First Gen Toyota 4quoia with a (2uz-fe) v8 (start up post 230)

What do you get when you cross a first gen 4runner, first gen Tacoma, and a first gen Sequoia? I am calling it a 1988 toyota 4quoia.

Anyone curious?

 

I really like the first gen 4runner. I have been noticing one at the local wreaking yard. It was missing a lot of parts, but overall the body was nice. It was missing the fenders, hood, engine, seats, and SUNROOF. It had 2 rust spots behind the rear wheels. I could not get it out of my mind. I would walk by it and think, " I can save this truck."

The yard also had a 2001 Sequoia. It was hit hard in the right rear quarter. The axle tube was bent, but the wheel still rolled. The engine bay was clean and it seemed a waist to be parted out. I could not get these ideas out of my head.

A little about myself, a few builds ago, I put an 06 tundra 4.7 into an 03 tacoma double cab. I really enjoyed the build. Now that it was gone I got the itch to try it again.

 

Before I squeezed the trigger, I searched for a sunroof. Kinda hard to find and not at all cheap being around 350.00. I got held up on this. I did not want to get the t4r if i wouldn't be able to get my hands on some glass. Still I was not able to get it out of my head. I researched if a 4.7 v8 had been installed in a first gen before.

I found one at, "http://www.fourwheeler.com/features/1007or-1989-toyota-4runner-tundra-power" This was pretty cool and even the same color. There was not a lot of details. Not a lot of photo's of the modifications. The site is glitch'y. The guy had to swap the oil pan out for a lexus 1uz-fe and then modify it to fit the mold of the 89 front diff. He also had to remove parts of the steering and move the steering box.

I found another at,"https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f161/94-ex-cab-2uz-swap-243136/index2.html" but it was a truck and a 94. The frames are the same though.

But there has to be a better way! Since I have done a 4.7 swap into a 03 tacoma, I knew the 4.7 gets cozy in the tacoma frame. The track base is the same from a 99 taco to a 88 t4r, but the wheel base is 103.3 and 103. That didn't seem too bad.

 

Another hold up I had was the 88 4runner was missing the rear window glass. With the two pieces of glass missing, It made it a hard choice to go ahead and jump in. Yet I was not able to keep walking by without wonder, without panic, that someone else may buy the parts.

I had to do it. Even not knowing if it was possible. I brought them home, the 1989 toyota 4runner sr5 3.0 automatic with power glass mirrors locks, and the 2001 toyota Sequoia sr5 4.7 automatic power everything.


The wheels, hood, fenders, and tarps were not included and were added right away.


It drove nice and felt like new, but I didn't move it far due to the axle housing being bent.

 

I found a 97 toyota tacoma frame. It was a standard cab five speed 4 cylinder 4x4 that had manual hubs.

 

I used super clean and a pressure washer to clean the frame. The firs thing I did to the frame was cut out the trans cross-member mounts.


I used a 4.5 grinder with a diamond cut disk. the Idea was to cut them off and be able to reuse without maiming the frame too bad.

 

So here is an interesting fact, the 01 sequoia steer knuckle bolts directly into the 97 taco frame. It used 14mm headed bolts to attach the lower ball joint to the steer knuckle. The 06 tundra has a 17 mm headed bolt for the same location.

The bad news is the 01 sequoia does not have the big front brakes like the 06 tundra.

I also used the sequoia front struts changing the top plate to tacoma.

I then got a nice set of 17's with shitty rubber to begin building up the frame.

Here you can see the jig I built from my first 4.7 swapped tacoma. I did test fit the jig in the sequoia to verify It was not different from the other conversion. The 01 sequoia has a 340f auto transmission and the 06 tundra had the 750f trans, so I wanted to be sure it did not change. Keeping this distance the same allows for the use of the stock Sequoia front drive-shaft.

 

I know I must be crazy changing frames right? Ya TOYOTA CRAZY!!! So the logic of this comes in here. This is a photo of the 88 4runner frame.



This is the 4.7 v8 oil pan just sitting in the 88 frame.



Here is the 97 taco frame again.



and here it is again with the 4.7 v8 oil pan.





looks like it was vacuum pack sealed right into place, doesn't it?
THIS IS WHY THIS IS GOING TO WORK, LOL!

I just hope the firewall of the 97 taco and 88 4runner is in the same spot. And what about steering? shit! I do not care, I'm going forward with it.

 

Here you can see the transmission crossmember mount welded back to the frame. If you look close, you can see the outline of where the mount was cut off.

 

At this point I am short a rear differential. I helped a friend change out a diff in a 99 taco. It was beginning to make some noise. He gave me the rear end. I didn't care if it was good, I just needed one to have a roller.

The frame I got, had the rear leafs cut out. They must have used a saws-all because the out side of the leaf spring saddles were cut out. I was able to use the inside bolt hole to attach the leafs. I then put the rear diff in and wa-la I have a rolling frame.

Now that the frame rolls and I have the transmission cross-member welded in. I set the transmission and transfer-case in.



Whats that behind the front tire you ask, hummmm. looks like a dirty rusty e locker out of a 98 toyota 4runner.

 

This is interesting! I think I'm going to hang around and see where you're going with this.

 

As far as the frame is between the two, they are the same width to the outside of the frame. The tacoma frame is wider and narrower than the 88 tr4. None of the frame mounts on the taco frame looked like they would match up. I mean I did not know, but I did know that it would be easier to cut them out now. I did want to save the mounts so I did take it easy.

 

I did not get a good picture of the engine being bolted in to the trans, but here it is. The next step is to make the engine mounts.



bellow you can see a small wood block spacing the engine from the cross-member. I want to keep the engine low and tight.
another benifit of using the tacoma frame is the placement of the oil filter. The 4.7 swaped in the other 88 4runner had to remove the oil cooler. With the taco frame I get to keep the cooler. And Man that is COOL!!!

 

Off with the body. Welcome to shade tree home-made body lift. (3) 8 foot 4x4's and (2) 10 foot 4x4's. The first 4x4 I put at the rear wheel well. It is easiest to get to. The other two are more difficult as the body is lower than the frame.











This last photo pictured above shows how I used a come-along to collapse the rear suspension. I did this so I would not have to raise the body any higher.

 

Here is a funny tid-bit of information. My rickety body liftty jiggy was a little wobbly. I put in bracing to the sides to sure it up, but it was still a little sketchy. Then it rained and it tightened up.

I rolled the taco frame under the 4runner to see how it would look. I had to collapse the rear suspension to roll it in. I also put on the smallest rollers I had and removed the struts.


Here I am wondering how the engine will fit in the bay and where the wheels will be. The engine cannot be moved back without moving the wheels. If you remember the photo of the 4.7 oil pan, it is set with dimples that are contoured to the front clam-shell.


Here I take a look at the inside and where the transfer-case lever is located


It kinda looks like I'm in! At the rear the frame is a bit longer. I cut off only what I need to lower the body. I still do not know where it all will end up. And the steering? When I picked up the frame. I was able to get the steering column and the shaft, but who knows!

 

Before lowering the body, I have to finish the front engine mounts.

For this swap it is a benefit to have a tacoma frame that had a 4 cylinder engine. The other swap I did was a v6. The 4.7 has 5 bolts that had to be used because of the placment of the v6 engine mounts on the frame. The 4cylinder frame has the frame to engine mounts just right to use just 4 bolts



These plates are 1/2 inch thick. I went to the wreaking yard and got the engine mounts off a 22 r. I cut them up to make them as square and big as possible. I attached the plates to the engine and the 22 r cut up to the sequoia engine mounts. I tried different thicknesses to get the desired spacing. I tacked them in place, then unbolted the engine side, lifted the engine, and unbolted the frame side. I welded them up and this is what I had after painting.


The top of these mounts are from the 22r. They are the rubber mount side. All the metal that mounted to the engine where cut away. It is about one inch. I also had to drill holes in them for the sequoia mount to work.


bellow you can see how close the oil pan is to the frame cross-member. This shows the full weight of the engine. There is room for engine mount failure. T


While making the engine mounts, I had the 4.7 low so I needed to remove the heat shields. I will try to make them fit again later.

 

I almost forgot. Before the engine was put into the frame, I installed new parts. The parts I installed were Timing belt, rollers, tensioner, water pump, oil pump, and spark plugs. There is not a lot of room to work. Something so simple as changing spark plugs is difficult. The rear spark plug on the drivers side is a pain. The master cylinder and brake booster have to be removed to pull the coil.



all the crap on the cardboard is from the engine valley. Maple seeds and a rats nest of sorts with walnut shells. I had to vacuum, tip the engine over, use air, rinse and repeat. It was a pain.

 

first I change the tires from the small rollers to the big rollers. This takes up some of the gap between the frame and body. Then I remove the blocking and lower the body to the frame. I get all but one 4x4 out.



This is where I find my first issue. The tacoma cross-member touches the body floor pan. It needs to be removed to be lowered further.



You can see the wood blocks. It it is to much of a body lift. I want to bring it down as much as I can. NICE TOES!!!

Because the tacoma frame is thicker, it is smaller between the inside of the frame compared to the t4r. The t4r cross-member should be able to be used. Here it is all washed up. Don't want to cut it out dirty.






I took more than I needed. Below you can see the c channel of the frame.



I measure the inside of the tacoma frame and notch out the cross-member leaving the top to hang over the taco frame.



Bellow the new cross-member is set into place. I had to lift the body to slide it into place.



bellow the differences from the two is shown. The t4r has a contoured floor pan that is molded around the stock cross-member.



Here it is with the taco cross-member removed.



And to finish it off, my right foot had to photo bomb again. At the bottom of the picture in the middle is one of the shells from the valley of the 4.7

 

Here is a first look at how it sits on the frame.



The photo above shows how much room is left between the firewall and engine. I want to move the engine closer. Notice the transmission dip-stick. It looks like it fits like it was made for this. The inner fender has a bend in it allowing clear access.

 

At this point I am wanting to put the engine into the firewall. I am concerned about the placement of the front wheels in the wheel well. Also I do not exactly know how the body mounts are going to work out. I have decided that I do want to use the newer style of mount that goes with the frame. At the front of the truck, the tacoma frame is wider and the frame horns are closer to the core-support to frame mounts. So what do I do? I cut off the front of the original frame and set it on the tacoma frame to get a look. It looks like a little trimming and I can get it to slide down into the frame.



I still do not know where the body will find home on the frame so I do not cut out more than I need to.



above you can see the original frame cut and placed into the taco frame. This will allow for stock bumper placement. One thing I have notice is the taco frame is lower in the passenger area than the original. I will end up with the benefit of a body lift without the gap at the wheels or the blocks.

 

This is a look at the front wheel well. I want to move the engine back.



In my research, the taco had 103.3 and the 4runner had 103 inches. This side view it can be seen that the rear wheel is closer to the back of the wheel well.



Without measuring the current wheel base, I measure and cut the front leaf spring saddle and moved them forward 1/3 of an inch. I over tacked them.



Measure 2x cut once, rite? Not me. After I set it in place the wheel base was 103.75. Take in mind the rear leaf is about an inch higher than the front 3 inch lift. I did level the frame and body and compress the rear leaf, but the wheel base was still 103.75. 3/4 and inch more than I want. I think I need to make the wheel base 103 inches to get a good look at where the wheels sit in the wells.

 

quite the project you’ve taken on but looks to be coming along well

 

I did not know how much room I would have for the radiator. I want to have the fan on the inside of the radiator. From the firs swap I did I knew that the diesel radiators have the correct inlet and outlets. In other places in world toyota had diesel engines. So I looked for one.





This is what I decided to try. The other swap in the 1988 4runner with the 2uz-fe, had a custom radiator made. He had an overheating problem. If you look at his radiator, both inlets are at the top. When I saw that, I wondered if the coolant flows through the radiator or stays in the top tank, not getting cool. The stock diesel radiator will work as it was designed. Even though it is a two core, I think it will be fine. I used a two core for my other swap and it did awesome. This one bolts in without drilling.



The photo above shows why I would like to move the engine into the firewall. I think I have enough room now, but more will be better.

 

I’m gonna go ahead and take my hat off to you now. That is a heck of a project, nice work man.

 

That is pretty tight.. Will you be running an electric fan? It might be a little more low profile than the clutch fan.

 

Yes, there will not be enough room for a clutch fan.

 

My first swap only took 2 months of work. But I did a lot of prep research, gathering parts, and manuals. This is it.

 

X2
That’s a badass taco!!

 

I miss it. After I had traded it off, I did get to drive it again. It jumped when I gave it gas. It was really responsive. Funny how a person gets used to driving a truck, when they drive it daily. It wasn't until I had a break from it, that it surprised me all over.