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Big thanks to everyone that's posted a detailed build thread. I've looked through dozens of them and they helped me decide that I can do this.
The 4Runner's engine was sounding awful for months and like a dummy I went and put it off for too long... things went south from there. Couldn't time the thing correctly (even with a timing light), consumed lots of oil, bad fuel economy (13-18mpg), made unusual rattling sounds, smoked on startup, etc.
I'm buying harbor freight's 2 ton hoist and a stand tomorrow and if the rain holds out will pull the block and have it off to the machine shop in a few days. Here's what I've seen so far... p.s. if you're not sitting down I recommend it, this is brutal:
Pulled the head to find crappy fel-pro gasket. It was letting oil and coolant into the combustion chambers after only 40k miles.
All combustion chambers look bad with crispy burnt valves, but #4 was by far the worst. Is that damage all from detonation? There was nothing in there there that would cut into metal like that.
This cylinder was still firing and holding 135psi somehow. Combustion gases were passing into the next cylinder.
Typical broken driver's guide. It's not really the guides fault... let's move on to the tensioner; What's left of it anyway.
Found the tensioner arm just lying at the bottom of the cover. It boldly took on the job of chain damper for awhile before it shot outta there like someone gave it the heimlich! I'll see the spring tomorrow when I pull the pan.
Thanks for the info. Is 65ft/lbs an updated number from Toyota? My 85 fsm (printed in 1992) says 58ft/lbs.
Old head bolts purchased from napa a few years back. 4 were coated in oil when I pulled them.
The napa bolts are very generic looking and don't have a grade stamped on them, so no clue what they're made out of. Engnbldr's at least let you know they're 10.9 bolts.
Timing cover was being destoyed around the crank gear
I was delayed getting the shop crane. Up and running!
I'm putting together a parts list and could really use the advice of those who've been there. Getting lost in the details, please help me!
I'm putting EB's stock head on it with his 261 cam. I hear mixed things about his gasket set. Is it good enough that it'll work and I won't have to think about it for 100,000 miles? I'm gonna rebuild my rocker assembly with new shafts cause mine are gouged to hell. EB's rocker shafts alright? Going with new oem adjusters, reusing arms, springs and towers.
Thinking of ordering the rest from Putney's, they seem like they know what's up.
Pulling the engine out tomorrow. Really hope the crank looks ok.
Got everything out and pulled apart.
After violently shaking the engine loose from the transmission, the only really hard part was breaking the flywheel bolts loose. I had to buy a 4 ft pipe to slide over my breaker bar with a block of wood wedged between the crank and block. I lowered the block down onto cinder blocks, braced myself with one leg on the block and those stubborn bolts broke easily.
The inside of the bell housing was coated in 1/4" of grime. I'll be replacing the rear main seal and gasket, fork bellows, and shaft input bearing and gasket. This should stop the leak, wherever it was from.
The oil pan was loaded with plastic and metal debris.
All #1 rings had snapped and the bearings were all scratched up good. The crank actually looked fine, but the machine shop will let me know what's up.
Just heard back from the machine shop and everything's good! The cylinders will be bored 40 over, and they said the crank's straight and just needs polished. Pretty hard to believe considering the main bearings looked like this:
But this machine shop's widely-known as the best in the area, so I'll trust em. Ordering the rest of my parts tomorrow.
Wow those bearings were worse than mine. Glad the crank was fine. I am getting my engine hoist tomorrow or the next so I can drop my engine in. I used white lithium grease for an assembly lube per EB advise. Packed my oil pump with it as well per his advise. Just have to bolt my turned flywheel and clutch up. Then remember where everything goes
Same here, I figured I'd have it running 2 weeks after it was out. Glad I took lots of photos... if you need any info on hardware I obsesively bagged and labelled mine.
I'm gonna try Joe Gibbs assembly lube and break-in oil. It sounds like some of the best stuff out there and my in-laws live near Summit Racing in Akron. The white lithium stuff is probably great, it's the only stuff for sale around here.
Should be picking up the machined parts over the next few days!
One thing on the break in oil. Make sure and mix all you oil together with the breakin additive before you put it in your engine. If it's not premixed to begin with. If you just dump the additive in you can easily flat spot a cam or worse.
Last edited by thefishguy77; 08-02-2016 at 05:59 AM.
Reason: Autocorrect fail
Oh yeah Fishguy great advice! I was planning to just dump my oil and additive in and call it good. Had to swing by ENGNBLDR to trade out my bearings after getting crank turned so asked him a few questions. He said use royal purple break in oil and I told him I can't afford that stuff and told him my plan and he told me mix it (clean bucket w/ paint mixer on drill, cover w/ cheese cloth or something so no dust gets in there, let bubbles settle 10-15 mins, then pour it in)
Also marine grade wheel bearing grease is the best thing to use unless your going to start it within 24-48 hrs. With my schedule figured I would be safe and go with the marine grease. It keeps moisture from getting in bearings due to condensation if you don't run it right away. Very glad I talked to him tho as I was planning to use moly paste! He said big no no and that I need to use the white lithium grease or marine grease.
The 65 ft/ibs torque spec is from ENGNBLDR also, I got one of his heads too. Not sure if the torque spec is due to his head or gasket set or just from there experience.
Nice start! Can't believe it snapped all the top rings and those bearings look like that but all it needs is a boring and crank polish gotta love toyotas!
mine melted a hole in the 2 piston so had to have my crank turned.
Last edited by 4RunnerFreak12; 08-02-2016 at 09:45 AM.
Reason: Additional info
Got everything back from the machine shop and it looks great! Went for broke (literally) on Joe Gibbs oil & lube from Summit racing so no mixing here. It'll feel weird tossing out the most expensive oil I've ever bought in my life after 400 miles, but if the new cam stays happy then I stay happy. I saw the additive breakdown compared to the others and it has a really small amount of detergent, which keeps lots of zinc on the surfaces rather than being washed away. Doing everything I can to make sure this project doesn't go south...
For anyone who's tried to clean all the sticky black junk outta their radiator reservoir tank and it wouldn't budge, I have a solution. A cup of paint thinner (make sure it's the type that says 'safe on most plastics'), and half a disposable blue shop towel. The towel soaks up most of the thinner and it acts as a mop. I shook it for a few minutes in every direction with the cap covered tight, and got this:
Didn't take a before pic, but you could hardly see light through it.
I'm at a stand-still with the build cause the machine shop told me they couldn't find replacement thrust washers. A quick Google search shows many options, of course. I think my old ones look too worn to reuse even though the machine shop said they were fine. Would you put these in a nice fully-rebuilt engine?
This is after I lightly sanded them with 400 grit to remove a crusty layer. Do they look safely reusable?
Also doesn't it look like the set on the right was installed wrong? The non-tabbed one has all the wear on back instead of the side with the oil grooves like the rest of em. A sure sign that this poor 22re was assembled either Monday or Friday...
I got the engine finished and accidentally set the distributor backwards so of course it wouldn't start until I corrected the problem. It started up really well, but always makes this high-pitched scratching sound like someone in the engine bay is intermittently pressing a buzzer. I'm worried I f***ed something up by setting the dizzy wrong at first. The chain tension was very tight and the guides are brand new. The new tensioner was bolted in at 9 ft/lbs with some thread locker to keep it there and pressed in/rebounded very easily. Is it still the chain somehow making this awful sound?
Also, how do I post a video? I have a good one of the noise, just can't figure out how to get it on here.
Thanks for the help, I really need it!
That motor look good. As for posting a video where is it hosted at? Usually you just need to host it then copy a link like your posting pictures.
Thanks, that was obvious but I'm kind of dumb when it comes to conputer tech. I've just been posting photos from my phone gallery but you can't do that with video. Here it is:
https://youtu.be/hW95rDgtDac
That is a weird sound. Somebody will be able to place it. Just not me.
I know, it doesn't sound like valves or the chain to me, but it almost has to be something related to them. I think the noise stays exactly the same regardless of speed, but it's hard to tell cause the engine drowns it out between 5-10mph.
Also, I pressed the chain in on the passenger side to check tension and the tensioner made a loud squishing noise like oil being sucked through a small hole. It only did it once and couldn't get it to do it again. Maybe that relates?
Any ideas are appreciated, even "you built your engine wrong, dummy!" are fine cause I'm just stumped.
Figured it out! I gave Putney's/22rePerformance a call and the tech asked if I had mixed up the a/c vsv vacuum hoses, cause that can make a weird erratic suction noise. Well, I switched em around and the noise is gone! Gonna take a nice, long drive today on the back roads
07-06-2016, 05:35 PM
Couldn't time the thing correctly (even with a timing light), consumed lots of oil, bad fuel economy (13-18mpg), made unusual rattling sounds, smoked on startup, etc.
