Tolbert

I bought this truck at the beginning of the year. So far it is a great truck but I have noticed little things are not working right. I have always been a chevy guy but this truck is awesome. I can't wait to get everything dialed in and running great. So far I have completed:

Throttle Position Sensor
K and N Intake kit
Timing Belt w Pullys
Basic tune up
Replaced the VSVs
New belts
AC Compressor
Trans flush with filter replacement
Thermostat with Rad flush (had gasket jammed in the old thermostat)
Idler Arm
Steering Damper

Lots more to do since the original owner never did any routine maintenance.

Today I was able to change one of the half shafts and drill out and tap the holes for the skid plat. Those axles take a lot more work than the books says. But many ideas for the truck.

Here's some pics.







Check out these rotors. I knew something was wrong but I didn't think they were this bad.

westjohns yota

looks like a great place to start, one thing i would do is strip the radiator out and install one from a manual trans and get yourself a seperate tranny cooler to precent the tranny fluid and coolant mixing, bad stuff, what are your plans for it?

TNRabbit

Read the EPIC 3VZE thread in my sig line. TONS of great info there.

I'd go ahead & do both inner & outer CV boots while you have those out. Best to keep your OEM ones than replace with the crappy cheap ones from Autozone/Advance.

Think about replacing the O2 sensor as well--they need to be replaced about every 80-100k miles.

I replaced my stock OEM rotors at 94,000 miles with OEM & they lasted for about 175,000 miles~

However, I've since replaced them with Rotorpros (www.rotorpros.net) slotted/drilled rotors & the stopping power is TREMENDOUSLY better. I also changed to Hawk Super Duty pads. Best pads I've ever used. They are noisy & dusty, but if you drive a lot of mountains or tow, they are THE BEST. They are NOT cheap~

Tolbert

I have read about the tranny fluid mixing. I plan on fixing the radiator soon. I will plug the holes on the radiator and reroute to a new trans cooler.

I am currently waiting for new Pro Comp X9000 shocks and sway bar bushing kit to be delivered. Then an alignment, and start saving for new tires. I found a set of Mickey Thompson Classic 2s for sale, but they are 15x10 so I need to get new tires. I am debating on the Goodyear MTR with Kevlar 32x11.5 or the Pro Comp Mud Terrains.

I plan on changing the O2 sensor soon as well as new brakes. I have been looking around at rotors and I can't figure out which is better, slotted, drilled, or combo? One mechanic I talked with said to go stock.

There is also a smell of gas coming from under the hood. I have chased down all the fuel lines up to the back of the motor and I still can't find it. I think I need to pull the plenum and check the fuel injectors.

Lots to do and so little time. I thnk that what makes this truck so fun.

TNRabbit

........

westjohns yota

the smell of fuel is most likely your cold start inj sticking open or an injector sticking ope, run some fuel inj cleaner through it and it might help, as far as rotors go with drilled and slooted, they help remove heat and brake dust.

91_TOYOTA_4x4

Nice truck! Take care of it and it will take care of you

Oh and the MTR's with kevlar are awesome. My friend has th in 33x12.50 on his single cab and they work super well on rocks and muddy trails not to mention the have lots of grip on the street no problem driving at 150km/h

TNRabbit

The MOST common fuel leak is a loose screw on the Fuel Pulsation Damper at the rear of the passenger side fuel rail.

Tolbert

I just order the rotopros set of drilled and slotted rotors and new pads. Not bad on price either. Shocks came in today and the replacement cv axle came yesterday. Looks like Sunday is going to be a good day for the truck.

jskijoe

Nice truck! Did the PO change the front clip to a 92 or is this really a 92? I think the sr5 stripes are different too.
Should be a fun project for sure!

91_TOYOTA_4x4

Hey man nice truck! After u get all that done id say get a brandnew rad and water pump as it may save you bug time. The if you want a little extra power for cheap do these three things-
1. Get rid of the mechanical fan and put an electric fan in. U can search "ford taurus fan mod which many people do. I personally got rid of my fan for A bit and it was way faster.
2. Get rid of the stock muffler. Not the piping or manifolds as people never reLly notice any difference but the muffler on its own is the bottle neck and i found some extra power there.
3. Set your timing to 12-13 degrees. They run great there and dont ping on 87 at all some people have even run 17 with no problems but i wouldnt. This was a bug jump in power for me. All these things made my 3.slow more like 3.Go lol i have no complaints in power.

Tolbert

jskijoe,
Your right. I accidentally typed in 91. I tried to change it after I posted and it wouldn't let. It is a 92 SR5.

I will do some research on that fan mod. I kept thinking about it but aftermarket ones are expensive. But the mod sounds like fun searching the junkyard. I have changed the muffler recently. The old one had holes in the bottom of it. I will have to check on the timing advance. Any negatives effects from the advance?

Thanks for the input guys. I wish I had more time to work on it. I plan on the shocks and CV axle tomorrow but the rain might be a problem. Doesn't rain much here in the valley, but the day I want to work on the truck, it has to rain. Figures.

91_TOYOTA_4x4

Haha same here it always rains when you make plans

The fan mod is easy if u can find one though im savin up an getting a flex a lite so it can suck a retarded amount of air through the rad while im in crawling. Stock mechanical fan just doesnt cut it on a 3vze.

12-13 degrees seems to be the best. I did it and it felt like rocket after and pulls real hard plus my mpg got a little better. It just seems to like a little advanced and it doesnt ping so why not right. 13 is safe forsure but anything past that is anyones guess and if i did do say 17 degrees id be running 89 or 91. Just try it and u will see

Tolbert

So I got the passenger cv axle swapped, and the front shocks changed out. The rain started getting to much when I tried to get the back shocks. So Sunday I get to install the back shocks and my new rotors should be here by Friday. I will have to do some research on getting the old rotors off.



And I found a pic of one of my first off road trips. Dinky Creek/ Wishon Lake trail head. Lots of fun, fiance almost killed me when I got the truck stuck but we made it out and I am thinking about a locker.

TNRabbit

"The fan mod is easy if u can find one though im savin up an getting a flex a lite so it can suck a retarded amount of air through the rad while im in crawling. Stock mechanical fan just doesnt cut it on a 3vze."

Actually, if working properly, a stock mechanical fan will move about THREE TIMES more air than ANY electric fan. Plus, the electric fans pull ALL the ability of your stock alternator & then some if they're high performance.

91_TOYOTA_4x4

True in some respects but at low rpm i think not. When im crawling through tight trails my fan doesnt spin fast enough which is my problem atm. Ive seen a flex a lite at full lilt and it pulls gobs of air which is what the 3vze needs in a hot forest. Thats the only time ive ever had my 3vze start to heat up is below 1500 rpm wether that be a trail or traffic on a hot day. The fan just doesnt spin fast enough and the sad thing is when the heat does come up a bit the idle starts to drop so the fan does less.. Id feel much more safe with a nice electric fan spinnin away at those times. Plus ive ran my truck with a bad fan clutch and it had much more power past 2000 and i mean noticable. And i wouldnt be worried about the fan taking to much power to run especially if you only use it at full tilt for short amounts of time like when you need to do 100 point turn in a trail lol and if it doesnt cut it get a better one.. Not that hard to do. Atleast for me the fan mod is worth its weight in gold.

Tolbert

I got a chance to get the back shocks done and rotated the tires. The front tires were worn so bad that after the alignment the front of the truck shook really back. I need to get new tires soon. Here's a pic of a new shock compared to the stock.



I got my new rotors from Rotopros.com and they look great. They even sent me new pads. I have been searching all day for somewhere local to get new locking washers for the axle stubs. No one here in the valley has them so I order them along with new gaskets for the aisin locking hubs I picked up.



I have been tinkering with the hubs to start a rebuild. When I put them in freewheel they don't seem to unlock. It doesn't pull the actuator in enough to release. I have been reading rebuild threads all day and it seems I am getting them back together right. I did notice that mine look a little different. It does fit on the axle shaft but it just doesn't unlock. Any ideas?

91_TOYOTA_4x4

Oooo I like those rotors! How does is stop now?

As far as the hubs go what did you get them off ifs or sfa? 79-85 solid front axles Manual hubs dont work on ifs. Ive never had both side by side to figure out whats different but i know the housing is shorter on ifs ones if i remember right. Oh and check out 4crawlers site im pretty sure he has a detailed rebuild of manual hubs.

redbayredneck

If the face dial is what came on the hubs, then they are probably Solid axle hubs... count to see if they are 27 spline or 30 spline. Thats a key difference in the hubs. 30 spline will be Solid axle hubs.

Edit: If they turn out to be SFA hubs, I could use an extra set... just mail them to me

Buck&DuckRig

how was the rotor swap i need to do it and pads to my rig since i put thes bigger tires the stopping abbility has went down hill so i was just wondering how it went