mc360

whats up everyone im new to the forums and have a few questions. i bought a 94 4runner with 22re for 2500 knowing it needed a timing chain soon but i didnt know how much work it takes and all the labor costs, so i decided to do it myself and snapped the brand new timing chain.i made sure to put it at tdc with the crank mark on the 0 and the rotor pointing at number one spark plug wire, the only problem i had was breaking the cam gear loose which would turn about a 1/4 of an inch then i would turn it back to its postion.

while turning over the motor by hand it got tough then all of a sudden it got easy and the rotor quit turning so i pulled the valve cover and the chain was broken, how likely is it that i bent a valve while turning it over by hand? i bought the timing chain kit from lc engineering with a water pump, these chains are good quality right?also how can i find tdc since the chain snapped and the cam and crank are off from each other now? sorry i dont have a book

im thinking i might pull the head this time and put a new headgasket on it since i messed it up while trying to reinstall the timing cover. thanks for any help you guys can provide

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Just where did the chain break??

What in the world where you turning the engine with a 6' cheater pipe.

I just wonder how you were able to do this with the distributor still in the engine .

You didn`t have the cam gear aligned correct .

pretty much the last thing is to install the distributor

no telling just how much carnage you might have caused.

mc360

the cam gear had the dimples up at 12 o clock lined up with the mark in between the valves behind the cam and i thought there was a little play in the crank because i could move it about an 1/8th inch in front of the 0 on the oil pump without moving the cam. i was using my torque wrench to torque the crank bolt and i had just installed the distributor thinking that i would lose the timing if i rotated the engine with it off.

im no newbie to motors but this is my first timing chain, im not sure where it broke i rotated the motor a few times before i noticed the rotor quit moving then pulled the valve cover back off. if i pull the head i still have to pull the timing cover off to right?

im going to buy a book tomorrow and start reading

Toyota~Boy

iTrader: (2)

You didn't bend a valve.... The valves on 22 series engine will not and can not touch the pistons. Check out my build thread for more info and proof on this matter

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

I just can`t figure what locked up.
Unless something was fubar on the timing chain when you got it.

For it to break something had to quit moving

mc360

well i just dont know either, everything was lined up and i read in the online fsm that you turn the cam back a hair to take out the slack in the chain so i just dont know. could the chain get too tight?

i still need to remove the head because i messed up the corner of the head gasket trying to install the timing cover

mc360

Any advice on what i might have done, i know i cant be the first around here to do this? I bought a book the other day and did some reading online and my only other thought is i remember the crank key being at 1 o clock instead of 12 like i read, but the timing mark on the pulley was matched up with the zero on the oil pump

22R88

When a Buddy of mine replaced my chain he put the bottom sprocket on backwards and it ran for a few days before snapping. Not the exact same as you but you can investigate.

mc360

you know, i think you might be right about that thanks for the insight

Kiroshu

^-- Remember that the crankshaft key must be at the 12 o'clock position.

-Incorrect timing chain installation will cause engine damage.

mc360

i had everything lined up right im assuming that this sprocket is flipped around the wrong way, notice the busted tooth on the brand new sprocket

rattlewagon

Break a timing chain huh... That skill.

They are defiantly interference engines though. So be careful.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Haynes pg 2A-11, 16.13 says "note collar faces against engine". ( I have a FSM as well). To break a chain took alot of leverage in my opinion. Next time if it takes both hands to rotate it, start back stepping and see what is binding, had you gotten it running, timing cover, and whatever else could of gotten broken raising cost or even destroying the block.

mc360

Thank you thats what i needed to know, just wish i would have paid attention to that when assembling it. No i have to reuse the old lower sprocket and i got a new chain, i did chip off a small piece of the timing cover on the inside

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Wow, I did't think you could do that. To Terry's point, you should be able to rotate by (one) hand and a standard 18" breaker bar. Also, pretty sure it's an interference engine and you can bend valves.

Sounds like you're OK with removing the head, so I'd just do that and start over fresh if you're comfortable. Get the FSM - if you Google it enough you can find the PDF download (worth the time to look!).

If your crank gear was not in the same plane as your cam gear, I guess that could have created enough tension in the whole system for it to lock up enough for something the break (your chain is going to break before your crankshaft or camshaft would, right??).

Most guys here use ENGNBLDR parts, and they're WAY cheaper than LCE - maybe get a new sprocket for the crank and timing cover from him, and do this up right?

yodafan93

if you want the motor to last, and youre doing a head gasket.. pull the motor. get an oem timing cover.. have the block surfaced with the timing cover bolted on, get the head pressure tested and resurfaced as well. the valves tend to get pulled down on high mileage motors, so replace them if they arent straight. clean the head bolt holes with a thread chaser. oem head gasket. if you want to, get arp head studs. everything else get from engnbldr or 22reperformance.. ive used his products and i wasnt impressed with the quality of the timing cover. everything else was solid though. thats how i would do things if i had to do it all over...

mc360

ok so i got it all back together, put the crank at 5 degrees btdc and put the distributor back in with the rotor facing 12 o clock so it rotates to 11 o clock and started it up. it runs but seems a little rich because i have to advance the distributor all the way (past my mark on the housing) to make it run good, it also doesnt want to idle anyone have a suggestion

Toyota~Boy

iTrader: (2)

For those that keep saying you can bend a valve id like to see you prove it to me.... I've read hundreds of threads saying you can and can not... So I did my own researching and found that you can not on a laser block engine... I'm insure of the older blocks tho...

I was running around 80 mph on the interstate when my chain snapped on my toyota... I feared the worse. Upon tearing my engine apart I discovered no contact between valves and pistons... So to further prove my point I rotated my cam 360 degrees while turning the crank and my valves never did contact anything... So if you can prove me wrong please do.... I'd really like to see some info to prove me wrong...

Now as for the chain that's broke now... Make sure that your timing cover bolts are in the correct spots... One of the bolts that hold the oil pump on will contact the chain tensioner if using the wrong bolt. In return your tension won't be able to release itself causing the chain to be extremely tight. In return it will break when rotating the engine over... Trust me... I learnt from my mistake however I caught it before breaking anything....

Toyota~Boy

iTrader: (2)

Sorry didnt realize you had already assembled it lol

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

You want to insert the distributor while at TDC, not 5& BTDC

Check out my thread:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...nstall-210478/

You may be off a tooth on the distributor too - see that mark on the dist drive gear - notice where it lines up with the teeth on the cam gear (when it seats):



The way it SHOULD LOOK (this is on page 4 of my thread):