1989 4Runner - 1uz V8 build

[DoctorDuke]

Alright. Finally getting things together and ready to start an actual build thread.

Quick background on me - long time Toyota fan and 4runner enthusiast. I've had a lot of trucks and 4runners over the years, but settled down a while back to start a practice and family. I'm mostly looking forward to taking my girls out on easy to moderate trails from here to Moab. Safety and reliability are strange new concepts for be on a build, but it is a must now so I'll be taking those into consideration more.

I had a been talking about looking for some sort of project car or truck for a while and warned my wife that if something falls in my lap I'd get it. As much as I love the 4runner, especially 1st generations they are getting harder and harder to find at decent prices and conditions unfortunately.

Walking over to the local king supers I hear the distinct sound of an exhaust leak and the sweet smell of a bad head gasket as this beauty pull up.


The perfect mix of junk and potential. I strike up a conversation with the kid about it and get to talking about the obvious and not so obvious issues - him and his brother just got it running again after it sat a couple of years with his suspended license - blah blah blah.

I make a stupid low ball offer to take it of his hands as is so he doesn't have to bother fixing things.



So it made it back to my garage that afternoon. It ran really well technically, but without any power. The fluids where all fresh, like that morning replaced - so they looked good. Exhaust leak could have been doing it, possible the transmission solenoids where stuck or bad, suspected a little head-gasket leak based on the smell, but not bad enough to smoke or mix the fresh fluids.

Did a quick tune getting idle and timing back together with some new plugs as the others looked original and it ran beautifully smooth... with no power. Compression test was an even 100psi dry and 120 wet across all 4 - which is odd to be to be that low on all 4. Probably the head gasket. It's always the head gasket on these things.



Dang it.... The head gasket looks... new.. dun dun dun.. Well.. must be the timing chain guide broke and rubbed through the timing cover.... Nope. Those cylinder walls look pretty shiny... Guess it is rebuild time.

And that's where trouble began. Things where not looking right from that point on. Missing bolts inside the cover. RTV everywhere... no gaskets at all, just RTV on everything globed and gooey everywhere. The oil drained and came out in stages, clean, dirty, coolant. Coolant came out Green, Red, Milkshake. Timing chain and guide was in good shape - the cover has be welded up after the previous chain wore through. It was done badly and not even ground down, let alone machined flat. I'm not giving up that easy, a 22re rebuild is fun and just another opportunity to buy new parts and do it right.

Every piston had broken rings. Right down the middle. Never seen it before - but the non-broken ones looked good... they looked... new. Clean the carbon build up off the piston and they are stamped 0.5mm This block was already rebuilt and bored 0.02" over.

This poor little 22re block has seen it's last mile. It was abused and rebuilt bad. I'm sure it was a good little engine back in the 90s. I'm sure the passage ways are clogged with rtv and the damage to the block from those broken rings - well I wasn't even going to bother having a machinist look.




So I started looking for a new block because I already had my head in the 22re cloud and ordered a few parts anticipating a simple rebuild. I made a post looking for a review of a shop in Colorado Springs and DieselDoc made the recommendation to go JDM and suggested something like the inline six 7m-ge - and it was a bit of an epiphany. This is natures way of telling me this build needs to be more.

The 7m-ge is an awesome little motor, and the 3rz sounded tempting for a powerful little 4cycl.

But then like a ray of light from heaven the divine wheeler brought me the answer. 1uz-fe

So I found and bought this guy last week.


Well, not that one. The one i got was stuck between a bunch of other wrecked cars so I couldn't get a picture but it looks the same and isn't a salvage.


So now I just need to do everything else.

I'm starting with parting out the sc400 and some leftover 22re goodies.
Moving onto building a custom wiring harness.
Pull the engine and do normal tune up gasket like things.
Need to convert the a430e lexus trans to a a430f at least to keep the chain drive transfer case
Maybe go with an aw4 jeep tail housing and a dana 300 xcase or atlas to get better gearing later.
engine mounts and cross member
radiator and fan (sc400 hydro fan won't fit)
most likely do the solid axle at the same time to help fit the beast in there. (i've heard a front sump and pan from the ls400 will work with ifs but i'll do the sas eventually anyway)
exhaust (sc400 has 2 cats and 4 mufflers 4 o2 sensors)

I hope to keep an actual build thread going here. I've been notoriously bad about it in the past.

[Chris]

Nice project Doc, should we expect seeing you on a run in the couple weeks?

[DoctorDuke]

Chris previously posted:

[Brucker]

Right awn! A very familiar build! I happen to have a low mileage SC400 sitting in my lot waiting for me to use it as a donor. The fully dressed all aluminum V8 motor being something like only 30 pounds heavier (26-28 I believe) than the stock cast iron 22RE and puts out almost 2.5 times the HP and torque. Gotta love those numbers.

I will be interested to see what you end up running for the trans and tcase. The stock auto sucks up so much power. SO swapping to the 5 speed kinda seems like a decent option since it isn't a buggy. Then the Tcase options can be interesting too. Do you spend the money and just run the Atlas and call it good with a single Toy case. Or swap in n older set of toy cases for a doubler. I can make up my mind so I am interested to see which route you take.

Good luck with the build!

[Patrolman]

Should be a nice build! It is on my personal to-do list eventually. Personally I opted to go with the 3rz option for my 86 truck. Your 4Runner will certainly run away from my truck.

[DoctorDuke]

Right now the plan is to use a 1995-1997 t-100 auto tail housing extension housing and transfer case to make it easy and a little cheaper. Problem is I can't seem to find one easily, but maybe once I actually start hitting the yards myself it'll happen. It is my understanding they are are the only a340F with passenger side drop. All the other a340F are drivers side which isn't ideal with toy front axels, but I have a set of dana 44s available to me that are driver side diff, might make it easier to find. I could use any old a340F tail housing and an adapter and some other xcase, but then I could just use an aw4 jeep tail housing and dana 300 or atlas.

I'd like to keep the auto for sure. The inchworm adapter is too expensive in my opinion, as much as the 4runner and the sc400... Going 5spd looks like a pain and is even more expensive anyway.

I also wouldn't worry about losing too much power. The sc400 a340e is a world different from the 4runner's a430h - for being the same transmission. The gearing is better and low (although I can't recall off the top of my head, I know it is even lower than the a340e that is in the ls400). The tuner/drift community doing these swaps with forced induction and everything aren't complaining too much about it.

You are just down the street from me so you'll have to come up and check it out and we can help each other out. Heck, with your machine shop you might be able to make your own dang adapter for the transfer case.

[DoctorDuke]

Patrolman previously posted:

[Brucker]

DoctorDuke previously posted:

[DoctorDuke]

Brucker previously posted:

[Brad]

Sounds like a amazing build! Looking forward to more posts! And of course pictures!

[Java]

just a thought, what about a non-ECM 700r4 and an NP231C?

[dieseldoc]

multi scuff might still have the d300 he picked up in the sprimg. hit him up about it.
I hear the wire harness is the hard part.
that and a rear sump for the solid axle swap.
I know where a kit is that dude might let go for cheep....if he didnt return it.
the d44 swap is not to bad depending on what set ypu get.
the wider stuff looks realy silly under a yota they are just to wide.
stak out of texas hascyou t-case if you cant find a local iron one.
they build a replace a case aluminum and both side drop options....heard they got bought out a few months back but not sure...
some place here in town has toy axles by the hundred.....I like the fj80 stuff for the strenght and full float rear.

keep us posted an pic pic pic lots

[DoctorDuke]

Paul previously posted:

[DoctorDuke]

dieseldoc previously posted:

[DoctorDuke]

Finally has some time to get out and play with the sc400 since I got it delivered last Saturday. Finally got it started up which was a huge relief since I bought on faith that the mileage was low and that it sounded like she wanted to start.
I was prepared with my wiring diagrams and meters to dig into crank sensors and ignitors and relays and even ordered new capacitors to rebuild the ECU - based on common no start issues from the lexus forums. Luckily it was merely bad stereo wiring that was making a mess with a few of the fuses. They where using the ecu ign fuse to draw power for something in the radio harness that was hacked up and spliced to hell. - probably because most of the dash fuses where blown. Then the igniters where not bolted down and that is how they are grounded so a quick wire wheel to the mounts and a few bolts did the trick to that.

It didn't have to crank for more than a millisecond before catching and turning over. Oh, she sounds soooo sweet. revs so fast. Ran it for a while and make sure it wasn't leaking/smoking/missing etc. No CEL or warning lights. Tomorrow and this weekend I'll get into timing and compression and leak down just to make sure. I plan on doing starter, timing, water pumps, and gaskets when I pull it - but I want it running well before I swap so I can attribute any issues to the work done in the swap.


Couldn't really drive it around. Power steering isn't working and the junk yard wheels are so out of balance it feels like the car will shake itself apart. I might swap the wheels around and at lest match up the same size/rims really quick so I can trash it just a little bit before pulling it.


Something might be up with the transmission unfortunately - from a stop on level ground you could feel it wanting to pull hard with the brakes and after you let up. Stopping on an incline it would roll back words - it wouldn't hold in drive after applying the brakes until you blipped the throttle - it would hold if you messed with it a bit but full on brake and it would roll backwards again. Not sure what to make of that one yet...

On the plus side some tuner/drifter kids from down the street where are interested in buying the car after I pull the motor for kind of body swap to his rusted and trashed sc400. If he come through I'll be doubling my money on the car and have a free 1uz Might be too good to be true, might be meant to be.

I'll get some pictures and video started tomorrow !

[94ToyBear]

DoctorDuke previously posted:

[DoctorDuke]

94ToyBear previously posted:

[94ToyBear]

https://www.trail-gear.com/TG/Knuckl...x#.VXkRUsvnbqA

They go for around 260 not including s+h
I would go for 200 or so.
Hopfully you find something that won't need a rebuild though.

Lucky I get a break every summer 😊 pm, your info and we can set something up. I'm in Denver btw.

[dieseldoc]

I would rebuild anyway. Better to pull it apart and inspect it before you go run it bard under a V8.
The work is not that bard to do just a greasy mess.

[DoctorDuke]

No big updates - but I managed to trade some of the brake components off the sc400 for a Toyota front axle for my swap and sold the car for parts to kid that is into drifting for what I have into it so the budget on this thing in in the positive.

94ToyBear here can hopefully lend a hand some time and in the next week or two I'll have the motor pulled and ready for a re-fresh before the swap really begins.

Now I need to get serious about adding 220 out to the garage so I can go get my welding equipment back. I'm going to cut out the front clip completely and need to make motor and trans mounts at a minimum along with the exhaust... But I'll probably end up doing the solid axle swap at the same time now it looks like I have an axle.