superxenrique

So, I recently inherited a 1989 toyota pickup 22r 4 speed as a project. The previous owner believed that it has either a cracked head or a blown head gasket. My friend and I began engine disassembly and found that coolant had mixed in with the oil and had become a carmel-colored froth. Anyways, we are trying to take the distributor out and have come across challenges. Our book states to remove the pinch bolt and it should slide out, but we can not for the life of us figure out what a pinch bolt is or what we should be doing. Please help us! As we venture farther into the depths of this motor, is there anything else we should be careful to look for?

abecedarian

pinch bolt- distributor adjusting bolt.

CyMoN

before removing the head remove the timing cover to make sure that the timing chain did not wear a hole into the water pump housing you can also just remove the water pump but some times the hole is very small and you cannot see it from the water pump side.

abecedarian

and there is a hidden bolt in the puddle of oil at the front of the cylinder head that goes down into the timing chain cover

superxenrique

I still can not figure it out. This is what I have done...

If you look straight at the distributor from the driver's side of the truck, I have removed a bolt (I believe it was a 14mm) from the right (towards the rear of the truck) and a small screw on the top of the distributor. I can not find any other bolts, but it is still attached as well as ever and will not budge.

wrnchplr

This is the only bolt. try to wiggle it back and forth while pulling out.

superxenrique

So, I pried it off and kept going. Thanks for the help. Now, I am to the point of taking the head off. All of the head bolts came out easily except for one. I have taken it out far enough that there are no threads holding it in. The problem is that I can't get it out. I think that it is jammed or there is soot of some sort clogging it. I called my big 250lb wrestler of a neighbor and he couldn't get it out. Are there any suggestions?

abecedarian

slip the closed end of a combination wrench over the head of the bolt and situate the wrench in such a way that you can use it as a lever to lift the bolt out of the hole. apply slight pressure on the wrench, then using another wrench, attempt to unscrew the bolt, keeping pressure on the wrench. hopefully the threads on the bolt will start to cut into whatever is holding it in and thread itself out.

or... if you are otherwise ready to remove the head, just lift the head off with the bolt still in it and get the bolt out afterwards.

superxenrique

So the head is off, and I found coolant in the cylinders, there is a guide to the timing chain that has snapped off and the chain has left grooves in the sides of its cover. Where would you guys go from here? Does it sound like I have major problems because of the coolant in the cylinders? Should I take the head and have it looked at or not even bother? Would a rebuilt motor be my best option? I need some guidance here.

abecedarian

repair or replace the timing chain cover. have a machine shop test the head for any cracks or leaks.

Stock91

Sounds like a chain cover. If there is no oil in the radiator your good to go. Your radiator oughtta be low or near low with coolant. Get the head checked.

abecedarian

and the crankcase should be have at least a quart (liter) or so, maybe more, of coolant.

*edit-
Since there was coolant in the oil, unless you know for sure- without ANY DOUBT, the engine wasn't run once it started loosing coolant, you'll need to at least check the rod and crank bearings for any pitting or scoring caused by dilution of the oil from coolant, and replace any / all bearings if necessary.
If it was driven that way, even 100 miles, the bearings have worn down a bit.

HelliphinoN8

Have fun! I did all of this stuff last year. By the time you're done, you'll know everything about that damn engine! LOL. I suggest using an air hose to blow out all of the coolant journals in the intake manifold. They can get clogged up over time. If your head is in bad shape, or if the shop is gonna charge more than $280 to re-furbish your head, go to attarco.com or find em on ebay. They sell a BRAND NEW head with NEW valves, springs, and everything, including every gasket you'll ever need to do the swap and then some, for only $280 bucks shipped! I've put over 25k miles on mine and it's still running like a striped-assed-ape! Good luck brother!!

superxenrique

So the head is at the machine shop getting cleaned, resurfaced, get a valve job, and checked for cracks. I am going to continue to get to the timing chain, which has broken the guides and ground nice grooves into the cover. I am definitely going to get a new timing kit and cover. My fingers are crossed. Is there anything else I should be looking for?

abecedarian

check the water pump and oil pump while they're loose

superxenrique

So, the newest problem is the crankshaft pulley. I am attempting to take the timing chain cover next and I can not for the life of me get the pulley to budge without pumping the cylinders. I have tried putting some bolts in and using a breaker bar to stop if from rotating, but that gave me no success, next up is the impact gun. Do you think I should try something else first?
Good news though, I just got word from the machine shop, the head has no cracks, has been resurfaced, and has all new valves and is ready to be put back in... whenever that happens.

abecedarian

wait for the head to be installed, then tackle the timing chain. you can't reliably do it any other way

superxenrique

Okay, newest problem... Is the only way to take the oil pan off is to life the engine out. So far, I have been able to do everything with the engine still in, but now I need to take the oil pan off in order to change the piston rings. Am I going to hate myself if I try to do this with the engine still in or is it possible?

Jeenyus04

With ifs i dont no, luckily i dont have to deal with that! May I ask why your doing piston rings tho? unless you were burning oil you shouldnt need that and if your pulling the pistons you might as well rebuild the whole thing, in which case pull it to change your main bearings. I'd just get a new oil pump and water pump while there off since theyre both pretty cheap and through those back on with a new timing cover, chain, and guides. go to engnbldr.com and get the stuff from him, great guy, great customer support, great products. and the one timing guide is metal from him.

ddwyer

Regarding the crank bolt, you can remove it before the head is installed, but you certainly can't re-install the chain until the head is on.

In case you want to remove it now, You can do so very easily and safely with a chain wrench. I wrap a strip of rubber around the pulley (to prevent gouging), apply the chain wrench to the pulley and put a normal breaker bar on the crank bolt. Easy and smooth.

I have heard of people using a breaker bar against the frame and "tapping" the starter, but I don't really like the sound of that approach.