Beams swapped Tacoma?

I’m not really looking for getting crazy high mileage or else I would swap an Isuzu diesel ive got into it. Just looking for something cool that gets better then 12mpg and if a beams would work it’d be interesting as it would keep it in the Toyota family

 

still would be too high of a torque curve to really benefit the truck.
much easier to turbo the 3.4 and somehow manage to put a modern 5 or 6 speed trans behind it if you really wanted to get better mileage. but anythings in vain.. all the cost for swapping will negate any fuel savings for YEARS

 

You can get the engines for under $2k with a tranny which I wouldn’t use, where I’m at. I’d run an aftermarket ecu which i plan to get anyways for my truck and if I went with a turbo on the stock engine I’d definitely want an ecu as well. I can do most if not all the fab work myself so then only things that would cost me would end up being wiring and a bell housing. The torque issue is definitely a problem if I were to do this so it would definitely come down to if I’d want to risk that or not. Another issue that I see I could run into is that the beams exhaust is on the drivers side so I would have to cross it over top of the tranny which the v6 already does but I’m wondering if it would even leave enough room to do that

 

And from what I can find the n/a mt 5th gen 3sge engines only made 40 lb less torque but make it at a lot higher of an engine speed so it would seem to get the same torque you’d have to push it a little harder then the v6. Which in turn would actually reduce the mileage lol. Interesting

 

You really are way over-thinking this just to save on fuel mileage.

Maintenance and call it a day.

You'll be happy with all the time and money you saved by not buying and swapping a different motor in.

You're not going to replace your steering rack, control arms upper and lower, coilovers and such just because your lower control arm bushings are bad right?

 

I may have worded my original post wrong because the whole reasoning behind doing a swap like this wouldn’t be mainly for mileage. I know a beams isn’t the greatest for economy driving just like any performance 4 banger. I’m more interested in the fact of have a beams in a Tacoma as they are a cool engine that I like. Getting better mileage with it would just be a bonus and if it even got a little bit better if not the same as what everyone else is getting with their Tacoma’s then I’d be more then happy with it. I thought it would be an interesting swap as I haven’t found anyone else that’s done it and lately I’ve been seeing a lot of beams related swaps in corollas so it’s be cool to eventually do one myself but in my truck.

 

If you want to swap a small engine to gain 1-2 mpg just put in the 2.4

 

I don't even know what beams means. But it certainly isn't something you need to achieve 16 mpg's

A tune up and maybe a softer touch on the gas pedal is all you need.

 

That sounds like an incredibly expensive idea, especially when a lighter touch on the gas pedal can achieve the same thing.

 

Shift kit ?? What exactly does this do ? I’m interested !

 

https://transgo.com/product-details/toyota-a340-reprogramming-kit/

 

The 2.4 is the same as the 2.7.

According to the sticker the 2.7 gets 1-2 better mpg so I would expect the same from it's lil brother.

So if driving slower gets a mpg better then a smaller engine and driving slower should do even better.

I have a 6 and would rather a 4 but yes, it would never pay for itself even if someone gave me the engine but that swap at least pretty straightforward.

OP just search swaps on here and see how many are never completed because of hitting some brickwall in electronics or just plain was severely underpowered (diesel swaps) and was better off with the 3RZ then decide if just bored.

 

This probably isn't the community you should be asking. Seems that most of us on here don't know or didn't know Till now what a beams swap is, and doesn't look like anyone on here has tried the swap. I only read this cuz I thought you were talking I beams.

 

I had heard of it but like most thought the name obscure. Kind of a resto mod engine for older Toyota cars was my impression.

Some 3.4s are just thirstier than others. It's pretty well established on here with ad nauseum threads on mileage that all vary.

My best was 18 doing 45 mph all day in Big Bend. Never duplicated. Runs tip-top.

 

I’ve seen a few of the beams engines done in the 2wd hilux’s and the only reason they peaked my interest is cause I come from more of a tuner background as my first car was an rx7 and currently I’ve got an LS400. Definitely something I’m interested in tackling one day though as I love turbo cars but i know with the torque of the beams I’d have to get it built up pretty nice. It’s gonna be a someday project for me for sure

 

The 1uz in a taco would be fun, and likely yeild decent mpgs.

 

I’ve been thinking of that one as well lol. I’m a big fan of the 1uz in my LS but I’m not too sure how nicely it would fit

 

I gotta say my 3.4 5 speed Mileage has always been from the low end to the high end between 8 and 12 .mpg.

I am spot on with my maintenance just the fact that my Truck seldom moves without a load in the bed.

After the first few times I never checked the mileage I need to haul things if I did not I would have some little Clown Car

 

Instead of doing a Beams swap, why not put a supercharger on your V6 (just don't get excited and slam the skinny pedal to the floor all the time).

But you mentioned earlier that your cats clog up and then unclog itself. Change your cats out and do a tune-up (plugs, wires, filters & fluids). Get your injectors checked and cleaned out (or buy new ones). Then you should be getting low 20 MPGs.

 

Sorry everyone is dumping on you for new things and their old ways. I’m interested. Interested enough I found this when looking for myself on my own. I’ve been looking at cheap swaps for weeks now for my worn out 3rz and w59 tranny. Really wanted a vr6 but it’s neigh impossible due to starter location. The VW 1.8t is a viable option for a gas burner as well as the 1.9 TDI as a viable diesel option. Just need the wiring harness and ECU to run them. These two VW engines are easily tunable via ECU reflash.

Next I moved to Toyota motors. Stumbled across the Beams and fell in love with it. I’m with the others in thinking that it’ll be underpowered for the 4wd platform but would be hella fun for a 2wd...especially a 5 lugger. I’ve got a little more digging to do because I want to see a stockish 3rz dyno next to a stock 3sge dyno. If the TQ is comparable then I’ll be looking into motor mounts and whatnot. As it is, looks like the Beams will bolt to a w55 up to a w59 tranny. It revs red at 7k up to 9k, whereas my 3rz tach ends at 7k. If the 207hp is at 7k then it’s a no go. Although HP and TQ is comparable, it’s where it is in the RPMs that will make the difference for me.