4x4 conversion

Hey guys, I have a 04 pre runner 2.7 auto that I want to covert to 4x4. Does anyone have the parts I need. I can't find anything on Craigslist and I'm not sure what the best years have the best parts that will fit. If anyone has any experience with this or advice please feel free to comment. Thanks guys!

 

Check the 1st gen marketplace under the buy/sell/trade section. I think a guy recently posted the front axle components for sale. Happy parts hunting. It took me about 2 years to hunt down all my parts for my conversion (but I got great deals from all over). Patience and research will go a long way.

 

Thanks brotha will do

 

Are you going to leave it auto or upgrade to manual? I hope to upgrade my auto to manual so i will be asking for photos if you do.

I have had no luck with auctions, but i saw many totaled trucks that would have been good part donors go for real cheap 2 to 4 years ago. sites like this https://www.iaai.com/
you might even be able to get some hub locks and other parts. but risky.

 

I would really like to keep it auto but it seems if I'm going to go through the trouble of the conversion I might as well do the trans swap. It's been difficult to find good donor cars here in Cali because they are so popular. So even if it's crashed people ask 3,500

 

Good luck to you, OP. Keep us updated and if you do go ahead with it, document your progress. I also have a 2.7, automatic, lunar mist, regular cab prerunner, and will probably be doing this in the next year or so. I would love to learn from your experience.

 

there is no reason to install manual if you want to keep it auto.

 

There is someone selling conversion parts in the FS section

 

If you haven't already discovered it, one of the best sources of information on the swap is "safetydang's" conversion thread on TTORA. He has a thread on TW but it is not as extensive or rich in info as the one on TTORA. A quick google search should get you there. He and a lot of guys contributed to the build thread. There is a wealth of information there and you will find links to both auto and manual conversions. IIRC some of those guys did the conversion on a 4 banger.

Also look into car-part.com. They came in handy when I had to hunt down my MT ECU.

If you love your auto, keep it. I always wanted a stick shift in mine so that is why I converted over. I love the 5 speed. It drives like a completely different animal and I like more control over gear selection. Gear hunting would drive me crazy when I had my auto. The gear ratios are substantially different between the two transmission types. Of course, certain things while offroading become a bit challenging when you have a MT, i.e. crawling. You really have to master how to work your clutch pedal. Don't let that deter you, it just means it's a bit more work to get used to.

Here are some things to keep in mind for your build.

If you stay auto:
-it is possible to use your current transmission (IIRC 2.7s have a A340E, the same as a 3.4) and mate it to a transfer case. To do this you will need an adapter (I think low range offroad carries it) and you will also have to swap out the output shaft (you will need a output shaft off a 4x4 auto (A340F)).
-if you go the adapter route you may want to look into researching if the first part of the rear drive shaft (transfer case to the double cardan joint) is the same as the A340F trans. If it is, then just source that part from a junk yard or donor vehicle. It beats having to get your current driveshaft shortened
-you can buy a 4x4 auto with a transfer case already on it
-if you stick with an auto transmission you won't have to worry about messing with the wiring or drilling with a hole in the firewall for the clutch pedal
-you will need to either get your current driveshaft shortened or source the first portion of the rear driveshaft from a donor vehicle or junkyard since this piece is shorter on 4x4 trucks because of the space taken up by the transfer case

If you go the manual route:
-check to see what manual transmission mates to a 2.7
-I know some 4 bangers have a W59 trans, but I don't know if this is just for the 2.4 or also the 2.7
-if it is the R150F I know that the 3.4s use this transmission and then you can expand your list of possible donor vehicles to include 6 cylinders
-you will need to make sure you source the bolts for a manual transmission bell housing and starter. The majority of the bolts that secure the bell housing to the motor and the bolts used to attach the starter are longer than the bolts used in an AT. If you buy the MT from anyone make sure they have most if not all of the bolts. If not you will need to order them or source them from Fastenal (I had to get one from Fastenal because the thread, pitch, and length were not available in any hardware stores in Grade 8.
-again find the corresponding rear driveshaft piece for a R150F or whatever MT model your engines uses ( you don't need the entire driveshaft, just the front piece of the rear driveshaft)
-you will need to get a clutch pedal assembly (preferably one with a clutch pedal switch)
-you will need to either cut your existing brake pedal or get a brake pedal off a truck with a MT in order to have enough room between the clutch pedal and brake pedal
-you will need to cut the wire off your parking safety switch and splice them in such a way to "trick" your auto ECU into knowing when it is in P and N, according to clutch pedal switch position (safetydang's and one of the chief contributors to that thread posted a wiring diagram).
-If you choose to go this route let me know and I can send you the wiring diagram and template used to cut the hole for the clutch pedal (I believe I still have them saved somewhere)
-You will need to also do a ECU swap to get rid of the CEL (check engine light) that will come on once you swap from AT to MT. This is especially important for you since you are in Cali. Make sure you use the corresponding MT 4x4 ECU for a 2.7 from the same year as your truck. Pin locations vary from year to year in these trucks, so your safest bet is to get a ECU from the same year to avoid these headaches. There is also a handy PDF one of the guys put together which consolidates pin locations according to year that I can also send your way or that can be found using a link in safetydang's conversion thread on TTORA
-you will also have to splice some wires together to extend the length of the wiring running to the vehicle speed sensor (VSS). Depending on what year Tacoma you taking the MT from, it might have a electronic VSS or a mechanical one. If you get a MT with a mechanical VSS, they sell a conversion kit that has an electrical signal.
-obviously you will need the shifter boot covers and shifter console for a MT

Another decision you will have to make before buying parts is this: do you want manual locking hubs up front or do you want the automatic disconnecting differential (ADD) system?
-Each system has it's respective CV axles usually indicated by blue shafts and green shafts for the Manual locking hubs and ADD system, respectively (this is for OEM CVs). Trust me. It matters. Each system CVs have different spline counts where it mates to the hub.
-Also the Diffs are different. The ADD diff can be told apart from a Manual locking hub diff by the added electrical and vaccum assembly in the diff tube. The manual locking hub diff tube has nothing on it. Now you can swap diff tubes. So if you find a killer deal on a ADD diff but you are setting up a Manual locking axle, then you can just swap diff tubes and vice versa.
-Wheel hubs are different between manual locking and ADD and 2wd. So when it comes to buying used parts, it is easier to get manual locking hubs and their respective spindles or ADD hubs and spindles. You could swap hubs with the spindles you have, but this means pressing out the 2wd hub and pressing in the ADD hub or manual locking hub.
-The ADD system will require some wiring. One guy in safetydangs build discusses how he wired some relayed together with the transfer case switch so that the ADD switch will work (which means your front diff engages using the vaccum actuated shaft in the ADD diff) and your dash will light up showing you are in 4wd.
-I chose to go with manual hubs and a J shift transfer case (not the shift on the fly transfer case seen in newer 1st gens) so that I wouldn't have to bother with the wiring. It is up to you.
-If you have plans for long travel in the future, go with the ADD front axle assembly since the longer Tundra axles used in LT kits have the same spline count as ADD tacoma CVs.


I think that is all I can remember for now. If you have any questions let me know. Hope it helps. Like I said, read through SafetyDang's conversion thread on TTORA (this is for a 3.4 but should still help) and any other conversion threads for a 2.7.

 

Hey man, thank you so much for your reply. You answered a lot of questions that have made me stall with this project. There's a guy selling some parts for the conversions. Would u mind just looking at it and seeing if it will work? I think I'm going to go with the ADD system so I can drive truck on longer trips

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-95-04-runner-or-tacoma.449765/#post-13203196

 

Fiziks, with respect to the text above, if you swap out the auto ECU for the manual ECU, do you still have to cut the wire off the parking safety switch to trick the auto ECU? Wouldn't you be getting rid of the auto ECU, rendering this irrelevant?

Great reminder list, by the way. Do you have a writeup of your swap? My apologies if you point to it somewhere and I overlooked it.

 

That is a pretty nice little set. If you buy that set-up you will still need the rear driveshaft and it looks like you would need to source the shift lever for the transfer case.

I am not sure how ADD would help you on longer trips? Are you sticking with the Auto?

You still need to splice the wires accordingly because the computer still need to read the "neutral" position (clutch pedal switch depressed) as part of the starting circuit and possible the "drive" position (clutch pedal released) for certain cruise control and e-locker feedbacks.



If you swap over to manual from and auto, you WILL get a CEL because the computer no longer "senses" the shift solenoids and VSS. Your speedometer will still work, but you will still likely throw a code for the VSS. When I swapped over, my ECU was throwing like 7 codes-- all related to the automatic transmission. The manual ECU will just eliminate the CEL caused by these automatic transmission codes.

I didn't appreciate any differences in engine performance or behavior between the ECU swaps.

I unfortunately I don't have a build or conversion thread. I did read through this thread a lot. In terms of a conversion thread I would say it is a goldmine. He also links many other swaps within that thread so that might help some of you 2.7 guys.

 

Another tip for a manual swap will be to get a copy of your FSM just to make sure that your parking safety switch wire locations are the same as the diagram. If not, use the wiring diagram as a general map and make the corrections according to your FSM pin location.

Keep the connection handy once you cut it off for reference. The "drive" and "neutral" wires are both black with white. BEFORE YOU CUT the wires label them as "drive", "neutral", "park", "low", "2nd", "power", "reverse".

I made the mistake of cutting before labeling and it took me a while after seemingly having to "forensically" match cut patterns to differentiate between the two similar wires.