beaker

I had a pretty bad lifter tick for a while but lived with it figuring it was just the nature of this 3.slow. The other day i was on the freeway and all the sudden that tick turned into a hard knock. So bad, that i was sending the vibration through the pedals. Asking around, i was told that it could be the lifters. I have since removed the cam and will be replacing the lifters. My question is how do i remove the shim that is in the top of the lifter. I also noticed that the cam cap bearings were installed backwards and reverse sequence, should i reinstall those caps in the same reverse manner, or should i put them were they should go.

MudHippy

You pry them out. With whatever tool you've got, but a small flat head screwdriver works well. They fall out on their own when they're clean, and/or when there's no oil keeping them hydraulically "locked" to the lifters.

Well, first make sure that they really are. Because the FSM is wrong on one page, and right on another. So it might depend on how far you've read through the manual(since the latter/correct illustration is in the assembly pages, after the incorrect illustration shown in the disassembly pages).

This is the illustration where the mistake is(corrected).


This illustration displays the correct order.


If they are installed incorrectly, then you should probably fix that. But at this point, it may not even matter.

BTW, I wouldn't suspect that the lifters are your problem. Not unless you have some pretty convincing evidence thus far, suggesting they are. Which I'm not seeing...

scope103

You can try pulling the shims out with a magnet (that's how I do it when adjusting the valves, with the cam in place), unless they're stuck. In your case, with the lifter already out, prying GENTLY with a small screwdriver as MudHippy suggests is probably easiest.

As much as I usually defer to MudHippy, when I found a cam bearing-cap out of order I very carefully left it that way. (When I sent the heads to the machine shop I included a note indicating the order the bearings came out.) I can't say for sure one way or the other, but the cam and bearings wear slowly, so I felt it best to not add another variable by "mixing" them up.

beaker

ok so i got the shims out. I really doubt these lifters are my problem. They looked good with no evidence of abnormal wear. I suspect this is a bigger problem than i'd like. Not sure i really want to spend the time and money into investigating it. Any places you guys might think i should start?

MudHippy

Lower end bearings(rods/mains).

youngtoyotatech

Major vibration is typically bottom end. How was your oil pressure with tick. oil pressure is a major indication of bottom end bearing condition. Drain the oil and look for metal in the oil. Then drop the pan and look for more metal.

ThatGuy1295

Hold the rpms @ 3K for one minute exactly, while counting the knocks. If theres 3 thousand knocks per minute. Then its definitely the lower end. No? well it would work if you were a robot.

All joking aside, my bet is a rod bearing also. I hope whoever gave you the advice sayin it could be lifters is not a real mechanic.

beaker

no, he's no mechanic, just thinks he is. Lower end bearings sound like what is going on, and after talking to a few shops in town and online, it looks like im going to need a complete rebuild or reman. Found a guy to do the swap for 400, now i just need to decide weather to buy a used motor from the wreck yard, or buy a reman.