Cebby's 93 4Runner 1UZ swap

[Cebby]

This is my buildup thread from another site - I'll add all the info here, but plan to also split out the info specific to our UZ Tech Section.

This process started in March 2005 with my 2nd HG checking out...

Many of you know me from over at Yotatech  where I've chroniclled my engine swap progress.  I recently reconstructed all the information for one of the sites I frequent due to them losing all of their data, so I thought it might be a good time to put something together here. 

The specs:  1993 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 Auto 4x4

Here's the victim when the 3.0 V6 let go...





I weighed the option of rebuilding vs. swapping and came to the realization that throwing more money at the 3.0 V6 (3VZE) aka Toyota's worst engine didn't make sense long term.  My plan was to keep this rig and slowly transform it into a real offroad performer.

My goal with the engine swap was to net out at $2000 or under after selling off what wasn't used.

I started with the selection of motor.  Many have done the 3.4 V6 (5VZE) so that was a possibility.  Another popular swap is the 3.0 I6 (7MGE or 7MGTE), but in Pennsylvania, you can't swap in an engine from an older vehicle.  The successor to the 7M motors are the 2JZ series of motors, commonly found in Lexus SC300, GS300, IS300 and the latest Supra.  These motors held promise, but the length of the motors concerned me.  Also, these motors seemed to be budget busters for my project.

I had learned about a swap pioneered "down under" in Australia and New Zealand that really intrigued me.  They love their Toyota's down there and have had access to the Toyota 4.0 V8 (1UZFE) for quite some time.  This motor is available in the U.S. in Lexus LS400, SC400, and GS400's.  These motors are also plentiful on the used Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) and are imported into the U.S. when they are at 50K miles or under.  This is the route I decided to pursue.  This motor is an extraordinary package:  4 cams, 32 valves, 6 bolt mains, forged internals, aluminum block and heads and it looks good too.

You can read about more swaps over at Lextreme

Since I was doing this swap, there were other "might as wells" that have come into play.  Mainly, since I was changing the position of the motor and some driveshaft alterations were likely, it seemed a good time to explore installing a crawler.  I had already purchased two gear driven cases for this purpose, so all that was left was to contact Marlin Crawler .

To add crawler gears, the tranmission needed to be swapped out (I planned to retain an auto).  The quest began to figure out what would work with the 1UZFE.  After some research and buying various parts to check them out, I have settled on a A340F out of a 2000 4Runner Limited.  The only modifications I plan to make initially are just for compatibility.  Through this process, I have acquired a complete LS400 auto trans and also parts from a Tundra automatic (bellhousing, oil pump and torque converter).  It appears that the Tundra TC is a great deal heavier and slightly deeper.  The Tundra TC should be the ticket to longevity of this trans setup.

So, the final config I've arrived at is:

1UZFE V8 | Tundra BH/TC/Oil Pump | A341E LS400 Trans Input & Planetary setup | 2000 4Runner A340F | Marlin Auto Adapter plate and Coupler | 1st Tcase with 2.28 gears | MC07 adapter | 2nd Tcase with 4.7 gears

For the time being, the independent front suspension (IFS) will remain.  As funds allow, a solid axle will be swapped (SAS) under the front end.

[Cebby]

Any of you that were following along in the other thread knew I got screwed out of a prime 2UZ.  11K miles, complete.  Sucks, but out of my hands.

EDIT:  Link added.  http://www.yotatech.com/showthread.php?t=53317

Probably a blessing as some others have suggested the weight of the 2UZ iron block may be an issue.  Fortunately, the 1UZ is an all alloy block and offers a substantial weight savings.  I haven't found a weight on the 2UZ, but what I've discovered is the 1UZ weighs about 196kg (431 lbs)  I had heard estimates that the 2UZ was 600 lbs +....  (I'm curious what the 3VZE weighs...)

So, today the first step has been taken.  I've ordered up a wiring harness and AFM for the 1UZ.  I also have a line on a low mileage JDM engine in New York, so I might be renting a pickup truck and taking a road trip.

I'm planning to also get the tranny from behind the 1UZ and convert it 4WD.  It is an easy (albeit time consuming due to the level of disassembly) conversion.  That way I'm assured the ECU and tranny are working together as they should.  This may change if there is a better solution (ie.  As strong, with less work...)

So, as of today I still need:

Engine
Transmission (or bellhousing only some other tranny)
ECU (pending)

I'll need to fab:

Motor mounts
Accessory mounts (?)
Exhaust
Intake
Misc other stuff

Hopefully the only upcoming drama has to do with fitting the engine and not with obtaining parts.... 

[Cebby]

Bought an engine today - JDM 1UZFE around 30k miles:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7951738310

Hopefully this one will actually materialize... :roll:

I also found a LS400 tranny that I'll convert to 4wd.  Anyone have access to or know where I can find a blown up a340f tranny?  All I need from it is the output shaft and tailhousing...

Thanks to Bill (PAHydrohead) for picking up the tranny for me.

I already have an Engine Harness, ECU, and AFM.

[Cebby]

The 1UZFE (Lex 4.0) is around 430 lbs.  The 2UZFE (Toy 4.7) is over 600 lbs.

EDIT:  I read elsewhere tonight that the engine is around 175kg.  I think that means about 385 lbs.

[Cebby]

I'm keeping the A/C definitely!!  Fortunately for me, mine needed recharged at the end of last summer, so I'm not wasting a fresh or good charge to reroute pipes.

No good pics cause the engine is on a skid, shrinkwrapped and banded.  I'm not breaking it down until I get it to the shop.

I did measure it as best I could, it's about 24-25" wide, 24-25" long and around 23" tall (not including the sump).  An approximate eye-balling of the 3VZE shows the 1UZFE is only an inch or two wider at the valve covers, but narrower overall due to the distributor, a good 3"+ longer, and I couldn't get a good height on the 3VZE.  It will be alot easier to compare with them side by side when the 3.0 is out and the 4.0 is unpacked.

[Cebby]

Oh yeah - it's mine...ALL MINE!!!!  Muhahahaha!!!!!!!

[Cebby]

Here's a shot of one of the shop inhabitants:



That's a roadrace body under the tarp - with molded in flares for covering nice big meats.  The frame has been stripped and powdercoated.  That's a 502 big block getting a test fit...  :cool:  Note the carbon fiber half shafts at the rear...

The 4Runner and engine will be at the raceshop next week.

[Cebby]

I guess this is progress... :roll:

Pic of the LS400 trans to be converted to 4WD:


2WD Tailhousing and output:


I will be getting my own garage "stall" at the raceshop :bigok: - stuff had to get moved around to make room for me.  Was supposed to move the 4Runner down there for a while now - looks like tomorrow if weather permits (we are supposed to get 4 inches of snow tonight and another 3 tomorrow)  I won't be able to get rolling on this until after May 3rd due to workload.

Aside from the Marlin "stuff" I need (easy enough, just order..), I need to locate an a340F tailhousing and output shaft (or an internally grenaded a340f to strip).

[Cebby]

Cebby,

Nice pics, looks like more progress w/the swap.  Just curious, but what is the designator on the Lex A/T?  Also, it seems like the reference was made in the past that you could use a T100 auto trans, correct?  I've been thinking about maybe picking up an earlier (3.slow) T100 and doing the swap but would like to know what I need to look for.

Good luck with the work ahead.  If you have time and remember I'm sure we'd all appreciate pics and commentary.  :great:

The trans is a 30-41LE (aka a341e).  The T100 trans might work for this - I was looking at the pre 95 T100 (a340f) for use behind my 3.0 due to the removable t-case and passenger side drop.

The main reason I'm going with the Lex AT is compatibility.  It is entirely possible that the current a340f(or T100 a340f) would work though.  Regarding compatibility - I have a 1UZ harness and ECU.  The trans is controlled by the ECU, so most of this will be plug and play.  You need a bellhousing from a trans used behind either the 1UZ or 2UZ (3UZ probably also), so once I saw how easy it was to convert the 2WD to 4WD (bolt together but time consuming) I thought this was the easiest route.  Plus the trans only cost me $300 and it came with the torque converter.

I plan to do a crawler at the same time, so I won't really have much monkeying around with the t-case end of things.  The Marlin adapters will make this part the easiest piece of the swap.

[Cebby]

Here's the parts list to convert the 2WD trans to 4WD:



Looks like I'll be scaring up a dead A340F somewhere.  Even at a 20% discount, those prices are more than a used A340F around here.

[Cebby]

Mainly, if you go manual tranny, you can use aftermarket ECU's, but you need a custom bellhousing.  I haven't done "alot" of research on manuals since I wasn't going that direction.  There are other things needed too - related to the clutch, pressure plate, crank machining (I think) among other things.  There are two places specializing in making the parts for these conversions that I know of:

Dellow Automotive:  http://www.dellowauto.com.au/main.html

or

Castlemain Rod Shop:  http://www.rodshop.com.au/

[Cebby]

I'll be getting new DS's due to the addition of a Crawler while I'm at it.  The trans is the same length though.  I will be pushing mine back a touch to ease space contraints up front.  All of the a34x trannies will bolt to the bellhousing.  You also need the correct torque converter. 

For example, an A340F or even my A340H will bolt directly to it.  I'm using the LS400 trans for three reasons - #1, I know it will "talk" to the ECU (shifting and speed sensors etc) and #2, I know it can take the power.   And the big #3..., when I add the tailhousing and output from the A340F, I can bolt up dual cases and maintain my passenger side drop (Using Marlin stuff of course ).  This is another reason I'm not just bolting the bellhousing to my existing A340H. 

I'm killing several birds with one stone... 

I wish I had the $$$ to do an SAS now also, but it will have to wait a while...

[Cebby]

A few more pieces of the puzzle:











A340F trans and t-case from a 2000 4Runner V6, 67K miles.  After checking out the connectors on the trans, I will likely just use this A340F instead of converting the LS trans to 4WD.  There are 3 plugs.  Two are identical, one is slightly different, but had I think it had the same number of contacts.  I'll just need to get a pigtail for the a340f and splice it into my 1UZ harness.

The LS torque converter fits the input perfectly, but it's clear the VZ bellhousing won't work on the UZ engine.  It's too short and the bolt pattern is different.

I was investigating the various dual case adapters (MC07, MC08, and MC08-R10) and it was recommended that the MC07 is perfectly fine to use and that there is no significant advantage of using the MC08.  See this thread:  http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=366164

OK, who needs a transfer case?  And what is all that "stuff" hanging off of the tcase in the last pic.

[Cebby]

Got the case off tonight.  Piece of cake.  It seemed like the bolts holding the TC to the tailhousing weren't torqued much more than 30 lbs.  (Just a guess).

Now, the coupler is another matter.  That thing is ON there.  I didn't want to run the risk of messing it up, so I didn't try too hard.

I think in discussing this we've found the answer.  If these couplers have a consistent inside diameter, then the problem isn't with the coupler being too large, but the tcase input being a thou too small.  If the OEM one is SO tight that it can't be pulled off by hand, that means the trans output and the tcase input are two diffferent sizes.  My .02 anyway.

There is nothing between the shafts in the OEM couplers)  I'll try to figure out how to measure to see if there is any space between the shafts.  Might be tough without pulling the coupler.

Here's a few pics of the coupler:

[Cebby]

Here's some pics comparing the a341 and the a340f.

A341 bellhousing:







A340F bellhousing: