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

How many of us wishing our wife’s GX gets totaled (from the rear while parked with no one in it or anyone getting hurt) so we can contemplate this swapping adventure.

 

Not me I definitely like my wifes gx470.

 

Good point, I didn't notice it. I will hook up some jumpers and see how far it goes down.

 

Haha yeah, in the end it will be black and grey, I just don't have black seats yet.

 

She cleans up real nice.

 

Amazing project!! I’m curious to see how you organized all the removed components that are now in your shop. Do you use ziplock bags for “Tacoma dash screws” as an example? How do you organize everything to be able to find it again when needed?

 

Thank you. I went to harborfreight and bought bolt organizers. I just drop a group of bolts in and label it with a sharpie. For electrical plugs I write with a shapie on masking tape then stick it on each plug as to where it connected. I made sure to put all the grounding bolts into their own box, there are a lot of grounds in the interior of the lexus (about 15 or so). Interior plastic components go into a hefy bag by group and go into the shed. I am just working out of my 2 car garage and the tractor takes up the other half lol. I made a "work instruction" list on how to assemble everything in the correct order to minimize rework and maximize easy of assembly. Then I reference the factory service manual on how to assemble properly. Thats pretty much the method to my madness.

 

Airbag computers have the same bolt pattern and can confirm it bolts in.

 

Im thoroughly impressed after being absent from this thread for a few weeks. The OP is tenacious and determined.

Love it Dude!

Even the side curtain airbags get retrofitted. Somehow, this build needs to be shown at SEMA when its complete.

 

Alright guys, I got the yaw rate sensor mounted best I could to be parallel to the truck. This was the only straight line datum that appeared to be perpendicular to the body. The cup holder wouldn't clear the sensor so I decided to ditch it. I will make a metal plate and put various other switches in there like butt warmers/coolers.

 

Additionally I got the shifter mounted, that was a cluster to deal with. At first I dropped in the shifter and 2 of the bolts lined up. I got excited about that only to find out that those bolt hole locations would put the shifter too much to the left which would prevent the usaged of the sport shifting. Then I noticed the front mounting points are higher than the rear 2 lol. Anyway it was a PITA trying to figure out where the shifter would clear all of the plastics and clear the little gear indicator panel. The gear indicator panel is almost the same size as the tacoma so I filed the hole in the plastic to size. Also I had to cut off some tabs on the shifter to clearance it. Anyway, this is what I came up with, I think I will need to space the center console up about .5 inch to clear everything nicely.

 

Thanks for your support. Yeah I will document the side curtain airbags when I get them. It is not as complicated as you think, the gx is pre wired for side curtains, it is pretty much plug and play. That reminds me that I need to get the stored crashed code data deleted off of the lexus airbag computer. I know a guy that knows a guy.

 

I used the factory tacoma ecu brackets and had to drill holes in them. This is the GX460 ecu mounted

 

Body control module and trailer flasher module mounted.

 

I can’t wait to see how this turns out. Awesome so far!

 

As for the extra height on the seats, a lot of people order spacers to raise the Tacoma seats. Supposedly, it makes them significantly more comfortable. You might not need to make any adjustments.

I think I remember reading early on in the thread, like in the first couple of pages, people talking about the 4.0 V6 as an option in the Tundra. I will confirm that it was an option, as I remember thinking the V6 in my Tacoma must be strong if they are offering it as an option in the Tundra. I'm pretty sure the dealership even had a few on the lot. So if the Tundra offered the 5.7L V8 and the 4.0L V6 as options, do the 5.7 and 4.0 have the same mounting locations? I'm assuming the 5.7L would be too big for the engine bay in a Tacoma, but maybe not? I think the 4th gen 4Runner offered a 4.7L V8 (same as the GX470) and the 4.0L V6 (1GR-FE) at the same time, but I'm not certain about that one.

 

Tundra has a bigger engine bay so fitting a 4.0 in was just a matter of making bigger engine mounts. Now going the other way around with the 5.7 is another story. It can be done as proven by @MikieSwartz you can see at the youtube link below. He had to do a lot of things to make it happen and I don't really want to do that. Additionally servicing the 4.6 in the GX is already pretty involved but I knew it would fit better dimensionally than the 5.7. The GX and 4runner are basically built on the same frame with the exception of wheel base dimensions I figured if the 4.6/4.7 would fit into a 4runner than it should fit into a Tacoma. I was right because the frame rail width at the engine mounts is the same.

https://youtu.be/YUp3ObYw7EE

 

Yeah, that was a fun watch for the novelty, but he had to modify everything A LOT to stuff that 5.7L in there. LS swap would have been simpler, cleaner, lighter, and make more power. The 4.6/4.7L can be swapped in the Taco in a way to make it look and work like Toyota built it. The 4.7L anyway, and I guess you’ll be the first to do it with the 4.6L

 

Yeah, for me it is not really about the power although if I wanted power I'd go 2jz. That being said my motivating factors are:

1. The learning experience of how everything works and I really enjoy building this.
2. Systems integration, I really like the electronic booster. Not only does it offer superior braking but the VSC is really valuable to me. My 2015 OR Tacoma would drive in the snow in 2wd because the booster could literally turn your truck if you started to slide. Making the airbag system work properly is a big priority for me.
3. A clean build. I don't want a hacked up oil pan to clear the diff like you would have on the 5.7 3ur and LS (I would never touch a GM engine) or an adapter plate between the engine and transmission. I wanted factory bolt in build.

 

I was picking up the airbags out of a local auto wrecker today and decided to ask them what else they had left on the truck. I scored these pieces for a good price along with black carpet! I am pretty happy with this decision. I love how previous gen parts are always so much cheaper.