2018 2trfe swap into a 2009 Tacoma

So I brought my truck into the shop with a p0303 which persisted after changing spark plugs and ignition coils. They told me it had a faulty piston ring, and that the work to change the piston ring would be comparable to swapping the engine. My first question would be if it is true that the best move would be to swap engines, and my other question would be if a 2018 2trfe would fit in a 2009 body. The 3rd gen engines are substantially cheaper with lower miles than the 2nd gen, but I'm uncertain if the 2018 engine requires a different wiring harness or if the motor mount placement is different, and either one would be a problem.
I am pretty desperate for help here so anything is appreciated.

 

The engine would physically fit but the wiring and ECU is different and the 3rd gen ECU and wiring is set up for the 3rd gen transmission, so while the engine itself might be cheaper it would almost certainly cost more to do a 3rd gen engine/wiring/ECU/transmission swap than put a 2nd gen engine back in.

 

Ah that's what I was afraid of. Ah well, with the price of vehicles being what it is I suppose I'll try to source a 2nd gen. Thank you for your help you saved me from making a very expensive mistake. God I love these forums.

 

What’s the difference between the 2018 and 2015 2TRFE? Both are dual VVT-i. I don’t really know what goes into making the dual VVT-i work in 2015+ vs the single VVT-i in 2006-2014 engines. I’m betting that you could leverage the ECU and harness from a 2015 if necessary. This would avoid making other changes related to the 3rd gen ECU.

 

I guess another thing to consider is what are you future plans with the truck? Are you planning on selling it anytime soon? If so, I would think that would hurt the value of the truck because it seems a lot of people go after the 2nd gen because of the 4.0 engine.

 

I don't think the Tacoma got dual VVT until the 3rd gen (2016 model year) but I could be wrong, maybe someone with a 2015 4 cyl could confirm.

If that was the case you would still have to swap harnesses and ECU's at a minimum and that could still prove to be a challenge as manufacturers often change seemingly insignificant things in harnesses that can cause big headaches when swapping them.

It's one reason I always tell people to use the harness that came with the truck when swapping in a used engine even of the same year model.

 

Dual VVT-i was added for the last year of the 2nd gen. You would have to swap the ECU, but I think its only one more sensor so if might be easier to just put separate wires and add them to the existing harness vs. changing the entire harness. I found a used ECU for $125 on car-part.com when I was doing my manual swap.

 

Pop the number four ignition coil out and see if the tip is covered in oil if it is you need a valve cover gasket and spark plug tube gaskets. I don’t believe them one bit and I’d get that truck out of there and never go back. At least get a second opinion. Good luck

 

Yes for sure confirm your engine is junk before swapping anything, a simple compression/leakdown test can determine if the cylinder is indeed bad.

 

Interesting, I don't have access to factory wiring diagrams for a 2015 model and Mitchell redrawn diagram for 15 shows single VVT.
Dual VVT would add at least 5 wires, 3 for the extra cam sensor and 2 for the oil control solenoid but certainly doable I suppose.

 

Dual VVT-i was not added to the Tacoma until the 2016 model year.

Jeff

 

So, I could be wrong, but I remember this being a big deal back in 2015. I tried to find more references to it and only came up with this:









They also changed the ECM as some point for 2015. I don't know what this proves. I'll keep looking cause I swear they added dual VVT-i for the 2015 model year.

 

X2. Piston rings don't just "go bad" and I think you're being taken for a ride.

 

Shops suck! which sucks because these are the type of "professionals" that people are supposed to be able to rely on.

 

I would amend that to say some not all, I agree there are too many "hack" shops out there but there are also plenty good ones.
The trick is finding the good ones.

I work at a shop and get to see all the hackery and parts shotgunning that some other shops (and owners) do for sometimes simple problems.
Shops that just shotgun parts and do absolutely no testing shouldn't be in business period but there's plenty out there and somehow they stay in buisiness.

 

This is why I caution people who look up their own parts and/or who use ToyoDIY. It is a great resource but it requires some prerequisite knowledge to fully understand what you’re seeing. Additionally, the site tries to make things easier but just ends up losing details.

“2015” on ToyoDIY does not mean it’s showing you parts for the 2015 model year, and you need to be careful about which model code you select as well, as the 2005-2022 Tacomas share the same chassis codes and parts catalogs.

The “2015” screenshots show parts for a 2016 model.

The “2014” screenshots show parts for a 2014-2015 model.

Jeff

 

Jeff,

So is this swap possible? I bought a 2023 Tacoma 4 Cylinder with 499 miles on the odometer and it was a RollOver. I plan to swap in the engine and transmission into my 2006 Tacoma 4 Cylinder.

To the best of my knowledge it should fit.
The differences I know of are the Dual VVTi and the Immobilizer. As far as the Immobilzer I can have that removed from the ECU.

Do you know if the transmission is the same? @Jeff Lange

 

Not easily.

 

@JMcFly any chance you can elaborate on what might need to be done? I have both complete trucks running still ready for the swap.

 

never did it myself, you may need to watch a few basic videos on engine swaps on the youtubes.

Youll need to move everything over from the newer truck that makes the engine and transmission work, its going to take a fair amount of research on your end to figure it out, its not a bolt in process. Though it might be easier to just swap the cab and bed over to the newer truck frame