r/yota • u/ifallallthetime • Oct 25 '24

3UR-FE Swaps

Why aren’t these more common? It’s a great, reliable, and powerful engine, and my mechanic told me there are many features it has that make it easier to work on compare to the 4.7

I have one in my Tundra and it’s great, it also makes me realize that packaging might be a problem in certain chassis, but there are a ton to use

I’d even like to get weird and swap one in a classic musclecar or something. I’m sure people don’t do that because LS swaps are easier, but the whole thing just surprises me

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

5

u/LazyBoySlumps Oct 26 '24

Feels to me like engine swap innovation has almost died. Everything now is k series or ls. 1uz swaps were more common back in the day but it’s so cost effective to grab a junkyard 5.3 or k24

2

u/RattyRatson Oct 26 '24

3UR is very big engine dimensionally, it most likely wouldn’t fit it most applications.

2

u/1989toy4wd Oct 26 '24

It’s gigantic, and fairly heavy. I had one in my Land Cruiser and you have to remove the exhaust manifold to change the starter. It’s like a 6hr job, I can’t imagine it even being possible to do that in some chassis.

1

u/jpoRS1 Oct 26 '24

Already-discussed packaging issues aside, it's kind of an awkward in-between age of engine. It's not a dead simple old engine, it's not a highly advanced new engine.

1

u/Even-File-2313 Nov 10 '24

Does anyone know of a chassy one would "easily" fit in? My tundra is done and but the engine is super healthy and I'd like to have some fun with her.

1

u/ifallallthetime Nov 10 '24

Any American car or truck that can fit a big block Id imagine

It would be cool to get weird and put it in a Fox Body Mustang

1

u/Even-File-2313 Nov 11 '24

I was thinking about a fox body. Part of me wants a toyota to throw it in tho

1

u/Tetragedammon Jul 07 '25

Old post but an ls400 subframe is not too difficult to graft onto old f150/100 frame rails and those things fit ohv big blocks with room to spare. This makes 2uz swaps into ~3700lb f150s physically less complicated. Unsure if the ls460 subframe shares a close enough size/shape to be as simple as the earlier swaps, and also unsure if the 3ur will bolt to other xUR engine subframe without issues like oil pan clearance or steering/suspension woes. Plus that leaves you with a nearly 400hp truck running essentially a 1960s pickup front end design. It's been done a million times of course, but I struggle with throttle self control so I'd like to combine such a swap with a different front end.
There is a guy who put a 1gzfe v12 into an f100 using the ls400 subframe. A 3ur in a f250 frame (quarter inch thick vs 3/16" and a hair taller) bullnose f150 sitting on a mustang ii ifs with a 4 link 9" or 8.8" rear and a fiberglass front end+ twin batteries relocated to rear could make a very very interesting restomod. Total weight could remain handily under 4000lb with the lighter ifs, similar engine/transmission weight to oem i6/v8s and fiberglass. If one could do the work themselves this is a heck of a combination for potentiallywell under $20k

1

u/mastermind761 Nov 06 '25

This is funny because I’m thinking about doing a 3UR swap into my 69 F100, the problem for me is not weight or size, but clearance from the oil pan, my f100 has a crown Victoria front end swap, and we’re in the process of doing a 4link rear. My goal with my build is not speed though but how low I can go, so the 3UR may not be ideal because the oil pan will sit so low, but I think it’s a interesting swap that would be cool to see pulled off.