I'm not sure of everything involved. I think most of the differences are in the electronics - sensors, harness and ECU. I think the blocks and internals are the same for all 1st gen DOHC engines. The major changes occurred in 1998. Being that you are looking at a 1997, you will need to swap out some of the bolt on parts to keep everything compatible with your current ECU. But I think that is do-able. The manual trans requires a different ECU, as will the 4x4 parts. And there's a lot to do for that job. That said, I'd say you're better off finding a working 4x4 version and invest your time and $$$ in some lift, rims and tires if you want to go that route. You will bleed time, $$$ and sanity if you try to convert a 2wd with a bad block into a working 4x4. This has been discussed here before, if you want to search for the thread to get an idea of what's really involved. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />