What smalls do I need to swap a new longblock?

After the rod cap blasted out the side of my sons 3.4l, we've decided to buy a rebuilt longblock and do a swap ourselves.

Can you guys recommend a list of items I should be ordering prior to the swap? Gaskets, o rings, etc. Anything else that should be addressed during the swap?

I hate getting deep into a job and realizing I should have ordered a $5 part a week ago. I appreciate any tips!

 

Oh, how I know that feeling. As much as I plan, there are always seems some incidentals that send me to my local dealer or parts store.

Are you Automatic, MT, 2WD or 4WD?

Let me work on this over the weekend. I guess it depends on how deep you want to go with a mid-life refresh/restoration.
When I do one of these mid-life refresh jobs, I like to set up the vehicle to give 10 years of good service. I've done a number of these mid-life refreshes over the past 10 years that resulted in incredibly trouble-free vehicles. A couple them had engine refreshes or reworks. Note that I've collected an array of tools that help make major engine/transmission projects go smoothly.

For your entertainment, I pulled the PhotoBucket directories where I store pictures into the following slide shows. They are not in any particular order as a documentary story. I just uploaded them to support postings.

http://s286.photobucket.com/user/RidgelineCS/slideshow/Toyota/Tacoma/1999/Engine_Job

http://s286.photobucket.com/user/RidgelineCS/slideshow/Toyota/Tacoma/1999/Engine_Work

http://s286.photobucket.com/user/RidgelineCS/slideshow/Toyota/Tacoma/1999/Rear_Main_Seal

http://s286.photobucket.com/user/RidgelineCS/slideshow/Toyota/Tacoma/1999/Throttle_Body

http://s286.photobucket.com/user/RidgelineCS/slideshow/Toyota/Tacoma/1999/Injectors

Take a look at this engine swap discussion thread for some additional ideas and topics.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/engine-swap-discussion-thread.610474/

 

It's a 4wd, automatic.

Thanks for the links! I'll go through them tonight when I'm home.

I'm definitely putting a new radiator in during the swap. I'm thinking a nice aluminum radiator. These plastic topped radiators, as common as they are, just don't sit right with me.

 

Post some pictures of the engine compartment and from the underside. Those will help us look for any potential issues.

 

The shop I'm looking at is trying to upsell me on new knock sensors/cables. OEM Toyota for $408.

What do you guys think of that? I looked em up and sensors are around $173 each at a glance. Worth replacing during this process?

 

Let's get you hooked up with some Toyota dealers for OEM parts at a discount.

West Coast.

1) Camelback Toyota Free Shipping on Orders over $150 https://parts.camelbacktoyota.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=214329 I believe Camelback gets their parts from the MAIN Ontario CA warehouse. If you want online parts in a hurry, this will be your best shot.

East Coast - Shipping will not be as fast as Camelback. Depending on order size, you might save a little here.

2) McGeorge Toyota https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/

When I did mine, I replaced the knock sensor cable and sensors.

I bought two Toyota OEM Knock Sensors from this eBay seller for $22.99. They work beautifully.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/183254451977

Toyota OEM Knock Sensor Harness $29.99.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Toyota...re-Harness-Plug-3-4L-V6-Genuine-/162756728044

If you know the part numbers, and know how to hunt for bargains on GENUINE TOYOTA OEM parts, the deals are out there. The knock sensors I bought from eBay work great.

So we're talking total parts cost of $52.98 for a new KS harness and sensors.

On some OEM parts that are extremely common repair items, I can google for the part number like "Toyota 82219-34010" to look around for the best deal.

Since I was getting random knock sensor codes, and I've had my knock sensor wiring harness chewed up by a rodent on another vehicle, I decided to beef up the harness. If you are interested, I can show you how I did it. That is one of my enhancements for extra long term service life.

 

www.toyotapartsdeal.com sometimes has the best prices on OEM parts that I've found.

Although sometimes their shipping costs can be high, depends on what it is

 

Those knock sensors intrigue me, not only do OEM ones go for $120 but even aftermarket ones are quite spendy. But hey if they work who cares

 

Here's another deal. I like to keep a working spare MAF in my workshop for my vehicles. Usually, I can scavenge them from a salvage yard for $35 each. So I will buy a used one, clean and put it in the car and run with it. I keep the other known working MAF sealed up in a bag just in case one fails at some point and I don't want to get raked from buying one locally. So I found a new OEM MAF on eBay for $17.99. I put it in the truck, then put the old MAF in the workshop. It works beautifully.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264206881320

There are some seriously good deals out there on common maintenance items like Knock Sensors and MAFs.

 

When it comes to injectors, you really got to know how to spot a counterfeit. There are some special markings on the injector that only OEM and a reboxed OEM (e.g Intermotor) will have. On an OEM injector, there will be a testing lot number under the part number. In this example the lot number was 8CK. The yellow pintle cap will have the number 31. I would not think about running an injector without those markings unless it has been professionally flow tested where you can see the results.

 

When it comes to the timing belt, water pump, and related parts, I've seen a number of members buy those on eBay from a seller named aircabinman. You can save hundreds of dollars on these eBay OEM package deals. I don't see how they can sell it for these prices.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-3-4L-V6-Complete-Timing-Belt-Water-Pump-Kit/190521450224

 

Buying in Volume most likely as many kits as they sell .

Might have a deal parts shipped from the warehouse dealer makes a few % everyone happy

 

having done this job a few times, let me save you a little frustration. Getting to the torque convertor bolts on a 4X4 3.4 automatic requires some paitence. The motor is going to have to be lifted off its mounts and you will see a dent in the oil pan on the D/S rear. This is where you snake a wobbly 14mm, hopefully an impact socket, on the torque convertor bolts. You cant get to them through the starter hole, you cant get to them from the lower inspection plate. Then lower it back into the frame and take the accessories off.

I am about 80% successful in having the exhaust collector nuts come off w/o breaking studs, if they do snap it isnt the end of the world.

 

Good info. I bought new crankshaft bolts and torque converter bolts. Noting the black bolt to start the torque converter line up.

 

Is there any motors for sale in the sell section of TW . Someone might have a rusted out frame and a good motor . Be kinda easy to do a motor swap , just wondering .

 

If your going to have it all apart I would advise knock sensors and the small harness too them. Easy to do when your all apart, get oem.

 

That's right. Good catch.

 

Notes from my installation and refresh. Updated 6/30/2019 7:01 AM CT.

Transmission

Transmission shaft seal. I used a PVC tee for installation. I used my old Autocraft seal puller to remove this seal.

Pictures in the following link.

http://s286.photobucket.com/user/RidgelineCS/slideshow/Toyota/Tacoma/1999/Trans_Seal_Installation

Transmission dip stick o-ring. The dipstick is in two pieces. You need to remove the upper part for the engine pull. I removed the pan to get the lower part of the dipstick out of the way.

Tube of the Red Toyota PTFE for transmissions to reseal the pan. I was lucky to not find hardly any metal fragments on the transmission pan magnets. Color me shocked on that one.

Engine

Rear main seal(s). This is a two-piece assembly. The outer housing and the oil seal. I froze (in the freezer) the oil seal before installation so it didn’t require any special tools to mount the seal.

Front main seal –Included with the Timing Kit.

Camshaft seals – Included with the Timing Kit.

For front main and camshaft seals, I use PVC pipe caps, couplings, and a tee. Freezing seals before installation makes it go better. I put a thin film of red grease on the metal surface where seals were installed so there was no danger of the seal being pinched during installation.

Intake manifold gaskets. I originally bought OEM gaskets for this. Then after I started working with the heads and intake manifold, I found some pitting had occurred around the water ports. So I did not have a perfect surface on the head for mounting the intake manifold. Later, I bought the FelPro gasket set with the silicone seal for mating surface area. I felt more comfortable using the FelPro gasket in this location so I went with it.

Full Moon Cam Seals - These are the round seals that sit at the back head.

Small gasket on the intake manifold for the neck that connects to the upper radiator hose. I used OEM for that gasket.

Engine Temp Sensor and Engine Coolant Temp Sensor – I replaced both of those sensors out of tradition when I perform a mid-life refresh on this type of engine.

Upper and lower intake manifold gaskets. I’m using the metal OEM gaskets for those locations. The upper and lower mating surfaces cleaned up like new so I stayed with OEM.

Throttle Body Gasket – I used the metal OEM gasket.

IAC gasket- Because I cleaned the IAC while I had the throttle body off, I went with FelPro for this gasket. Primarily, because I bought it locally at the last minute. There are two water hoses that support IAC cooling. I replaced those also.

Valve Cover Gaskets – For valve covers, I use FelPro blue silicone gaskets only. Yes they are expensive compared to others. I’ve had too many years of great service with those on engines similar to the 3.4. Be sure to freeze the sparkplug tube seals before installation. Again, freezing seals before installation makes it go so much smoother.

Oil cooler – Need the big o-ring and the bolt seal. Install these before installing the engine.

Injectors – Get your current injectors serviced. That service should include new screens, o-rings, and pintle caps. You’ll be glad you did to avoid leaking o-rings from age in the future.

Fuel system hoses. I replaced the main input injector rail hose. That is an expensive part that contains a banjo bolt on one end and a threaded pipe fitting on the other. There are two other hoses named fuel hose #1 and #2 that I replaced also. I replaced those due to the age of the vehicle. I don’t like to run old fuel lines. Period.

Fuel pressure regulator – I replaced it due to the fact mine was 20 years old. I automatically replace the FPR as part of a mid-life refresh.

Injector rail crush washers. You need six of these if you remove the rail as part of the injector service.

Oil cooler hoses – I can tell these will be a real pain to install after the fact. Be sure to install the hose clamps oriented so they can be accessed and removed after the engine installation if necessary.

Radiator hoses – upper and lower – OEM with OEM hose clamps.

Heater hoses – OEM and OEM hose clamps.

Hose Clamps – This is strictly personal preference but I only use OEM hose spring type clamps or shielded clamps from NAPA.

Power Steering Pump Reservoir - You may want to remove the reservoir and back flush with brake parts cleaner it to clean it. There is an o-ring that is used to seal it with the PS pump.

Vacuum hoses – I replaced the PCV hose and PCV crossover hose. There were other vacuum hoses on the intake manifold that I replaced. I used a vacuum hose diagram to identify the parts. Also, the vacuum hoses associated with Y shaped splitter on the intake manifold.

Exhaust Gaskets – Because I was working alone, and new to this engine swap process, I pulled the crossover pipe before pulling the engine. This made accessing the upper bell housing bolts easy. There are two gaskets for the crossover and two for where the crossover connects to the Y-Pipe. Other people who have done 3.4 engine swaps run long extensions up over the bell housing to access the two bolts at the bell housing. Since I was basically installing the engine alone, I made some guide pins that I screwed into the two upper bolt holes so the engine would easily mount up with the bell housing pins. This may seem like a lot of work, but when everything came together without issue, I thought it was worth it.

Knock Sensors and Knock Sensor Wiring Harness. Thank you @Empty_Lord for the catch.

Bolts

Need to get new crankshaft (front and read) and torque converter bolts. One of the torque converter bolts is different by design to be the first bolt to be threaded from the flex plate into the torque converter. That bolt is called the black torque converter bolt.

Tools

OTC multipurpose tool with modified pins. It can be used for cam and crankshaft pulley installation. Here's a link to the page about it.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/timing-belt-project.611161/page-3#post-20735475

Autocraft seal puller. You can see I’ve been through the mill with the one in the transmission seal slideshow.

Torque wrench – I already had a ¾ inch drive wrench that is capable of going over 300 ft lbs.

PVC tools – You can save a lot of money by taking seals to Lowes or Home Depot to find matching pieces of PVC pipe or couplings instead of buying seal installers. Again, freezing seals before installation makes installation easy.

I’ll post some pictures of the PVC tools that I used during the installation.

Parts Ordering

The way I was able to handle the massive part order without a lot of headaches and part number lookups, I opened an account on the McGeorge Toyota site.

Then I emailed toyotaparts-mcgeorgetoyota@emails.revolutionparts.com and provided the list that I wanted in plain English along with my VIN number. They looked up the parts for my particular Taco and emailed back the parts list. I took that list to their site and entered the part numbers and submitted the order.

They are great about responding to my emails and prefer not to sit on the phone for hours. The emails provide a great "paper trail" of the items I'm ordering.

I uploaded fuel and vacuum hose diagrams for a 1999 model as an example. I can't say those are the same for your year model and options. That is why you need to be corresponding with a Toyota Parts person based on your VIN number. They will provide you with the diagrams that are specific to your year and model.

 

There are actually plenty of fake Toyota knock sensors out there.
If I remember when I replaced mine, the OEM knock sensors were marked DENSO and
had a date code stamped on them.

 

The ones I bought had Denso embossed in the plastic part of the body. The ones I replaced did not have the Denso logo in the plastic part.