Lev Osterweil

I have been reading up throughout my HG Job, and want everyone to know I appreciate every bit of info and time put into these forums.

So this is my situation:

My girlfriend has had this 95 3.0 4Runner with 178k since 2005. She let it overheat (it had a cracked radiator), and here I am in the middle of a HG job. We have a unique situation though because both of us just graduated from college, we are in the beginning of new chapter of our lives, meaning we don't have much money to spend!. I just don't know how much money we should put into this thing. It' has some mileage, and it has an automatic so who knows how much longer the tranny will hold out. The ultimate question is should we sink another $1000 bucks into it?


Here is the nitty gritty:

I took the heads off 2 days ago. Knowing the history of this truck, I know that it had a previous valve adjustment by a mechanic back in 2006, and it always had a problem where I believe it really just needed a full valve job(although I haven't checked to see if they leak or anything); towards right before i took the engine apart, it would always make a weird clunking noise(like a sticky valve or something) when you first started it. I am just trying to get everything gathered at once before I go to order all sorts of parts and possibly waste money that is hard to come by right now.

On top of knowing that it needs a complete valve job, I was reading up last night on typical damage that is seen on a 3vze HG job, and yes, our passenger side cam has a cracked sleeve.

So knowing that it needs a new cam on one side, and I need a complete valve job, What do you guys recommend? If I spend the +- $1000 for the complete timing belt kit w/pump and tensioner, new knock sensor, complete valve and head job, and gaskets, am I safe to get another 60k out of this Yota?


Here is my parts list so far (any suggestions are awesome )
$500 for complete valve and head job at local shop
$160 for 2 new cams from Japan Engines Inc. on eBay
$157 Timing Belt Kit from Mizumo Auto Parts on eBay
$76.99 HG Gasket Kit (not sure which one to go with yet)
$14 for crush washers from Toyota for the injectors
$74 for Vacuum Switching Valve(I broke this) from Toyota
$19 Pigtail for Knock Sensor
Should I spend $200 on knock sensor, it is super expensive!

ROCKLAND TOYOTA

FIRST stay away from EBAY anything and use oem toyota parts if you want to make this thing last you the 60K.
Second, make sure heads are able to be saved as mine were cooked(185K on them) when taken to machine shop for work.

oldblue

I agree, stay away from ebay junk. Talk with your machine shop and see what they recomend as far as the cams go, they see this everyday and know what parts are good and what aren't.

Lev Osterweil

Ya I'm hoping my heads are ok and can be milled, and I am also hoping that these pictures aren't going to pose a problem to my plan of putting this thing back together. I'm not sure how a piston is supposed to look after its been put through a 178,000 miles of work.

I've read how its bad to clean the pistons still in the block because stuff can get stuck in the cylinder. Does this look normal forsome used pistons?

scope103

1. I wouldn't buy the knock sensor; they're very rugged and not much can go wrong with them. The problem is that there is no simple way to test them. If you're willing to take my opinion on faith, you'll save $200. (Or you'll put it back together and throw a code. ...) DO get the pigtail; yours is toast and they're not expensive.

2. Avoid "eBay junk," but go ahead and get the good stuff. Just be smart in your purchases. If it seems like a helluva deal, it's probably not what you want. But you can get very good prices on perfectly good items on eBay.

3. I had my machine shop get the head gasket kit for me. They need the valve stem seals out of the kit, they got a better price than I was seeing, and I've been happy with the results.

4. You need to get some progress at the machine shop no matter what you do. They need to pressure test the heads, and if one is cracked your whole job will be much iffier. So as others have said, get going with that first.

5. Dirt is dirt; don't worry too much about what the pistons look like. You have to clean them (carbon can cause pre-ignition), and removing the pistons is a relatively big-deal. I recommend a shop vac to pick up the dirt if you can swing it, and just clean them in-place.

The key to whether to proceed is whether you and your girlfriend like the truck. Is it just so-so? Is it a pain in the ass? Then dump it. But if you like the truck, that means that you're not likely to have something else happen in the next 4 weeks, so $1,000 will almost certainly get you another 60k miles. Or more.

Lev Osterweil

I really appreciate the advice. I'm off to the machine shop tomorrow with my fingers crossed. Ill keep you guys updated on what they say.

LITLRED

They should be cleaned. Plug the oil holes. Back flush your radiator and change your oil after running for 30 min.

Lev Osterweil

So here's the update:

As far as cleaning, I'm thinking I'll just shopvac the cylinders out, making sure all debris is out and clean. Put the motor back together, and then use seafoam or something of that nature to clean them. And Litlred, yes, I definitely agree that changing the oil is a definite thing to do after she runs for a little bit.

I took my heads to the machine shop, but I didn't check the block to see if it is warped or anything. I don't have a nice enough straight edge to measure my block and I am going to have my friend come over and check it today. Now I have to hope that my head and my block is usable!


Right now I am looking for a reputable dealer on cams. My machine shop didn't have any recommendations, and they thought that the cracked sleeve on the passenger side cam wasn't a big deal and can still work ( i disagree, if it cracked once, what is going to assure me that the sleeve won't completely fracture away leaving nothing to have it centered. Being this far into the engine, and having spent this much time, I think that it is well worth spending the extra money to put new cams in the motor. I called toyota, and got a quote of over $600 for just one, so forget that! Japan Engines Inc. has a horrible review on yotatech, so i'm nexing that company also.


I sent my injectors off to witch hunter to get cleaned and tested. And so I'm just researching and playing the waiting game to see if my heads and block are ok.


Scope 103: Thanks for all of that advice. The more brains the better.

JBurt

Here's place for a toyota cam for less than $600 (~$500). Not great but it's still an OEM part and cheaper than your local place.

http://parts.olathetoyota.com/parts/...iagram=F809083

87blackbeauty

My 4 runner has 310k on it and I'm trying to decide the same thing to an extent. 22RE though. Mine needs a new head and timing set, and so far, all my local people recommend a new motor just for reliability. That does make sense, seeing as I need it to be reliable through another 70,000, but good Lord it's expensive... I haven't pulled the head yet, but when/if I do, I can provide pictures.

ROCKLAND TOYOTA

jasper reman engine is around 3K from head to pan.....

Lev Osterweil

So I just got done with the little work I did today.

I got a nice straight edge from my good friend, and was able to see that the engine block looks fairly straight. There was one little section that was off by .001, but I'm fairly sure that is not a huge issue.

The machine shop is going ahead on my head, so that is a +, and they have a cam from one of there vendors.


So the question I have, after starting to clean the engine block, is how careful do I have to be about the little holes I pointed out in the picture? Are any of those holes sending oil through there?

If they are just coolant, then it wouldn't be hard to not worry and then just flush the coolant out and get that crud out of there.


It sure does take a lot of scraping with a flat razor to get the old gasket off, and I definitely don't want to ruin the whole job from getting crud in any place that it can't go.

ROCKLAND TOYOTA

^^ send that block to machine shop and have them check it and clean as well!! its better than your current plan in my opinion..... to me putting a shop vac in charge of that baby is just a diaster waiting to happen!

Lev Osterweil

Well 2 days ago I got the engine lift and everything ready to go, and then I did the math and its just not going to be feasible with my finances and time. So...with that being said, I am just being extremely careful not to get anything into the cylinder holes.

But, Rockland, I took all of your advice to heart, and that is when I found that you are right, all of the eBay stuff is pretty much crap (unless you know exactly what you are getting).

Meathunter

I wouldnt replace the knock sensor but i would definantly replace the knock sensor wire. That is one thing you might consider ebay for. Ive ordered a few of them and they work fine. Here is the one for the 95. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1992-1995-Toyota-Truck-4runner-Knock-Sensor-Wire-NEW-/380525216234?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item58991201ea&vxp=mtr

scope103

Interesting. Before I spent $25 on eBay (or anywhere else), I'd call my local dealer and ask for a price on 82219-35010. This dealer http://www.toyotapartsoverstock.com/...rimLevel=18290 wants $11.27.

There are reasons to pick one over the other, other than price. Maybe you don't like the part of town for the dealer, and you like UPS. Maybe you want to support local businesses, even if the dealer charges a little more.

But the take-away here is that OEM parts are available on eBay, and slavishly avoiding eBay is no smarter than buying everything on eBay.

Meathunter

Ahh, good find. Wish i would have found that before. Local here was way expensive. Thats the only one i could find for a decent price at the time.

Tabasco Kid

2+years later.. I wonder how this finish out??

MudHippy

Good quality stock camshafts are easy to find. Several different brands available on rockauto.com.

Tabasco Kid

I was just wondering... I have a '91 T4R 3.0 w/ no compression on #6 soI will have o be pulling it soon.. "V5s" are ruffff...