Wavephf
Observer
This project started years ago and I don't remember all that has been done or how certain thing were modified but I will post what I can remember. This is just my story of my truck so please keep negative and useless comments to yourself. I'm not a engineer or body man. I did things when I could and how ever I could.
It all started in late 2009 when my Dad and myself found a 1990 Toyota 4Runner on Craigslist for $1000 with a rod knock. We drove up to Denver (2 hours away) with truck and trailer to look at it. When we got there the owner told us someone else just looked at it and revved the engine and now its locked up. Upon inspection we noticed a hole in the block. Now that the engine is no longer build-able we negotiated the price down to $600 or $700 I can't remember for sure. Drove home with the 4runner loaded on the trailer and parked it until I could find a engine. I'm a mechanic and work at my Dad's shop so do all my own work. In January 2010 we had a customer forget to tighten the oil filter on his Tacoma when he changed his own oil and his 3.4 was knocking. He supplied us with a used engine and I ended up with core. I did some research and found a thread on Yotatech explaining the 5vzfe swap. Now it was time to start working on my project.
I pulled the 3vze(3.slow) out of the 4Runner.
And started the rebuild on the 5vzfe(3.4). One rod bearing spun and the crankshaft was junk. I ordered a new crankshaft and rebuild kit. I rebuilt the engine and swap the needed parts off the old motor.
I got the 3.4 installed and running
Our local engine rebuild stopped by one day looking for a engine oil cooler off a 3.4 but I didn't have one. He went to the junk yard and got one off a good core. He return to tell me I needed to go buy the core engine because it has some extra part I might need. Later that week I stopped buy the junkyard and looked at the core engine. I payed $300 for the core but only took one part off of it. A first gen trd supercharger:Wow1:. I also found some 2" lift spring under a 2nd gen 4runner.
I installed the supercharger and everything worked. I installed a body lift so the hood would clear the supercharger. Some people modify the hood but a body lift was easier at the time.
Not long after that I stopped by a friends house to see the progress on his rock buggy and noticed a toyota E-locker under his bench. I asked his what it was for and he told me it was broken and he installed a new one in his friends truck. He gave me the locker for free. The pinion gear broke off and trashed the carrier. I took it all apart and found that the damaged half of the carrier was the same as the older V6 carrier. So a transfer my stock 4.56 gears into the elocker along with half the carrier and modifier the rear end housing to fit it.
After wheeling for a while I got tired of the dust blowing in the rust holes for I decide to fix it....the cheap way. Spray foam and fiberglass. Turned out pretty good. I the rattle canned the bottom black.
I drove and wheeled it this was for a while and it worked great. One day a few years and about 10,000 miles I was driving in town and lost power. I pressed in the clutch to down shift and it stalled, so I dropped the clutch and it fired up but was making a ticking noise. I pulled over a few blocks later and it stalled again. This time when I started it was knocking really loud. I called for a tow back to the shop and parked it for a few months. When I pulled the engine out I found the crankshaft was broken in half. Keep in mind this was a brand new crankshaft when I built the motor. I called up the engine shop, they called the supplier and informed me it was a new casting made in china to OEM specs. I decided to buy a reground crankshaft this time. While I had the engine out and apart I rerouted some of the pcv and vacuum lines, installed a second hand water injection kit, 320cc injectors, painted the supercharger, installed a 2.1" URD pulley and installed a URD fuel/timing controller. Got everything back together and it was all good again. Although I never tuned it.
I finally fenced in my backyard and decided I needed a dog. I got a black lab (Allie) and she would go to work with me and lay in front of my toolbox. When she got bigger and I started leaving her at home I felt bad because I work anywhere from 10-16 hours a day as a mechanic. I got a second dog to keep Allie company while I was at work. My second dog was a 1 year old golden retriever named Bella. The dogs love to go anywhere with me and really like going out in the mountains but its kind of pain having dogs in the vehicle with you all the time. Wet, mud, smelly, shedding and slobbering all over the place.
I decided it was time for a truck.
To be continued
It all started in late 2009 when my Dad and myself found a 1990 Toyota 4Runner on Craigslist for $1000 with a rod knock. We drove up to Denver (2 hours away) with truck and trailer to look at it. When we got there the owner told us someone else just looked at it and revved the engine and now its locked up. Upon inspection we noticed a hole in the block. Now that the engine is no longer build-able we negotiated the price down to $600 or $700 I can't remember for sure. Drove home with the 4runner loaded on the trailer and parked it until I could find a engine. I'm a mechanic and work at my Dad's shop so do all my own work. In January 2010 we had a customer forget to tighten the oil filter on his Tacoma when he changed his own oil and his 3.4 was knocking. He supplied us with a used engine and I ended up with core. I did some research and found a thread on Yotatech explaining the 5vzfe swap. Now it was time to start working on my project.
I pulled the 3vze(3.slow) out of the 4Runner.
And started the rebuild on the 5vzfe(3.4). One rod bearing spun and the crankshaft was junk. I ordered a new crankshaft and rebuild kit. I rebuilt the engine and swap the needed parts off the old motor.
I got the 3.4 installed and running
Our local engine rebuild stopped by one day looking for a engine oil cooler off a 3.4 but I didn't have one. He went to the junk yard and got one off a good core. He return to tell me I needed to go buy the core engine because it has some extra part I might need. Later that week I stopped buy the junkyard and looked at the core engine. I payed $300 for the core but only took one part off of it. A first gen trd supercharger:Wow1:. I also found some 2" lift spring under a 2nd gen 4runner.
I installed the supercharger and everything worked. I installed a body lift so the hood would clear the supercharger. Some people modify the hood but a body lift was easier at the time.
Not long after that I stopped by a friends house to see the progress on his rock buggy and noticed a toyota E-locker under his bench. I asked his what it was for and he told me it was broken and he installed a new one in his friends truck. He gave me the locker for free. The pinion gear broke off and trashed the carrier. I took it all apart and found that the damaged half of the carrier was the same as the older V6 carrier. So a transfer my stock 4.56 gears into the elocker along with half the carrier and modifier the rear end housing to fit it.
After wheeling for a while I got tired of the dust blowing in the rust holes for I decide to fix it....the cheap way. Spray foam and fiberglass. Turned out pretty good. I the rattle canned the bottom black.
I drove and wheeled it this was for a while and it worked great. One day a few years and about 10,000 miles I was driving in town and lost power. I pressed in the clutch to down shift and it stalled, so I dropped the clutch and it fired up but was making a ticking noise. I pulled over a few blocks later and it stalled again. This time when I started it was knocking really loud. I called for a tow back to the shop and parked it for a few months. When I pulled the engine out I found the crankshaft was broken in half. Keep in mind this was a brand new crankshaft when I built the motor. I called up the engine shop, they called the supplier and informed me it was a new casting made in china to OEM specs. I decided to buy a reground crankshaft this time. While I had the engine out and apart I rerouted some of the pcv and vacuum lines, installed a second hand water injection kit, 320cc injectors, painted the supercharger, installed a 2.1" URD pulley and installed a URD fuel/timing controller. Got everything back together and it was all good again. Although I never tuned it.
I finally fenced in my backyard and decided I needed a dog. I got a black lab (Allie) and she would go to work with me and lay in front of my toolbox. When she got bigger and I started leaving her at home I felt bad because I work anywhere from 10-16 hours a day as a mechanic. I got a second dog to keep Allie company while I was at work. My second dog was a 1 year old golden retriever named Bella. The dogs love to go anywhere with me and really like going out in the mountains but its kind of pain having dogs in the vehicle with you all the time. Wet, mud, smelly, shedding and slobbering all over the place.
I decided it was time for a truck.
To be continued
