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3RZ swaps in Northern CA

richardskinner

richardskinner

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2022
Member Number
4895
Messages
118
Loc
Shingle Springs, CA
Flame me all you want, but I am considering paying to have my 3RZ swap done. :flipoff2: Not enough time these days and I'm slow as fuck to get shit done. :homer:

Anyone know shops/reputable people in the Norcal area that will do this swap for me? I'd provide engine, bell housing, wiring harness, evap junk, etc. Going into a 1985 4runner.
 
richardskinner said:
Flame me all you want, but I am considering paying to have my 3RZ swap done. :flipoff2: Not enough time these days and I'm slow as fuck to get shit done. :homer:

Anyone know shops/reputable people in the Norcal area that will do this swap for me? I'd provide engine, bell housing, wiring harness, evap junk, etc. Going into a 1985 4runner.
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Smog or no smog?
 
I know an extremely reputable person in santa cruz. If you want his fb to see the quality work he does and his contact I can get it to you. He isnt cheap though and only takes the "fun projects" as he gets offered more work then he can handle. The good thing is that kind of project would be right up his alley.


Just read the above^^^ he isnt the "smog guy" im sure he gould get it all right and factory but the ref end would be on you.
 
Am I missing it? I believe from what I’ve seen it’s a CA legal swap if you drop in the evap system, do the O2 sensors, and have the OBD port installed.

Anyone out there ref’d this?
 
richardskinner said:
Am I missing it? I believe from what I’ve seen it’s a CA legal swap if you drop in the evap system, do the O2 sensors, and have the OBD port installed.

Anyone out there ref’d this?
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To my knowledge you are correct. But you still need to deal with the dmv and a smog ref.

Basically you can swap any engine out of any similar class vehichle
 
richardskinner said:
Am I missing it? I believe from what I’ve seen it’s a CA legal swap if you drop in the evap system, do the O2 sensors, and have the OBD port installed.

Anyone out there ref’d this?
Click to expand...

It "should" be semi easy since is basically the same vehicle ~10 years later.

I've heard some horror stories about the ref trying to fail a swap for having the exhaust on the opposite side. So just be prepared, or register in a non smog County :laughing:
 
YotaAtieToo said:
It "should" be semi easy since is basically the same vehicle ~10 years later.

I've heard some horror stories about the ref trying to fail a swap for having the exhaust on the opposite side. So just be prepared, or register in a non smog County :laughing:
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El dorado is smog. I don’t think a PO Box is enough for registration.

I’ll have to battle the ref. But I talked to one and he seemed pretty relaxed about it. Worst case I’ll register at my brothers in Oregon. It’s not a daily so I’m not too worried about out of state plates.
 
richardskinner said:
El dorado is smog. I don’t think a PO Box is enough for registration.

I’ll have to battle the ref. But I talked to one and he seemed pretty relaxed about it. Worst case I’ll register at my brothers in Oregon. It’s not a daily so I’m not too worried about out of state plates.
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Thats the thing is it depends on the ref. The one we had in butte seemed pretty cool, but whatever county boogerweldz was in when he was trying to ref a swap sounded like he thought he was farva trying to be Mr hard ass.

You need more than a po box, yes, but it's still pretty easy.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Thats the thing is it depends on the ref. The one we had in butte seemed pretty cool, but whatever county boogerweldz was in when he was trying to ref a swap sounded like he thought he was farva trying to be Mr hard ass.

You need more than a po box, yes, but it's still pretty easy.
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P.O. Box, google a cabin in an exempt county for a st address but tell dmv it’s your cabin and the car stays there for when you are there on vacation. Have them send your dmv mail to your actual home address.
 
NorCalJalopy said:
P.O. Box, google a cabin in an exempt county for a st address but tell dmv it’s your cabin and the car stays there for when you are there on vacation. Have them send your dmv mail to your actual home address.
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Last person I know who did it had to take a rental agreement in :confused:
 
Random thought from far away.....



Is a 4runner/3rz swap going to fall into some sort of station wagon/ pickup truck engine purgatory?

Maybe need to start with a 4runner engine? Or at least Vin/ecm?
 
2big bronco said:
Say its your family property and the vehicle stays there for when you visit. Registration is supposed to go by where the vehicle stays not where you live.
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I'd think that would work, but idk I never did it myself and it probably depends on the person behind the desk at dmv. I personally liked it better than going with an out of state plate.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I'd think that would work, but idk I never did it myself and it probably depends on the person behind the desk at dmv. I personally liked it better than going with an out of state plate.
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It works 100%. Its actually the way the code is written.... so although you may be stretching the truththere isnt much they can do in the way of telling you no.

I legitimately own property in a smog exempt county but the funny thing is for 15 years I remembered the adress wrong so all of my paperwork actually has a made up adress that doesnt exist in the correct zip code.
 
2big bronco said:
It works 100%. Its actually the way the code is written.... so although you may be stretching the truththere isnt much they can do in the way of telling you no.

I legitimately own property in a smog exempt county but the funny thing is for 15 years I remembered the adress wrong so all of my paperwork actually has a made up adress that doesnt exist in the correct zip code.
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Want a “cousin that keeps a 4runner” at your property? 😂

In seriousness, I’d love to be smog exempt because turboing would be bitchin.
 
You should be just fine with that swap. Its in the same weight class of vehicle, 4runner or truck. Just make sure you get all the sensors, evap, cat, etc... I will say an earlier swap will be easier than a later swap. The later the swap engine, the more computer controls there are and the harder it is to get everything cleared. I don't think a 3rz swap really has to worry much about that stuff though, its pretty simple. My friends I wired had no issues passing. Just make sure all the monitors pass before you go to the ref. Also make sure your swapping a california motor into a california truck. You can't swap a federal motor into a california truck.

I kept my exhaust completely stock from the engine to the cat on my 4.3 swap and crossed it over after the t-case for the ref. I rebuilt all that and swapped it around after the ref passed it. I'm not sure it mattered though, he didn't seem to care about the exhaust. They seemed pretty hard on the exhaust for awhile, but now they seem to have relaxed on that issue.
 
WFO concepts or RockHound Off-road both out of Auburn. Both are extremely great shops I have used in the past.

Rockhound is my business neighbor as our stores are right next to each other. He has done a lot of work on my prebummer
 
Thanks all, I'll look into everything mentioned.

Ghetto Fab. said:
You should be just fine with that swap. Its in the same weight class of vehicle, 4runner or truck. Just make sure you get all the sensors, evap, cat, etc... I will say an earlier swap will be easier than a later swap. The later the swap engine, the more computer controls there are and the harder it is to get everything cleared. I don't think a 3rz swap really has to worry much about that stuff though, its pretty simple. My friends I wired had no issues passing. Just make sure all the monitors pass before you go to the ref. Also make sure your swapping a california motor into a california truck. You can't swap a federal motor into a california truck.

I kept my exhaust completely stock from the engine to the cat on my 4.3 swap and crossed it over after the t-case for the ref. I rebuilt all that and swapped it around after the ref passed it. I'm not sure it mattered though, he didn't seem to care about the exhaust. They seemed pretty hard on the exhaust for awhile, but now they seem to have relaxed on that issue.
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My runner is a federal truck. Does that not matter and it still needs a CA swap? Mine's actually a 1984 22r truck that had a 22re swapped in, but has no papers on... Hoping that doesn't make it any more complicated, but from my research it doesn't matter because like stated the 3RZ is newer and same class.

I think on your exhaust note I will go opposite of your method. I'll try to route under at first and if the ref doesn't like it I'll flange it and go over just to pass. That way I can swap it back. If he doesn't care then I won't have put in the extra work.
 
If you have a federal vehicle, you can swap a federal or california engine into it. If you have a california vehicle, you can only swap a california engine into it. You can only go forwards, not backwards. It sounds like you are good though doing either.

It makes a difference on some swaps, as the smog appliances can be a bit different between the two. Some california setups have extra O2 sensors or air pumps. I don't believe toyota was really doing anything differently in the 3rz years, maybe some different computer programming if anything.
 
Man I'm just preppering right now for the same exact swap. Are you going to use a ors harness or just spice it in? I'm doing a rz swap for the 3rd time... this time it's going in my 87 runner. Hit me up if you have any questions
20221006_222022.jpg
currently a 22re 4 runner, pic from this weekend.
20230225_141131.jpg
 
Sluggy said:
Man I'm just preppering right now for the same exact swap. Are you going to use a ors harness or just spice it in? I'm doing a rz swap for the 3rd time... this time it's going in my 87 runner. Hit me up if you have any questions currently a 22re 4 runner, pic from this weekend.
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Titties! I'll shoot some questions your way.
 
2big bronco said:
It works 100%. Its actually the way the code is written.... so although you may be stretching the truththere isnt much they can do in the way of telling you no.

I legitimately own property in a smog exempt county but the funny thing is for 15 years I remembered the adress wrong so all of my paperwork actually has a made up adress that doesnt exist in the correct zip code.
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While it works, it isn't 100% legal. In non-smog counties, they don't test for smog, but all the same smog laws apply.

A real shitty cop could write you up if he noticed it's not stock, happened to a buddy with just headers on an otherwise mild 70s J10.

You also still need to smog it to transfer the title, so it's therefor worth less money if you decide to sell it. Make sure it has a current smog if you're changing registration to a non-smog county.

Lastly, if a cop sees you driving to work all the time, and parked outside the local watering hole, at some point they could write you a ticket for not having the correct registration address.
 
I have a smog legal swap with a 97 3rz in a 84 toyota pickup that had a 22re. The ref required that the exhaust location could not be altered before the cat. Since the 22re has the exhaust going down the opposite side there was a clash with the gas tank. In the end i made a meth-head looking temp exhaust with flex pipe and tie wire so that the exhaust all ran down the passenger side and hung below the tank. The ref signed it off and then I put it back in as it should be. Later 3rz's have evap stuff in the gas tank that make it more complicated. Make sure that you get a maunal ECM if you intend on keeping a manual. They also checked to make sure my carb legal AEM air intake was not modified in any way. Happy to help if you have any questions.

Not sure of your intended goals, but If you havn't bought the parts yet I will add this. The 22re on 33's will 4.88's was slow. With the 3rz if was fast. Once I swapped to 36" Tsl it felt like the 22re again. A struggle to keep speed on the hills on the freeway. After I swapped to 40's and 1ton's with 5.38's I can't make it up my driveway in high range if aired down. Crawling is no issue but it's a dog on the road.
 
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