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So, the next step was to put on a flywheel and a clutch. I did so carefully, trying not to touch the surfaces.
Flywheel on, bolts LocTited and torqued to 80 ft/lbs
Clutch on using the alignment tool and torqued to 13 or 14 or whatever it's supposed to be The grease trick worked great for removing the pilot bearing.
Next I started the process of putting in the damn motor. Finally. I enlisted my dad to help, and after three hours of swearing and not getting it, I called my brother. We worked a bit more to get it closer but still weren't getting it. Lunch break and some googling (see earlier post) led us to start over. Pulled the motor back out and moved the truck into the garage completely for a level surface. Adjusted the chains to get the engine to hang more level. Finally some progress. Eventually we were able to get two of the bigger bell house bolts to thread, but we were still having problems getting the bottom to mate. After more time trying to figure it out I finally realized what the problem was. I had torqued the bellhousing brackets down, and they weren't aligned properly. So I loosened those, and boom, it was mated!
It took a full day during which time I was covered in grease and gross. But it was doable. And the end result was a motor in the truck.
That was yesterday. Today I got it pretty much hooked up. I replaced the master and slave cylinder on the clutch, reinstalled the starter, ran the wiring harness, installed the upper intake, and routed the vac lines. Also got the accessories installed and belted. Tomorrow, hook up the radiator and the air pipe, fill it with fluids, and get er started. I have to figure out what to do with the exhaust, as I sheared the tail pipe off of the muffler. It'll ride for now, but if I can replace it tomorrow I will.
Questions for tomorrow (break-in)
Oil - I'm going to use 10W-30 with no additives. Is that the right call?
Break-in procedure - As per Engnbldr, I'm going to get it started (hopefully,) run it for about 20 mins from between 1200 - 1500 and then take it for a 30 minute drive. Should I do a valve adjustment right then or wait about 500 miles? And how often should I change the oil?
When should I do the timing?
Also, randomly, the NGK wire I bought from Rock doesn't fit on the ignitor. The spark plug wires were fine, but the boot that seats on the igniter for the igniter wire is too small in diameter. I need to email them and figure that out
I would not use just a regular 10w30 oil for starting up a fresh engine. At least blend in a zinc additive of not using a dedicated break-in oil. Both Engnbldr and 22reperformance recommend this. Reason is because they don't put enough zinc in oil anymore to protect the cam from going flat. The first time the lobes on a new cam heat up to operating temp, they harden and are generally ok from there on without the extra zinc.
The break-in oil should be changed around 400 miles. Switch to any conventional 10w30 and drive for another 2000-3000 miles depending on who's advice you choose to follow.
Also, vary rpm's often during the first few thousand miles to help the cylinder walls break-in and rings to seat.
It was an odyssey getting here, and the last two days were no exception. I spent the day getting ready to start the truck, which included fabbing a new muffler and tailpipe to the old pipe. That took a while, but I ended up with a cheap muffler and tailpipe that should get me down the road to whenever I decide to upgrade the exhaust entirely. I also called Tod at Engnbldr and confirmed that I should be using break in oil, so I went out and bought 4 quarts of that. Ready to put everything in, I put antifreeze in and uh oh! Spillage. The hose that runs from the water pump down to the lower rad return pipe was leaking.
So the next morning, I went to AutoZone to get a replacement hose. This has to be the last stop right? I buttoned up the cooling lines and then tore open the valve cover to readjust the valves (FYI, if you buy the EngnBldr StreetRV head, the valves are supposed to be set at IN .007 and EX .009. Not factory specs. Don't ask me how I know this.) I poured a quart of Royal Purple Break In Oil right over the cam and was getting ready to button the valve cover up when I noticed a pile of metal pieces under the distributor shaft. The powers of deduction told me that they were from the distributor drive shaft. I have no idea how they broke, but the teeth had chipped. If I had to guess, they were already buggered, and when I installed the dizzy, I installed it dry. A few rotations of the engine doing valve adjustments and they chipped off.I got all the pieces (I hope) out with a magnet and called AutoZone. They had a distributor sent from the warehouse and I put it in. Okay, show time.
Start Up
I bumped the starter with the ignition wire out a few times to circulate oil. Then with fingers crossed, I started the truck. It started right up and then died. Next time I put a little gas on it and it held an idle and was off and running. Immediately white smoke started belching out of the exhaust manifold, and the fear took hold and I shut the engine off. After I reassured myself that it was just oil and grease burning up, I started it again and ran it for about five minutes when all of a sudden, antifreeze geysered out. Yup... I was a moron and forgot to put the radiator cap on. So I shut the engine off again. Topped off fluid and put the cap on. Okay, third time's the charm.
I ran the motor for about 45 minutes running through Tod's progression for cam break in. I hope that the first two false starts won't cause it trouble down the road. Without a tach (the HF multimeter one I bought wasn't reading accurately) I had to go by sound, but I've had a 4cyl Toyota for about 10 years so I feel like I have a good ear for RPMs. Anyways, I ran it at 1500 for 5 mins, then 1750 for 5 mins, then 2000 for 5 mins, then back to 1750, then 1500, then back to 1750, then 2000, then back...and so on and so on for five minute intervals for about 45 mins. After I was done I shut it off and went for some wings. Came back, adjusted the valves, did one more set of intervals for 25 mins and then called it a night.
This morning I set the timing (mine was right at 0 until I adjusted it to 5) and then took it for about a 30 minute drive. It seems to be working great! A few little bugs to sort out, but no really weird noises.
The Bugs
I have to sort out two things as of now:
1: The idle is surging pretty hard. If I'm stopped at a light it's all over the place. I'll have to dig into it and find out why
2: Groaning noise from an accessory. I think the belts are either too tight or too loose. If I had to guess, it was coming from the power steering pump.
Anyways, I'll post some pics and vids of it running later, I'm just super stoked that it started and ran! Thank you guys, particularly GSP, for all the help! Couldn'tve done it without you!
Good work, glad you got a nice-running engine out all of it!
So the idle is surging around at different rpms at idle? If that's the case, I'm thinking big vacuum leak. Did you replace or carefully inspect the accordian hose from the long plastic intake tube to the TB? Originals at this point are often torn along the ribs on the underside, so you can't see it till it's pulled and flexed around. Mine was and getting a new one solved a long-running idle surge.
Not sure what could be causing the groaning, but belts loose enough to slip seem to cause a squeal, not a groan. Where the pulleys are farthest apart from each other, the belt should move about 1/2"-3/4" with a firm push.
I'll check the TB, that very well could be it. I remember it looking a little rough. Do you need to replace the whole TB or can you get a new accordion thing?
I'm also going to put the teflon tape on the idle screw, since that's an easy one. If nothing changes, I'll check the vac lines again and look at the TPS
Or wait... you're talking about a hose, I was thinking of the dashpot. Do you mean the hose that connects to the side and goes back by the thermostat housing?
08-06-2017, 07:48 PM
