every once in a while my 4runner would get a miss when driving after i replaced the hg and timing chain on it.it ran good for while then started doing it again.now its to the point to where i can barely even drive through town its sputtering and occasionally backfiring through the intake,ive replaced the cap and rotor and am about to adjust the distributor one tooth over to where its less advanced.which im hoping is the cause of all this,im also going to replace the pcv valve and fuel filter.any other suggestions on what could be causing this? it also doesnt want to idle when i first start it up.feels likes its dropped a cylinder maybe a bad injector or adjust valve lash? is there anything else i could be overlooking?

 

Definitely check valve lash.

 

well just moved the distributor over one tooth and now it wont even idle it starts up revs to wherever you have foot at and then it dies down quickly.
check engine light is also on...

 

well this sounds like a similar problem i just fixed. all i did was set my ignition timing properly and all was good. my timing was to advanced, about a hair over 12 degrees. my truck wants to be at 5 degrees. let me know if you need a run down on how to this. and definently do that valve train adjustment, even if it doesnt help your current problem its always good to do.

 

well that last post i did made me feel dumb...forgot all about the maf sensor possibly being unplugged.just gettting to that point where i start overlooking things cause i get so frustrated with it...i adjusted timing and it was advanced to 15 too much possibly not sure ill adjust it to 5 in the morning hopefully that might fix it.and then do a valve adjustment.if its neither of those i guess ill be pulling the injectors

 

It could be the injector wiring splices. The 2 wires coming from the ECU are split into 4 with a crimp in the harness and the 2 wires coming from the resistor on your sidewall each split into 2 with a crimp. When these splices get old they fail and need to be soldered. While you are working on the injectors you should have them all rebuilt and replace the injector plugs with new Bosch plug ends.


Did you short the test connector when you set the timing?

 

15 is definently to high. i drive an 84 carbed so we may be a little different though. there is an information sticker post on the inside of your hood that will tell you what you should be at if its not completely worn off like some of the almost 30 year old ones are. it also tells you your valve clearances and a few other things. if its unreadable its probably 5 degrees but hopefully it is readable. good luck, hope this helps.

 

well found out the problem...somehow the headgasket has broke in the timing cover and has fallen down in there and the brand new timing chain has stretched and it jumped a tooth...but that is what i get for being cheap and buying autozone stuff. Im going to buy a lcengineering head gasket and timing kit and get the head ported and polished with a 5 angle valve job to pep it up some.thanks for all the help guys.id rather it be a bad timing chain than trying to trouble shoot it for hours considering its 17 degrees where i live right now.

 

check out engnbldr.com for you parts. they sell a lot of the same parts and always at lower cost. and really awesome costumer service. and the sell the timing sets with the steel guides. happy you got it figured out.

 

Been looking at kits and see the lce but have heard a lot about engnbldr like FRYsauce said and will probably go with engnbldr but am having a little confusion here on what to order. On the top of my pistons it says .50 okay I would think if it was bored 50 over it would be .050 on em right? So what does this mean???ive seen headgaskets for different bores on lce website will I need one or? What's up with that?

 

Most likely .5mm oversize
Equivalent to just short of .020 in.
Have to mike the cylinders to know for sure.

 

Thanks guys! Appreciate all the info.

 

So can I just but the head gasket kit from engine builder or do I have to buy a head gasket with .020 overbore?