engine swap question

[keakar]

I'm going to be buying a used Tacoma and since most that are for sale have 300,000 miles or engine problems so I wanted to know:

1 - what is involved in swapping a 2.4 for a 2.7 engine or vise-versa?

2 - if it had the 6 cylinder does it have to be replaced with the 6 cylinder or can you drop a 4 cylinder in to replace it?

3 - are all the auto trannys the same on all the engines?

4 - if you swap with a different engine and lets say you bought a crate motor for it, which is the better choice 2.4 or 2.7 ?

5 - im asking about matching the tranny, starter and everything that bolts onto it and what needs changing out other then just the engine itself.

im not talking about the nuts and bolts of it, I've pulled a couple of chevy engines out before so I know that part.

thank you for your help

 

[tbplus10]

2.4 and 2.7 engines are the same family.
Most 2wd trucks will have the 2.4 and 4wd trucks will have the 2.7.
Horsepower and torque ratings are close but as you would expect the 2.7 comes out on top.
Fuel mileage is the same for both engines.
The 2.7 is normally the preferred engine since prices are similar for both.
Swapping btwn 4 and 6 cyl engines gets tricky, normally you need the transif your going to a 6 cyl, swapping in a 4 cyl you can use adaptors since many off-roaders like to use the stronger trans on 4 cylinder engines.
Something to think about for a swap is a GM 4.3/700r4 combo, preferably a 4.3 converted to carb (marine engines work great for this) or with a stand alone injection system.

 

[keakar]

thanks, you answered about swapping out the v6 engine back down to a more fuel saving I4 question but im not sure if I see an answer there to the question about if I have a truck with the 2.4 can I just bolt in a 2.7 and everything is the same or if not what else must be changed?

you said the 2.4 and 2.7 were the same family but does that mean they are completely interchangable? can you address that question?

also im not used to these trucks and don't know anything about them so im unsure as to how much things change from say a 1999 truck and a 2005 or 2008 Tacoma truck as far as whats under the hood like intake, carbs, pollution junk, do they have electronic injection?

do the newer motors have all that technical crap like other brands put with computerized junk and wires everywhere?

so I guess to really simplify the question, can I take any 2.4 or 2.7 engine from any year low mileage wrecked truck or from a car that I can find (even if its from 2009-2012) and throw it into any year Tacoma truck (like 1995-2005 truck) and it plugs straight in without needing anything changed?

 

[tbplus10]

2.4 and 2.7 are direct swaps, interchangable engines with minor changes required for swaps.
Changes include extending pigtail on the wire harness due to different placement of some sensors and different hose routing for cooling hoses.
When sourcing parts for Tacoma trucks model years 1995.5 to 2004 are interchangable. Having said that youll find the 1 part out of thousands that is yr/model specific. But almost every part crosses in tbose years.
2005 to present are totaly different trucks than the first gen (95.5-04) trucks. Wheels, engines, axles, body panels, almost every thing was changed. Toyota actually advertised in 2005 that the new Tacoma shared less than 10% of parts crossover with the previous gen truck.
Every Tacoma ever mfgrd has fuel injection.
Yes newr trucks have more computerized junk.
Generally speaking engine swaps are easier done on first gen trucks.
Second gen got a lot more "management systems".

 

[keakar]

thanks, so up to 04 everything is gen 1 and after 05 things change to gen 2

so if swapping engines its better to use gen2 for replacing gen 2 or gen 1 for replacing gen 1

am I right to "assume" there is no difference in a car engine and a truck engine?

in other words if I find a front wheel drive corolla or camry, can that engine be used in the rear wheel drive Tacoma? I assume its just different exhaust manifold and motor mounts need to be put on it

IMO these yota engines are bullet proof so im sure whatever I buy will be easier and cheaper to have rebuilt rather then replaced but im doing research in case theres a damaged engine I have to swap out

I prefer the gen 1 look trucks so that's what im trying to find and hoping for an opportunity to buy one in good shape

 

[tbplus10]

Front wheel drive engines use a completely different motor mount and wont swap into a rear wheel drive.

 

[keakar]

Front wheel drive engines use a completely different motor mount and wont swap into a rear wheel drive.

aww man that stinks, that would have been cool if they used the same blocks

thanks