new engine

Hello,
I have had to resign myself to replacing the engine in the Hiace
It’s a 95 LH119 4x4 auto camper.. the engine was a 3L 2.8D model.
my question to you lot out there in Hiace land is. What engine should I fit?
The 3L was very sluggish. And I alway wanted more acceleration on slip roads.
Any recommendations and suggestions on how to acquire a reconditioned engine to bolt onto the auto box.
cheers

If it was me, I'd look very carefully at the most modern Toyota engine I could find, possibly buy it in a knackered old RWD car, and transfer it.

Look online first of course, you want to buy a reliable model of engine, some designs are better than others. The lower consumption of the newer engine will possibly pay for itself over time.

Hello

Sorry, I don’t have a very good answer but am interested to know what you decide to do as I might be faced with the same question one day.

Would you mind saying why you have to replace the engine, please? Has something failed or is it just worn out? If it’s wear what’s the wider diagnosis and how many miles / km? What’s the servicing been like? Yes the 3L is no powerhouse but is the sluggishness due to something that can be fixed, even if that means surgery?

Your ideas may well influence what I do my 3L as I’ve some plans beyond maintenance.

I’d start the hunt by looking through the online forums, particularly in NZ, Oz and the far East where these vehicles are much more common then ringing around a few good engine mechanics with details of the engine and gearbox codes and see what they suggest and whether they chime with some of the online suggestions. These Hiaces share many similarities with similarly-aged Hiluxs which also had a range of engines and gearboxes and I’d expect Toyota not to change very much between vehicles in terms of mountings and coupling but straying further from original is likely to be more complicated, need more fabrication and need more from a donor vehicle or other sources and swapping wiring and installing ECUs could get expensive. You might have to go with a garage’s suggestion and their knowledge unless you can do a lot of the work yourself and source, modify or make a gearbox plate for starters. And that's just one bit! Staying like-for-like might also be hard as any equivalent might also be old and worn.

There’s a long post on here somewhere where someone installed the engine out of an old police Volvo so there’s a lot of searching and research you need to do as this will ultimately come down to your skills or your pockets.

Finally, if you are going to bin the old engine might you be interested in selling off some of the usable parts?

Sorry to ask more questions than provide answers.

Hi,
LH119V, The cooling system went in a spectacular way and I believe that, at best, the head gasket is now blown. possibly a cracked block as well. labour charges are the problem. it will likely cost less be less to replace the engine than to repair it. especially as we are in france and the competence of the mechanics I have found is not impressive.
I have also started looking at going full stupid and converting it to electric. It could loss a ton and a1/4 in weight and have more power. The cost of that would be large.

GPW wrote:

If it was me, I'd look very carefully at the most modern Toyota engine I could find, possibly buy it in a knackered old RWD car, and transfer it.

Look online first of course, you want to buy a reliable model of engine, some designs are better than others. The lower consumption of the newer engine will possibly pay for itself over time.

I wonder if you have any ideas about a starting point for looking. an duo you know what issues I will need to consider?

Hi!

I would look to see which other Toyota models shared your original engine, and see ahwt they upgraded to!
In that way they are more likely to fit

Hmm, if you are worried about the competence of local mechanics then an engine swap is possibly not a good plan. A simple change to a 5L is not too bad but anything else is going to need some good skills.

If I were thinking of doing something like this I would probably consider changing to a petrol engine. The Supra engine uses the same gearbox so might be interesting but probably expensive and a lot of work. Toyota actually did a version of the Hiace with Lexus V8 in it and they are actually quite cheap to pick up. This was the Hiace ambulance.

solaesthetic wrote:

Hello,
I have had to resign myself to replacing the engine in the Hiace
It’s a 95 LH119 4x4 auto camper.. the engine was a 3L 2.8D model.
my question to you lot out there in Hiace land is. What engine should I fit?
The 3L was very sluggish. And I alway wanted more acceleration on slip roads.
Any recommendations and suggestions on how to acquire a reconditioned engine to bolt onto the auto box.
cheers

I’ve heard you can swap the smaller turbo 2.6? from newer model years In with zero issues, just need to use the ecu from the donor. Also upgrading the exhaust and keep cooling system in tip too shape because they tend to overheat