Cmayer

Hey guys, I'm trying to make time to work on the 4runner and get it desert ready by October. It's a toy and has sat quite a bit over the summer as I'd rather drive the other truck with A/C.

Anyhow, it's time to get the neglected runner up and running.

The engine was supposedly rebuilt about a year ago right before I purchased it from the PO. From day 1 it's had issued with having what feels like turbo lag.

I've replaced the fuel filter, cap and rotor, spark plugs, plug wires, air filter, and checked all the grounds and vacuum lines that I can find.

Here's a video of a vacuum gauge on the engine. I'm used to carbed engines and am not sure if it's normal to have such a rapid fluctuation between 17-19 inches. Does this mean anything to anyone? Gauge was attached to a port on the upper intake manifold behind the throttle body.

Also in the video I tried to get the audio to pick up a random scrapping sound that I've had recently. Ignore the high pitched bell as that was the 3 year old with his new bike and bell.

http://youtu.be/tY1hDgD8UgI

The engine does have a bit of water out the exhaust and light white smoke until it warms up. Doesn't matter if it's a cold day or hot day. Also does not lose coolant at all.

Thanks!

87 'runner boosted

have you checked for turbo play??? im at work and cant check the vid here (blocked youtube...figures). But thats about the only thing i can think of that could scrape with boost...like maybe the fins are touching the housing indicating a worn turbo bearing. This could also cause your turbo lag as it wont spool up smooth like it should and if its touching the housing, then of course its going to prevent the turbo from spooling to the speed it needs to be to get proper boost and such...only thing i can think of off the top of my head.

Cmayer

Thanks for the reply, 87 'runner boosted! I should have mentioned this is a NA truck, no turbo. .

I meant it feels like turbo lag if it were a turbo truck, it will act like a dog at first and then pick up. It doesn't have a tach, so I don't really know if it happens at a constant RPM, but feels like it.

Also, when I get to full throttle, sometimes backing off the pedal actually causes the truck to pick up a bit.

I've adjusted, or confirmed that the TPS and AFM are to factory specs.

Cmayer

Here's another one that has been troubling me. I've searched high and low for an answer and haven't found a similar thread. Also, the Hanes manual does not show this part or the order it goes in.

Here are the symptom that I'm having:

1. The steering wheel scrapes the steering column plastic trim.
2. The wheel will not return to center; I have to manually correct the wheel.
3. The steering wheel feels "heavy" when turning.

If I simply pull the steering wheel towards me it moves about 1/8" to 1/4" and all of the above problems go away. The wheel feels great, returns to center, and no scraping at all.

I pulled the wheel off and this spring was just kind of there. Didn't appear to go in, in any order.



So the questions:
The white cam that cancels the turn signals apears to have a sliver on the outside rim, away from the steering wheel, that is broken. I found a tiny white piece of plastic in there and the outside has one jagged edge on the cam You can see the jagged part between 11 o'clock and 12'oclock on the cam in the picture. Is there supposed to be a lip that captures the turned in portion of the spring?

What order is this spring supposed to go when re-installing the cam and wheel? Does it go between the multi-stalk switch and the cam, or between the cam and the steering wheel?

I can't believe that this would cause my issue, but it steers so much nicer when the steering wheel is move just a tiny bit away from the column cover.

Oh ya, the turn signal cancel and everything that is part of the switch, including horn, function perfect.

Thanks!

xylicon

Here is a video of my 22RE running with a vacuum gauge installed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6QHQw8epLw

From what I understand your readings are not normal, the needle should be steady.

Here is a helpful link on how to read a vacuum gauge, http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/186.cfm scroll to the bottom

Cmayer

Thanks for the link xylicon!

Based on that website, the most likely culprit would be poorly seated valves.

Cmayer

Friendly bump. Anyone know what order the spring goes in the steering column?



Thanks

Cmayer

So I got the spring and turn signal cancel cam installed. It turned out the plastic cam was indeed broken and caused some of my issues with the spring sitting correctly.

However it did not correct the in and out play of my steering wheel.

My steering wheel has in and out play of about 1/4 inch. When it is "down" toward the firewall it has very heavy steering feel and will not return to center after a turn. If I pull towards me the steering returns to normal and has a light feeling and self centers perfect.

I pulled the steering coupler / rag joint cover and there is play between the intermediate shaft and the coupler, but does not appear to be play between the steering box and the coupler.

The movement is from the coupler in my opinion, but I assume there's supposed to be play in it.

Could a failing steering coupler be the cause of my heavy steering?

Thanks!