Hey all, I have a 98 limited 4wd 4runner. Frame is crusty. Runs great. Drives great. I just picked up a 99 limited 4wd for frame swap. 99 truck has bad engine, but frame is clean. Had to have been a southern truck as clear coat is peeling, faded on hood and roof. So after assessing both trucks, I thinking of using my 98 truck as the donor instead of the 99. My primary question is are most or all of the parts interchangeable? My 98 truck has 208,000 miles. engine runs great. Timing belt was recently done. Transmission is fine. I added and external trans cooler when I first purchased truck. All fluids, filters done. Truck body is great for a 24 yo truck. Frame is crispy. Now onto the 99 limited I just picked up. Body and frame are excellent. Engine seems to have a miss in cylinder 1. Runs and drives around our farm but loud as heck because the guy snagged the catalytic converter. Interior was dirty as heck, but I cleaned it up so I could at least assess things. So can I yank my 98 engine out and stick it in the 99? Can I swap my 98 catalytic converter over to the 99? The 99 has new rotors, pads, rear axle has new bearings and seals, new cv axle pass. side, new ball joints pass. side, new front struts, rear shocks, new rear drums and shoes. Both 98 and 99 4wd works fine. Both trucks have rear diff lock and work. I have a couple skidsteers, a mini excavator, lift, engine stand ect. so job should be manageable. Just coming in here to get yota input. Thanks in advance guys, Farmgirl

 

I would rather do a motor/trans swap than a frame swap.

Motor and Trans is very straightforward.

swapping a frame, you’ll end up replacing control arm bushings, trailing arms, brake and fuel lines, body mounts, etc. since they’ll be right in front of you you’ll be a fool not to.

 

I 100% agree with fierohink. Mechanically, every part between 98 and 99 will fit.

 

Got "donor" truck up on the lift for micro inspection. Final conclusion is the 99 donor truck is now the recipient of my 98 3.4 engine and possibly trans. 99 has 377,000 on it. Body is great. Frame has scant surface rust. I'll prep and treat to last my lifetime. It'll get 6 mo retreatments to.
My 98 engine has 208,000 with recent Timing belt, water pump, external trans cooler all getting stuffed into 99. I have all new (in the box) ubj,lbj,tie rod ends, rack and pinion to throw on it. Also new valve cover gaskets need to go on while on stand.
All I have to say is I'm over the moon finding this truck. 500 bux and body/frame are clean, clean, clean. Unsure when I'm starting the project. I'm sure I'll have a question or 2. Already watched Toolman Timmy yank an engine. I pulled my 7.3 diesel out and also did a complete cab swap so not intimidated. Hey, if a guy can do it, I know I can.

Cheers guys

 

That's exactly the answer I was looking for.
Thank you for the input.

Cheers, Farmgirl

 

I have done a few engine swaps in my time, so I can tell you that even 1 year difference even in the middle of a production run can have some big differences in wiring.
Don't get rid of ANYTHING from your donor until the other truck is running and driving.
I generally figure on keeping all sensors and electrical from the recipient vehicle so that I know everything will plug in and work together.
I even did one swap that both vehicles were the same year, but one was a DX and one was an LX (Honda) and I figured I would just drop the entire subframe from both cars and it should be plug and play. NOT, they put a different alternator on them and I ended up going back in to swap them after I already had the everything installed.

 

Agree with Mr. Fiero.

Would love to see pics of the project once you start twirling wrenches.



Andreas

 

Yeah I'd say generally, parts are interchangeable. When searching catalogs for parts, it's typically a pretty wide year range that any one part will fit. All the same I'll second akwheeler's point. All bets are off when it comes to wiring.

These trucks are so reliable, I've never needed to dig deeply into mine, even at 300,000 miles, so I don't have a ton of experience fixing it. But my 80's Toyotas were a serious pain when working on carbs, emissions and wiring stuff. Nothing stays the same for even a month, much less a year. At least it sometimes felt that way.

 

I'll be mindful of all the electrical connections and take alot of pictures and make notation .
Thanks for all the input. Keep it coming.
Doing maintenance on excavator and skid steers the next week or so. I'll start posting as I continue to get my ducks in a row for the 4runner project.

Thanks again guys,
Farmgirl

 

We'll need to see some photos! We don't get to see work on heavy machinery around here. I'm always jealous when I visit ranchers I work with and see their shops. Huge, heated, with lifts and ramps and machinery that could lift my truck or its engine...Way nicer than where I do all my truck work.

Of course post some photos of engine/tranny swap too.