Sure! About 4 years ago, head gasket blew. Mechanics found other issues with the engine and deemed it totaled. We were able to find a used 5vz v6 engine with 75k miles for around $2500 and after labor came out to a little over $3k. Depending on your area, I've seen the prices of these used engines dramatically increase.

I couldn't speak about the difficulty, as I had my mechanic do the work. However, it was finished the day they recieved the new engine and it being a very well known and simple platform, I'm sure it's one of the more simple engine swaps.

If this car wasn't so sentimental I may have considered using that money for a down payment on another vehicle but I love this car and has been in my family forever.

I also recommend to start replacing things here and there as your 4runner ages. I don't have an exact list of things I started replacing but I'd look at any seals, gaskets, hoses, filters, bushings, air flow sensor, etc.

My 97 4runner has 364,000 miles on it! Admittedly at 340,000 I had to change the engine but I got a new one in and expect it to run another 300k. The engine swap was miles cheaper than getting a new car.