YotaX

Please refer to the youtube link.

So I bought a 95 4runner SR5 3.0 v6 4wd and seen a lil white smoke. So I replaced the head gaskets and all other gaskets.
But after installation I can not get it to time or idle right. Please see the video and give me your guidance to fix this or what to look for.

Thanks y'all

thekeith86

hmmm when i did my timing it wasn't too hard the exhaust cams i think have an gear with a self tensioner. did you put a 10mm bolt in the little gear to keep it from springing back? usually it will just make noise if you don't put the tension back on it before putting back in and can be not be timed right on the exhaust cam. it sounds pretty noisy. that could be the problem. i missed it the first time i pulled the cams out and it ran kinda noisy almost like what yours sounds like.

YotaX

Thanks Keith. No I did not use a 10mm socket as a spacer/tensioner with installing the timing belt. I wish I knew that at the time. One cam kept kicking over one tooth on me every time I touched it. But I probably installed, rotated the engine, removed and redone the timing belt 5 or 6 times before I got it perfect. I was really hoping it was the timing belt but it is not. Any other ideas?

It's noisy because I have the distributor turned for a high idle of about 2000 rpm. It starts out around 800rpm and automatically works its idle up to 2000 rpm. Plus I think my home a/c fan kicked on behind me.

thekeith86

So your exhaust cams are off by a bit. Put the cam in a vice. The mechanic at Nissan I used to work with rotated that gear for me to instal the bolt for tension. Markings for timing are on the side of the gear that rotates. You can think it's timed because the dots line up but that's the side that moves. You need that gear put back in place to time it right.

thekeith86

also... that plenum gasket can be a real pain. just to rule it out spray some quick start around the plenum. if it's leaking the idle will surge a little bit. mine was leaking and sucking air into it. had a high idle and it cut my power pretty bad.

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

Pretty sure there is only one cam shaft per side on that

You're not really specific about your problem. Can you be more specific, eg "I set it and it moves" "I can't get it close at all" "I followed the book and I swear it's pulling my leg!"

Start with an initial timing setting. Disable the fuel pump(unplug AFM). Jumper the diagnostic port. And with the timing light hooked up adjust the distributor. Re-plug the AFM, and warm up the engine. Then you can do the back and forth on the Idle to Timing dance.

OR since You have it running and can warm it up just start from there.

Jumper the diag, make sure the throttle cable isn't too tight (eg, computer senses IDLE), crank in the Idle adjustment screw to the RPM from the book, adjust the timing to spec, re-verify the idle screw adjustment. You'll have to go back and forth between those two adjustments but don't get too OCD on it 50rpm and 1 degree is plenty close, the computer should take care of the rest.

thekeith86

3.0 and 3.4 are pretty much the same. the 3.4 is basically a borred out 3.0. i know the 3.0 is a dohc. i know this because there is a thread somewhere where a guy took 3.4 cams and put them in a 3.0 for some kinda bottom end gain and towing i think...

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

Diagram link


It's not a DOHC system. Not strictly speaking at least, it has two of them and they are overhead but they're not independently controlling exhaust and intake valves.

thekeith86

Hmm guess I'm wrong.... looks like I have something backwards.... what motor is the 3.0? Is it not a 3vzfe? Maybe I had the them mixed up because there are cams in a Camry motor that will fit in the 3.4. (Different motor than the Camry)

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

the 5VZ-FE is a four cam. 3VZ-FE is also. (the 3VZ-FE, is the one you're thinking of). The 3.slow is the 3VZ-E
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_VZ_engine----

Anyways the increasing RPMS during/after warm up I think is one of the OP's issues. There are three parts to this problem, the air valve(IACV), the throttle opener, and the Idle screw. This of course ignores vacuum leaks, which you'll need to check for along the intake gaskets, the vacuum lines, and the intake tube.

I'm not aware of any failure modes that the air valve would work opposite of the way it should. It should close as the water temp climbs not open. Same with the throttle opener valve, it should close the throttle plate once the engine is started not open it more.

So I have to assume it's just the computer altering the timing. Which it won't do if the Idle signal is sent and the diagnostic jumper is in place.

thekeith86

I know the 5vz is a quad cam.... it's what I have and been the only one to work on it since I purchased it 8 years ago. But I could have sworn there was another motor with interchangeable cams. (Unofficially) that is. I've read around in threads where multiple people said putting other cams from the what now for me is an unknown motor would give a longer valve lift duration.

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

Let me highlight for ya and give you another shot 3vz-e is the 4runner 3vz-fe is a camry

thekeith86

Ah ok clears a lot up. I didn't know there was an e I thought it was all fe. I've always referred to all 3.0's as 3.slow. lol but thanks for the information. Maybe next time I won't look like an idiot. Lol

thekeith86

Shoulda just done the 3.4 swap. :-) I would have if my 3.4 wasn't the factory motor in my t100. I want to buy another one. Build it up and drop it in.
But to the OP disregard the 10mm bolt cuz it doesn't have the dohc with the cam gears.

Camelid

You mentioned white smoke... from the exhaust? If the engine has been using (or had been in the past) a lot of oil, it may have an ash-clogged catalytic. Had a D50 Dodge Ram with that... I got the truck cheap when it quit working entirely... the catalytic was almost totally clogged and it had become undrivable. I punched out the cat to get it home, and it smoked like a mosquito truck. It'll definitely throw off your power... and all the engine troubleshooting you do won't help with that problem. Was me, and presuming it hasn't been removed at some point, I'd try disconnecting the catalytic at the engine side and see if it runs better. You should be able to see if it's ashed up, visually.

YotaX

Everyone thanks for your input it is really nice to see people assist. i gain a lot if knowledge and courage to attempt and overcome issues from forums with people like y'all. THANK YOU. To be more specific, after I reinstalled the engine, with all timing marks set, I started it up to warm it up. Then I reset the distributor, connected the jumper to the port, and fired it up and set the timing to spec. I did not disconnect the AFM or the fuel pump. I am not sure how this would effect it, please teach me. But after I disconnected the jumper and restarted the idle would rise on its own from about 800 to 2000 rpm over a period of 3-5 mins. I took it for a test drive thinking it would work itself out but it did not have any power to take off. RPMs have to be pretty high to keep it moving. I adjusted the idle to a higher RPM by rotating the distributor then took it for a test drive. Still way under powered but I did get it up to 45mph (engine could not go any faster) but the more I drive it the less power it had. I drove maybe 5 miles and when I got back to my house the passenger side exhaust manifold was glowing RED HOT. I assumed my timing belt was off a tooth or #1 piston was 180 degrees off TDC or the it was on the wrong stroke (with the distributor idle wacked out). So I reinstalled the timing belt, it was off a little more than a 1/4 tooth. I'm not even sure if that would have made a difference. Well now it's still the same. Will not hold idle when timed to spec and is under powered. I'm going to check for a vacuum leak by spraying starting fluid around the intake gaskets.

YotaX

And it barely had any white smoke. I only noticed it because I was looking for it. And old like to add no adjustments have ever been made to the idle adjustment screw or any other adjustment screws. It was all stock from the original owner other than the dealership head gasket recall 100k miles ago, the aftermarket air filter, and when I tore it down and replaced all the gaskets. Also it did start and run fine before I tore it apart almost 2 years ago. It has sat since then until now.

Camelid

I re-read the thread... you have to set the distributor back... don't use that to keep the engine idled high enough to stay running. That's throwing things out of whack.

If it won't idle at the right distributor timing, then you probably have a physical vacuum leak stalling it out or defective Idle Air Control valve (someone mentioned this, as I recall.) If it ran normally before you tore it down then it is likely something from the teardown causing the problem. Bad/improperly installed manifold gaskets or improperly installed intake manifold maybe? Did you do the usual head torque-down stuff? Most newer engines require new head stretch-bolts, did you change them out?

Good luck with this, I know it can be a pain to sort these sorts of problems out.

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

Disabling the fuel pump for an initial timing is just being overly cautious not to flood the catalytic converter and to prevent the engine from firing. You can skip over that bit like I said, your engine is running.

You can probably skip over the throttle cable also, but it's an easy check. If it's far too tight it will trigger the "switch signal" code (52?, not going to look it up right now) when the jumper is in place.

Did you inspect for vacuum leaks yet/again? (Visual check, Aural check, chemical tests(Starting fluid, carb cleaner, unlit propane torch))

Did you do the test for the air valve? (The book is kind of useless depending which one you're using. It should say "The idle screw has little or no effect when the engine is cool/cold." and "The idle screw controls the idle speed when the engine is warm".) You'll have to poke around some or maybe someone will post a clear picture of which hole you need to tape over to disable a faulty IACV. You can't set the timing properly if the engine speed isn't to spec.

Once you've verified you have no vacuum leaks, either in the vacuum lines or intake gaskets(it's not uncommon to pinch wires in that intake setup), and reset the idle and timing to factory specs.. You can worry about the other problems if they still exist.

Cherry red exhaust is a sign of blockage in the exhaust system or excessively lean fuel/air mixture.

Due to the way the fuel rails are attached (they are attached in a loop, with a connection at the front and back) it's unlikely that you damaged both so should have fuel on both sides. Vacuum leaks in the gaskets could still be a cause of lean condition however on the left-hand cylinder bank.

Like was mentioned you can drop/disconnect the exhaust at or before the catalytic converter to rule out and inspect for clogs.

And finally try to run it as little as needed when you are diagnosing and definitely avoid driving it. You don't want to have to redo the work you just did, if it's getting as hot as you say odds are it'll be much worse the second time around and need things like new valves if your lucky and new heads or worse if you're not.

YotaX

That is a lot of good info. Thank you

So I sprayed some starting fluid and found a crack near the first nut on the plenum. When I spray it does not idle up but instead it idles down. At this point we have identified that there is a vacuum leak so now I am going to JB welded it, reset the distributor, time it to spec and, report back from there.