allen1040

My father in-law has a 1988 4runner with a 3vze, auto tranny, and 100,000 miles. He was going to give it to me, but I'm not sure I want it anymore. The only problem with the truck was a small oil leak, and, being a nice guy, he went to buy some stop leak to try to take care of the leak before he gave it to me.

BUT what he bought was KW Block Seal, and proceeded to pour it in the oil filler hole. He then started the truck and tried to drive it, without much luck obviously. He ran the engine probably 20-30 minutes before he figured out how bad he messed up. He then changed the oil and filter and ran "motor flush" through it, and then changed the oil and filter again and spark plugs. No dice. It used to run very smoothly, albeit slowly, but now runs like its firing on three cylinders.

I called CRC, the block sealer manufacturer, and told them what happened. The guy said that the block sealer goop was most likely sitting in the bottom of the oil pan and completely blocking the oil pump screen/pickup. He said that if I take off the pan and clean it and the oil pump screen/pickup the engine might come back to life.

My Questions:
1. Is this thing dead? Should I bother taking it?
2. Is this guy just telling me what I want to hear, or does an engine resurrection sound plausible?
3. Whats the easiest way to get the oil pan off?

Thanks for any help, I was really excited to get a free 4runner in good shape, but don't know what to do now. __________________

kiyobrown

Even if the motor was dead, and not salvageable, you could pick up a FREE 4Runner and look for a 3.4 to drop in that thing. Or just put a rebuilt 3.0 back in there. You could do it for dirt cheap. The hardest part people have when they want to do a 3.4 swap is the cost of the 3.0 vehicle they want to swap in. You would be ahead of the game.

Now, if you could drop the pan and clean it out, and the motor still runs ok with a flush. Then you search around on here, figure out the best way to fix that original oil leak, and drive around a FREE 4runner.

I'm not sure what part of FREE 4runner I am missing here?


Do it. Take it. If its dead, and its something you don't want to deal with, sell it off for cheap to someone that wants it to swap a 3.0 or a 3.4 in it. Or you could always part it out and make a little money that way.

If you want to part it, and it has power windows, I would buy the front door panels off you for a good price. Just saying.

JoeC

Wow.. turning down a free car.. I assume your young; take it as experience and rebuild or replace the motor. Whatever you put into it; even a grand.. the car was still FREE.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Then again if you have no skills, tools, or place to work.

You might want to pass it up.

Another thing is place to keep it while deciding what to do and gathering the parts etc.

I gets real expensive$$$$ if you need to pay some one for the labor of an engine swap.

As to drop the pan. Remove the nut on the motor mounts jack up the engine with a helper to watch you don`t crush anything or tear any wires as you jack the engine up and then support it.

This will allow you to get the pan off you might need to remove the pick up tube before sliding out the pan. It is different depending on how high you get the engine up

mightymouse

iTrader: (6)

so learn some skills pick up the free 4runner and get to work. why not? You have nothing to loose and everything to gain in this situation. Even if you decide to give up and throw in the towel there's a market like previously stated for you to make money on the thing. Look at it this way that 4runner represents a free education, however tough it maybe, in vehicle care and mechanics. Whatever i'm not gonna push you into a GREAT deal do what suits you but seriously you have nothing to loose and everything to gain here. Money, knowledge, FREE 4RUNNER! So you have to buy some tools and learn some stuff along the way. Start a thread or use this one and get to it. And don't pay anybody to do it for you. if you get stuck and don't know what to do stop research and figure out how to do it. If all else fails just tow it down to st. louis and i'll take it off your hands. Heck i'll even pay for the gas. J/K man keep us updated regardless of what you do. And take some pics i wanna see this free gem.

allen1040

Yeah, why not take it right?
I'll try the pan this weekend and see what happens.
I'll keep you posted, thanks for the advice.

allen1040

Is jacking up the tranny the best way to get the pan out?
Or do I have to drop the diff etc to get the pan out?

tried4x2signN

Get a Chiltons or FSM for it...

Have a look around the FAQ's and give google a try...

Lysmachia

Here is a link to all Toyota truck and 4runner FSM's - Yours will be in here.

http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/index.html

pruney81

I would take a free 4WD Toyota, any condition, any day of the week if I had to push it home by myself.

allen1040

Thanks for the link to the fsm. I'm going to try to get the oil pan off this weekend and see whats doing in there. The engine was run about 20 mins with a very clogged oil screen. It ran very loudly and roughly and made all kinds of scary metallic clicking and clunking noises. I'm starting to come to terms with the idea that the engine is severely damaged, but am obviously hoping that I'll be able to clean the pan and pickup and things will be smooth again.............

peow130

even a nincompoop could take the truck, and part it out for.. wait..
100% PROFIT!
money for the cost of towing the rig home!

allen1040

I took the truck. The engine is shot. The KW block sealer completely clogged the oil pickup screen and ate the bearings and also probably chewed up the cam, crank, etc.

KW block sealer is 75% sodium silicate, which is what the govt. required dealers to use to disable the engines in cars traded in during the "cash for clunkers" program.

So I bought a 3vze out of a 1989 pickup with 130,000 miles on it for $400. It runs/sounds/drives good.

What do you guys recommend I replace before putting the used engine into the truck?
I'm kind of leery about digging into a motor that runs fine, but figure that I'd rather do the work now, while the engine is on a stand.
thanks for any suggestions

rattlewagon

Replace the headgaskets, rear main seal and wrap the crossover exhaust pipe in heat wrap.

TNRabbit

MAKE SURE they are the same engine. the ECU is different on auto & standard transmissions. there ade also some minor differences between years. nothing you can't overcome. are you only swapping the engine or tranny as well?

TNRabbit

If it is running good, I don't know that I would dig into the HG just yet, but would DEFINITELY REPLACE the timing belt and water pump as well as the front and rear main seals. do a compression check as well.

You REALLY need to read the FAQ thread posted at the top of this section of the forum; it's the MOTHERLOAD of all information you might need!

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-first-214051/

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

:wabbit2:

Greg_Canada

It would probably be best to swap the wiring harness from teh original motor to the new one.
Also do t-belt, water pump, idler bearings, front and rear main seals, valve cover gaskets, exhaust gaskets, cam seals.

Wrenchinjoe

If you decide to do head gaskets, be sure to replace the knock sensor wire. It only costs $14 from the dealer and you don't want to have to dig back into it just for that.

allen1040

Thanks guys.

The swap 3vze is from an 1989 pickup with auto tranny, which is what mine has. I'm only swapping the motor because my truck only has 99,000 miles on it and ran fine before the "incident."
I'm thinking about using the swap motor as a long block and putting all the accessories and such from the original motor onto it.
Is it possible to replace the HG without machining the heads and block, or is that a stupid and lazy thing to do? I'd prefer not to bring anything to the machine shop in order to conserve my minimal funds.
I have photos, but they're on my computer, they aren't on a website, I have no link to them. How do I post them?