854x4

A friend came to me with a problem. During the coarse of a tune up it was found that one of the spark plugs threads had been stripped and the previous owner had installed a cheap insert. This insert fell into the cylinder when the new plug was being installed. This usually isn't a problem and just requires a head pull if the engine is NOT cranked over but this one was and it locked up. I pulled the head and found the steel insert smashed to hell and the head and cylinder wall scared, so they opted for a used engine. Now this engine is a 99 2RZ with coil packs and the only engine they could find is a 96 2RZ with a distributor. So I took on the challenge, the only difference between the engines is the 96 has a distributor and the 99 has coils right? Wrong the 99 also requires a camshaft sensor and the 96 head does not have a hole for it, I saw a few threads on different forums about this but no fixes so I decided to make a fix. I drilled a hole in the 96 head for the sensor. You need to loosen the chain tensioner, remove the left camshaft, and drill a hole clean through with a 23/32 drill bit dead center in the boss of the head, then drill another hole and tap this one for the hold down bolt, install a new o-ring on the sensor and maybe some silicone and you are good to go. If you are worried about the aluminum shavings I had some running a shop vac as I drilled the hole and I had everything taped off. You will also have to remove the distributor and plug the hole, you can use the plug from the old head, a freeze plug or get a new one from Toyota. Below are pictures one is the old 99 head with the hole, then the pilot hole I drilled in the 96 head and the last is the sensor installed next to the drill bit you will need. One last note these engines will run with the camshaft sensor removed but will throw a check engine light and lack power. This truck has been running for four months now with no check engine light. Disclaimer- This is for information purposes only, if you don't feel comfortable drilling a big hole in a cylinder head then don't. You can cause serious damage if you don't know what you are doing.