So, I had a thread gathering info, and got most of what I wanted. But, the swap is for sure, so I thought I'd start a new thread.....


Short version of the back story: I bought this '87 Turbo 4Runner almost 5 years ago. it had been out in Colorado for some time but then the previous owner (or, more likely, her "helpful" boyfriend. But that's all part of the long story) ran it out of oil. I got it for a pretty good price, considering it's very solid. no '80s Toyota would look this good if it's miles were all in MN. I tried rescuing that motor, mostly just put time into it (and a set of main bearings, but I did those in the truck, so not a lot of other parts), but it didn't take long for me to decide the motor was not worth fixing.

then I bought a rusted out '86 non-turbo 4-cyl for $250 with 205k miles on it. using the sensors, injectors, and ECU from the turbo, I put the N/A block in my '87. I loved it, drove it a bunch last summer. Then the head gasket blew after only about 1k miles.

after tearing into that motor, I found 4 stripped/damaged threads. the tstat housing was held in with mis-matched self tapping screws. one side of the flange for one of the heater hoses was held to the intake mani with a small c-clamp. and one of the head bolts had a washer under it, since some of the threads were F'ed.

So, decided it wasn't worth fixing. Time for something else. I'm making more money than I was when I bought the last donor, so let's do this right.

Criteria for the new power-plant:
-Reliable, simple, common. These all describe the N/A toyota 4-cyl.....
-Enough power to turn oversized tires, and even use it to do some hauling. Yea...not going to be a 4-cyl.
-Fit in the engine bay without hacking it up, and get decent fuel mileage. Alright, V8s are pretty much out.
-use a 4-speed auto transmission. better for rock crawling, and better for the freeway.


So, not many options left to fit that but the 4.3. I started researching, and decided the early '90s CPI version would probably be the best balance between cost and power. Do the fuel injection maintenance while it's out, and it'll be golden. I mentioned that to a coworker over the winter, come to find out he's got a '93 s-10 blazer parts truck that he'd like to get rid of, for cheap.

Come springtime, I went out to take a look. turned out to be a '92.....but it was a CPI motor, with the 4L60 transmission. PERFECT! Then he bought a gen 2 parts truck for his current DD, so he really just wanted this one gone.


$40 delivered:


Victory!


about 150k miles on it, alternator not included....oh well. I figure I'll do timing chain, water pump, fuel lines/regulator, and serpentine belt while it's out. might also clean up and paint that upper intake manifold!



here's the truck it's going into, right after an offroad event last summer:



I'm the crew chief for a Rally America racing team (Ziptie Rally), and we're running an event out in PA the first weekend in June. We'd like to take the 4Runner as one of the service vehicles. So the goal is to have it put together with enough time to get a bunch of miles on it before we leave to get the bugs out.



Progress:

I bought the '92 light duty truck unit repair manual and wiring diagram FSM books.

Got the dash mostly ready to come out (have to buy a small socket for the bolts up top next to the defrost vents. 8mm?) so I can get the wiring out and start on that.

fan, Radiator and A/C condenser out.

Got the radiator support (one of the body mount bolts was a HUGE bitch....) and front bumper off.

A/C compressor and bracket off the motor. started messing with the power steering stuff, but can't get the bolt off the pulley, which means I can't get the bolts between the bracket and pump, which means can't get the bolts between bracket and block. so that all might have to stay on there.....

Tach signal modulator ordered so I can use the stock 4-cyl tach.

toyota motor almost completely ready to come out.



So. any suggestions for pulling this motor? I'm thinking I'll pull the motor/trans as an assembly. Suggestions on removing the A/C compressor? I see a pulley on summit racing to replace it, so a stock belt/routing can be used. but I don't care about that, if there's another way to mount a tensioner and use a shorter belt, I would much prefer to do that. Suggestions on where to get these maintenance items? I'm planning on getting the fuel injection stuff from lindertech, And fuel lines, intake mani gasket, water pump and timing set from rockauto.

 

Thats a nice old 4runner you have there! Its too bad I didnt see this thread 2 weeks ago. I had a 91runnner until then that a guy gave me 400 bucks for so he could use the engine and drivetrain in his hunting truck to replace the 4 banger that it had originally. I would have given it to you for the engine but you would have had to meet me in Bellingham WA if you had wanted it with your licence plate (have family there). My runner had a strong 3.0 SOHC V6 that ran perfectly but mine had the 5spd. I loved that Toyota, it was ultra reliable and powerful, I had put new alternator and starter and P/S pressure line on it last year. We moved from Alberta to BC and the inspection criteria are much stricter here and they would never pass it due to the rusty fenders and rusted out tailgate that wouldnt open, so I had it parked in my front yard and a passerby on the highway offered me the 400 for it and drove it away. Yeah our timing was off, I would have gladly donated it to your project... Good luck on the transplant and keep us posted with some pics as you get the job done.

As for pulling the A/C comp... You arent going to use it, so just take it off the engine and leave it hanging by its hoses in the truck which i assume you are going to send to the scrapyard. I use rockauto for almost all the stuff that I dont need in a hurry. Never had a problem with them or their service. I have my stuff shipped to grandmas house in Bellingham and drive down and pick it up. Yes pull the whole engine, t-case and trans as an assembly, just take the radiator out and upper crossmember. I hope you are going to use the Toyota axles as I bet they are 10x stronger than the blazers axles are.

 

Thanks, but I probably would have declined a 3.0 even if you were local (I just realized I didn't have the location filled in....I'm in Minnesota....).

the 3.0 would have been just as much work, for a fraction of the gains.


A/C system was already de-pressurized. so pulling the pump from the donor was a breeze. just wondering what the best solution for the belt is without having the pump there....

 

oh boy. after a couple long days this weekend, the donor has released the goods:




water pump, timing set, and stuff ordered from rockauto.

wiring was super easy. I'm so used to subarus, where you have to strip the dash all the way down to the firewall to get the required harness out. looks like the 4runner will be similarly easy!

hope to order the tcase adapter in the next couple days. sometime later this week I'll bring the transmission down to a buddy's shop where we can start tearing into it to replace the output shaft.


I am a bit worried about the front driveshaft clearance. as the toyota is a passenger side drop, it'll be close between it and the transmission pan. we'll see how it goes.

 

question....what is the ALDL for (I see it stands for Assembly Line Diagnotic Link...). I'm assuming this is something I won't need for the swap...correct?

 

That's the OBD I connector for diagnostics.

 

Thanks, that makes sense.



another one. thread dimensions for the stock oil cooler? I plan to run the toyota radiator, so I'll need to get an external oil cooler. it'd be sweet if I could just use the stock lines....