874runnersr5

Hey guys, i dont know where to start...
This site is awesome, ive been reading over all these threads and yesterday i finally got my 87 4runner.
specs are,
bone stock, rear window works! inside switch and rear key, has 389 and still runs strong... anyways..

So today i began cleaning.... the interior was horrid, exterior isnt that bad, couple dents and dings and a bit of rust but nothing some tlc will fix!

So i put the clutch in, put the key in and start it up, it was werid thoe...
And i fired it up, then almost died ideling around 500, tapped the gas up to 1500 for 3 seconds then it ideled like a charm at 1000...
Question is, what could cause this? i know it has tones of km's but it runs pretty strong and whatnot. What i personally think is it could be the timing chain?
My friend said it could be the fuel line not building up enough pressure?
Oh, and im not getting a oil pressure reading on the dash, could it be faulty gauge? i checked the oil level and its prime.. so i dunno

Anyways guys, i know il get some help here
Thanks alot!

874runnersr5

anyone?

now, i tried to start it up today.
Im going to try to explain whats happening now
The clutch needs to be pressed in a certain place then the starter finnaly attemps to start.
Any clue?

abecedarian

You have a clutch safety switch. You should also have a switch on the dashboard to the left of the steering wheel that you can press in to override the clutch switch. I believe it says 'clutch override switch' on it.

874runnersr5

Hey, yeah i noticed that switch, but then i have the get the clutch in at a perfect spot and still a no go
Im going to try it again in a bit and see what happens

874runnersr5

Hm, i put my keys in and press the button so the light lights up and still nothing happens

abecedarian

All you should have to do is make sure the truck's in neutral, turn the key to on, push the button once then start the truck. I'll grab a wiring diagram in a bit and see if I can get you some places to start looking.
In the meantime, it's possible that the clutch master and slave cylinders need bled or the clutch pedal may need adjusted.

874runnersr5

Yeah, see its like picky...
when it wants to it will when it doesnt.. well it doesnt haha
Yeah i picked up a hayes book yesterday thinking inmind this will come in handy soon.
Im thinking the clutch pedal does need to be adjusted, what signs should i see or feel if that needs to be done?

abecedarian

Basically, if the pedal has to be down to the floor to get the transmission in gear or you find that just barely letting up on the pedal causes the clutch to start grabbing it needs adjusted.

abecedarian

The cluch safety switch is also under the dashboard. It may be needing a bit of adjustment to make it a little easier to activate.

874runnersr5

Ohh alright, yeah it takes a while for the clutch to catch, but yeah il look into bleeding the system and what not.

Yeah i also took notice of that, theres a little push activator thing behind the clutch and i made sure that when the pedal was depressed it would activate it.
Il check again just to make sure

874runnersr5

Im also wondering if the engine starting up then wanting to die has any to do with it?

myyota

The first thing i would recomend is a complete cune up, fuel filter, plugs, cap/rotor and plug wires. I don`t know much about the clutch cancel switch, but its possible that the clutch needs to be bled.

abecedarian

Thinking more about the idle problem...
what may be happening is that your idle-air valve is not working properly and is stuck closed. its job is to allow some air to bypass the throttle when the engine is cold so that the engine rev's a bit higher. this, combined with the cold-start injector emulate a the choke and fast idle setting on a carbureted vehicle. if the idle-air valve is not opening when cold you are ending up with an over-rich fuel mixture when you start it and a poor idle. reving it up a few seconds will clear the extra fuel and it would idle more normally afterwards.

any luck on the clutch?

874runnersr5

yeah, i tried it a couple more times and no luck, but my dad and i narrowed it down for why the starter is doing its job... Whenever he engages the clutch and has the key in the start position it sounds like there is a live wire? or some sort of electricy coming near the starter.. So im thinking either somethings lose or screwed. haha, tommrow il be going under to check forsure.
Wow, abecedarian that seems to be the cause, because after i started it up previous day it smelled like gas in the air type thing... The Idle-air valve, is it that thingy dangling from the throttlebodie area? If so, in the hayes manual i remember seeing a couple trouble shooting tips to see if its working.


not any luck yet, i havent had to much time to fiddle around yet,
Also, if i do bleed the clutch, what type of oil do i replace it with?

abecedarian

DOT 3 brake fluid is ok for the clutch.
for the idle-air valve, it's under the throttle body.
if you're hearing electrical arcing around the starter, there very well could be loose wires down there- they may even be corroding away.
good luck

874runnersr5

Thanks man, honestly youve been such a help!
And to everyone else to!
But, yeah il post back and tell you guys what happens

Oh, if i want to take out the valve covers, whats the deal with the gasket?
does it need ot be placed? or what? And what else besides the timing chain can i tell from having it off?

abecedarian

on the 22re, the valve cover gasket is more like an o-ring that runs around the cover. it should only need replaced if it's broken or craked or stiff. the last I bought was about 40 for the set- the gasket, the 4 grommets under the valve cover nuts and the 2 half-moon shaped rubber inserts that go at the front and back of the head.
As for what you can check- the valve adjustments, rocker arm and shaft play, and if you look down the exhaust manifold side of the timing chain cover you can see if the chain has been slapping against the cover by the water pump which, if it has, means the chain and guides should be replaced and the timing chain cover repaired or replaced as necessary.

874runnersr5

Thanks man, il be doing that right after school. Il post back after saying how everything went

874runnersr5

Alright, a little update

So today, we pushed it from my drive way into my garage, spent 9 hours cleaning/steaming the interior.... its amazing now, no dust, nothing.
So me and my buds were wanting to try to start it up, so we figured it was the battery, but i was thinking about live sounding wire before, when it didn't even crank/turn over starter. So we hook up a battery charger, wait 5 mins, try it. Finnaly, it cranks then the starter died down from lack of battery power, so we hooked it back up and tried it again and guess what.

IT STARTED, only question is, could the spark plug, very old oil, spark cables have anything to do with the start up? i know its an obvious question but, when we tried it the 2nd time, the starter like took a while for it to get started and when it finally caught it barely managed not to stall. And there was also some blueish smoke that smelt like gasoline in the air, it came from the engine. And one of my friends said that when i was starting it, there was little puffs of smoke coming from the back end of the engine, wondering whats that about.

Thanks alot guys

abecedarian

bluish smoke is oil burning. so yeah, change the oil. if it's been a while the oil needs it anyways... and the plugs and wires too. dirty / old ones don't work as well as new

did you take the valve cover off?