So four weeks later and my 4runner is back on the road, took a little longer than expected.

So I ended up getting an engine from a 4wd 2008 Tacoma that looked like it got wrecked on both sides and the back. I was told the engine had just under 130k (mileage verified through Carfax) and was confirmed as a runner with no issues and would come with one years warranty. The price was 2000 shipped from California to North Carolina delivered to my mechanic. I was initially told it would take a week but when I got no tracking number after a few days I phoned and was told there was some confusion because the engine was still in the Tacoma but was told that would be done by the next day. In total it took two weeks from payment to arrival at my mechanic.

During those two weeks my mechanic had also taken on a lot of extra work so it wasn't going to be a quick turnaround but it worked out at about 10 days. I was told to expect about 15-16 hours but it took 22 hours and cost $2140. More than I expected but hey at least I would have my 4runner back, I had a loaner old Ford Ranger stick shift from my father in law and I was delighted knowing mine was coming home.

So I hopped in and started it up, found it odd that the green light for the center diff was flashing. I tried engaging the 4wd and nothing happened, so it was put back up on the ramp and they found a broken connector. I came back and hour later with a new connector fitted and even more odd the green center diff light was no longer flashing but now I had the normal green 4wd light flashing and it would just not pop into 4wd. The mechanic was closing so I decided that maybe it was just a sticky actuator so I took it home to put some miles on it.

It drove really nice heading home with no issues other than the flashing 4wd light, no check engine light that I had been looking at since I originally bought the car. The next day we decided to take it out for a run to see if the light would reset and I was on the slip road to the highway doing about 45mph. I accelerated hard to get up to the 70 mph limit but just around 3500-4000 rpm and 60mph the car started shaking and lurching like crazy and the dreaded check engine light came on, my code reader gave code P0355 for the crankshaft position sensor so we turned around and came home.

On Monday we went back to my mechanic and they swapped the sensor from my old engine onto the newer one and it fixed the misfiring. They also had a look again at my flashing green light and deemed it to be an issue with the previous connector that was broken. Apparently the pin guide they used was listed as being for my car but it was incorrect and they moved a few pins and my 4wd is now working perfect.

I have had the car back a few days and it has thrown a couple of codes but they disappear and don't come back. I was told this was possibly part of the engine and the ECU getting to know each other. I have to replace the engine oil after 1000 miles, my mechanic says this is a good thing to do after an engine swap.

So it cost $4140 to get my 4runner back on the road and question is was it worth it? I reckon it was a good result because I needed a car and I didn't like what 4k - 6k would get me. Any 4runners under 6k seemed to have mileage around 250,000, so I see it as getting a 4Runner with under 130,000 miles for the $4140.

Hopefully now all my problems from the past will stay there and I can finally get some true enjoyment from my 4runner.