utkid1088

1995 4runner SR5 V6

So, my little brother had an accident two days ago...his back right tire slipped off the road and then flipped down the hill from there. He did not break any windows, all of his doors open and close just fine, and cracked his windshield. Other than that upon first glance most of the damage was done to the front fenders and broken side mirrors. When I got to the wreck the truck was on its side and my brother informed me that it was running when he landed. All in all not too bad really...until we got it towed home.

Under the hood I noticed right away that the negative terminal was off and nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. We checked the oil level and then tried to start her up. The engine turned over and sounded normal but would not start, makes sense because I figured there was oil all over the place since it had been on its side for so long (1 hour tops). After the second glance I noticed that the number 4 plug on the distributor cap had been broken off and was hanging loose.

Cool, Ill just go pick up a new distributor cap on the way home from work the next afternoon. Got the pieces back to the house and started to take the air intake off which was full of oil. I cleaned out the black rubber parts of the air intake and let them dry out while I installed the new distributor cap.

The new distributor cap went in fine and the rotor looked fine to me (I am not sure what it is supposed to look like so I assumed there was no damage to it). I am not sure if this matters at all, but the rotor was in the 2-3 o'clock position. Once I got the distributor cap back on, I began reconnecting the spark plug wires, only to realize that the actual plastic housing that connected the wire to the distributor column was no where to be found. Dad (more knowledgeable than me) suggested that we go ahead and connect the wire with whatever we had, I'm not sure how he did this, and try to start the engine. I was at work for the day and was told that the engine still would not start and made a very mechanical unnatural noise as if all the cylinders were firing at once when it tried to start. It would not turn over but the engine was definitely getting spark.

I do not know enough about the ignition system to really know how to fix this. From what I have seen I think I have some pretty good ideas and I really need some advice on the matter (little brother is 16 and dad got him his very own 4 runner just like everyone else in the family).

1. I bought a bad distributor cap. The reason for this is when the new one is held up against the old one the mounting holes where the cap screws in do not match up and the diameter looks a little larger on the new one.
2. There is something clogging the air intake. My guess is oil somewhere, do I need to remove the whole system and clean it as opposed to just the thick rubber tubing in the center between the engine and the air filter housing?
3. I know I need to find a new plastic cap to put on the end of wire number 4 to know for sure if there is something else wrong. However, I do not want to buy a new set of spark plug wires if I do not have to. So far I cannot find the piece sold separately, I will be trying the auto salvage spot tomorrow.
5. The engine bay is very wet from where coolant and oil went everywhere during the wreck. Maybe the wet grounds are part of it? I do not know where the grounds are though
6. I did not change the rotor under the distributor cap. After doing some reading it seems like changing the cap and the rotor at the same time is the best way to do this.

So far that is the best I can come up with at the moment. I plan to post pictures of everything on my day off tomorrow but I would really like to get my brother's yota back up and running. Any comments are welcome and I will try my best to answer any questions as best I can with pictures and more specifics.

Thanks everyone,

JB

Marc

lot's of views but no responses.

Maybe way too long.

utkid1088

yep I just re read it. Its definitely vague.

I am going to go pick up some parts and take pictures of the damage. Today is my day off so I have much more time to think about what I am typing.

skypilot

iTrader: (1)

You may have spun a rod bearing from the roll over. Engine running = oil starvation.

I had mine rolled as a Honda went under it. Engine knocks now.

utkid1088

Well I did some reading today and noticed that my rotor was not in the right position. The repair manual shows the rotor in line with the #1 wire on the cap.

I am a little worried because I could only manual crank the engine about half way. Also, when I reach the point where the crank with not turn anymore I can hear sputtering coming from the engine. This would suggest that there is fluid in the cylinder correct?

Also checked all of the fuses and relays. None of them were blown but there was oil underneath some of them making the connection wet. Can someone let me know how to properly clean the electrical connections?

Please correct me if I am wrong but my next move is to pull all of the plugs and try to crank the engine manual again with no compression. Hopefully it is not locked up!

skypilot

iTrader: (1)

Uhhhhh.......... No.

Pull all the plugs. If it will not turn smoothly with a ractchet...... Its toast.

Oil starvation is a bad thing

TNRabbit

Why was coolant everywhere?

I'd pull the entire intake all the way back to the throttle body & start cleaning.....

Badger62811

Supporting the previous poster... How is there OIL under your fuses???

utkid1088

Honestly, I am not exactly sure how oil got in to the relay housing.

As for the coolant, the black cap on the coolant tank was not completely on when I first opened the hood.

I have not tried to start the engine after my father did while I was at work and I do not plan on trying to start it for quite sometime. However, I am worried about the engine being seized.

Intake will be coming out tomorrow for cleaning and I am still waiting on another yotatech member to come help me get the 4 runner into the garage (currently it is sitting in our front yard where the tow guy conveniently decided to drop it off).

utkid1088

For those of you that are interested...SHE STARTS! When I took the plugs out and tried to hand crank it the engine felt stuck (very difficult to turn). I was able to turn the engine over only once and while doing so oil seeped out from the driver side plug holes only. Once I thought I had all the oil out new plugs and wires went in but still would not start.

I found a method of getting all of the oil out that involves bumping the engine with the starter. With all of the plugs out I turned the ignition for about one second and let the starter turn the engine. It looked like there was diet coke in the cylinders and I dropped in a mentos...oil spewed everywhere and from every cylinder. Apparently there was more oil in there than I thought. I also put 1 oz of PB blaster into each cylinder and let it sit over night.

The next morning I bumped the engine a few more times for good measure until no more fluid was coming out. Then I tried to hand crank the engine again and it turned very easily this time. New plugs went in and she started right up and poured smoke for about an hour.

Thank god that is over with and thank you for the help guys. Much love.