2nd Gen Tacoma 4.6 V8 1UR-FE and GX powertrain Swap

One side is scrap and there is a chance that the other side is not. If the other side and the diff check out okay then the cheapest option will be just to buy a low mileage axle shaft from a wrecker. A whole rear axle would run me in the neighborhood of $1500 bucks. It would be nice to just install existing parts into my tacoma housing.

 

gotcha makes sense. curious if it would or not. Diff is is 8" vs 8.2" splines may line up but not 100% I know the t4r/fj the lines in the CVS are different but where it hooks up to the knuckle and diff they are the same.

 

Tacundra! yes!

 

Little Tacundra

 

Whipbash was insane at wiring. I would have cried 9 times, then probably lit it on fire, and given it away. I hate wiring, but if you know how to do it, many many props to you! I look forward to seeing your build come out. Definitely check out his videos. If theres one thing I learned, is remember the immobilizer in the ignition

 

I have seen his videos and partially was inspired by his swap to do my own. I have enough experience to take on a wiring project like this. I plan on downloading both factory service manuals from TIS. I can't wait to tear into it.

 

Okay everyone, I am starting to swap out the diffs. I got 4.56 gears, I am going to be running 275/70R17 10 plys. In order to retain AWD from the Lexus I have to swap the front diff housing extension and shaft to delete the 4WD A.D.D. Additionally, I found that the gx460 transmission support cross member appears to be about 3 inches more towards the rear. I suspect I will have to plasma cut and weld the cross member in the correct spot. I will bolt the tranny to the engine prior to cutting anything to verify location. The good news is that there is enough box frame to move it back 3 inches before the frame becomes a C channel.

 

love it

 

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I took the axles out today, working on taking the diffs off because I have to get the cores sent back to east coast gear supply with 30 days to get my deposit back. 4.56 gears, new hubs and new brakes going in.

 

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Hey Everyone,

I got a key programmed to the Lexus, engine runs great and transmission is shifting fine. Good news.

See video here:
https://youtu.be/mdo61lrP9SM

It is going to sound great with a magnaflow muffler.

Over the weekend I pulled the driveshafts, CVs, LCAs, spindles and I plan on using all of those parts on the Tacoma. Interesting fact, the spindles appear to have holes in them for a sway bar link even though the all gx460s have KDSS which has a sway bar that bolts on to the LCA. The LCAs appear to be similar with the exception of a bracket that holds the sway bar that is welded on to the original LCA. There may be a difference in a mounting bolt diameter, cross that bridge when we get there. Tomorrow, I am pressing on new rear hubs, hopefully later this week the rear axle will be fully rebuild with 4.56 gears. This Saturday, I would like to pull the tranny out of the GX. Like I said before, the transmission support cross member will need to be relocated. I will likely cut it off when the transmission is out. So far everything is looking good.

Lastly I got to thinking about brake lines for the brake booster today. I am pretty confident that I can make the front GX brake lines work in the tacoma engine bay. As for the rear lines the GX lines will not work due to the wheelbase differences in the two vehicles. I found out I can purchase lines that are pre-bent from a 2015 Tacoma that has a similar booster. I think I am going to go that route to keep things clean and simple.

 

Hey Everyone,

To my surprise, I discovered that the exhaust headers interfere with the transmission removal. Basically the bell housing is trapped by the headers. The manual says to remove the headers and starter. To remove the right side header you have to remove the intake and oil dip stick. Everything is much tighter in this engine bay and harder to reach.

On the bright side, I noticed the gas feed, return and evap lines come out in the same exact location in both engine bays! You can see it in the picture. The connectors look the same also. It's looking like they might just plug in. I will however install the gx fuel pump and it is my understanding that there might be a ECU for the fuel pump. Will keep you updated on that.

 

You’ve done more than 90% of the “engine swap guys”.
Definitely following this one.

Good job on the progress

 

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I will have to use the GX steering wheel because it interacts with the LCD screen in the gauge cluster. There is a GX steering wheel that is leather and without wood. It is on the base model and I managed to find one on ebay yesterday. My existing steering wheel is Sepia (biege) color with a wood grain. Also I found a seller on ebay that sells black airbag cover so I will use my existing airbag.

 

I got both exhaust manifolds off, hopefully the tranny will be out this Saturday. There is no way the engine would come out with the exhaust manifolds on. If you're going to do a swap like this, buy a late model and low miles. I am really impressed that the hardware is like new when this car is 6 years old and 70k miles

 

I couldn’t believe how clean the engine and hardware was when I did the 4x4 conversion. Dude your build is awesome!

 

Are there aftermarket headers for the GX460? What a nuisance the headers need to be pulled first to pull the motor OR trans!