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Hello! and an 88' 4Runner engine rebuild/modest build up
First off, Hello! I've been a long time lurker of this site for years and have used the info on here for many fixes to my 88' 4runner. This website seems to be most informative and least predatory of noobs like me haha. A little background on the truck; I bought the truck from my parents when I was in high school(late nineties) and it's been my daily driver since. I've never really touched the engine other than routine maintenance, I welded bumpers for it, and I added extended shackles and a add-a-leaf for fixing the rear end sag. It has never broke down to the point I couldn't drive home in all of its 270K miles.
But the time has come that it's lacking power (more so than usual haha), and is starting to leak coolant near the water pump and just run rough all around. So, I've decided to take the plunge and do a full rebuild of the engine and a few other upgrades to the interior and the suspension. My over all goal is to have a truck that will continue to take me where ever I want to go for many more miles. Therefore I'm going to try to keep it stock as possible and not try to break the bank. I'm waiting for my engine stand to show up and out will come the engine. I have everything disconnected from the engine except the motor mounts and a couple easy to get to motor/tranny bolts.
The rough plan is to the get the short block rebuilt at the local shop, stock engnbldr head and cam, and engnblder water pump, oil pump, timing kit and cover, and OEM head gasket. I'll try to document this best I can and I'll probably have plenty of questions when the engine tear down occurs, just thought I'd say Hi before said questions start popping up. Thanks!
I did daydream about the 3.4, I'm pretty sure that's what's in my brothers t100 and I've always been impressed with that motor. From my limited research it seems like I would probably have to triple my budget to try and make that happen, although it would be cool to tow a trailer or climb a hill in 5th. I'm still stuck trying to get the block to let go of the transmission at the moment, they've been together for 28 years and don't want to separate... Maybe I'll check craigslist one more time for a motor, thanks.
Amazing little motor
It's out! I ended up working a flat pry bar gently around the perimeter of the bell housing to work it loose, I think all the baked on oil had something to do with it too. Pulling was pretty straight forward. I was able to slip a box end wrench on the infamous 17mm bolts behind the head and then I put my cheapest socket on a breaker bar and slipped the socket over one of the "prongs" or forks? Maybe of the open end of the wrench. Then I was able to gently break the bolts loose. Tool abuse for sure but it worked a lot better than trying to snake a wobble joint and extensions way in there. Hopefully the rest of this build is as straight forward.
Last edited by Wyofunrunner; 11-01-2016 at 01:01 PM.
I use a 30"+ in 1/2 drive extension bar, and a breaker bar, and I go through the SHIFTER hole.
The ribs on the bell housing - guide the socket right on.
Any tips for cleaning up parts coated in years of oil, mud, and general nastiness? I hit the whole thing with degreaser and water before i started the disassembly, but it didn't touch the crust on this thing. More degreaser and a brass brush maybe? Gasoline? How about the more delicate items like the alternator and power steering pump? thanks again
When I cleaned mine up, I found that simple green and a variety of plastic scrapers, brass & stainless brushes, 3m stripping pads and a set of metal picks did the job.
Like you, I found that engine degreaser wasn't cutting it. It would foam up and make a smelly mess of black goo. Spraying with a hose did nothing so it would dry back to where it started. Going a step further, I'd spray it on again but crawl underneath and scrub it with a stiff brush with caustic goo burning my face and through my shirt. Sound familiar?
There are better ways. This is how I got it done.
Simple green isn't less work, but it doesn't burn or stink. You'll use a lot more than one spray bottle if you want everything really clean. I used almost a gallon. Just dilute for more sensitive parts.
Thanks for the simple green tip, I'd rather use that in my garage than degreaser anyways. I used old gas from winterizing my lawn mower and motorcycle to soak things like the alternator and p/s brackets and it worked really well. Everything came off with nylon brush and looks almost new (sorta haha).
I got the crankshaft bolt off yesterday which was a major win for me. I wasn't too excited about the whole bumping the starter with a breaker bar idea so I ended up bolting a chain from the flywheel to the block to stop it from turning, then had a buddy hold the engine steady while I put a cheater bar on my breaker bar and gave her hell and it finally broke loose.
I'm waiting for my engine stand to get here tomorrow and then I plan to take the intake off. Is it possible to remove the whole thing as intact as possible as far as not having to unplug every vacuum line and wire from the intake? I understand that i'll have to remove some to get it separated from the head, but I don't really want to have to screw around with hooking all the hoses and wires up again to the intake if i can help it when it goes to the new head. It just seems like a lot of room for error for a nervous noob like myself. Are the internals of the intake usual dirty enough that it needs to be completely disassembled and cleaned? Ok enough questions, thanks again!
Thanks for the simple green tip, I'd rather use that in my garage than degreaser anyways. I used old gas from winterizing my lawn mower and motorcycle to soak things like the alternator and p/s brackets and it worked really well. Everything came off with nylon brush and looks almost new (sorta haha).
I got the crankshaft bolt off yesterday which was a major win for me. I wasn't too excited about the whole bumping the starter with a breaker bar idea so I ended up bolting a chain from the flywheel to the block to stop it from turning, then had a buddy hold the engine steady while I put a cheater bar on my breaker bar and gave her hell and it finally broke loose.
I'm waiting for my engine stand to get here tomorrow and then I plan to take the intake off. Is it possible to remove the whole thing as intact as possible as far as not having to unplug every vacuum line and wire from the intake? I understand that i'll have to remove some to get it separated from the head, but I don't really want to have to screw around with hooking all the hoses and wires up again to the intake if i can help it when it goes to the new head. It just seems like a lot of room for error for a nervous noob like myself. Are the internals of the intake usual dirty enough that it needs to be completely disassembled and cleaned? Ok enough questions, thanks again!
Unfortunately, yes you really should remove every hose and wire from the intake.
Reasons: the intake runners will be lined with nasty goo. This is your big chance to get it out! (I used a toilet bowl brush with trimmed bristles to get in there). Also, you can pull the coolant sensors and clean them with a brass brush. Another reason to do it is that the intake gasket is probably very old and not well-sealed anymore.
I spent the extra time learning what every wire and hose did and labelled each side. Also took tons of photos and got it all back together without a problem. If I can do it, you can too and you won't have regrets about doing it right.
Engine stand finally came and I was able to pull the intake today. I got the infamous Allen head screw out with a 1/4" extension to an Allen bit to an impact driver. Now onto cleaning/disassembling the intake.
Pulled the timing cover and head today. Everything was pretty Straight forward. I was almost a little disappointed by the lack of carnage though. There were definitely some chunks of plastic floating around from the chain guides and the head bolts went from breaking loose easily to feeling like I was going to break my wrench easily. Some of the bolts were really rusty and some were coated in gloppy oil and some were coated in carbon like chunks, no two the same. Head gasket? The gasket looked ok though from my noobish perspective? Anyways it's off and short block is going to the machine shop. More cleaning in the meantime. This build has been 1 part wrenching to 2 parts cleaning so far haha.
Not the same Nothing too ugly Money shot Good to go for another 300k! Haha
Last edited by Wyofunrunner; 11-05-2016 at 11:43 AM.
Howdy again, I've kind of had a lull in the action since the short block got into the the back of a long line at the machine shop. So, in the meantime i've looked into other things that i've wanted to take care of for years. First off, I replaced the console with a 40mm ammo can and attached the coin tray/rear window controls to the front of it. It looks pretty good especially since I left the "live munitions" labels on it haha. Also I had some questions with OME rear springs. Are the CS010R the normal duty 2.5'' lift rear springs?? finding specific info on these things is nearly impossible, which is funny because you can find them just about everywhere. It's also sunday and no ones open to call. Also are the OMESB6 bushings what are used for these said springs? Once again I can find no info on them other than a serial number and that they might fit a "toyota" haha. Finally, can the stock u bolts be used on the non heavy duty springs? I know most people replace them and flip them, but I'm definitely in the if-it's-not-broke-don't-fix-it camp! Thanks for any and all input, or links to threads that might answer these questions I can't find!! Pics to follow
Howdy again, I've kind of had a lull in the action since the short block got into the the back of a long line at the machine shop. So, in the meantime i've looked into other things that i've wanted to take care of for years. First off, I replaced the console with a 40mm ammo can and attached the coin tray/rear window controls to the front of it. It looks pretty good especially since I left the "live munitions" labels on it haha. Also I had some questions with OME rear springs. Are the CS010R the normal duty 2.5'' lift rear springs?? finding specific info on these things is nearly impossible, which is funny because you can find them just about everywhere. It's also sunday and no ones open to call. Also are the OMESB6 bushings what are used for these said springs? Once again I can find no info on them other than a serial number and that they might fit a "toyota" haha. Finally, can the stock u bolts be used on the non heavy duty springs? I know most people replace them and flip them, but I'm definitely in the if-it's-not-broke-don't-fix-it camp! Thanks for any and all input, or links to threads that might answer these questions I can't find!! Pics to follow
My suspension is still stock, but I'm hoping to be able to switch to OME when funds allow. Like you, I'm hoping to only need springs, shackles, bushings and shocks. Looking forward to the answers of the more experienced here...
Meanwhile, aside from being completely oil-varnished things look not so bad in there
My suspension is still stock, but I'm hoping to be able to switch to OME when funds allow. Like you, I'm hoping to only need springs, shackles, bushings and shocks. Looking forward to the answers of the more experienced here...
Meanwhile, aside from being completely oil-varnished things look not so bad in there
10-31-2016, 09:22 AM
