HJ-45
SILVER Star
Nope.
The 40s are simple enough I'm not sure that a half-cut would be a big help. They've also got room to spare under the hood if you're going with one of the simple engines--as opposed to having to shoehorn everything into the engine bay with other models. Note that a fancy pants EFI diesel into a 40 would probably be kind of tricky for the same reason.
BTW--where in NM are you? If you're near ABQ, drop me a line and I can show you why I say that.
If you were doing anything EFI--then a half cut is pretty important IMHO. As it is, to put a 3B, 2H or 1HZ into a 40 all you need is:
- Engine
- Transmission (may be able to reuse yours even)
- Transmission Mount (specifically crossmember if 5-speed)
- Motor Mounts
- PS pump (if you have/want PS)
That's all the really important stuff to get from Toyota. The rest of what you need (fuel filter, air intake, radiator) can all be sourced or made from aftermarket stuff. Would it be nicer to get the correct Toyota stuff? Yes. But not necessary.
Dan
Downey
SILVER Star
Here's an opinion from an engine conversion kit manufacturer's prespective:
(a) We were building conversion kits for Chevy V6 and V8 engines back in the days when Toyota was not building an engine you would want to swap into your rig. And all the GM engine conversion molds and tooling are bought and paid for.
(b) Now that Toyota does build something you might want to put into your rig, The newer Toyota V6's and V8's will cost as much to install as the Chevy engines, and they still will not deliver the same results, short of installing a $4,000 TRD blower (which has it's own little history problem).
(a) We were building conversion kits for Chevy V6 and V8 engines back in the days when Toyota was not building an engine you would want to swap into your rig. And all the GM engine conversion molds and tooling are bought and paid for.
(b) Now that Toyota does build something you might want to put into your rig, The newer Toyota V6's and V8's will cost as much to install as the Chevy engines, and they still will not deliver the same results, short of installing a $4,000 TRD blower (which has it's own little history problem).
caz
Keystone Cruisers
It all depends what results you are going for! If your only goal is more power, then you are better off with a V8. If you want reliability, good fuel economy, and drivability - a Toyota swap is a good option.
There is another post like this one floating around somewhere where I believe my exact words were- "If you all think that a 40 with a 3.4L engine, 5 speed tranny/transfer, and minitruck axles is heavier than a 4runner, you are smoking crack". A 40 tub and frame are not really that heavy - it is the boat anchor engine/tranny/transfer/axles.
CAZ
There is another post like this one floating around somewhere where I believe my exact words were- "If you all think that a 40 with a 3.4L engine, 5 speed tranny/transfer, and minitruck axles is heavier than a 4runner, you are smoking crack". A 40 tub and frame are not really that heavy - it is the boat anchor engine/tranny/transfer/axles.
CAZ
Check out Proffitt's Cruisers website www.proffittscruisers.com
they do diesel swaps, carbed and injected V8 swaps AND they do swaps of various Toyota engines into all different types of vehicles. They've done a lot so they know what works and what doesnt. Talk to Jeremiah, even if you're going to do the work yourself they are good guys and will share lots of info with you.
Proffitt's is awesome. I wish we had someone like that here in Houston. I've thought about swapping out my original F motor for more power, but we simply don't have anyone around here that knows enough about cruisers.
