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Back in late 2014 when the oil patch died my family and I moved from Bismarck, ND back to Knoxville,TN. Unfortunately I had to find a good home for my 91 pickup. Recently I was going through Yota withdrawals and started prowling CL. There she was a 94 3.slow limited 4x4 auto trans, advertised as having a knock from a 🤣😂🤣 PUSHROD OR ROCKER 😂😂😂 (probably a connetting rod, hoping it's just injector noise but I'm never that lucky) And not in drivable condition. We worked out a trade and a buddy and I went to pick it up. Kid had rattle caned the body without doing prep, under the hood looks like my daughter could have done a better job on tear down, rear window doesn't work ( obviously lol) frame looks to be in amazing shape for what I'm use to having lived up north most of my life, everything else is what I expected if not better condition. I'll get pictures when it's not downpouring outside. Kid and his "expert mechanic" buddy (the guy that swears it's a pushrod) had plans to make it a wheeling rig before they started doing tear down and gave up. Since I traded a gun (yes that's safe and legal in most states if you do it right) I got in trade when I was still a gunsmith I'm not concerned about surprises. The plan for now is as fallows.
Step 1: put everything back together and get her started, do general maintenance and double check everything front to back (already noticed missing wires for 4x4 system.) after I have a solid fix it list I'll decide if I'm going to pull the interior and clean/ repair as needed, barter with my friends wife to get the seats redone, replace the cracked dash (already have one) and check all the wiring (bundles of aftermarket stereo wires worry me.)
Im not going to buy anything I don't have to since this is going to be my new oil rig ride and if it's better off as a parts truck then so be it.
Step2: After I know what's going on with the motor and I know she won't constantly break down over the next year I'll get a working used 3.0 in it if need be and start tracking down the parts for a motor swap, doing body work and making her pretty.
Step 3: I'll probably put a 3.4 in it because of $$$ but if all works out and I'm back making stupid amounts of oil field $$ Jan. 2018 I'll do a 1kz like I've always dreamed of.
For or now if anyone is in the Knoxville area and has parts for the old girl they are looking to trade hit me up.
Where'd you nab a new dash? And my good god that interior looks amazing for what it is. I'm in Memphis and I have really decent rear tan leather seats up for grabs if you're looking!
Sorry space junk, I'm better with a wrench than an iPad. I found a dash in a runner that was in a barn in North Dakota years ago and never installed it in anything. I'm waiting to see what my friends wife says she wants to redo all the seats. I'm the kind of guy that spends his resources on parts and not pretty stuff. The frame brackets for the front torsion bar have busted off bolts so it's just hanging there, the transmission bracket bolts are all loose or missing and have been for a while, power steering pump is toast, the auto tranny and (stupid A340H tranny and it's electronic engaged transfer case) linkages are WAY out of adjustment, Hensley Preformance here in Knoxville will do the machine work on the block and crank for $250 ish not bad for a world renowned race motor shop, and there were a couple other things loose or broken that shouldn't be.
I'll post more pics later. Biggest news was I drained to oil and hand rolled the motor and can hear #3 rod raddleing around in the crank and I got all the bolts they just piled together separated in to marked bags.
I just love giving a good ribbing. HAHAHA. sounds like itll be a big project, but it also sounds like youve got s pretty steady grasp on the problems. cant wait to see how you build it!
also, maybe ask a moderator to move this thread into yotatech.com/f199 as a build thread versus tech.
I though I had posted in the build section (yet another face palm moment.) my goal is to make this more of a tech write up anyway though. More and more the only Toyotas available/affordable for a noob is something in the condition I usually buy them. This is actually the first one I've owned that hasn't been involved in a major wreck lol. I build daily drivers for the oil patch. Roads barely deserve the name, get covered by 8ft of snow all winter, wash away/ turn to 3ft deap mud in the thaw, then get a nice covering of softball size and larger scorio for the two months it's not a nightmare getting to work. I've got the time now to document my building a ride that can survive all that and still make the 2 day one way drive on the interstate twice a month without leaving me stranded.i made the agreement with the wife that I wouldn't take a position in the oil and gas industry until she is finished with her education for her career. Best part is my wife admitted she would drive it if I put some seat covers on it.
Wife
Last edited by OilTrash; 04-29-2017 at 10:02 AM.
Reason: Wrong word
Removing rounded off/stuck bolts that touch aluminum.
Everyone that's ever turned a wrench has ran in to a rounded off bolt that just won't budge. That's a huge reason why I got this runner so cheap. There are several under the hood and more down the frame so I figured I'd write something up.
its pretty straight forward to do. You grind the bolt down to where the lip on the bottom is nice and thin. Then you GENTLY tap it counter clockwise with a punch or chisel. The key things to remember are that your working on a hardened steal bolt torqued in to a price of soft aluminum. Be gentle and patient while grinding, make sure everything leading to the internals of the motor are covered (good practice any time) and take your time. When I'm grinding off a bolt it's because what it's bolted to is expensive or hard to find. And now for the pics The bottom lip is what holds pressure against the surface below it. Weaken that lip enough and the bolt will un torque itself. The culprit stopping me from removing the crank. Just a little tapping with a chisel. Be careful not to let the bolt wobble because it will damage the threads. No more bolt and the part is still usable.
Grabbits are great, but I'm never skilled enough to get them to work half the time. If I'm going to get the grinder out I'd rather just get it over with. There are a bunch along the frame that I'm going to have to bust out my fancy tools for because they are broke off flush. Two I'll have to drill out completely and tap. Not a big deal since I think the bolts are too small anyway.
Can't make this stuff up No linkage where it should be.
This is the first Toyota I've owned that was an AT so I've got very little experience in the auto transmission department. So the thing the #2 shift rod attaches to at the back of the T-cas is backwards and tied off with a shoelace. I don't know what it does since the t case and tranny are supposed to be electric controlled. To keep this post short I'll just say help. If it's going to be a giant $$$$ sucking PITA I'll just find a manual truck with a blown motor. And let this be the parts rig.
Can't make this stuff up No linkage where it should be.
This is the first Toyota I've owned that was an AT so I've got very little experience in the auto transmission department. So the thing the #2 shift rod attaches to at the back of the T-cas is backwards and tied off with a shoelace. I don't know what it does since the t case and tranny are supposed to be electric controlled. To keep this post short I'll just say help. If it's going to be a giant $$$$ sucking PITA I'll just find a manual truck with a blown motor. And let this be the parts rig.
You could find another parts truck and just swap the 3VZE/5 speed in plus the harness and ECU. Problem solved. The body looks straight on yours
Well poop, I answered my own question. Guessing from the effort put in to disconnecting the transfer case so it can't be engaged I'll be spending money on fixing it. Anyone have a suggestion for a good shop in Knoxville.
It will depend what I can find for a donor truck. The older I get the more ok I am with the power loss vs needing extra hands and feet to wheel with a manual. Right now I'm looking in to A340h mods and t case options.
It is KILLING me how clean that leather interior is. Granted, I love the gray versus the tan, but I've only seen one EVER that was gray.
I too am envious of the fun roof.
As much as I've seen people moan and groan about the highway power of the 3VZE, I have to say, its been relatively fine!
It is KILLING me how clean that leather interior is. Granted, I love the gray versus the tan, but I've only seen one EVER that was gray.
I too am envious of the fun roof.
As much as I've seen people moan and groan about the highway power of the 3VZE, I have to say, its been relatively fine!
https://youtu.be/G1KLrFSjSC4
(sorry about the shaking, my rear end is worn and my 'mount' is a suction cup mount)
dito to all. It's the first Toyota I've had that I'm actually concerned about keeping the interior clean. I told my kids to take their shoes off when they are climbing around inside the truck so they don't get it dirty. My 5 year old daughter didn't miss a beat and quipped back "but dad! It's a Toyota and you said Toyotas are made to run hard and get dirty!" I was so proud of her that it took me a couple seconds to work out how to correct her.
My knowledge base runs way deeper with mopar. I've debated tossing a 318 in a toyota for a while now. I finally sat down and serriously planned it out. The short answer is Don't bother. My reasons are many but the top three are.
#1: investment. By the time I did a swap that would actually last and drive well I could build a SICK old big block dodge truck.
#2: way bettertter options out there: While my love of mopar and toyotas is equal why spend around $11,000 for some untested Frankenstein when I couldjust go buy a 93-97 land cruiser and look just as cool if not cooler.
#3 It wouldn't really be a Toyota: same reason I've passed on several highly modified 350 swapped rigs, if the dash vin is the only thing making it a Toyota then why bother. I have allot of respect for guys that go wild swaping parts in but it's not for me.
For now im patiently looking for another runner of the same year to use as a parts truck. Patients saves allot of money.
04-27-2017, 06:27 AM
