Has anyone done this swap? I have a 89 4runner with a bad 3.0(two cyl are bad) and another 87 4runner the body (whats left of it) is about to fall off and the frame is about to rust in half. The 22re in it is running strong though. I'm thinking about swapping the driveline (motor and tranny) from the 87 into the 89. How hard can it be? I know the wiring harness will have to be swapped and a couple other things under the hood. To all those have done this swap is there any hang ups I'm missing. There both sr5's with power windows and all the options so I'm hoping the harness swap will work just fine. Commets or suggestions on the swap would be greatly appreciated.

You have to balance time vs money.

Are the two cylinders bad on the top end or bottom end? I just did a head rebuild on my 3.0, and it's much less work than a motor swap.

wiring, dash, motor mounts, tranny mounts, driveshafts, tranny, tcase, center console, etc, etc, etc... Been discussed before. Part out the bad truck and rebuild the 3.0.

One of the hardest parts is going to be motor mounts. I don't think they will line up. Although the 22RE gives you two different positions. Apparently V-6 trucks have different mounts.

The wiring is not usually that different between 4 cylinder and V-6 trucks, but you're talking different years too, so it's hard to say.

I wonder if you could part out the bad truck and generate enough income to rebuilt the motor in the good truck?

It will be a whole lot less trouble, less time, and more rewarding to swap the 3.0 to a 3.4...

The engine mounts have to be moved back a couple of inches, this will get the 4cyl tranny and t-case in the stock 3.0 location. A buddy of mine did this swap this past March when he built his new trail rig. It was more of a money saving issue, he had both engines and wanted to save money on the dual t-case set-up. The wiring wasn't that difficult, however since you have both Runners I would suggest swapping over the entire harness, it is a little more labor intensive but less frustrating than trying to rework the 3.0 harness.

The swap has worked well, but I am not sure it is for everyone, I would diagnos what is wrong with the 3.0 first before committing to a 22re swap.

I 2nd the 3.4L swap - or a 4.3L swap.
Sell off what you've got.
The 3.0L is a dog and an expensive one at that.

The 3.0 has 2 cyl that are bad on the lower end. The guy a bought it from rebuilt the head cause he thought it was the valves. Turns out that wasn't it and its in the lower end somewhere. So I don't feel rebuild the 3.0 is worth it. I have the 22re to swap in but after thinking about it and reading the posts it doesn't sound worth it to me. I already have two toyota's and they keep me plenty busy so I'm not looking for a 3rd. Anybody want to buy a project?