PilotbullMT

Jdemaris you mentioned a 3.0l Mercedes swap. Does that utilize the toyota transmission through an adapter, or the MB transmission and engine as an assembly? The OM617.951 (3.0l TD) would easily handle the load, I'm just curious if the MB 722.3 transmission (4 speed auto that came with the 3.0l TD) would hold the extra couple thousand pounds. I think it would be an easy drop in as a complete assembly.

Those 4bt engines are popular, and I have a friend who wants to install one in my camper and insists he can do it for less than $5k. I don't like that they weigh twice as much as the 22re.. These toyota frames seem overloaded as it is. If there was a "reasonably priced" turbo diesel somewhere in size between the 1.9 TDI and the 4bt I'd consider it. I'm just not a fan of toyota engines. I've replaced a handful of 22re engines for people, but many of those were shoddy rebuilds that went bad. I'm not impressed that my bone stock engine is failing at 75k miles.. So you think with a gross trailer weight of 650lbs my 22re would pull ok? If that's the case maybe I'll just rebuild my 22re and roll with that.

I don't believe I've ever seen one of those. That's more along the lines of what I wanted when I was shopping for a camper because they seem better suited to the higher speeds of 4 lane travel, plus a bigger engine for towing. I'm happy with my dolphin 500 though. Even at 21' it gets pretty cramped with my wife and daughter. I couldn't imagine something smaller..

I have experience with the 3rz and it would be a good choice. Plus the motors seem to be affordable. I don't see any donor vehicles for sale nearby that would provide the wiring harness and parts needed to complete the job though. We do have an abundance of 3.4 powered Toyotas for sale at a reasonable price. Are those decent? Linda, what is a tiger provan??

I didn't know that a coach swap was possible, but I'm pretty new to these. I'm not ambitious enough for a coach swap. Haha. Even all the custom parts for the 4.3 swap is giving me sticker shock. I may go a little longer without the ability to tow the 4 wheeler. If there was a reasonable priced toyota engine that was half way reliable I'd prefer that over having a multi brand rig..

Jdemaris, why don't you think a 4.3 is worth it? I don't have my heart set on one, it just seemed like the right blend of size, power, price. I've had a few 4.3 vortecs over the years and had a lot of success with them, but if there is a different, better engine I'm interested to hear more. I saw the post on the Lexus v8. That's way too big for my needs.

Hi everyone. I have a 1986 dolphin 500 21' that I would like to swap the 22re with a vortec 4.3l. I like the 22re and don't mind going slow (drove Westfalias for years) but I would like to tow my 600 lb atv. I live at 4,000 feet, so my camper can barely pull itself over passes let alone tow.. I have already reinforced the chassis for that purpose, I'm just wondering if anyone has done the 4.3l swap and what it involves. Also, I should add that I've been a mechanic, welder, fabricator for years, and have done numerous engine swaps on European cars, so I have an understanding of the need to fab some parts, etc.

I definitely have the skills, experience, and tools to do an "engine in rebuild" for the rings and cylinders. I have a reinforced frame so I would like to be able to tow a 600lb trailer, so I am considering selling the 22re and going with a 4.3l vortec. I only anticipate 5k miles a year, so if I opt to keep the 22re I'll do that style of rebuild, and thank you for the information.

I decided to dig a little deeper and checked all 4 plugs and they all are nice and even, but when I checked the compression I got my answer: 1 = 162 psi, 2 = 145 psi, 3 = 135 psi, 4 = 145 psi. I believe it's time for rings..

By the way, hi everybody! I'm a noob to toyota dolphins, changing to them from the wildly overpriced world of VW Westfalias. This site has been very useful thus far, even though I have quite a bit of experience with toyota 22RE engines. I'm hoping to take another 200 mile trip this weekend. I'm going to switch to Rotella 15w40 and leave OD off going up, and on coming back and monitor and compare.

I'm in the same boat as haffcke. I just bought an 86 with 74,500. First 300 miles = no oil consumption. And it was hard driving (hot, passes, headwinds). As soon as I do a bypass on O/D (I live at 4k feet) and used O/D on the downhills and flats on the last trip at around 65mph I noticed that I consumed 1/4 quart in the 200 mile trip. Seems pretty unusual. I'm using 10w30 full syn. And Temps were cool when it was consuming.