Should I consider the 2.7 for extensive mods?

Guys, give me some input here. I am trying to decide whether to start modifying my Taco for more serious offroad, or to get an older beater and start building it up. First question I need to answer about my Taco is this:
Is the 2.7L a decent basis for a strong, non-competition off-road/rock crawler. I don't want to spend a lot of money on mods if I'm not starting from a good place. I don't want to get too wild, but I do want to be able to "get there and back" when I head out into the great outdoors.

I'm thinking about basic stuff to begin with, such as 33" tires, 3" lift, bumpers, rock guards, winch. Later on I may go to a solid front axle swap, larger tires, higher diff gears, higher lift. That's where it starts getting expensive, if I'm not starting from the right rig to begin with.

 

its just my opinion, but i think the motor wont be strong enough for alot of mods. its a relatively small hp and torque motor, so i think maybe you would want to start with a beater. you will sink alot of money into the truck with the 4banger trying to get it into shape for serious off roading and rock crawling, but its just my opinion.

 

That's what I was concerned about, but I sure see a lot of highly modified older Toys with the 2.4L and it made me wonder whether my 2.7L might not be ok, as long as I combined it with the right gears/tires.

I saw one older Toy, a 92, I think it was, that someone had dropped a Chevy Vortec V-6 into, and started from there. That has my mouth watering, but then if you use a chevy motor and xmission, Dana axles, Marlin or Atlas Xfer case, does it really matter what body is on it?! At what point is it no longer a Toyota (in spite of the VIN)? I'm hoping to stick with Toyota engine and drive-train parts, as well as body and frame. Maybe just go with a solid axle swap, using a Toy FJ front axle. Sure fun planning and scheming about it.

 

yeah but consider the money you shell out for a beater and what could have went into your taco...also think another set of tags...more insurance and another veh sitting somewhere in your driveway garage or lawn...I can tell you the 2.7 would burn the 35's off my purple toy with 4.88 gears with the bolt on stuff done to it and a quick port and polish as for going bigger later i have seen the 2.7's pulling 42's its all about gearing those trucks had like 5.38's i think just my opinion but if you get a old truck for $1000 put $500 in a motor to drop in it and then you havent ev en started with you lift/wheels/bumper etc... good 3"lift and 33's will set you back $1000 you already have 4.30 gears if I remember correct so you should have no problems with that setup... take the $500 and buy yourself bumper for front and have some cash left for the motor...or gears later down the rd...and like I said before with the beater you would basically have $1000 atleast in it and still be no closer to a trail rig that your taco couldnt hunt down in stock form LOL

 

Tacozilla is right. All that matters is the gearing. You are going OFF ROADING not RACING. The 4 banger has PLENTY of power WITH the right gearing. My 2.7 with stock gearing will PLANT me in my seat if I put it in 4 lo and floor it.

 

put the money in the truck you have the 4 banger is fine

 

Now, that's what I'm talkin about! Once I get my Willys sold, I think I'm going to "reinvest" that money into the Taco. SAS, front locker, 4-6" lift, 35s (maybe 4.5?-4.88s), bumpers, winch, cargo rack/roll cage, sliders.....good trail rig, roadable, not too wild. Maybe later a Marlin crawler or something similar.

Thanks guys. I was looking for some validation. Didn't want to dump a lot into this pickup only to find I should have had a V-6.

 

The only caution I would throw you is that if you are going to use it as an off-road vehicle, the gear ratios and such aren't that happy with being on the road. Just be careful with going too low on the ratios.

Cheers!

 

That I will. First and foremost, my rig will always be a road rig. I just want to be able to go where ever I want on the weekends, and be sure to get back home the same weekend! I think 35" tires is as tall as I would go. I think any taller would be a waste. I could go with 33s with the 4.30 gears I have, and I may do that, but 33s with a solid front axle conversion seems like a waste, since the 33s limit where you can go off road. With 33s you still have to lift the truck to clear the tires, but then you end up wearing out the front CVs because of the lift, or you go with a higher lift and drop the front diff..... just seems easier to go with 35s and a solid front axle, and not much more expensive.

With 35s I would probably want to go with 4.56 gears, or whatever is available for the Toy axle in that range. That should be a good compromise between roadability and off-roadability.

 

when you go for the SAS just call me I have alot of the stuff used in the sas kits not to mention your close enough you could ride down and get parts no shipping lol.... I'd go with 4.88's the 5th gear is there for a reason you might just use it more but really not if you check out his chart http://www.4wheelonline.com/images/gear-chart.gif you will see they have 4.27 gears (close to your 4.30) with 31" tire at 1:1 gear-ratio in tranny (4th) you would be running 3008rpm...with 35's and 4.88's youd be at 3045rpm not a big difference at all...would perform near stock except for the extra weight of a 35 over 31 5.13 or 5.29's wouldnt be bad once you put it in 5th .....also on a side note I would be willing to work a deal on your factory 4.30's lol wouldnt mind having them for my little truck

 

That gear chart doesn't give much info, but it's good for comparison. I'll check out the site more throroughly when I get a chance. I'll keep you in mind when/if I do the conversion. As much as I'd like to, it's not at the top of my "to-do" list right now. It will probably be next spring before I even try to get enough time to jump into that. You can be sure I'll be hitting you up for advice and pointers.

 

yeah chart just shows the difference rpm from the gearing and tires... like I said before they base all numbers on a 1:1 drive ratio...but 5th in our trucks is more like .86:1 so your rpm would be slightly lower than the chart shows...but its a good chart to do a comparison of current gears and tires vs wanted tires and gears like if i said I wanted 31's on my truck that has 5.29's a quick look at the chart would tell me that it is a trail only setup LOL or 44's with 3.55 gears (saw it done on a 1/2ton chevy) tells me its a mall cruiser...a SLOW one

 

Just checked this thread. Good tips guys, thanks. Trying hard to find good advice and equipment to get the most outta the lil' Green Bean. Looking for much of the same performance as thernie. But there really isn't much out there for the 2.7l/4cyl. I am ditching the manifold and putting in a tri-y header. Then heavier flywheel w/ dual friction clutch, then on to the diff's. The CAI kits/MAF calibration shit is a bit overwhelming I must admit. Most of what I've read lately states that MAF re-calibration etc. is a must when going to a CAI, but I have also heard that it will re-calibrate itself eventually. Any thoughts?

 

hey redroadrider check out my one 2.7 mod thread before spending cash on cai

 

Thenrie, your plans for your truck sound awesome and I agree with the masses.....mod your current truck.

My question: Do you really need all that. We live in the same general area, and I havn't found a place to wheel locally that my stock truck couldn't handle. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to talk you out of your plans. Just something to consider.

 

shhhh let him buy my SAS stuff then we will tell him his truck is built too much lol.. only thing that the ifs is obviously bad at is flex... solid axle wins... and in more extreme times the cv's are weaker than a solid axle

 

I understand the advantages of the SAS, theres just nowhere rough enough around here.

Sorry, didn't mean to jam a wrench in your sales machine.

 

I guess if I had the means, I would go ballz deep with the mods too. Regardless of necessity.

 

eh i have busted a cv before, too much throttle and a sudden gain in traction (one tire hit a nice flat dry rock in middle of snow covered hill)

 

Very well then, I stand corrected.