A V6 Has Two Sides, and the Exhaust Reflects It

The practical consequence shows up the moment you order gaskets. The exhaust gasket set is sold as a left hand and right hand pair because the engine needs both. Ordering one and finding out on the driveway is a wasted Saturday.

The Header

The LCE 5VZ header covers two jobs: a performance header for a Tacoma or 4Runner that came with the 3.4, and the header for putting a newer 5VZ into an older Pickup or 4Runner, where nothing off the shelf fits.

If you are swapping a 3.4 into an older chassis, this is the part people forget to budget for. The engine mounts get the V6 in; the exhaust is what stops the project halfway. Swap mounts are on Motor Mounts & Swap.

Catalytic Converters — Read the Year and the State

This is where the 5VZ gets fiddly, and getting it wrong means failing a test you have already paid for.

That last one catches people out. The 1999-2002 4Runner runs a second converter downstream, and replacing only the first while the second is the failed one gets you a second bill. If the code points at catalyst efficiency, work out which converter it is naming before you buy anything.

Studs and Hardware

Manifold studs corrode and snap, and a snapped one turns a two-hour job into a machine shop visit. The header stud set covers the job, and the OEM exhaust manifold stud is sold individually for replacing the one that let go.

Fit new studs whenever the manifolds come off. They are cheap, you already have the access, and an old stud that survived removal is the one that breaks next time.

Not sure which converter your truck needs, or whether the header will clear your chassis? Send us the year, model and where you test and we will confirm it before you order.

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