wrenchtech

I bought an '89 4runner with a blown auto tranny. The auto is getting pulled and a 5 speed is going in. The current auto tranny has ETC (electronic transmission control) and I know that the ECU (Engine Control Unit) part # is different than the manual trans equipped 4runner. Does this ECU need to be connected to an auto tranny to work properly? Is this a straight forward swap or is this going to be a difficult wiring project? -- Matt

Schooler

The difficulty with the wiring is in how much you have to hook up (obviously). The minimum required for the truck to run is 2 wires hooked together. These 2 are large wires that go into the Park neutral position switch on your auto tranny. You can hook them together so that the ECU thinks it is in Park and it will send power to the starter. None of the plugs are going to fit so you either have to wire directly or find some plugs you can use. If you have ADD you will have to wire 2 more wires together. Your back up lights will be 2 more wires. Cruise control is another wire. And speedo is either a cable or plug. I got stuck with a plug for the electronic speedo and a cable hook up on the 5 speed. You can be more elaborate than this of course. If you want a clutch start cancel button, that will plug into the plug on your clutch pedal but you also have to take the first 2 wires mentioned (for P position) and hook them into the clutch button as well. You can also tap one of the wires for the cruise into your break pedal wires so that the cruise will shut off if you put the break on. (I haven't gotten cruise hooked up so I couldn't tell you specifics on this one yet.) The worst part is figuring out which wire goes to what. Once you know that, it is simple electrical hook up knowledge. But like I said, if all you need is for the truck to start, 2 wires hooked together. That's pretty easy.