2005 Tacoma 1GR swap to 2011 1GR

Goood afternoon TW, figured Id post this up seeing as how I haven't done much posting over the last couple years

Well the good ol' taco finally quit, I had the frame replaced and when they did it they noted that the motor had some serious issues and was on borrowed time. I bought the truck used and I think she had a pretty rough go of it the first time around. Looked like a real work rig. They quoted me about 4-5k to resolve things...or they suggested I just drive it until it quits then swap in a new motor for around 2-3k. I went with the latter and at 190K with both head gaskets gone, a failing internal oil pump, valves knocking and clanging....she finally let go on the highway.

So this past weekend we finally got down to business
The new motor cost me 2400 shipped from Justice Il, the guys at A-Z enterprises were really helpful and provided me with enough info about the new motor that I felt pretty confident with the condition. They missed a couple cracks on the intake runners and one cam sensors but I switched them out no prob.

Saturday we pulled the old motor and Sunday we switched over the parts to the new motor. New motor is the same 4.0 1GR but its got 30K on the clock. FYI the wiring harness for a manual is different than the one for an auto. had to drop the truck onto the frame rails to get the motor to clear the grill. The brace up front is spot welded in place. The job isn't really too bad, you need two people and its just a lot of knuckle banging and tight spots. Waiting on a couple gaskets but we should be dropping in the new motor in the next week along with billy 5100s and a set of Camburg UCA.

Feel free to ask any questions. There are definitely some tools you need to do the job right and there are some that just make it easier. Totally time worked is currently right around 8-9 hours.

 

You make it sound so easy lol

 

I certainly hope my 4.0 lasts longer than that. Although the oil pump seems to be the weak link on these trucks. May be reason for a 4BT swap

 

Isn't the wiring harness different? I know Toyota did a ECU rewire for the exhaust blower in 09 or 10. Are you putting in a newer ECU or do the harnesses on the engine side match. I'd be curious to know.

 

I actually wanted to do a 4BT, and I still will one day, but as my dd I just need to get it back on the road. The issue for me with the 4bt is getting it to pass the OBD2 inspection process. In nh you still need to have your truck plugged in and have everything read "OK". I applied for the paper work to have the truck reassigned as an early model 4bt to match a motor I was going to buy but there is no guarantee they will approve the paper work until the job is done...and at that point youre all in so its a big risk.

 

The new engine came out of an automatic. Mine is a manual, the harness is identical on the motor side. The part where it differs is the tail that goes to the trans...there is one big plug that is different. So I pulled the harness off the old motor and plugged it onto the new one without a hitch

 

Thanks for the reply! I was really curious with the switch on the ECU side if Toyota would be tools and switch the engine side too.

 

thanks for sharing and good luck!

 

Ill compare the loom ends that go through the fire wall and see if there is a difference. There is only one big part that has like 5 connectors so itll be pretty easy to tell if they differ.

 

I know for a fact that the ECU side is not wired the same. The rumour is it was because when they added the emissions blower they ran out of pins. It's the reason S/C trucks like mine can't run the U-Con plug and play EMU. Our trucks don't have the same pin layout as the pre 09 truck.

If things are wired the same on the engine side I'm guessing you won't have any problems.

Here's a thread showing the extra wiring to make a pre-09 ECU work on a post-09 truck:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/urd-supercharger-install-on-a-post-09-tacoma.366593/

 

Quick note...the 1gr 4.0 v6 does not use a pilot bearing...this little bit of info will prevent people from searching for the darn thing for an hour and scratching their head wondering where it went.

 

UPDATE: I NEED A PHOTO OF A CONNECTOR ON THE BACK OF THE TRANS FROM A 6 SPEED MANUAL ( its a little one with two wires, its next to the a large black connector) !!! please send 603 455 1537

So the new motor is back in the truck !
Couple things to note, the injectors from a 2005 and 2011 are NOT interchangeable, neither is the relay. The 2011 relay is a 5 pin, the 2005 is a 4 pin. So I had to switch over the rails and injectors. Pretty easy to do, no biggie.

Main issue right now is that when I try to start the truck my EFI relay is buzzing. From the research I have done, this means I have a short somewhere. Oh yay....if anyone likes hunting for crap like that come help ! hahaha.....but serious come help

 

If anyone can send me a photo of the wires going into this connector please let me know !!

 

Its the correct relay, I pulled all the injectors off the old motor and put them on the new one. I cross referenced the coils and they are the same so I didn't switch them out. I read a little about a guy with a tundra that had the same issue and he had a short or missing ground somewhere. I just hope its not a broken wire imbedded in the loom somewhere

 

UPDATE:

So I wired up the connector on the back of the trans and the EFI relay started buzzing again when I went to start the truck...DAMN!
I thought about it for a while and decided to just go around the wiring harness and check all the grounds.

When we put the accessories on the new motor there were a couple of bolts for connectors we didn't want to loose so we screwed them back in by hand....one of those was the starter ground underneath the starter that goes directly to the block. I reached under the starter (through the wheel well) and felt the bolt....it was loose! I torqued it down good and tight ANNNNNNNNND....the truck fired right up first time. Runs super smooth and sounds great. Total time worked was prob about 2 days. Not a bad job, but not for the faint of heart, grab some beers and dedicated friend.

NOTE: When doing a motor swap, tighten all connectors when you first plug them in !! Don't say "oh ill get that in a sec...u might forget and end up costing yourself quite a bit of down time and head scratching.