xxxtreme22r

haha at 35, While I did my entire rebuild, and everything else on my vehicles, I still take both vehicles to an oil change place for oil changes. With the truck, I still take my own PureOne filter though. I used to work with the manager there, so he knows I watch everyone like a hawk while there. This is only during winter cold months though.

imspidey

not so much in the age dept. more of the distraction of family...so yes...limited time...I would categorize myself as a novice mechanic with 6 years of parts dept. (for honda....same diff) and personally, if i have the equipment...I am not afraid to tear something down and fix/replace etc. I have my work cut out for me with the 81 beast I own though! "regular maintenance" was not part of the vocabulary on this truck but slowly getting it back in shape with a lot of bloody knuckles, cursing, etc!

300k out of any rig is good regardless....you got your money's worth and more I think. personal judgment call is what you have to go with.

Keith B.

Agree with most of the posters so far. My local T. dealer has a one year warranty on parts and labor. At 28K miles, you're surely beyond one year, so you can't get them on that. Sounds like new motor time-I suggest an actual rebuilding shop that you go to in person rather than using a ready-made rebuilt engine. If you're in the L.A. area I can make a suggestion.

Gravely_Man

The last 5 years of the trucks life have been in Northeast Ohio and as a result rust has started to be an issue on the body of the truck. Prior to last 5 years the only rust I had was on the rear chrome bumper and the bumper side panels. For that reason I don’t think rebuilding the engine or getting a rebuilt engine would be worth it.

Now for the impossible question to answers without seeing the truck or hearing the noise. Approximately how long can I expect the timing belt idlers that are whining now to last prior to them locking up or self destructing? Just looking for some input from someone that has had this issue or has an educated guess on what I can expect.

Thank you,
Gravely_Man

just call me smithy

your choosing to not rebuild and to retire your toyota because of a little rust?, trust me the newer toyotas will rust about twice as fast. as for an engine, i believe its been mentioned but look up engbilder.com, or http://oregonengines.net/ they have a good rep for service and warrantees, after 9 years with my toyota i cant even think about parting with her, i vote for a rebuild or a OR engine and swap a new 3vz in.
just my .02

xxxtreme22r

stay away from http://oregonengines.net/ they DO NOT have a good rep whatsoever. Their engines are crap, put together with parts that just don't work well together, and their "LIFETIME WARRANTY" is bogus.

sb5walker

I hear you on the rust. If the body is rotting, so is the frame - from the inside out. So the truck's days are probably numbered.

On the whining, depends. On how bad it is and which idler. My gut feel is that the upper idler would last longer while failing than the lower. The bearing on the upper is much higher diameter, and any heat from friction that was above 200 degrees or so would be carried away by the coolant running through the center of the part. The lower idler has no such protection and friction could generate enough heat to cause the bearings to seize, which would lead to rather abrupt failure of the belt. At any rate, you cannot trust the truck to get you somewhere if a timing belt idler is failing. The upper's a pain to change (but can be done with a wobble extension) but the lower is fairly easy - I mean, the only challenge with getting to the timing belt is getting the crank pulley bolt off and on - and with the right tools and technique, that's fairly easy. If the head gasket isn't too bad I would change the belt and idlers and then run it until it dropped.

EDIT: Use a mechanic's stethoscope (cheap at any parts place) to see if it's the upper idler. I'm pretty sure you can get the rod of the stethoscope onto the idler where it bolts to the intake manifold. You should be able to hear the bearings real well.

Magnusian

It seems more like to me that the OP just isn't one of those of us who is insane and willing to do anything to keep his rig going. Perfectly understandable, especially since it sounds like he's gotten a lot of the vehicle already, so perhaps it is time to move on. I myself am one the crazy ones and if I was in the OP's position I'd be planning on rebuilding/swapping the motor, going after the rust, and giving the whole thing a once-over. Compared to fierohink, who was crazy enough to get his swiss cheese frame fixed, a rebuild and 5-years worth of rust to repair doesn't sound all that unreasonable.

I figure the OP's made up his mind already but I'm gonna vote "fix it" anyways.

xxxtreme22r

haha tell me about it, my full rebuild cost was around 1800. that was including two cranks and a new set of rods and 2 sets of rod bearings and two headgasket/top end gasket sets. Don't ask. lol. Search and yee shall find the answer to that mess.

Would have been about $1200 if it went together right the first time. Still worth more than the truck.

Magnusian

I've spent more money on my truck's rear brakes than I did on the truck!

sebastianholmes

3.4 swap, SAS, and make it a trail rig FTW!! lol

pruney81

My upper idler pulley went out on an old 92 4Runner I had years ago and it rendered the truck inoperable. There was no warning signs whatsoever. If you don't plan on rebuilding it or fixing it up just keep driving it till it croaks. See how much more you can get out of it.

mt_goat

I thought Toyota was really great for replacing my head gasket after the 3 year/36,000 mile new car warranty was up. I was at about 55,000 miles at the time. No way would I expect them to cover a water pump for 84,000 miles. Good luck with that.

JBurt

Here's another way to think about it. Plan for worst case scenario about 2K for a rebuilt engine. Now imagine you saw a runner exactly like yours except it had a brand new engine selling for 2K. Would it be worth it to you? If you like the car I vote fix it. If not then it's a good excuse to get into something else. If it's financial, you could sell it for more if it's running that after you drive it into the ground, which in turn gives you more money to put into something else. Just be honest with who you sell it to.

Gravely_Man

Thank you so much for the responses. I have finally found a garage that will replace the idlers for a resonable price. I will let you know the outcome later in the week.


Thank you,
Gravely_Man

pruney81

Are the head gaskets leaking?

Gravely_Man

Yes the head gasket is leaking a very small amout out of the engine. That will be fixed as well.


Thank you,
Gravely_Man

sb5walker

Replacing head gaskets without touching rings or bearings is pretty iffy on a 3vze with that mileage. Block surface could be fairly uneven leading to early failure of the new gaskets. Often when you replace the head gasket when the rings are worn, the motor starts right out burning oil, making it a waste of your money. By the time you've paid for changing your timing belt, idlers and head gaskets, you are almost at the cost of a complete rebuild. If the frame and the rest of the truck are sound, that would seem to be a much more cost effective way to go. I'd recommend either a full rebuild for some significant more truck life, or, if the compression isn't too bad and no coolant in the oil, just replace the timing belt/idlers and run it till it drops.

PCE91V64x4

After the cost of the head gasket job and the idlers being replaced you are probably a third to half way to a rebuild. If the body is decent and you want to keep it I would not put any money into the current engine.

Just because a rebuild or new engine is $2-3K and is worth more than the truck does not make it a bad deal. If you have to buy a used or new truck that will cost way more than $3K for something better than what you have.

Gravely_Man

Hello,
I paid to have the following repaired on the 4-Runner: New Water Pump, New Timing belt and New Upper Idler for the timing belt. The lower idler and the tensioner are fine. I asked to have this done as two different shops told me the issue was with the upper idler on the timing belt. The shop that did the work was also under the impression the issue was with the upper idler for the timing belt.

The squeal is still there now and the shop that did the work doesn’t have a clue what it could be and states the only way to find out is to open the engine. The sound is very similar to power steering pump that whines as they are going out. I have unhooked the belt to the power steering pump and the noise is still there. Any ideas on what the issue could be?

I am now worried something very serious is wrong with the truck and I will be left high and dry on the side of the road.

Thank you,
Gravely_Man