I have a 95 tacoma with a blown headgasket... and an opportunity to buy a running 97 4runner with a bad rear for cheap. Can I drop the 97 engine into the 95? What if anything do I need to change?
Need to know if I should buy the runner asap
Thanks so much

Yes you can do the swap but it will be like any other swap .

I don`t know enough about the newer engine

Exhaust and intake on the same side as the 95??

Perhaps mating the drive line could be fun.

The wiring is a given the merging of the two wiring harnesses.

The fact your asking leads me to think perhaps more work then you want to get into

He's talking about two of the same generation trucks with the same engine. This isn't a swap, it's a replacement.


OP, I believe the 4runner has different plugs for intake manifolds, sensors, and misc things. Worst case, you might have to swap all your accessories off of your engine onto the 4Runners long block.
Shouldn't be a huge issue.
Does the 97 4Runner have a distributor like your tacoma?

hey thanks for picking up what i was asking

I am not sure yet, on the distributor i will be seeing the truck today. If the 4runner engine does not have a distributor what will that mean? does the block still have a place for one?

thanks so much for the reply

Why not just swap the diffs from the p/u to the 4runner and drive the 4runner? Seems like it would be the easiest option, but then again... I'm more fond of the 4runners

I read the 97 as a 87 and based my response on that of course it makes no sense.

This getting old is rough

X2 Swap the rear, then rebuild your Tacoma engine and get a TRD rear out of another Taco and swap it in, then you got 2 great Yotas.

ok you guys are assuming alot.... for example, that the 4runner is NOT a POS which it is.

i just need info on swapping a 97 2.7 to a 95.5 truck

thanks dudes

has anyone actually done this "swap" ?

So the 4runner DOES have coil packs instead of a distributor... anyone know how i use this engine?

Does the 95.5 Tacoma have an OBDII plug? I would think there's going to be a lot more to this swap than just switching the motor itself unless they both have the same computer setup.

yeah this is what i am trying to get to the bottom of.... if the physical engine is the same.. though should be able to swap whatever to make it work ya?

Yes, the 95.5 tacoma is OBD2 compliant.

Since the 4Runner engine doesn't have a distributor, you need to keep looking for another engine. There won't be anywhere for that distributor to bolt on to the head.

since i have the whole truck.... could i swap the engine harness and ecu and run the 4runner engine? is this a stupid amount of work?

Sure but you'd then have to deal with the body harness also.

that sounds like the to much work part...

does anyone have any more information on this swap? i can't believe that nobody has done this....

The biggest thread in the world is over on marlin crawlers forum. They do 22r to 3rz swaps and there are a bunch of them. You will need new engine mounts but the 3rz will bolt up to the w56 with a w58 bellhousing. The wiring is not impossible but will take time and there are several companies who will do it for around 500 bones. I read a lot about it but I don't have the cash to acquire everything. Good luck in your project.

Beamed from my dumb phone using Yotatech

thanks for the reply but you obviously did not read enough before posting.

looking to swap a 97 coil pack type 3rzfe to a truck that has a 95.5 distributor type 3rzfe

Did I mention I am dyslexic?? Lol sorry man.

I do believe the ecu would be involved but I don't think it would be quite the nightmare described.

I have owned both a 99 Tacoma and I currently have a 98 4runner and while I wouldn't quote me I haven't noticed any differences between the two engines.

I think it is doable but you will need the 4runner ecu as the signal from the coils comes from the ecu.

I wouldn't imagine that the areas where the engine harness meets the body harness would be any different as it wouldn't make sense to make two different engine/body harnesses. The only differences would probably be found in the difference in years.

Again sorry about the mixup.

Beamed from my dumb phone using Yotatech