Re-power the Marshmallow?

[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

I've been tossing an idea around in my head of repowering the Flaming Marshmallow. I realize that is a marine term, but what it means is replacing the engine and driveline with a different brand, model, and or size.

My engine has a lot of miles on it, and the engine management system is old. The harness is getting hard, and has already had several failures. The ignition and throttle body injection is antiquated and hard to get affordable replacements for.

The engine has always been weak on the highway. The best mileage I ever got was 19 mpg.

So, if I were able to buy a wrecked car or truck for its engine and transmission, what would be a practical choice?

Also, what would be a good divorced t-case to run my driver-drop front axle?

I would prefer a v6 over a v8 because of the size, but not ruling anything out. I would consider a 4 cylinder, if it will get me down the highway with ease, while giving me 25mpg or better.

The whole idea is to have a fresher setup that is more reliable, more powerful, more economical, and more enjoyable.
The divorced case would allow me to use practically any transmission, while (probably) giving me lower gearing. Currently, the Nissan case is 2:1 reduction.

So shoot me your thoughts. Let's brainstorm. But please be practical. My weakest axle is a D44, so I don't need a axle twisting engine.

[redneck23ms [Veteran Member]]

its going to be hard to get 25mpg out of any v6 or v8 swap.if it were me doing it i'd got for a 5.3 ls based motor. lots of aftermarket parts for them and the swap is pretty easy but you'd need to swap trans and tcase as well. a cummins 4bt would get you the mileage you are after and tons of torque. also why do you want a divorced t-case? there aren't a whole lot of them out there and even less that will handle v8 power.

[zachcrosby [Veteran Member]]

25 mpg Is pretty high expectations isn't it? The tacoma has the 3.4 v6 and I'll average 17. I'd be lucky to get 20 highway on long trips. Of course a regear may help.

While I'm on it, early model tacoma v6 3.4 has a driver side drop. I don't know anything about the t case though. The engine and tranny are suppose to be super reliable. Not over powered by any means but with the right gears could have potential. Also there would be the problem of finding a tacoma or 4Runner to pull it from.

[81 CJ5]

As for the tacoma v6 3.4 you might be able to find one at a junkyard already pulled. I know of a junkyard in Jackson that has plenty of engines pulled but I think they may be Chevrolet mainly. We use that junkyard in Automotive for used engines and transmissions.

[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

25 mpg is pretty ambitious, but a Mercury Marquis gets 22 all day long, and it is a BOAT. I remain optimistic.

A divorced case allows me to use a car drive train. We all know that 4wd means more money.
I hope to buy a wrecked car complete with a good engine, trans, harness, ECU, and all the other junk that makes it tick. Then scrap the rest when I get what I need out of it.

The hard part will probably be finding one with rear wheel drive. I don't care if it is a Hyundai if it is low mileage. In fact, a v6 from a Kia Sorento is a DOHC aluminum engine. That CUV gets up to 35 highway. There has to be others.

[Reserector [Veteran Member]]

OOOoo. Found a list: http://www.rearwheeldrive.org/rwd/rwdlis...#used_cars

[WiLieR [Veteran Member]]

Don't discard the LS swap idea. There are lots of trucks out there running the V8 swap that are getting very good fuel mileage.
Tons of parts available for the engine, fuel systems of all kinds exist, and the transmission choices are limitless. This in turn makes the transfer case choices limitless as well. Space would be an issue, but I have seen them shoe horned into all kinds of cars that I would have never expected them to fit under the hood.


But, I have always wanted to put a 4bt into a wrangler and tune it for gobs of low end torque.

[MarkyB [Veteran Member]]

It may be sacrilege, but there is a ton of info out there about swapping Toyota's 3RZ 2.7L 4cyl into other vehicles.

[Brake Weight [Veteran Member]]

That's what my Yota has in it. 33s on stock gears nets about the same mileage the FM is getting now. But it may be a bit more power with a newer motor.

[oO_Rogue_Oo [Veteran Member]]

Volkswagen 1.9L diesel. Cheap, easy to source, tunable for the power you need. Did I mention cheap and easy to source?