I need to put a new motor in my sons 96 Tacoma. I got one from the local salvage yard but when I went to put it in noticed it must have come from a 2WD. The oil pan was different and the dipstick was on the wrong side. Now I really don't know what it came out of. I gave them the correct information. His is a 96 4x4 with a 3.4 and automatic. What engines will work if this one won't? Can I use one from a 4runner or does it have to be Tacoma specific? What about the wiring harness, is it the same on the 2WD engine I have now or different. Does the only engine I can use have to be an exact match?

Thanks and waiting for responses as it's hanging on the cherry picker now,

RMODE

 

I know this probably doesn't help much, but if I was you, I would throw a chevy 350 in there!

But, maybe this will help for a cheeper(than the 350) alternative for more power. I know thats probably not what your looking for but maybe you could find some usefull info on the site. Check the forums there. Sorry I'm not more help, and good luck!

 

The dipstick change was a later year model change, shouldn't be important, but the important thing is that you need to have a 4wd motor in a 4wd truck. Likewise, the donor motor must have been mated to the same tranny.
This site is on swaping the 3.4 into older vehicles, but may be helpful
http://www.offroadsolutions.com/tech...ersion_kit.htm

 

Sounds like a real red neck if i've ever heard one!

 

Why put a chevy motor in... keep it real with a toyota engine...

 

^ .....too funny!

The motor block should be identical on both 2wd and 4wd but there are some small stuff that will be (you found some of it, like oil pan, etc). You could attempt to swap all the stuff over (but I would take the lazy route and look for another donor engine). You can use either a Tacoma or 4runner 96-98 as a donor vehicle (since yours is an auto, donor could have a manual tranny too, but as a rule of thumb, not vice versa). It should be a very straight forward swap.

 

...the bell housing bolt pattern is the same for both auto and manual, but the pilot bearing and flywheel are different, Keep the flywheel from YOUR truck and just replace the pilot bearing.....

 

The truck it is going in is an automatic.....they don't need pilot bearings so all you do is change the flywheel if needed.
"His is a 96 4x4 with a 3.4 and automatic."