Engine:
So let's start here.. Build vs. Buy. I have received good information from a very knowledgeable source that believes if you are going to do this that one of the best things you can do is buy a remanufactured block with a few of the accessories for cheap from somewhere like
Summit Racing and then throw used parts on it from
eBay, Craigslist and the junkyard. This is referring mainly to the Long Block variety that can easily be found on Summit simply by going through their filter tool to a
5.7L/350 GM engine.
Build - So what all are you going to need? Well that depends on what you are looking at doing with the engine. One of the main benefits of the 5.7L TBI 350 is that, much like our venerable 2F, it has great low end torque and is not meant to be a high revving engine. So you will feel the power gain right off the bat when releasing the clutch and hitting the throttle. By looking at the sort you will see that a reman'd engine block will run you between $1500 and $3500 and then more for more "complete" performance engines.
So going with the Vin Code K engine (and here is a
link for showing what those vin codes mean) you will see you are looking at $1700 for the block, heads, valve covers, oil pan, harmonic balancer and timing cover and that is it. The bare bones of the engine. Engine comes complete. Only items needed to transfer or buy are intake manifold, throttle body, exhaust manifolds and accessories. This is where you get to decide what you want new or used and what types of accessories you want (e.g. higher output alternator, smog pump, air conditioning, etc.)
One thing to note on doing an engine like this is that depending on what VIN code engine you get you have to ensure you are putting the right distributor on it. There is a small and a large cap distributor and only one will fit. For the VIN code K I believe it is the small cap.
Buy - You have to look at doing something like purchasing a known good engine from a salvage group. Now many of these places offer some sort of warranty. My suggestion is that you CALL AND TALK TO THEM. Make sure that you find out what is and IS NOT covered under their warranty. For instance, I found
www.lowmileageparts.com to have a good amount of available engines for all TBI applications (dating back to the 80s) in stock and ready to ship. Now they ship with everything except the computer and harness, ok that is fine with some of the other posts coming up we will compile information on the different computers (aftermarket and junkyard) and wiring harnesses available. With these guys it seems you can ask them to include the wiring harness and computer from your vehicle of choice for a small up charge. They even show that they have free shipping to a commercial address or business address, caveat as long as they can accept delivery from a tractortrailer otherwise if liftgate service is necessary at the business address add $200+, if delivering to a residential with liftgate add another $100+. Oh yeah and they boast all over their site about a 5yr warranty, but reading the fine print you see that really means that the original engine requires receipt with all THEIR markings still visible AND it has to go into an exact same make/model vehicle.. So for me this would be a no go unless they had a real low mileage vehicle.
There are plenty of other salvage yards out there, gearheads.com, nnawg.com, etc. that will pull from their inventory. Again some off extra warranty off the bat and some offer the ability to purchase an extended warranty. Then there is also the core charge, so you might see a REAL cheap price on a nice, low mileage engine only to find that the company charges a $300+ core charge. Moral of the story is, definitely pay close attention to WHO you are potentially purchasing from and then give them a call so you full understand what you are getting.
Outside of that you have two other options; Donor vehicle purchase or "you pull it" purchase from a wrecking yard. Basically, these are going to be your two highest risk engines. Why you might ask? Well, these are the ones that you have the least information from. Say you DO end up going with a Vortec engine and you use someone like BDTurnkey.com (incredibly knowledgeable and fairly priced), well with them you get a carfax report of the vehicle as well as the salvage report so that you know exactly what happened to the vehicle so there is no guess. Plus, BD also goes in and runs the engine to ensure it is working properly, will take care of any necessary items that may need fixing (within reason) and will even program the engine for you as you may need (within reason). This is normally coupled in their charge caveat being that he requires a charge up front and he does not "stock" the engines so you will have a bit of a waiting time. Normal cost for a 5.3L Vortec will be around $2k for the engine and everything but that will depend on the mileage vehicle he is able to get you, so could be more could be less.
Back to the other options....
Donor vehicle where you go, can see it run (possibly) and pull the engine there or you buy the entire vehicle. This can be the most cost effective approach as then you will not have to worry about the dreaded "oh crap I forgot to grab XYZ module" or whatever. This you have the vehicle in your possession, possibly for a cheap price, and you will not have to worry about random missing odds and ends. Bad part is that you will have the vehicle in your possession and will have to worry about storage and what not. Now if you are quick and ready to go when you get the vehicle to your place then you may be able to swap the motor and drivetrain over (if doing the drivetrain as well) in a short period of time and either sell off the rest to salvage for scrap or part it out and possibly make some money back. Bad part is again, you have the vehicle in your possession so you have to worry about that kind of thing.
Salvage yard pull is probably the riskiest out of all of them but can be the cheapest by far. For instance, my local Pick N Pull has PLENTY of early 90s trucks/vans on hand that have been recently added to their inventory. According to the local pricing list you are looking at about $250 for the engine assembly (which will require a new oilpan) and then a small chunk of change after that for the random other accessories that may not be attached to the assembly (e.g. computer, wiring harness, etc.). The accessories really kinda relies on your local yard and what THEY feel is part of the assembly so some may charge you for it some may not. This is the riskiest pull because you know next to nothing about the engine, what happened to the vehicle for it to end up there, etc. Recommendations by MANY sites is that while the payoff can be high (finding a pristine low mileage vehicle that simply had the tranny go or was rear ended) it is HIGHLY recommended that you take some basic tools with you to test the engine, many will recommend trying to get a battery and some sort of starting mechanism but it really depends on the yard as many will apparently not let you in with the battery.
So with that said, you then have to rely on what you are seeing on the odometer, if it is even still present. Then from there everyone seems to recommend that you attempt to turn the engine over by hand to ensure that you hear no random sounds and feel nothing dragging. While you are doing that you should have brought a compression tester with you to see if you can get any compression numbers from the engine while you turn it by hand. This is somewhat hit or miss it appears but those that do it say if you can get anything above 60psi then you should be good to go with an engine that at least has SOME compression in it. This does not mean that the engine does not have issues but from there gives you an idea to better whittle down your heard.
Again, salvage yard pull is going to be labor intensive with the cost being around $250 for the engine assembly. Here is the kicker though, Pick N Pull regularly does half off everything events, which means that you could conceivably get an engine assembly for a little over $100 and if you have done your scouting then you could get something good. The other thing that you can do is if you have a smartphone then you have the CARFAX app that you can download, and since you are in front of the vehicle you can run the CARFAX at that point and pretty much get everything back right then. This will give you some indication as to what happened and hopefully help connect some of the dots.
So to recap:
Build - Can be $$$ depending on what you get and from where. Basic bare bones engine will require all accessories, intake, exhaust, etc. but that can come from cheap sources if you wish. The benefit is that you get a Zero Mileage block to start out with (a half breed?) that has slightly used parts on it. Lots of variables and lots of assembly required
Buy types:
Salvage Group - Will have the MOST information next to the build option. These will vary based on year of vehicle, mileage, shipping costs, delivery method, etc. Again, you will have lots and lots of information on the engine (depending on the group/company) and sometimes have the added option of an extended warranty or specialized programming. There is also the possibility of the core charge so this is going to be the more expensive option of the BUY type.
Donor Pull - this can possibly be the best of both world; cheap and knowledge of the engine vehicle depending on if you pull directly at the persons house or you buy the whole farm! Main thing is with this one you get to see and hear the engine running yourself (many times) and have the ability to perform some advanced tests should you have the tools (e.g. compression tester, leak down tester, coolant system tester, etc.). However, this can require the storage space for the vehicle, a loving and understanding partner, etc. So could be cheap or depending on how badly you piss off the significant other/neighbors could be the most costly!!
Along with this one comes the possibility of searching on something like craigslist or kijiji and finding a local that has already pulled or is planning to pull and engine and you get to be the benefactor. This really depends on what they are selling as their version of the "engine assembly" so it can be hit or miss. You are taking the sellers word if you buy an engine that is already pulled so there is some risk to it but then again you always know where the person lives if you really really have an issue.
Wrecking Yard Pull - this is potentially the cheapest simply because of the possibility of that ever present half off day and the reduced cost of the engine. However the flip side is that this is also the riskiest simply because of the fact that you know nothing about the engine, why the vehicle is there and basically what the condition was other than some inventive investigating.
Drivetrain:
Ah the venerable question that we all must fight with…. this is probably the one that most everyone will find to be as important, if not more important than the engine itself…. WHAT DRIVETRAIN?
Do I stay with all Toyota?
Do I go with a GM tranny and Toyota split case? (Note: NV4500 M/T comes in the following 92-05 Chevy pickup both 4x4 and 4x2, 94-05 Dodge Ram both 4x4 and 4x2, average new cost will be $1500+ and for my area used cost is around $700)
What about a full GM drivetrain? What do I need after that? Axle? New????
Then there are adapters, it seemed like at one point there were quite a few adapter companies to go with, Downey for instance, but they have gone the way of the dodo. Seems like now days you are limited pretty much to Advance Adapters, Ranger Over/Underdrive and possibly Orion depending on the setup you go with. Again this comes down to how much $$$ you have to throw at the build and how good your fab skills are because if you don’t have those you must realize that you will have to make some support modifications with a GM drivetrain
GM drivetrains; be it the NV4500 manual, the 4L60 or 4L80 auto or the usage of a doubler or NP series t-case will require two things:
- an adapter for the t-case to tranny
- modifications to the crossmember AT LEAST and possibly to the whole rear end
Here is a great link on the NV4500.....
The Novak Guide to the NV4500 Transmission
Lots of guys will debate on the “driveability” the 4L60 or NV4500 as being superior to the stock H42 4spd and I don’t doubt it, but if you are in a time crunch or on a budget and have little to no fab skills then you are limited in what you can do. The Auto trannies, 4L60 or 700R4 etc., can be found pretty easily and plentiful. They are somewhat easy to rebuild but to meet up with the stock Toyota t-case they will need an adapter, so you are looking at $400 to $600 for the adapter there. That is not including finding the tranny itself and getting it which can be in the same price range, sometime cheaper depending. So you are looking at $1200 right there for just the drivetrain by itself. Oh and then once that is done don't forget that you are going to have to get your drivelines modified to adapt to the new drivetrain length, from the normal consensus this ranges in price depending on what you have done but really seems to be an average of right around $250-$300.
Then there is the NV4500, the GM/Dodge 5spd. This is a heavy duty truck transmission and many believe that it drives and feels like it, longer throws between gears, bit more of a notchy shift feel but all in all a great transmission. Much like the autos you will have to an adapter to the split case for this which runs you in the $400-$600 range just like the auto. The main difference here is there are a couple different models of the NV4500 and of those models there is the 2wd and 4wd variants. From what I have gathered, either will work appropriately you just have to know which version you are getting as an input shaft may need to be changed/modified. The costs that I have found run the tranny in the $1000+ range for used and $1800 range for new. So if you are looking at the NV4500 NEW I would probably start leaning towards the H55F which you can still get from Toyota New. Cost of the H55F from someone like Onur (
@beno) will run you about $2500 but then again if you have the Ranger you get another gear on top of that and if you just go with the straight adapter you are not having to modify anything drivetrain wise.
Now you will have to modify the crossmember to properly accept the new tranny, so if you do not have the skills then you will have to have a friend do it or have a shop do it for you. So that could mean extra money or not. Add to that now that you will have to get a new shift lever, figure out the shift linkage, possibly do some modification to your transmission tunnel to ensure that the shifter has the correct movement, etc. and you are looking at a bit more money. However, these are known to be better driving trannies and the auto is supposed to be SWEET if you wheel a lot. Again, this is about keeping the build cheap so I will be focusing on the stock H42 4spd. Now if for some reason you do have the option to grab the 4L60 or 700R cheap with the engine, along with any computer management system that comes with it I would HIGHLY recommend dumping the extra cash into that.
So the H42 is a bit of a dog. Around my area on the highway I am looking at 3K rpm to keep the truck above 65mph (normal traffic speeds) and that is with the stock diffs and 31s on mainly flat land. Some will say they are able to pull 65mph with the RPM range between 2500 and 3k rpm but for the most part we are constantly flogging these engines to keep up with traffic. And this was known by most of us from the beginning as the 2F is a tractor motor, meant for low speeds and high torque. Really it depends on a few variables like the health of your engine and drivetrain, size tires, mods to your truck, etc. to make her move. But we all realize that we are not going anywhere fast and she will pretty much get the same gas mileage whether she has 1k lbs of stuff in her or almost completely empty, CRAP! Well that is where the desire for a change to something more powerful really starts to step in for many of us.
With the H42 you get a pretty low crawl gear as first, some people love this about the stock 4spd and some people hate it. I don't really mind the low speeds, the 60 series has the aerodynamics of a flying brick wall so the fact that I cannot cut through the air like a knife doesn't really bother me, then add to that the fact that I normally have a mtn bike strapped to the top and you are adding a sail to the flying brick wall basically giving it the drag coefficient of trying to suck a hairball through a overly clogged and rust filled drain.
Probably the one benefit in all of this is that Marks Offroad/Advance Adapters makes two different adapters for this;
- The Ranger OverDrive, and
- GM V8 to Toyota bellhousing adapter
I think there are a one or two other companies that USED to make them (Downey for instance) but have since gone out of business but you MAY be able to find them used. The Bellhousing adapter is probably the cheapest and least frills, cost is around $500 depending on which you get and what items you get with it. The Ranger is the other option. This is a bit different because it is a torque splitter that acts as an adapter between the GM bellhousing and the Toyota transmission. This can give you a 27% overdrive and can be used in ANY gear at any time. With it you have the option of running it at a 1:1 ratio (think stock configuration) or in a 0.73:1 ratio (overdrive, like a 5th gear). This is adaptable to both the H42 and the H55 (5spd) so if you do run the 5spd you could get yourself an even higher highway overdrive for those long stretches.
What I feel is the main benefit of the Ranger is that it requires ZERO drivetrain modification. No new or modified crossmember, no changing drivelines and doesn't even sound like you have to worry about pinion angle or anything like that while you are doing it. Compared to the other adapters for the NV4500 and Autos it is the plug and play swap. But this comes at a price, with normal cost running close to $1400 for a new one. They can occasionally be found used but that is a crapshoot.
Again for the purpose of this extreme budget I would err on the side of the Ranger simply because it is a two fold as it requires no driveline modifications and gives you a torque splitter with overdrive. While it is the higher of the costs for adapters at about $1400 it has it's added benefits.
So to recap:
- GM drivetrain to Toyota Splitcase will require and adapter along with the cost of the tranny of your desire (LOL). There will be some requirements for drivetrain modifications (driveline shortening, new crossmember fab, etc.) along with specialized parts to make the tranny work along with trans tunnel modifications to ensure proper throw and what not. This goes for the NV4500 manual as well as the 4L60/4L80/700R/etc. so you have some thinking to do.
- GM Engine to Toyota Drivetrain will require an adapter which there are two types; a torque splitter (Ranger) and a bellhousing adapter. The bellhouse will be the cheapest while the Ranger is the most expensive. This is still going to be your least time consumptive as there are no needed modifications to the drivelines, crossmember, etc., you are basically able to plug n play for lack of a better term. This also add adaptability if you have the H42 4spd to move up to the H55 5spd in the future.
- All GM Drivetrain, I didn't talk about this one because for me this is out of the cards unless you have everything, for the most part, already. This is where you would swap out your complete drivetrain along with your rear axle for a GM rear axle. This allows you to move to a centered diff and other upgrades but requires lots and lots of fabrication to make this line-up and work. To me that is not worth it for the cost of the engine, tranny, t-case, drivelines and rear axle to allow for GM everything and again this requires more that you have an entire donor truck available for you to pick everything from.
Adapters:
This is probably the next most crucial portion to the drivetrain adaptation for your new heart next to the drivetrain selection itself. With this you have to know exactly what direction you are going in for your drivetrain as you will need to get the adapter for that specific drivetrain.
GM Transmission Adapater - this is probably the most common place and cost effective solution for all the swaps. It depends on what you are planning on doing with regards to your drivetrain but most everything is taken into account with this. You can easily find the adapter for the 4L60/4L80/700R4/TH400 to the Toyota splitcase or the NV4500 to the Toyota splitcase. Outside of that you are looking for more specialized items that will be needed to adapt whatever transfercase you are utilizing to the Toyota drivelines. Remember that this WILL require modifications to the crossmember support and possibly the drivelines themselves as the GM tranny is a different length and will change the length of the driveshafts and their placement. Depending on what you go with you will need to also ensure that you have the proper linkage for the transmission, shift arm/lever and some modifications to the tranmission tunnel may be required to ensure that the lever has the proper throw and placement.
On top of that there is also changes to the slave/master cylinder if you are running the NV4500 as well as the clutch. But then again you should really be looking at replacing the clutch, unless recently done, no matter what.
For the swap where you are mating the GM engine to the stock Toyota tranny then you are looking at the bellhousing adapter for that. Depending on what transmission you have or plan to have, H42F vs H55F, will determine what you can go with. There is only one adapter offered for the FJ60/62 and is $1400, again not cheap but allows you to keep the Toyota drivetrain as well as the necessary orientation of everything and just mate the engine to it. I have read of some people having issues with this adapter being a bit of a bear to mate up properly but seems like it is hit or miss. This is a full kit though so it comes with engine mounts and a few other items to allow you to do the swap, otherwise these would be those small ancillary items you would have to pick up separately.
Torque Splitter - the debate as to the "need" of this is debateable as it really depends on what the intended use of your truck is. This is the Ranger Overdrive which offers a 27% overdrive when engaged (I believe it was a final drive ratio of 0.73) effectively giving you a doubler for every gear. This can be useful for those of us with the 4spd as it would effectively drop your rpm range from 3k to 2200, which can make a huge difference in not only drivetrain/engine life but also in the consumption of gas. While this will not be the solution for everyone due to the cost, it is something to think about as you progress forward. This, like the Toyota adapter bellhousing kit, allows you to keep stock drivetrain location and essentially becomes a plug n play for the engine.
So to recap.....
You have two options:
Bellhousing Adapter or Torque splitter. The Bellhousing adapter can apply to both GM and Toyota mating transmissions whereas the Torque splitter is really only a Toyota to GM Engine adaptation (for the purposes of this thread). Cost of the adapter itself and the ancillary items is going to be cheaper for the GM transmission however that does not account for the cost of said transmission. The Toyota to GM Engine focuses on the fact that you are utilizing what you have available and attempting to minimize not only cost but skills needed for fabrication.
For me this is a no brainer, I am keeping the cost as low as possible so I am sticking with the Toyota tranny. But this is also a two fold decision; the other portion of it was that I bought the FJ60 for two reasons. Those reasons are that I like the round eyes over the square and I wanted a manual transmission. So with sticking with that I was left with deciding between an NV4500 or sticking with the Toyota. The cost of the NV4500 became prohibitive on its own unless I was able to come across one that was a stellar deal. So the decision now comes to bellhousing adapter or the Ranger. For me that will really depend as the Ranger offers more but I will need to get motor mounts and other ancillary items which will add to the cost where as the bellhousing only is that.
Fuel Management:
Fuel management is something that everyone will deal with a little differently depending on how they want to go. But ultimately depending on the engine you use, TBI vs. Vortec/LSx, you are going to need adequate fuel pressure. With that being said, one of the best recommendations that I have come across is to install a fuel pressure gauge somewhere easily viewable in the engine compartment, ESPECIALLY if you are going for a TBI.
TBI - requires a low pressure fuel system. Depending on the site that you go to many of them will recommend different fuel pumps to go along with the engine. The stock 60/62 WILL NOT WORK with this engine as it does not produce the proper pressure. You will be looking for a good quality, low pressure pump that hits about 12psi. I have seen people that have consistent 15-16psi be able to run properly but these seemed to be more modified engines so I would stick with the recommendation of something that hits the 12psi mark. TBIChips sells an AC Delco kit that he recommends and I have seen the same model (AC Delco EP381) along with a Walbro pump.
As you get further into modifying the engine that is when the fuel management system needs to be upgraded. This is not your stock carb'd engine so you will need to look at flashing your computer to ensure that everything is working properly. Most people recommend a pre-pump filter to help keep things operating smoothly and I have seen multiple builds where people install a post pump filter as well as pressure regulator. The pressure regulators that I have seen have been from a C5 corvette but could never get any part numbers for that. Again, seems like the best bet is that you go with a known good quality pump, couple filters inline and a pressure gauge in the engine compartment for easy troubleshooting.
Vortec/LSx - When the engines changed to the Vortec head and away from the TBI injection then you ran into other changes where a different, high pressure fuel pump was needed. For most of these applications, all the way to current, you SHOULD be able to run the same type of pump. This DOES NOT include the VORTEC 350. For newer generation engines like the 4.8L, 5.3L and 6.0L you are looking for something that produces at least 40psi, at minimum consistently. Really you need something that produces in the 50-75psi range as the fuel demand changes with load. This is something that is a bit debated but definitely do your research for the particular engine you get and find what is adequate for that engine. Spec for these engines seems to be 50-55psi from what I am finding. There are a few members who have had success with the stock FJ62 in-tank pump working out for them. However, this does not seem to be practiced much so I probably wouldnt recommend it unless you recently swapped yours out or had your tank swapped on recall.
Delivery and reading is something that will need to be taken care of with the computer and gauges. You can work the stock system for the 60s to splice into the GM harness and work adequately and this is done by lots of people and apparently not hard. There is some modification that needs to be done to the sending unit in the tank and there are people that have gone with a GM unit in the tank or modified the 60 unit to work with the GM unit (basically creating a hybrid unit). Modifications are pretty straight forward and for the FJ62 you will need to drop the tank to get inside. Since I am doing this in my 60 I have the access port in the rear so I will go through there saving myself some time. Since the hybrid sender seems to be something that lots have done I will more than likely go that way to keep my stock gauges.
