swaycleveland

oh and about the diagonstic test
on the pass inner fender well there is a grey box about the size of a mini candy bar
open it find the te1 and e1
jump them with a piece of wire
turn the key on but dont start count the check ebgine light blinks the codes are in that manual i linked you to
or just tell us how many times it blinked and we can help

Hitoyota84

I forgot to mention, the guy at the shop said it was not putting out any codes so they had to start from scratch.....
I will check this out when I get home and let you know. thanks a bunch.... And I may take you up on that offer to check it out. thanks.

Andy_Structable

for forty dollars you can get your own compression tester and not have to trust a shop that you obviously don't really trust. running a compression test is about as hard as changing your spark plugs. i would suspect that the shop did in fact run the test and are telling you the truth, but you could confirm that for yourself. if you are thinking of having another compression test done i would consider buying the tester and doing it yourself. its cheap and easy. but aren't you glad you checked the compression before spending more money on something else?

the engine isn't scrap, yet, but paying a shop to stick in a new one could very well run 5g's. i know its rediculouse, but it isn't surprising. if you are lucky, all it needs is a new head gasket. and this time, have the head resurfaced. you don't have to overheat the engine to warp the head, if you didn't torque the bolts properly last time, it could have warped the head. (and if you didn't replace the bolts, it is fairly certain you didn't get them torqued right, or they didn't stay torqued right.) so, if you do another headgasket, have the head checked and resurfaced, and replace all necessary parts or else you will be doing it again in a year.

lets assume the compression is low on two cylinders, probably a head gasket but possibly the rings or the valves. if the timing belt has jumped, that could cause low compression because a valve is opening too soon or closing too late and letting air escape at some point during the compression stroke. but i think if that were the case, the problem wouldn't be isolated to two cylinders. you should be able to take the timing belt cover off and check the cam timing, but it may be a fair amount of work to get into the timing belt. if you didn't replace the tensioner last time, you need to get in there and do it.

did you ever run a vaccum test? also have you ever had the valves adjusted? you should rule some things out before you jump into a head gasket or consider a new engine. check the valve clearances. if, for some reason, the valves aren't closing all the way, that could be your problem. check for vaccum leaks, as we've all been telling you to do. sometimes they aren't obviouse so RUN A VACCUM TEST, and report back on the results. check the cam timing to see if the belt skipped a tooth. check the timing belt tension and tensioner. all of these things you can do yourself.

if you do replace the engine, i'd stick a 22r in. i know some people here will disagree with me, but unlike the 22r, the 3vze is not known as one of toyotas better engines. personally, i think it blows (headgaskets at least).

good luck, i hope this helps, now i have to go weld up a door on a bronco.

Hitoyota84

Well, its come down to: I have another nice vehicle to drive, with great gas mileage, my hubby will not attempt to replace the motor on this or go any further into fixing it, so I am going to part with it. I really love this thing, but we do not have the room to store it, and i cant really keep insurance on two vehicles. I put it on Craigslist. Its really sad, when I see one on the road, my eyes tear up, how corny is that..... So if anyone is interested in it or knows someone, let me know.

Hitoyota84

Hi everyone, its been a long 4 months, but we ended up putting another motor in my truck from my old 1988 fourrunner, I couldnt see junkin this or trying to sell it for parts... So we got it running on Friday night, took it out for a drive Saturday morning.. Ran great, just like it did in the old fourrunner. Took it out for another test drive Tuesday night, put new breaks on the rear, got the back window working properly.. Go to get in it the other day and it wont start, nothing happens when i turn the key, decided to jump it and it started. The next day go to start it again, dead. now it wont even take a jump. put another battery in it from another truck and nothing.. i am really bummed now.... Any ideas what could be preventing it from starting? it was fine the other day.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

See below:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...shtml#EasyTest

Hitoyota84

Thanks for the info..... It just made no sense that one second it started up, and now even with a new battery put in it still wont turn over, its just dead when you turn the key, but the lights do stay on.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Well, you have the battery, some wires/switches/relay, some more wires and finally the starter. You have replaced the battery, so likely that is fine. Problem either lies in "some wires/switches/relay, some more wires" or in the starter/solenoid area. And yes, electrical issues like this can be intermittent, work fine one time and then nothing the next time. Set up the test as described above and then you can measure the voltage when your truck starts normally and when it does not and comparing those two readings should be very informative.

Hitoyota84

Did some messing around with it, still nothing.. Took the starter out and jumped it with the jumper cables, and it is working. Now when I turn the key no power is getting to the starter,, checked all wires. I am wondering if it could be the ignition, do those go bad? I am so bummed, I should be driving this thing already....

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

See below:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...shtml#EasyTest
and
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...l#OtherOptions

Hitoyota84

UPDATE... after doing some messing around under the hood, found out if i remove the starter relay switch by the fuse box under the hood, and jump it with a wire, it starts. The relay switch looks fine.. Is there a way to test them? We ended up putting a bypass but is this switch really necessary??

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

That relay is likely tied in with the clutch cancel or neutral/park switch on that model 4Runner. So something is needed there:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...l#OtherOptions

You could just jumper the socket and rely on the ignition switch to start, or test the relay (2 wires for coil, see if it clicks, and then the two wires for the contacts, they could be burned internally). Easy enough to replace the relay or add a bypass relay as noted above.