4x4 3.0 5spd... swap options?? Blown engine and need help BADLY!

[Bknapp34]

Sorry for my first post being so needy.... haha.

just picked up a mighty max this week. 4x4 5spd with the 3.0 v6. Super clean. No rust anywhere. Straight body! Pretty rare find in the Midwest. I couldn’t have been more excited about it! Except now I think the motor is bad....drove it home 3 hours on the interstate just fine and just as Im pulling onto my street it starts to overheat. I knew it had a slight radiator leak but it maintained temp the whole way home running 70 on the interstate. Put stop leak in it and drove it today for 5 minutes before it died on me. Won’t start or turn over.

anyways, I am planning for worst case scenario as this thing gets towed into the shop and I’m looking at possible engines to drop in if I end up needing to replace it. I have no experience with engine swaps other than just my basic knowledge of engines and the minor tinkering I’ve done over the years.

I believe my engine is the 6g72 engine. I know this engine was used across MANY platforms and wondering if I can make them work for me in my situation. Either the one from the 3000gt or the ones from the early model Montero. It seems from my few hours of research that these should match up to my existing 5spd 4x4 transmission. Just wondering if anyone here has any input for me or any personal experience I may be able to learn from!

thanks in advance for any help or direction I might get! I could really use some help because I have about.....48 hours of experience with these trucks.... lol 😂

[B-Line]

Sorry to hear. You are correct that the 6g72 was used for many Mitsubishi and Chrysler vehicles throughout the 80’s and 90’s. I’m certain all the blocks are nearly identical well except the DOHC and turbo models. There was another member on here who installed a 3.8L MIVEC in his truck. I think it was close to 300hp. Pretty sure it was a bolt on affair.

[Salteen]

The 3.8 LA is another good option, or a magnum V6. There are alot of these engines, from 3 liters to 3.8 liters I brleive, and are most common in dodge pickups like the Dakota and the minivans like the caravan. Pretty stout motors.and will run a long time

[Salteen]

I want to throw a 3.8L magnum in it and make a Magnum Moniker puckup

[geezer101]

A member here did a 3.5 or 3.8 V6 Mitsubishi swap. It's pretty mean. Other than a few engine mods and swapping the ECU + harness, it's a relatively straight forward deal with no adapters or cutting/welding.

[Bknapp34]

Thank you! Yeah I’m sorry too.... I have mixed feelings of anger and sadness... haha it’s way too cool of a little 4x4 truck to let it die. I just can’t afford a money pit at this point in my life either! So hopefully I can find an economical way of getting this beauty back on the road! Should most of these engines mentioned bolt right up to my 5spd 4x4 transmission?

also, I’m seeing some engines with transmissions out of 5spd awd 3000gt’s. Would this setup work if I wanted to swap the transmission as well? And then, if so, would my truck be 4x4 all the time like an awd car?? Or would that awd transmission not work and I would just need to bolt the motor up to my existing trans? Any thoughts??

[Bknapp34]

Sorry to hear. You are correct that the 6g72 was used for many Mitsubishi and Chrysler vehicles throughout the 80’s and 90’s. I’m certain all the blocks are nearly identical well except the DOHC and turbo models. There was another member on here who installed a 3.8L MIVEC in his truck. I think it was close to 300hp. Pretty sure it was a bolt on affair.

Thank you! Yeah I’m sorry too.... I have mixed feelings of anger and sadness... haha it’s way too cool of a little 4x4 truck to let it die. I just can’t afford a money pit at this point in my life either! So hopefully I can find an economical way of getting this beauty back on the road! Should most of these engines mentioned bolt right up to my 5spd 4x4 transmission?

also, I’m seeing some engines with transmissions out of 5spd awd 3000gt’s. Would this setup work if I wanted to swap the transmission as well? And then, if so, would my truck be 4x4 all the time like an awd car?? Or would that awd transmission not work and I would just need to bolt the motor up to my existing trans? Any thoughts??

[Bknapp34]

A member here did a 3.5 or 3.8 V6 Mitsubishi swap. It's pretty mean. Other than a few engine mods and swapping the ECU + harness, it's a relatively straight forward deal with no adapters or cutting/welding.

thanks for that! Would a 3.5 mate up to my existing 5spd transmission??

[Bknapp34]

Also, another question for all you diy professionals out there...are there compatibility issues with the 3.0 engines from FWD cars when putting them in a 4x4 truck?? I always assumed the engines were identical and just used a 4x4 or awd transmission and transfer case....

I guess what I’m getting at is, would an engine from a fwd vehicle mate up to my 4x4 transmission or am I going to run into issues there??

[geezer101]

The 3000GT drivetrain won't swap. It's a transverse engine set up like a conventional FWD. An '07 Eclipse has the 3.8 Mivec that one of our members used as the donor for their 4x4 - Chargerx3 <click there for the link to his build

Unfortunately he's got a bunch of broken links to images in his build thread

[Chargerx3]

Sorry to hear. You are correct that the 6g72 was used for many Mitsubishi and Chrysler vehicles throughout the 80’s and 90’s. I’m certain all the blocks are nearly identical well except the DOHC and turbo models. There was another member on here who installed a 3.8L MIVEC in his truck. I think it was close to 300hp. Pretty sure it was a bolt on affair.

I think you are referring to me and my Mad Max build.

A member here did a 3.5 or 3.8 V6 Mitsubishi swap. It's pretty mean. Other than a few engine mods and swapping the ECU + harness, it's a relatively straight forward deal with no adapters or cutting/welding.

Correct the hardest part is the electrical and getting a good base tune.

Thank you! Yeah I’m sorry too.... I have mixed feelings of anger and sadness... haha it’s way too cool of a little 4x4 truck to let it die. I just can’t afford a money pit at this point in my life either! So hopefully I can find an economical way of getting this beauty back on the road! Should most of these engines mentioned bolt right up to my 5spd 4x4 transmission?

also, I’m seeing some engines with transmissions out of 5spd awd 3000gt’s. Would this setup work if I wanted to swap the transmission as well? And then, if so, would my truck be 4x4 all the time like an awd car?? Or would that awd transmission not work and I would just need to bolt the motor up to my existing trans? Any thoughts??

Any 6G7* motor will bolt up to your transmission. That is the great part. Bell housings are all the same for that family of engine. If you want to not have to worry about more wiring work, or another ECU integration you will need to go one of two paths.
1) Get an identical 3.0L out of another car/truck that is SOHC, and has a dizzy.
2) Get a 3.0, or 3.5 with dizzy, or go dizzy. Will need to swap out some parts.

3000gt will work, but get the base model with SOHC and dizzy not the DOHC and coils. It wont work as a plug and play.

YOu cannot use a 3000gt trans or any other trans for that matter with your 4x4 truck. If you were a 2wd truck then there is a rare kia trans that you could put in for RWD only. Your Trans is a V5MT1-1 and is very strong. They are pretty much bulletproof for anything you will throw at them. Im at 300hp and no issues.

thanks for that! Would a 3.5 mate up to my existing 5spd transmission??

Yes as mentioned above.

Also, another question for all you diy professionals out there...are there compatibility issues with the 3.0 engines from FWD cars when putting them in a 4x4 truck?? I always assumed the engines were identical and just used a 4x4 or awd transmission and transfer case....

I guess what I’m getting at is, would an engine from a fwd vehicle mate up to my 4x4 transmission or am I going to run into issues there??

It will work. Just keep all your parts off the truck engine like the exhaust manifolds, intake manifold, dizzy, fuel rail, coolant manifolds, and fan. They will all bolt up. Only issue you will run into is weather or not a car 3.0 has all the proper lower block bosses to accept your truck motor mounts. They usually do, but if they dont (like my eclipse motor), you can make them work with bigger brackets, or welding.

The 3000GT drivetrain won't swap. It's a transverse engine set up like a conventional FWD. An '07 Eclipse has the 3.8 Mivec that one of our members used as the donor for their 4x4 - Chargerx3 <click there for the link to his build

Unfortunately he's got a bunch of broken links to images in his build thread

Yup thats it. I should update my pics huh?

[Salteen]

there is some guy in Florida with a Plymouth arrow with a 3.8

there is the 3.0

the 3.3 which is a dodge variant

the 3.5

and the 3.8, another dodge variant

you can find these motors in all sorts of engines, but the guy in Florida had to run a triple row radiator because he kept blowing gaskets, and he actually has fans spaced out so that it cools the block sides a bit better. but these motors usually collet 200 to 300k miles. you can rebuild one, bore it out and all for cheap.

but I would go with the 3.0 or 3.5 because its an OHC design, the dodge versions are OHV with the cam in the block. the Mitsubishi engines come in 24V versions too, and have plenty of upgrades.

I have a 3.8L in the shop right now, it needs a new bottom end, a valve cover and an upper intake manifold. if you are interested I can give you my number and ill call you back when I get a chance to do something lol

[Salteen]

they are in cars like the new Yorker and minivans and the imperial and the jeep wrangler and even the Volkswagen Routan

there was a SOHC dodge version sized at 2.7L, 3.2L and 4.0L and there is even a DOHC 2.7L

a main problem with ALL and I mean ALL these engines is excessive sludge build up. some is normal, but your water pump leaks and its done for.

[Bknapp34]

I think you are referring to me and my Mad Max build.


Correct the hardest part is the electrical and getting a good base tune.


Any 6G7* motor will bolt up to your transmission. That is the great part. Bell housings are all the same for that family of engine. If you want to not have to worry about more wiring work, or another ECU integration you will need to go one of two paths.
1) Get an identical 3.0L out of another car/truck that is SOHC, and has a dizzy.
2) Get a 3.0, or 3.5 with dizzy, or go dizzy. Will need to swap out some parts.

3000gt will work, but get the base model with SOHC and dizzy not the DOHC and coils. It wont work as a plug and play.

YOu cannot use a 3000gt trans or any other trans for that matter with your 4x4 truck. If you were a 2wd truck then there is a rare kia trans that you could put in for RWD only. Your Trans is a V5MT1-1 and is very strong. They are pretty much bulletproof for anything you will throw at them. Im at 300hp and no issues.


Yes as mentioned above.

It will work. Just keep all your parts off the truck engine like the exhaust manifolds, intake manifold, dizzy, fuel rail, coolant manifolds, and fan. They will all bolt up. Only issue you will run into is weather or not a car 3.0 has all the proper lower block bosses to accept your truck motor mounts. They usually do, but if they dont (like my eclipse motor), you can make them work with bigger brackets, or welding.

Yup thats it. I should update my pics huh?

man guys.... I can’t even begin to thank you enough for answering my questions that I’ve had swimming around in my head! I have t been able to shut off my brain since the truck died on me yesterday. I’ve been going through every possible case scenario in my head since then. It’s at a local shop that I trust right now and they are going to dig into and tell me just how bad it is and what I’m dealing with. I’m hoping I won’t ACTUALLY need all this research I’m doing. But I want to be prepared either way! If it comes to dropping in a new motor I did get in contact with a guy who can do it for me/help me get it done that’s works for cash and works for cheap lol he does work on the side for a couple different shops around town. So hopefully if it comes to that I can get it done for a reasonable price and find a solid engine to drop in there!

I’ll probably try to find a 3.0 out of a Montero sport 4x4 or a diamante. Those and the eclipse seems to be the easiest to source with the simplest install. Fingers crossed that this all works out for me in the end!

thanak again for all your help guys and I will report back ASAP with the diagnosis on my truck!

[geezer101]

There was one generation of Mitsubishi truck sold here in Australia that had the elusive RWD only V6 - the MK Triton 2x4. You could build a killing machine with that transmission but the specialist wreckers ask big $$$ for them here and I don't see them very often at all in pick-n-pull yards.

[Salteen]

I remember hearing about a guy who swapped a Chevrolet 477 V6 into a 90's model K2500 and he fabbed up some aftermarket LS heads to go on it (nothing was the same about that head as it had been really changed) and supercharged it and done som crazy shit to it. I will try to find it online but I doubt I will

[Bknapp34]

Thanks for all the input guys. I appreciate it! Hoping to hear something tomorrow! They hadn’t had a chance to look at it by Friday! It’s killing me to not know what is going on here! Haha

[Salteen]

nice to hear from ya! I done a fair bit of digging to find that but really I would just buy a transmission suitable for what you are doing. I think (think as in using my common sense) that if you go too big of a transmission (say it holds 900 but you're pushing 400) that you will lose alot of power because the gears and shifts and all weigh more (more heavy duty) and so it takes more to turn the shifts and all. I think the average drivetrain system is 70 to 80% efficient but it could go down if you aren't careful. I personally would get a transmission with that spline count (or you can use an adapter kit) and a custom bellhousing and I would run it like that.

[lush90]

I bought one of the used low mileage engines imported from Japan, they’re about $900 around here and just swapped a few parts from my my blown engine. I believe the replacement was from a Diamanté. Has worked perfect for 10 years, put about 90,000 miles on it so far. Be sure it’s not something as simple as a cooling fan clutch. Mine went out, temp would rise when I slowed down or sat at a stoplight. Good luck!