rcm3

So..... a while ago I replaced my cooling system and when I was all done and had everything back together it wouldn't start (3vze, 88 4-runner). It turns over fine with no irregular noises, but wont even attempt to run.

I've finally gotten around to pulling it back apart and I was hoping to find something obviously wrong that I could fix.... no such luck, but the timing appears to be off. I don't know how I could have done this, but maybe somebody could point me in the right direction.

To find top dead center I removed the plug from cyl 1 and used a screwdriver while turning the crank to the screwdriver's highest point. This is where it sits now. I would think that the distributor would be squarely in the #1 position, but it seems to be at #2.....

And is the distributor run off the crank or off the 'even' cam, because the 'even' cam's mark isn't lined up with the mark on the motor.

Thanks for your help!

Here's some pics:

DirtCheap

It looks like the cams are not timed correctly, correct this first. With the piston at TDC you could still be off 180 degrees. Try pointing the dist. 180 degrees from it's current location.

Saint_Berzerker

I had the same thing happen when I screwed up and pulled out the dang distributor for no reason.

I tried for days to get it right, and I know that I had it all lined up right, with the TDC and all that garbage...I never figured it out.

I took it to my engine mechanic and let him do it.

I had crap backfiring and everything. I've learned not to mess with the distributor. I was afraid I was going to bust the timing chain.

reggie 00

Both cams need to be lined up. When i replaced my timing belt a few months ago we lined up both marks. Then put in the dist set @ #1.
Check your FSM to make sure. But that is what i would do first. Good thing the 3.0 is a clearance motor.

yota_krazy

yep, just look at your pics there. There are yellow marks on the cam and timing cover. Make sure to set those correctly, slap it back together and it should fire up!

rcm3

Awesome. Thanks for all your help. I've got it all back together and I swear it runs better than it did before I jacked it all up. As soon as the liquid gasket dries I'll let it warm up to temp and answer the original question: whether replacing everything in the cooling system that I did will keep it from overheating!

For reference, here is what I did to time the motor. I first lined up the crank pulley to 0 degrees. There is a notch on the rim, and there are degree marks on the driver's side cover right next to it.

Then with the timing belt slipped off, I lined up the cam gears individually. Watch out! They slip around when the belt is removed! I carefully got them as close as I could to their marks. To answer my question in the OP, the distributor seems to run off the driver's side cam. When it was at the TDC mark, the distributor was at the 1 position.

With the crank pulley at 0 and the cams as close to the mark as I could get them, I slid back on the timing belt. I had to line things up a bit more exactly to get the teeth to line up with the cam cogs and keep the mark at the right point. Don't let putting the belt on push the cam cogs out of alignment. If it needs to go one tooth over, make it so!

After everything is tensioned up, the whole thing needs to be turned over a couple times to double check. (Because the crank hits the mark twice per turn and the cams only do once, you could line it all up at BDC accidentally). So grab your 19mm socket and turn the crank clockwise. After one full turn of the crank pulley, the marks on the cam gears should be at the bottom. After two they should be at the mark again EXACTLY. Do this one more time (for four full rotations at the crank pulley total) and if everything is still aligned then you're all set. Start the beers chillin cause the end is near! If things are not lined up at this point, re-remove the timing belt. Turn the crank pulley one full turn independent from the cams and try again.

Put it all back together and don't forget to burp the coolant system.

Whoever said 'thankfully this is a clearance motor' is damn right! I would have royally effed things up if that wasn't the case (trying to crank it over with things out of time).

I wish my m3 was a clearance motor, that would save everyone with one of those a bunch of trouble due to the dreaded moneyshift!

So thanks for the help and wish me luck with the overheating issue. Hopefully its gone and I don't have to hear the word 'headgasket' in the near future.

alanrn

I'm replacing the broken timing belt on my 3vze. I also had trouble lining up the cams. How close to the mark do they need to be. They would jump at a certain point past the mark. Is this were I should let them sit or should I back them up to the mark. Appreciate your response on this.

Brenjen

Lining up the cams & the crank puts you at TDC (top dead center) when on the compression stroke of the #1 cylinder, problem with a screwdriver is, you might set everything up on the exhaust stroke! Once you have the #1 cylinder on the compression stroke & the cams & crank lined up you can slip the timing belt on. Then use a timing light & set it at 10-BTDC to put it at stock timing.

alanrn; get a helper & a strap wrench, that is what I did & my belt went on without the cams moving, line them up with the wrench & then have a helper hold the belt on one of the cams while you thread the rest in & slide the belt onto the other cam; if one of the cams move, use the wrench & move it back. When I was done it was perfectly at 0 deg TDC, whipped out the timing light & bodda bing bodda boom.