As the latest project that's been sitting out front, I've been tasked to complete a stalled 5VZ
engine conversion. Luckily for me the engine has been installed and pretty much all that's left for me to do is the cleanup work.
Since the 1st and 2nd 4Runners are equipped with a really crappy 3.0L engine. With better power and reliability it makes sense to upgrade to a the later 3.4L motors. The kit to mount this beast is from Off Road Solutions, and I must say it's an pretty impressive kit. With just about everything required to install the motor into the earlier vehicles.
Integrating the newer engine harness to the older chassis harness.
The battery for the original 4runner is located on the passenger side, but on the later vehicles they're located on the driver side. The kit supplied a battery mount that can be welded to the driver side
sheet metal. I decided to change the part a little bit and make it a bolt on mount and add some gussets for strength.
Not in the kit, is modification for the
tachometer. Early motors used a coil and distributor, while the the later motor uses a coil on plug. So signals to drive the tachometer are different, similar to installing a 4AGZE
distributorless ignition system into the AE86. But thanks to the large amounts of information on the net, modification to the tach was pretty easy.
While the kit doesn't supply a down pipe for the conversion. They do supply a flange. But looking in the back for spares I did find a proper flange with attached pipe, I think it was from a
Honda. With a little trimming a lots of fitting and checking, it went on without too much
Probably the only thing I didn't really like with this conversion is the required trimming of the hood so that it can close properly. As you can see, the engine is taller than the original. Since there isn't any template supplied with the kit, it was lots of removal and installation of the hood until the hood closed with out interference from the engine. Very time consuming.
Slowly cutting the sheet metal section by section.
No start!? Here was the culprit. Since the project sat for so many years, the gas turned bad and ultimately destroyed the fuel pump. The tank wasn't looking any better either. Picked up a fuel pump locally, cleaned up the mount of rust as best I could. Once installed it fired up like a champ. I have to admit, i'm jealous of this setup and wish I still had my 'Runner.
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