04 4Runner starts and dies

weeum

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My first post.
The engine starts and dies. All coils are good the injectors are good. The engine is full rich condition. Spark plugs are fuel soaked. The few seconds that it does run black smoke pours from the tailpipe. It only shows a P0354 code.
History.
At 218000 miles the original engine was running but had a leaking head gasket on the #6 cylinder and was misfiring, otherwise it ran and would drive.
I have replaced the original engine with a 2005 Tacoma engine that was bought in late 2004 from wrecked vehicle. Engine has been in dry storage for this whole time. Engine is complete from airbox to oilpan. I did have to change the oilpan. This should have been a plug and play situation. I did use the original fuel rail and injectors as three of the new ones were gummed up. I had to change the cam timing sensors as the new ones where three wire and my 4 Runner has two wire connectors. The build date on the two appear to be only four to five months different according to some dates on the engine parts.
This thing should at least run in open loop at startup, however it just dumps fuel, smokes like mad and dies.
I am positive it is something simple and probably have over looked it. Crank positon sensor? Maybe, I do not know.
Any help will be greatly appreciated. Greg.
 
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Pull the MAF sensor and look up into it with a flashlight may have some debris in it from transport, spiders are a common culprit.
 
As I research things keep leading me to the vvt sensors may not be compatible between the two engines. Any thoughts.
Greg.
 
As I research things keep leading me to the vvt sensors may not be compatible between the two engines. Any thoughts.
Greg.

Yep, you got it. The camshaft sensors between the tacoma and 4runner motors are not the same and will not work with each other. Had this problem when I had to replace my motor two years ago from hydrolocking it. Unfortunately the only fix I know of, is to get the correct motor from the same year 4runner. Hope you get it figured out.
 
It seems that I may be able to change the plates and or the actuators on the intake cams back to my original ones.
 
It seems that I may be able to change the plates and or the actuators on the intake cams back to my original ones.

Hope that works. My 4runner sat at the dealer for over a month while they tried to swap parts to make it work with the different cam sensors, but they could not figure out how to do it. I know how much it sucks that this happens, so hopefully you wont be swapping engines again.
 
If anyone is still monitoring I changed the signal plates on the vvt actuator and engine starts and runs as it should. I am surprised that this prevented the engine from at least starting. Of course I used my old sensors also.
Thanks all.
Greg.
 

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