Steve 1stgen

Hi,
I am going to change the headgasket in a 1988 4Runner. Are there any specialty tools I need to purchase? If you have suggestions, please give your recomended sizes and brand names. Thank you for the help.
Later,
Steve

Swansen

Nope, no Toyota tools needed, but there is one allen bolt on the intake, 6mm or 8mm, can't remember, but you'll need a long key, or make an extension with the key.

87LVRunner

I'm knee deep in mine and so far a phillips screwdriver, a pair of pliers, the allen wrench, 10-12-14-17MM sockets and wrenches, and a lot of hand cleaner. OH, a breaker bar for the crank bolt. Other than that, maybe a gasket scraper, some cleaner? I have to search for Top Dead Center on these forums. I'm getting a replacement head and need to know how to line everything up. Good luck! My garage looks like a parts explosion!

Swansen

TDC can be set by lining the rotor up the the number one spark plug, as well, look for the timing mark on the crankshaft pulley.

TNRabbit

Take LOTS of pics BEFORE you disassemble, and keep all your parts in labeled plastic baggies...you'll also want a torque wrench, FSM, and FIPG--that will stick to ANYTHING like crazy.

95RunnerSR5

i found that wrapping a rag around the cam sprockets and using a chain wrench around that makes loosening and tightening the cam bolts a breeze

DupermanDave

Totally agree. This would have saved me 9 trips to the hardware store to buy more bolts.

Also make sure you have a torque wrench that goes as low as 9 lbs. We had a torque wrench, but the lowest reading it could handle was 12 lbs i believe. We had to go out and rent one.

Also do some cleaning while you're under there, so check out Sears and get a steel brush. One of those small ones that can get into long and deep places.

874runnersr5

fipg is crazy... i got it all over my arm and back while doing my oil pan

runethechamp

Even better than the bags for the bolts, put all the bolts back where they came from as soon as you can. I saved myself a TON of headache doing that during my rebuild. I did my entire rebuild with a cheapo socket set that came with a husky toolbox from home depot (with the exception of the breaker bar and the extender pipe I used to loosen the crank bolt, the cam bolts and the head bolts).

87LVRunner

this is a dup question, but do you have to drop the oil pan when removing the front timing chain cover? Sure looks like it, but I would love to avoid it. Any tricks?

Swansen

If your replacing the timing chain, yes, you can take off the oil pan and you don't even have to remove the intake/head,ect, thats a pretty neat trick i read. Otherwise, no, you can get away with not removing the oil pan if you do the normal procedure when replacing the timing chain.(have the head off ect.)

87LVRunner

Thank you!! Oh, my engine is all over the garage right now. Floor, workbench, back of truck, fenders.....headgasket was leaking. Decided good time to replace timing chain and all included parts, replace the head, cam, valves, w/p, head bolts and so on. Figure if I have it all apart, might as well go nucken futs.

Steve 1stgen

What is FSM and FIPG? These are all great tips. Thank you.

Steve 1stgen

These are all great tips. My 1988 doesn't have a timing chain (belt) so I didn't have to take any notes for those tips. Everything else is awesome! Yep, I plan on having my garage looking like a bomb went off.

Tubbyfatty

FSM= field service manual

FIPG= Form in place gasket.

I believe.

abecedarian

I prefer Hylomar over any FIPG sealant.
Hylomar has no skin-time (spread it and you don't have to wait to bolt it together... or wait as long as necessary to bolt it up); has no cure time (as soon as it's connected it's sealed); is fuel, oil, coolant, (mostly) solvent resistant; and when the torque is released, returns to a near fluid state making it easier to separate parts.
It's kind of like Loc-Tite for gaskets, but better.

Whiplash Willy

If you haven't gotten a head gasket yet, I highly recommend the Head Gasket Set from ENGNBLDR.com

http://www.engnbldr.com/toyota_ala_carte.htm

It comes with all of the top end gaskets you will need plus head bolts for $72 shipped. The quality is quite good, especially for the price.

zlathim

All this time I thought FSM = factory service manual

64-Hurricane

The HG just blew on my 87 22rte and I'm in the process of researching all the procedures for the change. My question is, does anyone suggest a certain HG for the rte vs the re motor? Based on what I've read here, and on Pirate 4x4, I'll be picking up a kit from ENGNBLDR.com. I'll also be picking up a timing set from DOA.

stupid_mud_gremlins

Which motor? For my 3.0 I found a timing light and 12 point sockets were a good thing to have. Knock sensor wire as well. Call me nuts, but compressed air and a *light* wire wheel on the angle grinder went a long way when it came to cleaning old gaskets off...