Luvmeye22re

So I took my truck to my local mechanic shop (lifetime friend). Her main man ran me through all the stuff my truck needs.

Valve cover gaskets, Idler, pitman, pass side balljoint (I did the driver's side last weekend).

We tightened down what appeared to be some type of breather on the driver's side of the vehicle and that that alleviated a lot of the oil leak (big wrench, very loose bolt).

So, how hard/time consuming is it for a newb like me to remove the intake plenum and replace these gaskets? He was stoked I did the ball joint myself after I told him the horror story and was confident I could do the work myself but tearing apart this engine intimidates me as I've never done it before. The most I've torn into an engine was a timing chain on an 8f4 22r and de-smogging a 2f.

Also it is due for a timing belt which I will likely have them do. They quoted me around $600 which seems fair as they will warranty the part and the work

Now for the suspension, I know I can do this....

Idler arm, Im going with the Autozone one that SDORI makes bushings for. I was happy to see it cost about half what the O'reilly one costs and others. No question there.

Pitman arm, does that one matter? I have seen numerous drastic price differences in my online searching. Any suggestions are appreciated.

For the lower BJ, I will be going Moog again because the last one fit like a dream.

The upper BJ's are original and still have no movement to speak of, I'm happy about that and now that I have a grease gun I know they will keep lubricated although I'm unsure how often to really lube them... Is there such a thing as too often? Maybe every oil change etc?

The biggest problem is at this present time I don't make a lot of money and it takes me about 2-3 times as long to fix something as it would take a competent mechanic with a good shop and I don't have a lot of time off. I generally have to complete a task in a day or two with minimal experience. My truck is also THE transportation currently since my lady's Cavalier decided to eat its second auto tranny in under a year (Don't get me started on the Crapalier)

250000_yota

The valve cover gaskets aren't a terribly difficult job. Just take your time. I had to pull my plenum in high school auto class. It took me a two class periods of 4 hours each. The only recommendation I can make is to just wait until you have another car, just in case you do run into a problem.

scope103

If it takes you only 2-3 times as long as a competent mechanic, then you are faster than 95% of the people on this forum. Sad but true: if you're paid any reasonable amount of money (and have to take time away from work) then you're not working on your truck to save money.

But that was true for the ball joints, too. Did you enjoy doing that? Then the valve cover gaskets will be a cinch. Take a look at the manual http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1990-1995...e/cylinder.pdf (you only need to get through step 17)

There are only two tough parts to removing the plenum: 1) You WILL take detailed notes of where every hose connects. Photographs are good but not good enough. Masking tape tags are good but not by themselves. 2) 18-year old rubber hoses are stiff and difficult to remove (the PAIR line is the toughest for me). Warm them up with a hair dryer (a heat gun is faster but you need to be careful) and they are MUCH easier to safely remove.

The timing belt is not much tougher. I wouldn't pay the $600 because I CAN do it myself, but I certainly wouldn't fault you for paying. As I said, you're really saving money by paying someone.

It's tough to do this, though, if the truck is main transportation. You can replace the valve cover gaskets in a few hours -- if nothing else is broken. (For instance, I'll bet your Thermal Vacuum Valve in the back of the engine is so brittle that you'll break off one of the input nipples) And if you're halfway through the job and realize you need to get another part, you could lose a day or two. You just need to be prepared to get a ride to work with someone else if something goes wrong.

Luvmeye22re

Thanks for the responses. I actually don't mind working on my truck so I may give the valve cover gaskets a shot. I'll probably get the valve you speak of ahead of time. Any other common parts I should do while I'm that far in?

scope103

Once the valve covers come off, you should at least check the valve clearance. Since setting the clearance involves mixing and matching the shims, that job is tougher (but oh so much more interesting). But checking only requires a feeler gauge.

The Thermal Vacuum Valve is about $60 (strictly a dealer part). But you can probably check it right now. The vacuum line from the evap canister ducks behind the plenum next to the firewall, to the valve. You may not be able to get your hand in there, but you can see it. Tug VERY gently on that line. If the nipple doesn't pull right off, you MAY be able to remove the plenum without breaking it; you only need to be careful, and now you know what to look out for.

But as I said, it is in a hellish environment for a plastic valve, so replacing it on spec is $60 well spent.

Luvmeye22re

Yeah thats worth 60 bucks to me for sure and feeler guages are cheap. Thanks for the tips scope.

scope103

In that case, these might help.
http://www.toyotapartszone.com/oem/t...925-05047.html



I'm pretty sure this part has never changed, but it is always best to user your VIN when ordering any part.

Luvmeye22re

That helps a bunch. I do have the FSM on my laptop somewhere... It kind of downloaded in such a way that it's hard to navigate and it's hard to get the time to decipher it properly... It's not labeled by a specific task at all, seems to be named on my computer as D11trds1145 etc. No those aren't the real numbers but I did have a hard time finding what I needed specifically. I need to go through it and make it me (newb) proof. I'll get there...

I can see exactly why it would get brittle and nasty by where it sits, it makes sense. Lot's of heat, little airflow and a lot of years. The engine was rebuilt about 65k ago, hence the timing belt needing done so it would be cool if they replaced it, hard to say if they did. I'm going to order one anyways. The breather (I think anyways, big cylinder thingy with a giant bolt on drivers side above the oil pan) seemed to alleviate about 90% of my oil leaks if not more, not a drop under the truck today.

scope103

The scheduled replacement interval (Schedule A: severe service) for the timing belt is 60K miles. It was probably replaced in the rebuild, but don't worry that you're replacing it too soon.

The "big cylinder thingy" is a cover for an optional oil-cooler connection. You don't have the cooler, so just make sure it doesn't leak.

Luvmeye22re

I finally got the lower ball joint (moog), pitman arm (moog), and idler arm (FA4050 from Autozone). I think I'm going to go ahead and order the brass bushings from SDORI for the idler arm before I put it in so I don't have to take it out and replace them as soon.

Questions:

Can I do the idler arm and pitman arm while the truck is sitting on the ground with the wheels on? It looks like I should be able to and there is plenty of room with the skidplate off to work under there.

For the pitman arm, can I just use my HUGE homeowner special crescent wrench to secure the nut to the steering box with a cheater bar of sorts? Or should I go buy a 32mm socket and use my breaker bar? Should I put a little locktite on it as well?

Thanks in advance. I'll probably be doing this on wednesday next week and I'd like it to be a one shot deal without having to get a ride to a parts store/tool store etc.

Team420

Ya, that happened to me 1st time i pulled the plenum as well. Not a big deal tho! I fixed mine in about 5 min with a bic ballpoint pen, some superglue, and a drill/drill bit.

Search yotatech for "tvv repair" why pay $60 if it still works :-)

Luvmeye22re

Just got done searching that, and I may go that route depending on funds etc.

Thanks for the direction Team420! The oil leaks that worried me turned out to be minimal. After tightening down the fitting for the oil cooler I haven't seen a drop on the ground or even had to top up so the valve cover leak is on the back burner (not ideal I know but as little money as I make I may as well be on welfare).

The focus right now is to get the truck to where it doesn't eat tires like cheeri-o's. I just scored some 32 x 11.5 r15 BFG all terrains with pretty nice tread for a good price. Once the front end work is done the tires go on just in time for snowboarding season!

Hopefully 4 weeks and the truck is going to drive straight and nice and ready to tackle some snow!

scope103

Well, maybe, but it will be very uncomfortable. But wait! What about the ball joints? How did you plan to change them, with the corner of the truck teetering on your jack? A pair of jack stands cost $25, a ride to the Emergency Room will set you back $3,000 (if there's nothing wrong with you once you get there). A pair of jack stands will be with you forever. So will a crushed hand.

No, no and no.

You read the manual: http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1990-1995...r/steering.pdf That nut needs 130 ft-lbs. Are you just going to guess? How close do you think you can get? You have to use a torque wrench. And they are not that dear: http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-hal...rench-239.html

(But before you buy one, let me give you a hint. Most inexpensive torque wrenches only go to 150 ft-lb. When you change the timing belt, the crank bolt goes back on with 181 ft-lb. Should you get a more expensive torque wrench that goes up to 250 ft-lbs? Or will you try some weird trick you heard about on the internet? https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116.../#post50756358)

Luvmeye22re

Strongly noted scope. I have a pair of 6 ton jack stands for the bj replacement that I bought when I did my last one (drivers side) although I wish I opted for the more expensive taller ones....

I'll look into a better torque wrench. The one I do have is a walmart special and I don't believe it to be the most accurate. Sounds like I should spend some coin on one. The links helped a lot!

Thanks for the tips