Toyota pickup with a little added 5.3 power
06-08-2018, 03:02 AM
#22
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I have lost count on my expense on the truck. I had originally had a budget of $10k to complete the truck, but I have gone beyond that already. I bought the motor from a guy who had a 2006 Silverado with a 5.3. He had rebuilt the motor and added a Trick Flow cam kit with rockers and springs. He also added a Mellings HD oil pump. I bought the complete motor for $1400. I added a complete LS1 manifold from Hawks Motorsports, Hooker headers, Dirty Dingo LS Swap motor mounts and Be Cool aluminum radiator with 16 inch Spal fan with shroud. I picked up a used 4L60e trans and had a performance shop in Tucson do a complete rebuild with a shift kit along with a 3000 stall converter. I added a Lokar trans mounted shifter and a aftermarket trans cooler. My fuel system consist of a Tanks Inc fuel tank with a in tank fuel pump. I currently have the original Toyota rear end in the truck but I have a 8.8 Ford rear from a 1998 Explorer complete with disc brakes on standby if the Toyota rear goes south. So far, the truck runs well and is quick. She is a blast to drive and I am planning some upgrades, such as suspension improvements for better handling. PM me and I will send you some pics of my build. I tried to upload some photos on this site with no luck.
05-11-2019, 09:39 PM
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Yes, I am using the stock Toyota driveshaft because I kept the original Toyota 8 inch rear. I had a local driveshaft shop modify and balance my driveshaft to work with the 4L60E trans that I have in the truck. My original plan was to install a Ford 8.8 rear end with disc brakes that I took off a Ford Explorer but my brother in law told me that many off-roaders use Toyota 8 inch rears for their strength and reliability. Since I do not abuse my truck and I built it as my daily driver, the rear has been working fine and I have no issues with the rear end. Good luck on your project.
06-18-2019, 11:24 AM
#28
That motor /tranny combo look new. Someone took care of it.
02-17-2020, 07:39 AM
#31
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Yes, I am using the stock Toyota driveshaft because I kept the original Toyota 8 inch rear. I had a local driveshaft shop modify and balance my driveshaft to work with the 4L60E trans that I have in the truck. My original plan was to install a Ford 8.8 rear end with disc brakes that I took off a Ford Explorer but my brother in law told me that many off-roaders use Toyota 8 inch rears for their strength and reliability. Since I do not abuse my truck and I built it as my daily driver, the rear has been working fine and I have no issues with the rear end. Good luck on your project.
They say these Toyota 8s have the same size axle shafts as a ford 9. Not sure if this is true but it seems like it. I've never had a problem with mine.
02-17-2020, 09:38 AM
#32
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Yes, from what I have researched on Toyota 8 inch rear ends, they are pretty stout. The Toyota 8 inch rear ends come with 30 spline axles and the Ford Explorer rear end that I have has 31 spline axles. Since I do not race my truck, the factory 8 inch has held up quite well. I have had the LS engine in my truck for almost two years with no issues with the factory rear end. My next plan is to install rear disc brakes for easier maintenance and improved brake performance. Good luck on your project.
06-22-2021, 04:35 PM
#33
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What radiator did you use? Hello all! I'v been a member here for some time, and have soaked up a ton of good info over the years. So take the time to pat yourselves on the back, There are a bunch of sharp cookies on here. This is my first swap in a vehicle with a complete drive train change and is currently still under construction. I feel like I'm far enough along that I can share my progress.
Just to give you guys a little background on the truck since most of it has taken place on other forums and such. I originally bought the truck as an economical beater to daily. After about a year the motor got sick and started to give problems. I tore it down to find out someone had previously patched up the engine just to sell the truck so a full rebuild was in order.
Attachment 633692
Me being the guy I am could not resist the urge to squeeze a few more hp from the 22re which of course evolved into something entirely different. I built a entire turbo kit. mostly ebay parts and an home built manifold, rebuilt the engine, ran it on megasquirt ect. This build turned out to be a ton of fun! I don't have any actual dyno numbers but an accurate guess with times and weight put it around 200-250whp on ~8psi so easily double the stock hp. It ran for about a year like this before the stock rod bearings and 2 bolt mains couldn't take anymore.
Attachment 633693
So instead of dumping even more money into this engine and hoping that it would stay together for the duration I decided on an ls swap with the pros being more power stock than the boosted 4cyl, availability, cheaper to build, aftermarket support the list goes on! I'm still working on the cons list.
I picked up a complete swap out of a 2001 Tahoe 5.3 with a 4l60e
Attachment 633694
With a little bit of cleanup new front and rear seals ect, I elected to just do a cam only swap with a custom grind cam, springs, trunion upgrade, pushrods, converter, the normal stuff. The carfax on the Tahoe showed the trans was rebuilt 30k miles ago but I opened it up just to make sure there were no problems before it was installed into the truck and yes it had been into and lets just say DON'T take anything to aamco for a rebuild!
I picked up a fast 92 setup from facebook pages and ebay. Shaved the lettering and tried my hand at hydro dipping. didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped but it will work for my purposes. Here it is ready to set into the truck
Attachment 633695
Using engine mounts from advanced adapters, I cut off the stock engine mounts and fabricated the new mounts. the stock Toyota transmission mount worked great with only minor modification. the engine and trans are in the truck and mounted. using some cheap china shorty headers I cut up and built some mid length headers for it. I'm also using the holley accessory bracket that allows corvette belt alignment using the stock truck alternator. It's tight but not to bad.
Attachment 633696
Attachment 633697
and one more with the engine bay painted
Attachment 633698
The ford 8.8 rear swap is common for these trucks and super easy all I had to do was change the brake lines around. the 8.8 drops right onto the toyota leafs without a single change! Besides ditching the peg leg burnouts and gear change from the factory 4.10 that is! The 8.8 is only about 1 3/4 wider overall than the stock axle. You can tell in the above pic that the wheels would probably still work with a little fender roll but a wheel with more positive offset would have better fitment.
Attachment 633699
Some other things I've done are swap the stock torsion bars for the toyota 1ton bars to assist with the extra engine weight. depending on how it does they are splined so I can easily just re index them for a bit more spring rate. Like I said this is an ongoing project that Ill try to keep updated as it moves along.
Just to give you guys a little background on the truck since most of it has taken place on other forums and such. I originally bought the truck as an economical beater to daily. After about a year the motor got sick and started to give problems. I tore it down to find out someone had previously patched up the engine just to sell the truck so a full rebuild was in order.
Attachment 633692
Me being the guy I am could not resist the urge to squeeze a few more hp from the 22re which of course evolved into something entirely different. I built a entire turbo kit. mostly ebay parts and an home built manifold, rebuilt the engine, ran it on megasquirt ect. This build turned out to be a ton of fun! I don't have any actual dyno numbers but an accurate guess with times and weight put it around 200-250whp on ~8psi so easily double the stock hp. It ran for about a year like this before the stock rod bearings and 2 bolt mains couldn't take anymore.
Attachment 633693
So instead of dumping even more money into this engine and hoping that it would stay together for the duration I decided on an ls swap with the pros being more power stock than the boosted 4cyl, availability, cheaper to build, aftermarket support the list goes on! I'm still working on the cons list.
I picked up a complete swap out of a 2001 Tahoe 5.3 with a 4l60e
Attachment 633694
With a little bit of cleanup new front and rear seals ect, I elected to just do a cam only swap with a custom grind cam, springs, trunion upgrade, pushrods, converter, the normal stuff. The carfax on the Tahoe showed the trans was rebuilt 30k miles ago but I opened it up just to make sure there were no problems before it was installed into the truck and yes it had been into and lets just say DON'T take anything to aamco for a rebuild!
I picked up a fast 92 setup from facebook pages and ebay. Shaved the lettering and tried my hand at hydro dipping. didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped but it will work for my purposes. Here it is ready to set into the truck
Attachment 633695
Using engine mounts from advanced adapters, I cut off the stock engine mounts and fabricated the new mounts. the stock Toyota transmission mount worked great with only minor modification. the engine and trans are in the truck and mounted. using some cheap china shorty headers I cut up and built some mid length headers for it. I'm also using the holley accessory bracket that allows corvette belt alignment using the stock truck alternator. It's tight but not to bad.
Attachment 633696
Attachment 633697
and one more with the engine bay painted
Attachment 633698
The ford 8.8 rear swap is common for these trucks and super easy all I had to do was change the brake lines around. the 8.8 drops right onto the toyota leafs without a single change! Besides ditching the peg leg burnouts and gear change from the factory 4.10 that is! The 8.8 is only about 1 3/4 wider overall than the stock axle. You can tell in the above pic that the wheels would probably still work with a little fender roll but a wheel with more positive offset would have better fitment.
Attachment 633699
Some other things I've done are swap the stock torsion bars for the toyota 1ton bars to assist with the extra engine weight. depending on how it does they are splined so I can easily just re index them for a bit more spring rate. Like I said this is an ongoing project that Ill try to keep updated as it moves along.
06-22-2021, 07:42 PM
#34
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I bought a Be Cool Boneyard series aluminum radiator from Jeg's for my 5.3. I made my radiator fan shroud with a sheet of aluminum and added a Spal electric fan with a 40amp relay to cool the truck. I have driven the truck in the hottest days of the summer here in AZ and the setup runs great with no overheating issues. Hope this helps.
