well truck was running good no issues, last night i went out to start it up started up but had a weird stumble, so i pop the hood start checking around and notice white smoke out the exhaust.. dang it!

never has overheated on me via the scangauge, thinking somehow i got a slight crack in the HG. 177k miles


now looking into picking up a JDM used block from a local engine importer who is a buddy of mine. $900 for a long block.


is there any thing that needs to be switched over from the new engine or old engine on this swap?

i googled but all the threads are people putting in diesel or bigger engine setups, some are saying you need to swap harness others say no, some say oil pans other say no.

appreciate any advice.

Why would you swap an entire motor for a blown headgasket?

There was a horror story on here about a JDM swap just last week. Guy bought a "good" motor, had it swapped out, and it wasn't a good motor.

the only reason why im considering it is, cost wise to get a headgasket job done correctly will run me about $400-600

i believe that is definitely a possibility, the only benefit i have is a long time friend has been importing engine setups locally so if i run into a issue ill have some wiggle room, which is the first thing i had asked him.

The problem is that you still won't know the issue(s) until the install is complete. Then you'll have to pull the motor, and start over.

I just recently purchased a motor from JDM, $900, and had it installed.

They say hindsight is 20/20 and that's a truism.

If I could do it all over again, I would have had my motor rebuilt and or saved for a remanufactured motor.

They encountered a host of issues, had to use the entire intake system off my motor, since the imported motor had different emissions system on it, had a issue with the oil filter being in a different location than my original motor.

In the end once it was fully installed, it knocked like a bat out of hell, it worked itself out, we guess it had a valve or something that was sticking from the JDM motor sitting for so long, but we never discovered what exactly was causing the knock, but it runs fine now, but it still leaves me with a slight nagging doubt in the back of my mind about the durability of the motor and the wisdom of my choice in buying from them.

In the end it comes down to what you can afford, and what your comfortable doing.

Just keep in mind that if you get a bad motor from JDM they will replace it, but you have to pay to ship it back, and they don't cover the labor cost.

ive seen reman engine but they are about 2k. i dont have that much extra cash laying out right now with planning a wedding.


so intake manifolds do need to be swapped then, was your engine out of the same chassis in japan? or a different one? i read that hiace and hilux engine had varying oil filter location due to one having a factory oil cooler and one not having it?

thanks for the reply!

I'm not sure where or what the JDM motor came out of, only that it was compatible for my 4runner, they had to use a adapter for my oil filter to move it to the original location or else the motor wouldn't fit.

I think it would be more cost effective and less of a headache to fix your headgasket ( if that is the issue ) than swapping out the whole motor, but that's just my opinion, in the end its your money and your 4runner.

$4-600 for a head gasket versus $900 for an unknown used motor. Seems pretty straight forward to me.

i had a buddy with the same issue im having he did his headgaskets and had the heads machined then discovered the heads were cracked.

the only "benefit" if you can call it one is if the JDM engine is trash i can get another one without being out $600 or i could go for it and do the headgaskets and see what happens.

Instead your out $900 for the motor, shipping it back, and however much to install/uninstall/reinstall the motor. There's no benefit to pissing away money.

I would just do the head gaskets.

It doesn't sound like you drove it & over heated it. If you did you would have more chances for a cracked head or warped some bearings the bottom end. There's no easy decision here. What ever you do is a gamble & might cost you more money down the line.

it sat and i started it up and noticed it so no driving or overheating, never has on me.

i hear you, damned either way possibly