well guys, i know it's been a lil bit since i have actually had a decent update...but i have one now!!

i almost had the motor pulled last night, but the dang motor mounts kept binding!! So, today at about 1pm or so i decided to go take the motor mounts off and see if that helps..

unbolted both motor mounts, grabbed the fan clutch and lifted up a little, and bango!!!! motor basically fell out LOL, i had it chained to my hoist and everything so it only fell about 1/2" lol

onto the pics




WHOOO HOO!!!!

idk about you guys, but i'm extremely excited

so in a little while i'm going to start strippin it down to just the heads, block, and lower intake manifold..

now with that being said, is there anything i need to watch out for while i'm stripping the motor?????

 

good job man

 

Thanks man!

 

i can't say there is much to look out for when stripping a 3.0, except remembering where everything came from and getting those pesky cam sprockets off. putting it back together is a different story.

things i had trouble with on rebuild:

getting both cams timed to 0* (the tensioning system on this motor is funky)
figuring out how those PS pump brackets went back together
stripping/breaking those very soft intake manifold bolts
getting the injector o-rings to seal

other than that the build was a walk in the park, just move slow and methodically and triple check everything and it should start up and run like a champ. puttin some paint on the valve covers and upper manifold really tops it off too.

oh and DO NOT USE RTV/high temp silicone on the valve cover gaskets if you are using the blue fel-pro ones.

 

I've got an 88 3VZE, when I did my rebuild only way i was able to adjust or move either cam by a tooth or more was to undo the tensioner. But the only way to do this was by taking top 2 front covers off of vehicle. Upper timing cover and fan bracket, but this also required removal of top water inlet. never saw any adjustment screwws. here are some pics of front and drivers side cam.

 

and as asked the left/passengers side

 

are the cam sprockets pressed on or something? i loosened my cam bolts and crank bolt before i even pulled the motor

i think i'm gonna go pull a few smaller things off in a minute..take some more pics and upload them to PhotoBucket for documentation

 

you loosened the cam bolts with no problems? the ones that hold the sprockets to the cams? mine were torqued beyond 300 ft lbs. i spent most of that day with a wrench on the hex part of the cam to hold it and hitting that bolt with a large air gun.

 

Cam bolts were a breeze, put a 2ft cheater on it, hit the cheater with a 5lb sledge..took 2 hits per bolt...

the crank bolt however was extremely tight, had to hit it numerous times with the same configuration lol

 

well thats good you got those off easy cause those can be a real pain sometimes.

 

yea thats what i heard lol, so i made sure i got those first! lol

and i didn't start on anything today it's kinda chilly outside and i didn't wanna turn the heater on in the shop LOL

 

don't want to turn the heater on? and i thought i was cheap when i wouldn't let my girlfriend run the jacuzzi. well hopefully you get some pics up this week because i am hungry for rebuild progress pics like a nerd hungry for the next star trek episode.

wtf..

by the way... is that a banana riding a llama?

we have the weirdest things on this site lol. ahhh i'm bored now... i'm gonna go back to browsing the 'new posts' for a topic that i have some knowledge on then make a good effort to provide an educated guess to some newb's pitiful problem.

 

Awsome work man.. seems to be going smooth..AND THATS ALWAYS GOOD..lol Feel free to go crazy with the pics.. Ive got a feeling imma need them..

 

Hey as to your original question about what to watch out for..... make sure you buy a new pig tail for your knock sensor and replace it now that you have the lower intake plenum off..... it only cost like $20 for dealer but will save you headaches down the road.... replace the pigtail

 

Camo
what prompted the rebuild?

 

X2 on the pigtail

 

lol the pigtail is already on the list, as well as the knock sensor itself as long as it's not too expensive LOL!!

and Watson, i bought it from a junkyard, they said it needs a new motor, it came with no oil pan, i threw a pan on it, threw some oil in it and fired it up, it had about 3 different knocks (all from the lower end though).

my first guess is the oil pump gave out? lol, i did notice last night though that there is some PINK writing on the side of the block and the heads.....which means it's been rebuilt before

i'm hoping nothing is too terribly bad, i'm gonna have to wait until the week to ship it to southwestern.

and i've got lots of pics on my phone waiting to get on the website guys

 

guess what i found out yesterday, someone did a carfax on my 4runner, in 97 it was totaled and bought back on a salvage permit, front end and motor were rebuilt and the odometer was rolled back from 150,000 to 36,000. then again in 06 it was rolled back right before i bought it. so my odometer says 153,000....... but its actually 220,000. plus i don't have the stock intake to smog it so..... so much for trying to sell it LOL. i guess this one is with me for life. camo you're shipping the block for work? you don't have a local guy who can do it?

 

well now when i say "ship" i mean, load it onto our trailer and my dad will "ship" (drive) it to Tulsa, OK to get it rebuilt...he works just a few miles from Southwestern Motor Rebuilders!

and thats VERY VERY VERY interesting about your runner tracey, i wonder if i could check that stuff on mine how'd ya do it?

 

list it locally for free on ebay, and it will put a history report in your listing if you give them the vin #, check it out then cancel the listing.

and i found out my 4runner has been to TX, OK, and CA.

thats cool getting your dad to drive cause i was like why would you pay to ship a block for work lol.