Team420

Dude...I am so sorry to hear about your situation! It does give competent mechanics a bad name. That being said... I would just get the rig, tow it to a reputable shop, that guarantees their work, and move on.... I personally hate to let people get away with stuff like that, but u gotta weigh the cost/effort to recoupe anything... My guess is its not really worth it...

I do all my own work, and stories like this, are the EXACT reason, well... that and the whole "why should I pay someone $80-100/hr to do something I can do myself.... I dont make $100/hr, so my time is worth it... Sorry to hear you are not able to yourself... If we were closer... I'd help ya out for beer $

BTW... I am a home mechanic, and tho I cant do everything, I have no problem telling people that I cant do it... Guys like that just aggravate me.

trx125

PM sent!

tj884Rdlx

thanx, y'all, for these latest comments.

technically the guy had a "shop", although it was on his dad's farm. but he had an electric lift, all the right tools, he said he was ASE certified, and he DID install my engine a year previous, which has been running flawlessly 'til now. so i don't know why he flaked on this job.

i wasn't working with him to try to save $$. i just wanted someone who claimed to be a 22RE specialist, so i didn't WASTE $$. but in hindsight, i can see now the guy was used to working with local good ol' boys, and not providing much for a professional customer service. i'm not a "local good ol' boy", and over time i got the impression that 'city boys' got their stuff done on a lower priority.

it's going to be warm this weekend here, so i'm going to go snap some pictures, and review what's really left to do. i'll post them soon.

tj884Rdlx

i posted an ad on craigslist asking for a 22re specialist. fortunately, some nice guy took the time to call me up. he's got an 87 4runner he's had 11 yrs, and he recommended me to the shop he takes it to. the shop owner also owns a 4runner.

i spoke to him for about an hour, and he said he may be able to come visit the truck tomorrow before committing to doing the job or suggesting i tow it to him. that's pretty cool. i can certainly understand him not wanting to take on a job that may consume his entire work day and bog down his shop. i appreciate him being up front about that, rather than saying "sure tow it over".

so tomorrow i'll get some pics at the least, and possibly have a local shop with 4runner experience to send it to.

hopefully it goes well. meanwhile, i've rec'd some really generous PMs from some of you here offering what help you can, even though you're not even in the same state. THANK YOU. it's really nice and i really appreciate it.

tj884Rdlx

ok i got some pictures and i talked to a guy who came out to see it.



he didn't sound enthusiastic about working on it at all. i gave him a few 'outs', suggesting that if he's just too busy to take it, to just say so. but he didnt, he said he'd think about giving me some kind of estimate and getting back to me.



we speculated that the intake may have received the crack damage from an impact by a backswing of someone whacking at the starter. if so, the crack would have been there for a long time. but he believed that if it was existing, the truck should have had a bad idle for a while, surging or hunting from the O2 sensor trying to compensate. so its possible the damage may have been there, or may have occurred from being dropped. too hard to tell.

i don't know why the fuel hatch is open, unless it was to remove the wiring in the attempt to pull the engine harness. it looks together.

the harness appears unburnt. no melting at any connectors. we think the guy was trying to pull the harness simply for the use of a later intake manifold. i'd rather just obtain the correct intake manifold, than pull an entire harness. why??? heck, JB Weld would have been a better idea than trying to swap a harness. (i suspect someone wanted an 88 harness for themselves)


i can't tell if all the parts are even there. the injector o-rings look beat. guess i'll have to replace those now.

the dude who came out looked at a plug and thought it looked like the engine was already burning oil. he also tried to turned it to TDC and said that one valve appeared pretty tight. so he suggested doing a compression check, then adjusting the valves and rechecking, to make sure the engine is still ok and worth repairing.

he said if the intake manifold leak had been there a while, it could have superheated the entire exhaust, causing a meltdown in the muffler or cat, which could have blocked the exh. and caused the EGR hose issue. makes sense.



ACC is closed today. i'm going to call them tomorrow. they restore landcruisers. i hope they're not snobs about working on a lowly 4Runner! haha!

trx125

Still in a holding pattern!

tj884Rdlx

i'm about to start taking some action.

i spoke to Brian at Atlanta Custom Creations yesterday. they restore old land cruisers. someone on GA TTORA suggested the place, and it seems like this might be the right shop for me.

i'm going to find a way to drag it down there next week. they said they'd be able to work on it the first week in April. after i described the conditions, Brian sounded pretty confident they could handle it. their website suggests this is true, and the feedback i've found on toyota forums has also been positive.

i'll post more info as it comes available. if they can get the mechanical issues resolved affordably enough, i'll hit them up for some custom sheet metal work. i want to cut a hatch into the floor of the bed and drop in a storage bin.

i'm feeling pretty good about going to this place. the mechanic who came out to see it last saturday hasn't replied with an estimate yet. so it doesn't appear he's too interested in the job.

tj884Rdlx

well, my truck has been at ACC for a month. So far they've only been able to do a compression test on it. They tell me the numbers are 175 and go up to 210. they're speculating that since it's a new engine (supposedly anyway) the deck may have been planed at an angle, causing the readings to go up from one end to the other. but it's not leaking down, timing is good, head is super clean and valves look ok, so hopefully they'll be able to put it back together someday.

i miss my truck.

Sensei

Sorry to hear about all your troubles... I am an ASE Certified Master tech and having worked alongside and supervising many ASE certified techs I can tell you there is a huge difference between "book" smart and "wrench" smart. Sounds like this guy passed the written test but apparently can't apply any skill sets. It gives ASE techs a bad rap when somebody tosses the banner up but fails to perform.

Hope your wheelin real soon.

Junkers88

Those pictures make me ill.....

jrobertson4runnner

That sucks man. Had something similar, but not near as bad, happen to my dad. Had some shop do an engine swap, and they lost several of our parts. Glad you found someone who can work on it. Hope you're up and running again soon, I hate it when people do hack jobs on stuff like this. I totally feel you on being tired of people telling you you're trying to breathe life into a dead horse. I have people tell me all the time to just buy a new car instead of fixing my '91 4runner. I tell them to shut up and leave me alone.
Good luck man, we're all pullin for ya. Wish I could come help you out, but I live in Texas.

myyota

Did anyone besides me notice that the first two pictures are of different engines ?.

toyota4x4907

No.. look the same to me...

tj884Rdlx

you're right! one's longitudinal and one's transverse!! nice work, detective!

Bassmastry101

iTrader: (1)

That makes me sick..I used to work for a shop that did that kind of stuff to people...it's sick. I'm in NE GA, if you need some help I'll find some time to come out!

tj884Rdlx

thanx, B!

well, ACC is finally working on it. hopefully it will be running within a week. jeez i haven't had my truck in about 4 months.

but, i just got one of these little matchbox trucks i found at sprawlmart to hold me over. they come in red now!

tj884Rdlx

the latest news is i need injectors. 3 out of 4 of the required spacers are reported missing. my injectors were all yanked from the rail and in a box, so i don't know if the previous mechanic damaged them on removal or if they're just worn out; but i approved ordering some at $130 each. then i checked here, which led me over to LC Engineering, and i found their equalized set available for $248 w/ core charge. I called ACC back and they were EXTREMELY cooperative with canceling the parts they were sourcing and ordering the LCE's. Brian checked the LCE website while i was on the phone, agreed they'd work just as well, and ordered them up overnight. He even said it'd be no problem to cancel the ones i approved which he just got done ordering.

to me, that says a LOT about a shop. i hung up the phone thinking that he was really concerned about my satisfaction as a customer, rather than just doing things their way and that's it. by taking a few extra steps in ordering and returning, they're saving me about $400 in parts expense. that's huge. it will most likely just go to having more work done there anyway!

hopefully i'll have the truck back in a week. i'll post pics of the work done as soon as i can.

tj884Rdlx

i got the call from ACC to pick it up yesterday! remarkably, the final total was a few hundred lower than i was expecting it to be. that NEVER happens.

i have to say right up front, that i am pleased with my experience with Atlanta Custom Creations. Brian and his coworkers were all very pleasant to work with, professional and knowledgeable. i'm happy i brought the truck there.

haven't seen this old key in a while. hey, what's FDUP stand for? perhaps a model designation i'm not familiar with. hmmm...


last time i opened the hood, it looked like a crime scene; the wiring harness, alarmingly laid out across the disassembled engine like a white chalk line around the corpse. what's under the bonnet now??

sha-ZAM!


the powder coating they did for me was really worth it. i'm pretty sure it adds 10hp TO THE WHEEL! (steering wheel that is)

sure enough, driving it home at interstate speeds, the truck feels nothing like i remember it. it's idling smooth, cruising smooth, and has power up at the top end that's pulling away in 5th gear as i'm doing 70. all gauges read normal. ( i brightened up the bottom to see them easier)


my friend did tell me that my speedo is now reading fast instead of slow. changing gears to 4.88s now has the speedo at 75 when i'm doing 70.

there's still not a lot of power off the line. i guess i was hoping it would feel more powerful after regearing, replacing injectors, and setting up the engine correctly again, if it ever was before. but i still feel kinda like i'm in a dump truck when i start out in first.

they told me they set the timing to 5*. and the compression numbers are like 175, 200, 210, and 185 or something similar. they're all high, just not consistent nor in any particular pattern. guess i'll deal with that.

the muffler is still cracked and a little mushed, so i should replace that still, but it's running ok although a little loud. but they put in downpipe exhaust gaskets which were non-existent before.

they said some emissions stuff was missing, so they capped that little branch-off on the plastic cross-pipe that goes across the top of the radiator. looks like they capped it with the rubber foot of grampa's cane. heck in another year i'll be emissions exempt anyway.

essentially they told me they fixed the hole in the intake, and put everything back together, and it's all good. off the road since February, and almost conned into replacing my entire engine harness and manifold, for nothing. wow.

well, i'm glad this drama is finally over. back to driving my truck, working on restoring the interior, and maybe someday getting it painted. it's very obvious my front right shock has expired, as it's slamming over speedbumps now. i'm not sure if i'll stick with OME to match the rear stuff, or if i'll keep the OE t-bars.

i wonder if maybe a dyno run would tell me if advancing the timing might help, or if this is as much power as it has and i'm not used to its sluggishness since i've been driving around that zippy little honda hatchback i picked up.

it's nice to have it back though.

blake.nemitz

if you set your timing to 10 or 12 you will definatly feel it in the pants dyno

xxxtreme22r

I think that just means it was one F'd up 4runner.

Congrats on getting a running truck back from the grave.