When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have been leeching off of this forum for a while so I figured I would post some details about my build that might help people in the future. A little background, I purchased a 1992 Toyota truck with 130XXX for the purpose of bringing my Honda XR650L back from Denver to Vermont after a 6,000 mile off-road adventure. The truck is certainly battle tested and has some light hail damage as well as plenty of scratches from pulling landscaping duty. For me this is perfect as it will be used for some overland adventures as well as hauling around my dirt bikes.
Almost right away the clutch started to slip hard near Omaha so I replaced it with a kit from Marlin Crawler when I got home. Within 2 months the head-gasket was fried and it was loosing a gallon a minute of coolant through the exhaust. Tried Blue Devil head-gasket fix for fun with no luck. Rather than spend the time to fix the 3vze I figured it would be more fun to toss it and go the 3.4 swap route. Here are some shots from picking up the old girl in Denver.
Now I will move on to the 3.4 donor... I found a 2004 3.4 5spd Tundra 1.5 hours away from me with 90XXX. It had been hit in the front but ran perfectly. I could beat the other buyers as long as I was willing to pick it up during the largest ice storm in the recent past. I rented a U-Haul, borrowed a trailer, and a few hours of white knuckle driving through the mountains of Vermont, I had it home. The ice build up pictured is from my ride back and I am not sure I would do it again given the opportunity. I was able to get the rig for $800 + $120 for the rental.
Next step was moving the truck to my storage unit near my house. It has clearly withstood a few fires, floods and it has no heat, but it does the trick, and it is cheap. Moving the Tundra up the driveway with bald tires into that unit was a challenge. It was solid ice and due to the accident the steering was manual and limited in motion. I only ran the Tundra for a few minutes as there was no radiator. At last there was success!
Time to pull that motor! Unsure about what wiring I would need, I took everything. In the interest of saving time I cut the accessory lines with my angle grinder (minus the fuel ) and I cut the front diff shaft as well as it was rusted. I then took a sledge hammer to the front so I could pull the trans + engine in one solid shot. The wiring was a pain but the rest went smoothly.
I put the Tundra shell on Facebook marketplace to trade for a bottle of Whiskey. The idea behind this is that I needed it gone ASAP and it would take a trailer with a winch and some manpower to get rid of it. I was overwhelmed with interest and strange offers. The next day, four guys from Massachusetts who spoke mostly Spanish arrived and we moved it by hand down the street to the trailer. They handed me $60 in lieu of the Whiskey and it was gone.
Next step was to get the '92 to the shop space. It was a few blocks down the street and the engine was already on its last legs. I figured it was already kicked so I might as well bury it. Pedal to the metal with cooling spraying out the exhaust it sounded like a Spitfire. By the time i got to the shop I was at 5K RPM and the truck was doing 3mph in first gear. I had already pulled the transmission for a clutch job so engine removal was not too difficult. I did have to remove the tires on the front so the jack would clear the ceiling.
Well I needed the pan from the 3.slow so I drained the BlueDevil/Coolant/Oil mix the truck had been running. At least she died doing what she was good at... being unreliable.
Everything from the firewall forward is getting painted black. Eastwood's version of POR-15 is used on the bare metal and OEM paint gets scuffed cleaned and painted on with a brush and Rustoleum. Vermont does a number on vehicles with the salt so I am doing my best to protect this investment.
Are you planning on doing a body lift or hood mod for the hood clearance?
I just did a 1" body lift! I should have some pictures up later. The transmission bolts are such a PITA to remove I figured the body lift route would help with general maintenance/ running of future air lines.
Last week I was able to tap out the old dipstick hole and add and plug as well as drill out a new hole for the updated dipstick location. I had to buy a 90 degree drill attachment and I also purchased a Jig from Toy Only Swaps and I am glad I did. With my entire body weight on the drill attachment and plenty of tap oil it took me when felt like an hour to drill through. I used up almost 2x fully charged batteries.
Here is the Jig from Toy Only Swaps that includes a bottle opener
I keep jumping between projects on this build as there are multiple smaller things to do. I tackled the 1" body lift. It opened up some space between the frame and components and should make modifications/maintenance much easier. It is getting cold in this garage as the temp at night will now hit single digits.
Jerry rigged up something to hold the pulley in place. Wow that crank bolt was impossible to remove Bought a 1200 ft lb impact gun and ran it at 150 psi with no success. My friend suggested we try his friends Milwaukee electric impact which took it right off without breaking a sweat. Battery powered tools have come a long way!
Fresh Bilstein suspension for the front and the rear! Brand new CV joints as well. The bearings have been re-set and re-packed with grease. Hopefully that will keep her out of the shop for a bit.
Nice truck! I'll be following this thread closely as I'm planning on doing a 3.4 swap soon in a '91 I just bought. Are you planning on doing your own wiring/crossover or buying the premade ones?
Nice truck! I'll be following this thread closely as I'm planning on doing a 3.4 swap soon in a '91 I just bought. Are you planning on doing your own wiring/crossover or buying the premade ones?
Thanks! Feel free to ask me questions assuming I complete the swap soon. Crossover was purchased from ToyOnly swaps and fit perfectly (pics to come) and the goal is to tackle the wiring myself.
Funny you should say that! Bought some good looking used Aisin hubs this afternoon on Ebay with hardware included. CV joints are Autozone so I want to minimize their use. Appreciate the offer on the garage but she is too torn apart to move!
11-05-2019, 06:25 AM
) and I cut the front diff shaft as well as it was rusted. I then took a sledge hammer to the front so I could pull the trans + engine in one solid shot. The wiring was a pain but the rest went smoothly. 
At least she died doing what she was good at... being unreliable. 
Bought a 1200 ft lb impact gun and ran it at 150 psi with no success. My friend suggested we try his friends Milwaukee electric impact which took it right off without breaking a sweat. Battery powered tools have come a long way! 
