Considering swapping 1gr (4.0L) into my 1st Gen Tacoma

Hey guys,

I just found a good deal on a crashed 2007 tacoma with 4.0 V6, 130,000 km Standard 6 speed trans and a t-case, as well as most of the rest of the drive line axles etc. in good shape. Engine fired right up. I will have the ECM, drive by wire gas pedal and all goodies at my disposal.

I have a 97 tacoma, 2.7L, standard 5 speed trans. I've done frame mods including boxing the rear, shortening the frame and fabbing front and rear winch mounts and a custom raised fuel tank. Front and rear ARB air lockers, 5.29 gears, and 35" boggers. I am running IFS. All this work is what makes me not want to sell the truck. I am unhappy because I put all this work into a 4 banger and while it is an awesome engine it just cannot turn these tires fast enough in thick mud.

My goal is to keep it road legal but to have enough power to get these boggers howling in the mud. I need to know what challenges I will be up against with this swap.

Here are the big issues I see so far:

-Engine height clearance (Oil pan mods???)
-Speedometer (my truck reads off t-case. Hopefully I can put my t-case onto the 07 trans?) I think the 07 reads off the ABS???. I don't have ABS on the 97.
-Drive Shafts (This will probably require custom made)


Please let me know what issues you see. I know motor mounts and transmission mounts will need to be built but I can handle that. Engine bay space is also a concern but some stuff can be relocated to the back of the truck. Wiring will be a challenge. I just don't want to need to buy any expensive adapter junk. I'm hoping the donor will have 95% of what I need except for metal and drive shafts.

 

Here is a pic from today just because.

 

do it

 

hahaha, I'm pretty much there all ready. I just want some hint of what the worst issues will be

I also am having thoughts of getting a nice not crashed double cab 2nd gen 4.0 and swapping my axels, winches, and tires. I would lose my short wheel base but gain in the ability to take more friends and family wheeling.

It's a fork in the road.

 

I'd go the extra step and do a V8 swap from an older Tundra if it were me. Someone on here's done it to a first gen so it's doable. Seems like the setups would be similar and less electronics to worry about compared to that 07 and way more power.

 

That would be sweet with a supercharger on the 4 liter motor too, then I would be jealous.
I'm guessing you will be using the 2007 ECU?
If so the imbolizer section might be a problem,definitely look into this.
My brother had a 2007 Tacoma with 70,000 miles and the imbolizer system which is part of the ECU
crashed, 3000.00 later, two DIFFERANT Toyota dealers and every imbilzer part replaced including the
ECU and the truck still would not start, so he traded it in,
ECU has to see lots of green lights with the imbolizer system or the truck WILL NOT START, so I don't know how you deal with that
Unless you get an aftermarket ECU,
Check to see if the 2007 Tacoma has an embolizer system, not all of them do,
But the electronics with the ECU might be a huge hassle because they get more complex the newer the truck is

 

@1997tacomav6

Yes I intend to use the 07 ecu. I will look into the immobilizer. Since the 07 started right up this should be less of a concern maybe ???

Ya a SC would be sweet but I don't see the budget ever allowing that

 

Online vin search says the anti theft system is an immobilizer.

 

Talk to Jason (@Speed Freek ) on here, if I remember correctly he thought about the 4.0 before he put the LS in his truck and found there were clearance issues.

 

IMO you should just buy a second gen if you want the second gen engine. Going through all the trouble of an engine swap.. put a v8 in there.

 

I can get the crashed 07 for $1500. Buying a good gen 2 would cost a lot more, but it is something to consider for sure as I could probably swap my axles and goodies over.

 

Yea that fine, but the system ECU probably only works with the embolizer parts working with the system.
If it was that easy to bypass I'm sure Toyota would have said the system could be bypassed by just unplugging the imbolizer, but then it would be to easy to steal the truck. I'm pretty sure the ECU will not let the truck start unless the embolizer system
is connected and working and I'm not sure if you can bypass the Toyota ECU, an after market ECU
does not have an imbolizer system programmed in the ECU and would work.

If you don't want to supercharger the 4.0 liter motor you are better off just getting a low mileage 3.4
and supercharge it, you will have more power supercharged with the 3.4 motor than the standard 4. Motor.
My truck runs circles around the 4.0 motors and the new Tacoma, you can get close to 300hp out of the
3.4 motor supercharged and swapping would be a lot easier.

 

Could I just transfer all that immobilizer crap over to the 97?

I'm trying to do this cheap. Superchargers are pricy.

 

The immobilizer crap is so tied in, you even have to use the ignition, key, and related harnesses from the '07, if you're wanting to do it cheap. But before all of that, you need to see if your state will even allow a newer engine than what your truck came with.

 

, you probably could transfer it all over but from personal experience with my brother's truck it will be a nightmare and would be easier to buy an aftermarket computer,

 

Ok good to know.
Does it have a bunch of random sensors and crap scattered all over the vehicle?

Who makes the aftermarket ecu that I would need?

 

Yes it does have sensors all that are part of the ECU and they are all over the place, THE key has a radio frequency that gets picked up
by the antenna that gets sent to the imbolizer computer that then sends a signal to the ECU,
If the wiring harness is messed with it can reject the signal, and I think the fuel pump is shut off
by the ECU, IF THERE IS ANYTHING just slightly out of wack it will not start. I'm telling you my brothers 2007 truck was with Toyota for 3 months and even sent in a hotshot tech and could not find the problem. His only option was to get rid of his truck and no one wanted to buy it because the carfax and history showed the problem there,
I'm not sure of the website but you can buy an after market ECU on different website for 800 or so I think, BUT still even with the Toyota ECU
it will have to be programmed. My brothers ECU WAS REPLACED and had to be programmed to his truck. Still did not fix the problem, after 3000 he said forget it.
I'm not sure what that involes, was a nightmare with no fix and only had 70,000 miles.

 

This shouldn't be an issue, only the other way around. I live in CA and here you can't swap an engine into a chassis that's newer than the engine

 

I'm in canada. There won't be an issue

 

Thanks for the correction, bud. I'm not sure what the law here in NC is yet (a different truck project), but I knew that some states had rules on items like you stated, I just had it backwards.