2001 Two wheel drive V6 vs 4Cylinder Frame Swap

Hey everyone, new here. I searched about frames but never found what I was looking for. I recently pickup up a 2001 S-Runner with 114K on it. Perfect rust free body. Frame looks like it's in its final days "bad rust". All S-Runners are V6 5 Speed extended cabs. Does anyone know if 4 cylinder extended cab two wheel drive frame from a 96-04 4 cylinder truck will work? I know motor mounts may need modifying. Other than that. Not sure if anything else is much different. Cab and box mounts all should be the same. I did read in a few places that some changes were made to frames beginning with in the 2001 year along with all the other facelifts done to the front ends and interiors. Not sure if those changes would prohibit a 2000 and earlier frame from working in a 2001? S-Runner do have a rear sway bar which I am sure any other non S-Runner Frame probably does not have the attachment points for that. I am willing to address that. I am in Colorado If anyone knows of any good frames around? This is a long shot. Would love to find the S-Runner wheels. Let me know if anyone has seen any posted anywhere. They were specific for these trucks. The wheels currently on it need to go ASAP!

 

Nice s runner, Im currently looking for one aswell. I believe the srunner had a specific frame I might be wrong or was tht for the xrunner

 

I believe the X-Runners had special frames. They did some sore of X bracing to make the frames more ridged to improve cornering and handling. The S-Runners only had special shocks, tighter ratio steering rack, rear sway bar and lower profile tires to doctor up its handling characteristics. No real structural differences in frames from what I know from the non S-Runners. I am thinking the only things to address are motor mounts on a 4 cylinder frame and the rear sway bar mounting.

 

technically a 98-00 v6 extended cab 5 lug existed and the frame would be a fit as well. but other than mounts the s runner frames appeared to be identical to the 4 cylinder ones.

 

I did have a 1997 V6 5 Speed two wheel drive extended cab Tacoma about 10 years ago. I know Toyota made the regular two wheel drive 5 lug V6 models all years of the 1st gen models. If I could find one of those that has gone down a guardrail with a good frame. Then no motor mount mod needed. Just swap it over. Those are not easy to find. 4 Cylinder ones are all over the place except Colorado. Pretty much why I just want to know any incompatibility or area needing modifying when swapping over a 6V power train onto a 4 cylinder frame. Traveling mutiple states or paying shipping cost would suck to end up with a frame that won't work for some reason.

 

Main rails should be the same. The motor mount and maybe transmission crossmember will need to be modified/ moved though

 

That is easy to take care of. Be easier than the turbo 2JZ I swapped into a 1998 4x4 5 speed Tacoma about 10 years ago. I didn't have to change anything on the frame including motor mounts. Bolted it up to the R150F tranny & T-case by using a R154 bell housing for a 1JZ engine. Had to move that back 3 1/2 inches. Making a new Tcase mount, shortening the rear drive line and lengthening the front drive line. That was the most work getting the 2JZ into the truck without cutting up anything, keeping the radiator in its stock location and maintaining 100% functionality of all accessories including power steering, AC , Cruise control, all gauge functions and a functional OBDII port to pass emissions testing. Swap took 2 days to do when I had everything on hand an ready to go. Was actually a lot easier then you'd think. In my opinion. This swap isn't that much more difficult than the 3.4L swaps. The first 3.0L to 3.4L swap I did was 23 years ago when it was not known it could be done. I did that one in 12 hours from start to finish.

 

I want to do a 2jz swap in one. But at the same time I want to do a 3UZ swap. Lol. I’ll never make up my mind. My 1995 with 480k on it is the one that would get a swap if any of them do.

 

The s-runner had a unique frame, as you’ve said. However as long as it’s a 5-lug frame you can use it with minimal modifciation. The four cylinder variation you’ll have to cut and weld the engine perches.

If you’re lucky enough to find the elusive 1995-2000 v6 5-lug truck that frame will be nearly identical to yours.

 

1996-2004 Tacoma SafeTCap Kit Chart Archives - autorust.com


A 5vz should slide right into a 2rz/3rz frame of same kind....that is 5 or 6 lug....
the engine brackets that the engine mounts sit on top of would have to be carried forward with your old engine.......as well as the old shaft and differential.....

What I'm wondering is if you can jump ship and mount an old 5lug extra cab(dlx) on a new 6 lug frame(4WD).....and everything line up.........except with couple exceptions on the line braze-on's here and there.....as noted in that saf-t-cap diagram......

basicly.....ditch the coil buckets......they are the weakest link in a wreck.....even a moderate curb strike can damage em....twist those top two bolts on UCA......and wrinkle the bucket wall back......

 

I think you can do the V8 swap much cheaper. Engines are by far a lot cheaper and easier to get. The 2JZ stuff is top dollar premium. Its hard to beat the reliable insane horsepower and torque of the 2JZ. Also, a lot less moving parts and fail points in the inline 6 design. Fuel economy is incredible when you keep out of boost. The engine is so torquee off idle that you barely need to give it much throttle to get moving. Pulling steep mountain passes in 5th gear barely needed much throttle to hold 65 to 75mph.

Can a 3UZ hold up to 700 horsepower reliably all day long on stock internals? My 2JZ Tacoma was tuned to about 550 horsepower with torque hitting around 500 Lbs. That horsepower & torque is well over the limits to grenading a V6 chain drive transfer case. Especially if you did anything stupid like a 8,000 RPM clutch drop on dry pavement in 4 wheel drive. Truck has launch control since that is a feature built in to the manual transmission turbo Supra ECUs. I never tried launch control in 4 wheel drive. That certainly would have exploded the transfer case. Here is a video of it doing a hard second gear pull. My brother is obviously loving the acceleration as hes laughing his ass off.
https://youtu.be/JPQW1kId1z0

 

I found two V6 Extended cab 5 lug trucks in California on FB market. One runs, but wont start the seller says. lol. The other looks like a tree fell on the cab. Unfortunately I am not in a position to drop and run to California at this moment. Since they are listed on FB market. Sure they will be gone in a mater of days. Especially the one that has a damn near perfect body and interior for $3,400. The one that runs, but doesn't run. Hoping something pops up closer to my area. If it happens to be a 4 cylinder. Then hopefully I will know by then what I am getting into for frame mods to swap it into my V6 S-Runner. I agree with you. A V6 5 lug model should just go in with very little trouble. Rear sway bar may be the only issue which that wouldn't render the truck undriveable.

 

I am pretty sure the cab mounting geometry is unchanged on 2x4 vs 4x4. I know on the previous two generation "1984-1995" Toyota trucks I have seen two wheel drive cabs swapped right over onto 4x4 frames no problem. The two wheel drive transmission floor tunnels are smaller so may have clearance issues near the T-case. Unless a body lift goes in. I really want to do my best to get a new frame in the S-Runner and keep it handling as good if not better when its done. It is by far the best handling two wheel drive Toyota truck I have ever driven. Sure the rear sway bar plays a lot in that, but it drives more like a car. Rumor says the front sway bars are larger in the S-Runner vs what the standard two wheel drives have. Not sure if that is true. I am still in the learning curve on this model. I can say the 780 mile drive I drove 10 hours straight though coming back home with it 2 weeks ago was so easy. I felt like I could turn right around and drive another 780 miles back where I came from. The S-Runner drove so easily, effortlessly & comfortable. I can't do that in my 2018 TRD Off road 4x4 Tacoma. I have to stop and walk out a sore ass, sore back and cramped legs every few hundred miles. Those S-Runner seats are by far way more comfortable then any of the 3rd gen Tacoma seats.

What exactly are you referring too? "Coil Buckets" I know on the 4x4 models the ball joints are one of the weakest fail points in the front suspension. As it sits right now. I don't think much would hold up well in a wreck frame wise. Probably see a red cloud of rust explode from the truck in a wreck. Which from a safety stand point is another reason I want to swap the frame ASAP since I know the structural rigidity of the frame is very compromised. Compromised to the point where much more serious injures are likely vs the same collision with a solid sturdy frame.

 

The 5 lugs have Mcpherson strut design....a captured coil with-in the frame....
same as a corolla..........hence car like feel......

The 6 lugs is a true coil over truck shock design.......

And unfortunately it doesn't matter on that lower ball joint......both 5 and 6 lug equally fail...


I always thought the 6 lug LBJ was tougher.....and the press in bearings much superior to the 5 lug.....

equally more expensive......

Its just that the 6 luggers like to test the warranty on their stuff....

 

The 5-lug is not a MacPherson Strut front suspension. The key feature of the MacPherson Strut suspension is they don't have an upper control arm, its function being replaced with the telescopic strut.

 

Hey everyone, Update on the frame situation. I found a 1997 V6 5 lug two wheel drive Extra cab that has a clean rust free frame. Does anyone know if anything between 1997 and 2001 on the frames that may have been changed or revised that I could run into when putting my 2001 cab, box and all the power train on the 1997 frame? Power train shouldn't be a problem at all. Just concerned that maybe the front two cab mounts might have been moved with the major update on the 2001 models. Bumper mounts and so on. I would expect some minor things to change. I am more concerned more about major mounting points?

 

Potentially leaf springs. But not sure on that one for sure. 94-97 4x4 trucks had different length springs from 98-04. Major mounting points should be the same everywhere else though

 

I think on the 4x4 trucks and the Pre Runners the rear springs changed around 97 or 98. 5 lug two wheel drives are a bit more of a mystery. I don't plan on using any of the rusty suspension from my 2001 S-Runner. I am buying a complete 1997 truck in LA California this weekend and driving it back to Denver "980 miles". Plan is to just swap my power train in and swap over my cab and box. Use all the 1997 suspension since it's all rust free except the rack & pinion. I will keep the S-Runner rack & pinion since they have a tighter more responsive steering than the regular two wheel drives. I will have to weld in some mounts for the rear sway bar the S-Runner has. Other then that. All should swap over well unless some design change with the frames occurred between 1997 & 2001 that complicates things. The donor truck is pretty much the same as mine except an automatic transmission. The transmission mount bracket that the transmission mount bolts to is bolted to the frame cross member so if there is a difference with positioning between auto and manual. I have the rusty bracket In my S-Runner I can swap over. Can't beat the deal for $2,000 to drive my frame home. I can't get a bare stripped clean frame for much under $2,000 shipped in since none exist in my area. Driving to and hauling one back still cost more. Any good frames I have found are a minimum of 600 miles away. Most are in Southern California so it's a no brainer to get a free airline flight with points and drive a complete truck home for $2,000 plus gas.