Putting a 3.4 in an Older Truck

The 5VZ swap into a 1979-1995 Pickup or 4Runner is one of the great Toyota engine swaps — a modern fuel-injected V6 with far more power and torque than the 22RE it replaces, and it is still a Toyota engine in a Toyota truck.

The 22RE to 5VZ conversion mount is what makes the engine sit where it should. Get this part right and the rest of the swap is work rather than fabrication.

The rest of the swap

Mounts get the engine in. These are the parts people find they also need, usually later than they would like:

  • Header — nothing off the shelf fits a 5VZ in an older chassis. The LCE 5VZ header was built for it, on Headers & Exhaust.
  • Oil pan clearance — if a solid axle is involved, see Oiling.
  • Power steering — below.
  • Clutch and flywheel — the 5VZ runs a 10" clutch. See Clutch & Flywheel.

Mounts for Trucks That Work Hard

Factory rubber mounts deteriorate from engine torque, and oil and grease contamination speeds it up. On a stock truck that is a slow decline. On a crawler it is a failure mode.

The Trail-Gear Bomb Proof mount exists because of a specific problem. Run dual transfer cases with deep low range gears and the torque multiplication through the mounts is enormous — factory rubber is a known failure point in that combination. When one lets go, the engine shifts and drives the fan blades into the radiator shroud, which turns a broken mount into a cooling system.

If you have built the drivetrain described on our transfer cases page, fit these.

The solid off-road mount kit removes the rubber altogether. Understand the trade before you buy it: solid mounts hold the engine exactly where it should be under any load, and they pass every bit of engine vibration into the chassis. That is the correct answer for a competition truck and the wrong one for something you drive to work.

For a standard truck the OEM 5VZ mounts (1998-2002 4Runner, 1999-2003 Tacoma) are the direct replacement.

A quick diagnostic: if your fan has been touching the shroud, or the engine moves visibly when you load the driveline, the mounts are gone. It is rarely the first thing people check.

Power Steering Bracket

The 5VZ Tacoma power steering pump bracket kit is for a TC-style pump rather than a stock replacement — it is for people upgrading the steering system, usually alongside bigger tyres or a solid axle. The hose side of that job is on Hoses.

Short Shifters

Two kits, split by drive: 3VZ/5VZ/2TR 2WD and 22RTE/3VZ/5VZ 4WD.

Read this before ordering, because we mean it: you must measure your transmission for fitment, and no returns are accepted on any short shifter kit.

The reason is not policy for its own sake. Toyota changed transmissions often and inconsistently — we have seen factory trucks running a completely different transmission from the one the door sticker calls out. Fitments listed anywhere, including here, are suggestive. The only reliable answer is measuring what is actually in your truck. The full range across platforms is on the Short Shifters page.

Transmission Repair Sleeve

The LCE transmission repair sleeve kit is a repair rather than an upgrade, and it saves a part most people assume has to be replaced. There is also a kit for the 2000-2005 Tundra.

Here is the fault it fixes, because most people are diagnosing it as something else. The transmission quill — the snout the release bearing slides along — is aluminium, and it wears grooves. The bearing then snags in those grooves instead of sliding, and what you feel is a sticky or jerky clutch pedal. The usual response is a new clutch and a new release bearing, which cures it for a while and then does not, because the grooved quill is still there chewing up the new bearing.

If you are on your second or third release bearing, this is almost certainly why. The sleeve gives the bearing a fresh hardened surface to run on — the same principle as a Seal Saver on a crankshaft, and far cheaper than replacing the front bearing retainer.

Chevy Transmission Adapter

Fitting a GM automatic behind the 3.4? The 5VZ to Chevy transmission flexplate is the rotating half of that conversion.

The adapter plate, and the torque converter requirements that go with it, are explained on the Transmission Adapters page. Read that page before ordering the flexplate — the converter and the crank register have to be right, and the flexplate on its own does not make the conversion work.

Planning a swap? Tell us the donor engine and the truck it is going into and we will list what you actually need.

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