1G 4runner 7MGE swap notes and pics

corax

Explorer
Recently I've been asked some questions on my 7MGE Supra engine swap. So I thought I'd put up some information. Originally my rig had a 22-RE, so the information I'm giving is geared to a 22RE->7MGE swap, the 3.0 V6 is a bit different. Also, I swapped in a naturally aspirated engine, the turbo can also be bolted in but uses a different harness, AFM and ECU, plus there is intercooler plumbing to find room for. The biggest difficulty in this swap is finding room in front of the engine since it is an inline 6, but some creative trimming goes a long way. The 7MGE is built typical Toyota rock solid, but many have had problems with headgasket leakage - the problem with the headgasket was insufficient factory torque (52 ft/lbs) and is remedied by increasing the torque to 72 ft/lbs. A completely bullet-proof fix would include an MLS (multi-layer steel) headgasket and ARP head bolts or studs.

Here are some engine numbers for comparison
20R, 2.2L, 90 HP@4800, 122 Ft-Lbs@2400
22R, 2.4L, 96 HP@4800, 129 Ft-Lbs@2800
22RE, 2.4L, 112 HP@4600, 142 Ft-Lbs@3400
22RTE, 2.4L, 135 HP@4800, 173 Ft-Lbs@2800, 6psi
20R/22R Hybrid, Estimated 135-155 HP depending on build
2RZFE, 2.4L, 142 HP@5000, 160 Ft-Lbs@4000
3RZFE, 2.7L, 150 HP@4800, 177 Ft-Lbs@4000
3VZ-E, 3.0L, 150 HP@4800, 180 Ft-Lbs@3400
5VZ-FE,3.4L, 190 HP@4800, 220 Ft-Lbs@3600
5M-GE, 2.7L, 143 HP@5200, 154 Ft-Lbs@4400
7M-GE, 3.0L, 199 HP@6000, 188 Ft-Lbs@3600
7M-GTE,3.0L, 232 HP@5600, 254 Ft-Lbs@3200, 5psi

Since everyone is considering fuel economy these days, I'll also say that my 22RE before the swap got 20mpg and I recently got 19.5 mpg highway cruising 80mph with the 7MGE (15mpg on the trails in Big Bear) - that's with 4.56 gears and 32" tires/no lift.

I spent ~ 3 months researching this swap during down time at work and several more months searching for parts in Junkyards. This swap could also be done by buying a running Supra. The engine I got from a JDM importer for $375 off ebay (I picked it up in person to avoid shipping). Total cost for the entire project was less than $1k (can't beat junkyard prices). The entire swap took me about 2 -3 days once I had all the parts together, however I've since tweaked and changed a few things here and there after driving it awhile. The biggest obstacle is fitting a large enough radiator that will still allow for an electric fan, a lesser problem is exhaust routing since it needs to cross over form the passenger side to join the rest of the exhaust on the driver side.

The majority of my research came from SupraCharged.com and the write-up that I liked best came from Andrew Hulse's 1st gen 4runner swap.
1G 4runner swap pg 1
1G 4runner swap pg 2
1G 4runner swap pg 3

Here's the thread 4RnrRick had when he swapped in a 7M 4RnrRick's swap thread, though he concluded he would have been happier with a 3.4 swap (pics are all gone)


The write-ups above go through the actual install fairly well, so I'll try to avoid repeating too much. What you'll need to get the 7MGE bolted in:
- Supra bellhousing, clutch fork & throwout bearing retaining spring, clutch slave cylinder & hose - Supra's used a "W" series transmission which uses the same bellhousing-trans bolt pattern as the "W" series truck trans - you will use your stock "W" series trans and transfer case - use a pre '89 bellhousing, after this Toyota changed the clutch and pressure plate design, pre '89 is the standard "fork and throwout" style
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- 5MGE motor mount brackets - bolt on one position further back on the 7MGE block and allow you to use the stock 22RE rubber engine mounts
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- 7MGE Cressida oil pan and oil pump - the Cressida used a front sump oil pan (vs Supra mid sump which interfered with the IFS front diff) which clears the front tie rod perfectly though you do need to remove the steering damper - also the Supra used a mid sump oil pan, so the dipstick needs to be relocated is using a Supra block, there is already a boss to drill through and it's no big deal using a hand held drill, just make sure you use a drill bit the same size as the dipstick tube, brace the tube to a nearby bolt and seal it up with black RTV
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corax

Explorer
- wire harness – I junkyarded mine for $30 and made sure to be careful pulling it out – don’t break connectors pulling them off, don’t pull on wires and when you get to the big connectors that connect the engine harness to the rest of the vehicle (behind dash) leave yourself ~1’ of wire and take both sides of the connector (male and female side – it makes wiring everything together easier)
- ECU – I was able to mount everything in the stock location down in the passenger side kick panel using the 22RE ECU brackets - it's a tight fit, but works nice if you keep wire length to manageable lengths and tuck them up and behind the ECU
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- Vane Airflow Meter to match your engine (smog will want everything to be the same year or newer as your vehicle, but they really have no visual way of checking)
- igniter and ignition coil - I moved the ignition coil to the passenger side so I could use a shorter coil wire
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- Injector Resistor (leave this connected to the harness when you get it at the junkyard)
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- use the factory throttle cable and fab a simple cable holder –or- use the factory Supra cables, setup and linkages
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- factory 22RE fuel pump works fine, no upgrade needed, fuel filter will be factory mounted to the 7MGE block on driver side – need to bend fuel lines to run gas from the passenger side to driver side
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- the 7M mechanical fan can not be used, so an electric fan is in order. I looked for a thin electric fan and found that you can get one with decent CFM under 3" thick. I wired an electric thermo switch and an extra sensor to warn of possible overheating (220* puts the gauge about 3/4 of the way to the red) - the threads are 3/8" NPT - the 3 hole t-stat housing was sourced from a 7MGTE (turbo) and had the 220* sensor already in it
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- I was able to reuse the 22RE P/S pump by moving the reservoir down on the inner fender a bit and having the 7M pulley center bore machined to .710" and hand filing a keyway (7M uses a ribbed belt) - further the 7M A/C bracket needs to be cut up a bit and a simple bracket fabbed up to adapt the pump to the A/C bracket, I also made a nother bracket to brace the pump in an attempt to reduce vibration and bracket flex under belt tension
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corax

Explorer
- for the exhaust I bought 2 tight radius u-bent pieces from Jegs and cut off bits of angle as I needed them to route the exhaust under the Cressida oil pan (with heat shields on top of the pipe to keep heat away from the oil pan) – also try to keep the catalytic converter as close to the engine as possible so it can get hot enough to pass emissions – another option would be to run the exhaust down the passenger side and cross it over under the t-case, there is just enough room to fish the pipe through a hole between the t-case / crossmember / frame rail, this setup would also allow you to mount the cat converter just after the exhaust manifold (while this routing would be easier, I didn’t like it for a couple reasons)
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- firewall will need to be clearanced slightly for the EGR valve on the driver side and for the 90* coolant hose on the passenger side (hose barely touches metal if not clearanced)
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corax

Explorer
- relocated battery from passenger to driver side, I used the factory alternator wire to get power from the new battery location to the original fuse box (I later ran an additional 10 ga wire and added a 120 amp manual reset circuit breaker for accident safety)
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- the actual wiring of everything is in this link - 7M Wiring - if you are comfortable with a soldering iron and 12V electrical, there's nothing to it.

article from Offroad.com
- http://www.off-road.com/trucks-4x4/tech/the-supra-swap-18635.html
- http://www.off-road.com/jeep/tech/t...swap-22re-replaced-by-a-supra-7mge-18651.html

After a few years of babying it up long grades with the trailer, I found my final solution for the cooling issue. A few months back I found a double row, dual pass Ron Davis radiator at a flea market for $25 (too good of a deal to pass up). Though I wasn't sure if I could use it, a few weeks of staring at it got me going on how to fit it into an already tight engine bay.
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(2 of the fins were previously repaired, but they look solid)
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Here's how it works. A dual-pass horizontal-flow radiator moves coolant across the top half of the radiator on the first pass, then directs the coolant across the lower portion of the radiator face for a second pass. One reason this works is because the velocity of the coolant roughly doubles when the coolant is forced to travel across half as many tubes per pass. This creates turbulence in the tubes, exposing more coolant to the radiator tube walls and improving heat transfer. It also provides a bit of a restriction to coolant flow, reducing the overall flow rate of the cooling system and allowing the coolant to spend more time in the radiator. I think one of my problems with the single core Griffin was that it flowed too fast with this engine - the coolant didn't have enough time to really cool as it passed through the radiator (but that's just speculation).
dualpassdia.jpg


I enlarged the radiator opening a bit so I could move the radiator as far forward as possible.
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Here it is all mocked up in its final position. I already had the lower brackets made (just a "J-hook" to cradle the bottom of the radiator), so I just needed to bend and fit the brackets to their final position.
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The top hose/inlet is a simple 1.5" neck that the hose slides on to. The lower hose/outlet though is a 3/4" NPT bung . . . so I got a copper 3/4" NPT fitting, trimmed the overall length down and soldered a "street elbow" on to it. I also tapped the bung a bit deeper so that the copper fitting would thread all the way in (no threads showing). The outlet on my fitting is now 1.25" - the stock lower radiator hose is 1.375" - so there sohould be no real restriction that I need to worry about.
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top view of it mounted with the plumbing all connected - I found a formed hose that I could cut/splice onto the stock lower radiator hose and used a universal flex hose for the top
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Home Depot pipe hanger to hold the long lower radiator hose away from anything it might rub against
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Previously I was using a 14" fan on my single core Griffin radiator. I could fit one 12" or 2 9" fans with the new setup (not enough room between the radiator and the front cross member for the 14"). I did some math on how much coverage the fans would give on the radiator:
1x14" fan = 153 sq.in.
1x12" fan = 113 sq.in.
2x9" fans = 127 sq.in
So 2x9" fans it is then - combined they pull 22 amps when they first start spinning, but settle down to 10 amps at full speed. Even though I'm stepping down in fan size I should be golden since the overall cooling capacity is increasing - won't find out till I have to pull the trailer again, but I can say that with this radiator the fans don't cycle on nearly as much.
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getlost4x4

Expedition Leader
I swapped a 5mge into my 85 yota about 6 years ago. everything went really easy until i got to the wiring. i tried wiring it exactly like toyota did. i ended up just using standard relays and built my own wiring harness. i ended up frying 2 ecu's with the stock wiring harness.

The inline 6 is a blast in these trucks. the power band is amazing!

nice swap! nothing like shoe horning this motor into that small space!

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4Rescue

Expedition Leader
Awesome, thanks Corax. I can only dream of having my $runner pull a trailer up a hill...while accelerating... Yeah NO chance of that in my rig.

Great write-up.

Cheers

Dave
 

corax

Explorer
. . . . The inline 6 is a blast in these trucks. the power band is amazing!

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Definately has a nice power band and just keeps pullng up to 6,500 - that's one of the benefits of an inline 6 in general, mostly due to time between firing each cylinder (most tractor trailers use inline 6's though they obviously don't rev nearly as hard or use unleaded)

Love the spark plug cover (clean engine bay in general) - do you have any better pics of the cover? Did you just leave a hole or space on the side for the plug wires?

I can only dream of having my $runner pull a trailer up a hill...while accelerating... Yeah NO chance of that in my rig.

Great write-up.

Cheers

Dave

Here's one of it outrunning the V10 RV :ylsmoke:
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corax

Explorer
Wanted to share some info in response to a few questions I got via PM:

Hey man, seriously considering a 7mge swap and have a couple of questions.

1. What is your mileage like? Around 60mph, town, freeway
2. Was it worth it and would you still go with this swap after it's all said and done?

I got 17mpg this weekend doing sweep duties for the Mt Hood Rally with a light bar on the roof. I usually get 18-19mpg combined driving with 33x10.5x15, 4.88s (speedo's correct, same final drive as stock), 4,500 lbs of truck and about 1-2 inches of lift. City or highway doesn't make a huge difference in fuel economy, maybe 17mpg city, 19 highway. IIRC, I usually plan on 15mpg on the trail without a whole lot of idling. I got about the same fuel economy before and after the swap with the 22RE if that makes any difference.

As far as "was it worth it" goes, I don't think I would have been able to tow my 2 ton enclosed trailer cross country and over the mountains twice with the 4 cyl. The power is nice. The torque curve is very linear, predictable and comes in at low RPMs (as with most inline 6 cylinders, including diesels semi's) - I think Toyota chose this engine for the Supra due to it's predictable power output, not brute power at high RPM (check the dyno graph below). The 7MGE puts out just enough power that the W56 trans behind the 4cyl isn't going to be very unhappy, though I would make sure to keep up with tranny fluid changes. If you're generally hard on a vehicle and bang gears a lot, you may stress the trans a bit - drive it like a truck and you should be fine. The biggest concern with this swap is finding enough room for the radiator, adding an oil cooler may take some of the strain off the radiator. The engine is typical Toyota bullet proof except for the headgasket. Install a new one before installing (a Multi Layer Steel MLS gasket with ARP head bolts can hold power from boost into the teens) or retorque the head bolts to 72-80 lb/ft (the original torque spec of fifty-something ft/lbs was for an asbestos gasket which wasn't allowed in the US and the spec was never revised).

The dashed line is the torque . . .
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Awesome information! I like the torque/hp curve, looks a lot like the 22re curve but shifted up lol. Not too worried about a w56 holding up to the power since the supra came with a w58 which is basically the same tranny with different ratio's and people thrash those. The additional weight does pose some issues but I suppose there's always a marlin crawler HD if it becomes an issue.

Couple of new questions

What do you think about the 4.88 combo? Too low, too high, or perfect? While towing?

Do you have a body lift? Required, helpful, or not needed?

I have a 1" body lift to get the radiator outlet and hose up and away from the alternator a bit. It's helpful, but not necessary. Radiator choice may make a difference in whether you think you need it or not. You can kinda see how close it is in this pic:
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I like the 4.88s with 33" tires, plenty of power for towing - see the pic in the previous post, that was with a 4,000 lb enclosed trailer running up some random mountain near Flagstaff. The speedo reads about 2-4mph faster than actual speed at 65mph which means it's about the same as it was with the original size tires and 4.10 gears. In previous experience 32's and 4.88s are very nice and give an extra feeling of power, but they're still adequate with 33s.
 

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