RedToyRunr

New to the forums (and love em) and i have to say theres a lot of info to sort through so i figured be best to just ask.
Just purchased a 94 4runner and have a couple of questions.

1st- is it common for 1 valve to be too tight as to make it rock when idling?
i pulled the plugs off 1 by 1 and when i got to 6 there was no change in the engine at all.

2nd- The best recommended way to fix the rear end sag? This is an everyday driver since the trans on my silverado emploded so consider this a budget build. Just need/want to lift it even.

3rd- How do you get the rear seat bottoms up so the backs fold flat?

rowdy235

Too tight valve lash can cause low compression, rough idle conditions, but its rare, and if that is the case, you're in for some top-end work (probably burnt the valve). The more likely case is it needs a tune-up of new plugs and wires (cap and rotor?), try that, its relatively cheap and will probably smooth out your idle a good amount.

To fix the rear end sag, there are a number of ways. The cheapest are using (the name escapes me at the moment), but basically they're blocks that wedge in between the loops of the coils and stiffen them up. This is a very cheap, probably not good fix, but hey, it works. Else I believe you would be putting down the money for replacement springs.

Not a 4runner guy, so no help there

Hope this helps

toyota4x4907

1: Possible. Sounds more like its not firing. Check the plug wires and such.

2: New coils, spacers, FJ coils, air bags, air shocks, leaf spring swap?

3: There should be a little looped piece of material that you pull. if it fell down, go diggin'! It should be in middle of each section.

Tubbyfatty

You cant adjust the valves on the 3.0. Well im pretty sure you cant. They are pre shimmed from the factory. Id start with a basic tune up tho. Only use OEM/DENSO or NGK parts.

If you dont have money to spend on new springs, just turn the front torsion bars down. thats what I did on mine. Its only lowered 1''-1.5'' and I dont look like a wounded duck goin down the road. I have blocks in my springs, DO NOT do it, the back end rides really hard. Go look at the thread called (4runner lift guide). Its right above this one.

For the seats. There are straps on the back side, they are in the middle of each seat bottom on the back side. Just pull up on them. If you need a pic, ill take one for ya in the mornin.

RedToyRunr

thanks for the advice. Pre-shimmed kinda sucks but at least i know where ill stand. As i said i just purchased this thing but the wires look new along with the distributor cap, granted i havent pulled the wires and the cap to see if they replaced the rotor and plugs but i know the number 6 is firing at least at the cap. and now i am going "digging" for those straps lol.

Ima try to get some pics up soon to. This thing is very clean to be 16 years old. Only has 134k miles on it. Owned by an old lady that only drove it to the grocery store and church on Sundays >.>

CappyKD

Actually You CAN adjust the valves on the 3.slow. You adjust them by changing the thickness of the shims. I was getting no compression on my number 3 cylinder. Changed the shim to a thinner one and bingo, cylinder is back in business. good compression on nmumber 3.

Good Luck,
Kirk

OutlawMike

On the subject of the shims, sometimes you can get lucky and just swap shims between cylinders. I was able to do that on one of my out of tolerance valve clearances. One of the valves was too tight, the other was way at the top of the tolerance band, almost too loose. It just so happened that those two shims could swap and put both of them at the mid range.

The dealers do not stock very many of the shim sizes, so, when you do it, plan on being down for a few days as they will most likely have to order them.

I agree that you should make sure you have spark and fuel first before digging into the valve shims, as it is a bit of work and involves removing the plenum from the top of the motor.

RedToyRunr

yeah i need to get on this but first things first. i just got my stereo and speakers in and have to figure out a new way to put the speakers. the truck boxes are a lil wide to fix next to each other right behind the back seat.