nonstop

Hope someone can answer this, I'm getting very frustrated and ready to sell a really nice 91YOTA.
I recently had an engine rebuild at 280K miles. I had issues with a KS CEL and finally had it resolved following the changing of a connector that connects to the pigtail going to the KS.
The engine had a slight miss, and I took it to the Yota dealer for a tune up. Well...after $500. later and a new distributor, the truck ran poorer than when I took it to them.
I was told the gear on the shaft was bad and they could not get it to the position with the cam that would allow it to go into place. They replaced the distributor with another one and had to take it back out because they said it was no good and making a lot of noise. They obtained another one and said I had the same issue with not lining up with the marks for setting the timing and it was a tooth off in either direction.
This second one also started making noise so I took it back as well. My performance went south, as did my gas mileage.
The steelership now is saying the cam the rebuilder installed is bad and needs to be reground or ???
My question is, based upon the number of distributors this is going through, is it possible for the cam gear to be ground wrong or is the just the possibility of a bad batch of distributors? Please get back to me. I have already spent $$$ and my budget is shot. I do not want to keep this up.
91 Toyota SR-5 3.0L 4x4.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

You had the engine rebuilt then had to take it to a Toyota Dealer for a tune up??

I am confused or was the engine done like 3 years ago??

If it was not running correct why not take it up with who installed it??

Simple matter to pull the left valve cover off and look at the cam and the gear that drives the distributor

It is possible if the new cams Where they new?? If so they may have not been run in correct and could indeed be the cause of your problem.

Just what was done to this engine ??

It seems rebuilt has quite a few different meanings.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

The dealerships really don't know these trucks anymore. Mostly they are just familiar with the newer ones and doing warranty work. The guys that did work on these back in the '90s have mostly retired or moved on. I too was disappointed when sending one to the dealership for some work.

Ask around your local area for a privately owned shop that know these trucks. You will save money and get better service. I don't see you getting that many bad distributors. My guess is you do have something that is damaging your distributors.

Turtlehead

The other thing that is important to ask when going to a dealer on the older vehicles is who is the Master Tech and how long have they been working on Toytas? I have a couple of buddies that are Master Techs at dealerships and they are in their late fifties. They love it when the older vehicles are in and take the general techs under their guidance to solve the problems. The problem becomes when the Master Tech is either younger and has not been around them, or they became a Toyota Tech later in life and then became the Master Tech.

nonstop

I am confused or was the engine done like 3 years ago??
*3 mo. ago
If it was not running correct why not take it up with who installed it??
*shop that installed thought electrical and wanted to charge $$$ to diagnose the circuits.
Simple matter to pull the left valve cover off and look at the cam and the gear that drives the distributor
*Boy! where were you when I needed you?
It is possible if the new cams Where they new?? If so they may have not been run in correct and could indeed be the cause of your problem.
*checked with mechanic that rebuilt engine, cams were new.
Just what was done to this engine ??
*Mechanic tore down and replaced internal parts. Stated he plasticized journals for correct tolerances machined the heads, new head bolts, gaskets...etc.
It seems rebuilt has quite a few different meanings.
*do I detect a slight sarcasm or ???

nonstop

You are 100% correct when you take an older vehicle to a dealership for work that most mechanics do not or are unable to identify these issues. Having said this, it appears that what was happening with the distributor was in fact an issue with the new cams. Since there was a problem with all three distributors being seated correctly, I asked the mechanic about the possibility of an aftermarket cam being ground wrong. He said it was entirely probable, especially with the mating of the cam/distributor gears. He agreed to pull the cams and install the original ones back in. I will post when this is completed. Thank you for your response.


P.S.: would someone be willing to share a download with me on a fsm for this engine. I imagine it is quite extensive and you would need a small flash drive that I could send or have you pick one up and I would pay you via paypal for cost plus shipping. Thanks...P.M. me

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

No not really but it seems rebuilt engine has many meanings .

I was told a few years ago it has a new rebuilt engine this was in the ad.

In person after looking at said vehicle when asked about the new rebuilt engine the response was it was new 90,000 miles ago.

I gather the engine was put together you installed it and put all the sensors and other parts back on.

I for sure would want to see that cam that would not mesh with the distributor drive gear.

That should have been noticed at the install unless it was a hurry up rush job.

nonstop

P.S.: would someone be willing to share a download with me on a fsm for this engine. I imagine it is quite extensive and you would need a small flash drive that I could send or have you pick one up and I would pay you via paypal for cost plus shipping. Thanks...P.M. me