Did any 1995 3RZ-FE come with dual spark or did someone change this motor?

Picked up this 1995 single cab 3RZ powered Tacoma yesterday with 250k on the clock. It very obviously needs a new motor (severely blown HG and overheated) but there's very little rust, it's pretty straight and everything else is there and seems to work so I reckon it's worthy of a little love, especially for the price I paid.

Now I'm looking for reman engine options but see this one is a dual spark, 8 port motor and not a distributor spark like I thought all 1995-96 3RZ's were. Just wondering if anyone can offer any insight on this configuration and if they think it's the original motor or not? Also open to sourcing the best reman engine. This one was overheated (at least once by me on the way home...hahaha) so will need a new long block at minimum.

 

You are correct that the distributor was phased out in 97 to do coils and wires. Then in 01 they changed to coil on plug. So I would think either the engine was swapped or changed to coil and wire.

 

That's good info. There's an aftermarket 4 into 1 header on the truck so maybe someone cared enough to do a dual coil swap, too? Is that something people do? I'll have to search if it's a direct/easy swap or if you also need to change the ECM.

 

A dozen butt splices on the ECM wire harness. That might explain how the dual coil swap was accomplished. Oh boy! Here we go... lol

 

I'll likely start a build thread but wanted to update the collective here as I think I've gotten to the bottom of my anomaly. Now just gotta go about fixing it right.

Pulled the ECM. Part number is 89661-04490 which appears to be from a 1999 3RZ Tacoma and likely matches the dual coil ignition.



Partsouq.com says the ECM part number for my VIN is 89661-04051. Interesting can of worms here.

I'd wrap up and answer the original question to this thread was "did someone change this motor?" and that's a big 10 four.

If anyone in the know is still watching, though, I'll ask: what is the part number for the main ECM wiring harness on a 1999 3RZ 5spd 4x4 base model single cab? Thanks!

 

The dual coil/wasted spark was used on 1998-2000 3RZ I think. It's the setup my '98 has. I can try to look up the wiring harness part number based on my VIN later and see if it's the same for '99.

 

On second thought, another approach you might try...

Go to www.toyodiy.com
Click "Enter parts catalog..." (should get you here: https://www.toyodiy.com/parts/)
Click "Search by Part Number" (should get you here: https://www.toyodiy.com/parts/xref)
Enter the ECM part number (should get you here: https://www.toyodiy.com/parts/xref?s=89661-04490&mU=on)

Now you have a list of trucks that the ECM might have come from.

From there, open a new tab and go back to the parts catalog (https://www.toyodiy.com/parts/)
Click "Select your Car" (should take you here: https://www.toyodiy.com/parts/q.html)
Enter a model code (eg, RZN171L-CRMDKAB) to see a list of associated part numbers.

I'd characterize this lookup method as "very helpful but imperfect". You might still have to do some legwork to navigate substitute/replacement part numbers, or to figure out what's functionally interchangeable even if it's not "correct" part based on Toyota's numbering scheme. It sounds like you've got some experience here already, so I look forward to seeing what you figure out. Sounds like an entertaining project.

 

Thanks for posting! I haven't used that site and it's an interesting approach. Unfortunately, if I'm doing it as instructed, it just gave me a broad range (aka the entire range) of 95-2004 3RZ powered Tacomas when searching that part number (89661-04490).



Google is telling me the ECM that came with this 1995 truck is from a 1999 3RZ 5spd and those sources are below. But my usual go-to (Partsouq.com) has nothing coming at all for that part number, and because of that, nothing coming up for a wiring harness.

1999 Toyota Tacoma 2.7L - ECM ECU PCM | 89661-04490 | Flagship One

1999 Tacoma 2.7L Engine computer 89661-04490 "Plug and Play" ECM PCM | eBay

1999 Toyota Tacoma - 89661-04490 - ECM PCM ECU Engine Computer Programmed & Flashed

Since I can't find a corresponding ECM wiring harness part number given that criteria, I'd love some help. Thanks!!

 

Agreed that it's an odd pair of results you got back, but it's far from every 3RZ truck ever made. One is a regular cab, one extended, both 4x4 with manual trans.

Anyway, the VIN lookup for my '98 RZN161L-TRMDKAB got me to either 82111-04780 or 82111-04790 (I don't know what the difference is) with computer 89661-04371.

Not the same ECU as your truck, so the wiring harness could be a gamble--or it might be functionally the same just with different wire colors, because Toyota.

 

That's big help! Thanks for searching and posting. This is a weird one but this gets me on the right track . Thanks again!