Engine Swap? What's Involved

Okay, I have a question. I'm old enough to have experienced engine swaps first hand. I'm not talking about just replacing engines, but upgrading, as in V-8 in place of an inline 6, big block in place of a small block, Buick V-6 in a Fiat (I actually did this). So, as you can imagine, these all predated computers, but what is involved if a person wants to drop a 4.0 into a regular cab. Now I'm not planning to do this, but just wondered what would be involved? Is it possible? Has anyone done it? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

Go over to XRU. There are a couple of people that have swapped in Chevrolet LS motors. The threads are quite informative.

 

Yeah, I've read some about Chevy into 1st gen, but I how about staying within the Toyota family?

 

Some people have swapped the 4.0 with the Tundra's 4.7
There was a thread on this not too long ago.

 

if you were going to do a swap of the sort in a regular cab... i would go with the 4.6L v8 out of the tundra. 304hp and 324ftlbs and given their decent amount larger bore than stroke 94x83 .... you can make some good rev happy power out of them

 

Okay, I'm not making myself clear. I'm not talking about putting in a Chevy or Tundra V-8. I just wondered if anyone wanted to drop a 3.4 or 4.0 into a regular cab, what would be required? Is it as simple as new motor mounts? Would the existing computer/ECU work or would a unit from a V-6 truck be needed? And if so, would one plug not the existing wiring harness?

 

Is the regular cab a first or second gen? The motor mounts would vary depending on the model.

 

This is a hypothetical question, but since it's one the 2nd generation thread, let's say 2nd generation.

 

I'm curious about this as well. I'm not going to do it, I have a V6 S/C Tacoma, but I've often wondered if a 2nd gen RC I4 to V6 swap is possible or easy compared to a swap to a drop in GM setup.

I know a new ECU is required @BKill but I have no idea about how hard the mount swap, transmission swap, and rewiring to the V6 and 5 speed auto (or 6 speed manual) transmission would be. One would assume all of the harness brackets would be about the same but I have no idea if you can just pull the wiring harness, ECU, transmission, and engine out of a V6 truck and throw it all in and expect it to work without any other changes.

 

That's the kinds of things I was wondering about. It might be a real pain in the posterior, but it would seem a V-6 RC 4X4 would be a great combo for the off-road crowd.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/comatizeds-tacoma-v8-power.301564/
This is one I remember reading through, but I can't seem to locate the other thread. It's the same concepts, but with a first gen. Pretty interesting to read through.

 

Theoretically everything should bolt in, just as theoretically you can bolt in a 2UZ, however I have yet to see a thread where someone has a 2UZ up and running in a 2nd gen Tacoma.

I'd love to do a 2UZ swap, but I can't afford to have my truck down to discover whether the mounts bolt in or not. Or whether to use 4Runner or Tundra mounts. Then which radiator to use, which headers point to our Y-pipe the best, then modify our Y-pipe to fit. Which oil pan to use to clear the front diff. Either 4Runner or Tundra's bellhousing, they're the same. Then re-pin the harness to match up with the V8 ECU, etc, etc.

It should be much easier with the 2TR to 1GR swap. Will the mounts bolt in? If yes, you should be golden. Engine will bolt in, radiator should also drop in, headers will point to the right spot. Wiring harnesses' swap over from a V6 truck since all parts are made for the Tacoma. The only problem areas should be due to the regular cab being shorter than the Access/Double cab trucks, such as the y-pipe, trans/transfer case crossmember mount location, drive shaft(s).

 

You'd think one of the many fabricators out there would put together a kit much like the Honda scene.
-Mounts
-Y-pipe
-ECU adapter harness
-2UZ to Tacoma intake tube
-etc.

Especially with the TRD supercharger gone and a big question mark whether Magnuson will bring it back, I think I'd still rather have a V8. Also gas is $1.91 in my area...

I'm really surprised @Gadget@URD hasn't done this. I'd love to hear a 2UZ with a full Spec-U system.

 

This is what I was wondering about. I'm just kind of surprised that someone hasn't taken a wrecked AC or DC and transplanted the drivetrain into a RC. Can you imagine a regular cab 4X4 with a supercharged V-6...or a regular cab XRunner clone? Those are the kind of mods I'd like to read about.

 

Unfortunately, TacomaWorld isn't the place for reading up on "tech". I'm really surprised the anti-mod squad isn't here yet preaching about the sins of modifying anything that the Toyota engineers have put on this earth for us.

As most know donor vehicles make swaps much easier.

If someone had the funds and wanted to undertake this swap, they could probably get a regular cab and a V6 truck, swap the engines and sell the truck with the 4 cylinder to recoup their money.

 

See, this is how "hot rodding" got started. I've read the various magazines (and gotten my hands dirty from time to time) on these kind of odd-ball projects for years. It was actually pretty easy until everything started being controlled by computers.

 

nothing is going to bolt right up thats for damn sure.... even from the I4 to the V6 of the 2nd gen.... its ALL different.

Hell its different for the v6 4x4 and non 4x4 as far as frame goes.

 

Yup. I would just hope though that with the harness, new mounts, engine, and transmission you could bolt or weld things right up. Once you start cutting and fabricating is when the time and dollars begin to flow. To be honest the drive shafts can be custom made, and probably should be since the rear shaft was designed only for the I4.

 

There's them negative waves man...

 

Different how? I understand motor mounts would be different from the 4 to the 6, but I doubt very seriously if the frame rails are different. The fact that the AC, for instance, is available with both the 4 and the 6 in both 4x4 and Prerunner models tells me there must be some interchangeability. And the fact that the AC comes as both 5 lug and 6 lug models tells me there must be some similarities there as well.