I pulled my motor (89 22re), put a new clutch in, replaced all of the gaskets & seals and put it back in and now my truck has these symptoms:

When I crank the motor it will rotate once or twice and then the starter will spark. When cranking the motor the ground strap on the drivers side gets hot, I suspect that this one might not be a ground strap at all as it is an insulated wire so I think I have it connected incorrectly, it comes out of the same group of wires that connects to the alternator. When I pulled the distributor out and put it back in the coil and the distributor sparked.

 

Check the factory service manual for the wiring...do a search for factory service manual. Should be easy for ya ta figure out.

Ok...the broken off fingernail in your avatar hurts to look at...ouch@$%#^!

 

keep a fire extinguisher handy so you won't need it. Not trying to be a smart aleck. But clearly things are not connected correctly, anything could happen.

 

Oh boy........a s'thparkly can o' worms!

Need pics of what's going on, if you can swing it.

 

Sounds like you might have some loose connections.

Your ground cables are not giving you a good ground so all current is trying to find a ground.

A few wires hooked up wrong also??

The Toyota electrical manual for your vehicle just makes wiring problems so very easy to troubleshoot

 

The ground cable is a big black one and goes into the block with a 12mm bolt. Goes directly to the battery, along with the positive cable going to the large lug on the starter.

Better be safe and keep a garden hose handy too.

You may also have some blown fuses too.

 

I had a loose ground strap and a loose connection at the starter, once I tightened them up the symptoms all went away.