Im here in alaska and am about to dive into my blown HG. Ive got in touch with the local yota guru and got all the info i need "almost". If my timing is not off or the guides not broke should i still replace them? Other than that i am changing HG, water pump and thermostat. Its my daily driver so im not typically out off roading.

I have a bit of background with vehicles and powersport equip. Im confident i can do all the work on my own and have been taking photos of pre-dissassembly. I ran coolant cleaner through the system before i change the pump. Other than that is there anything i should re-place while im in her? Whats the tollerance for the head or should i have it milled as a precaution.

AK ANDY

 

Assuming we're talking about the 4 cylinder, ABSOLUTELY do the timing chain/tensioner/guides while you're there. If they aren't broken, they will be someday, and then it's only a matter of time (no pun intended) before you lose your motor. How many miles are on your motor? Kits are inexpensive and if you get the steel backed guide from engnbldr.com should last a long time. Take the head to a machine shop to get checked out and milled if necessary. They'll tell you what you need.

 

Yea im just gunna do everything and do it right the first time. So far ive got the exst hdrs off and intake mani. Im at a good stopping point for now. I went a head and got the ITM timing chaing kit, had everything, metal backed guide. Other than that im just going to take it slow.

 

Mileage is actually un-known. Odomete broke at 95xxx. i would guess 150-200k tho. motor was wrenched on not too far before i bought it too

 

'scribed to see how this goes for you

if in the event that you need a new head, or want the HD steel head gasket kit I suggest japanengine.com , its all OEM spec, and reasonable prices, that's where i got my new (not rebuilt, remanufactured, or used) new head (new cam, valves and springs), and the heavy duty steel gasket kit, comes with every gasket and seal for the engine, from top to bottom. also if you haven't yet, take pictures of the locations of anything and everything, I was told RTV isn't a yota's friend, but i used it anyway with no problems. get new water pump, thermostat, and radiator cap. what ever you do, don't forget the bolt under the distributer that goes to the timing cover, you try and pry the head off without taking that bolt out you'll break the head and timing cover, my buddy made that mistake on is 89

 

So far. Ive got the head removed and will begin cleaning. Im changing out the timing gears and chain with steel baked guide. water pump, thermostat.

I called the local yota shop and he told me about the 12mm head bolt at the front of the head. the allen head bolt on the manifold stripped. So i put the vise grips on it and it broke loose.

Do i need to pull the oil pan to change out the bottom timing gear?

 

I've found that leaving the lower intake and the exhaust manifold ON the head makes removing/replacing the head easier. Just in my experience for future reference

But no you do not need to remove the oil pan to remove the timing gear. Once the head is off, the timing cover will be able to be removed and the lower gear should be able to be slipped off the front.

 

I was going to try and leave the intake side on but the wiring harness waspassed thru the sets of inlets. if it wasnt id have done it that way. i put a strieght edge to the head and it looks good. i had my roomate check it out "A&P Mech" he said it was good too.

 

Well, I know its a pain in the butt, but I disconnect all the sensors on the trans and block to be able to snake the wiring harness up and out of the intake runners. Meh, doesnt matter now. You're half-way done

 

Yea thats what it looked like what i would have had to do. its no big deal though. Im doing all of this at my apt in the drive way. Ive put all the parts in the living room to keep from rust. Other than that it really hasnt seemed to be too much of a task. An AC unit was installed at some point but i live in Alaska so who needs AC. Im going to take the AC pump out to free up some extra space

 

use tape and label everything btw... my dad was helping me with my HG and whatever he took apart without labeling was a SUPER FUN guessing game to reassemble...

 

I disassembled and rebuilt a 22re over 10 months without labeling anything >.>

 

Yea i figured all the vac lines would cause me grief so i took pics before i started and for the rest i disconected them in a way that certain lengths would show where the rest would route too

 

if I had done all the work myself i wouldn't have needed to label, my dad "helping" me i didn't get to see it completely assembled and take it apart myself which was why the labeling would have helped, and he loved to put all the bolts in one bucket, and all car parts go to the dinner table, we have 4 vehicles we maintain, my yota, my sisters jeep, my other sisters' nissan, and my dads ford... so labeling would have saved a few headaches

 

hahaha yea it sounds like it would have saved a head ache. my pops builds british sports cars "MG's"

 

that sounds chill, my dad is a poor mechanic.. he's the "oh we didn't need those bolts, don't worry about it" kinda weekend warrior... 3 of those where for my harmonic balancer

 

Yea thats pretty much him. My pops is a born again redneck with a flair for british cars. lives in kentucky shoots his connon he built from off the porch.

Other than that i hope everything goes well with this re-build, seems to be pretty streight forward. its just really gunky. its a step away from rangers when i drove those. But i love this lil thing. Got it a few years back for 500 bucks

 

hahaha never heard of a redneck for non-american cars and i'm the redneck of the family haha but cannon? i'd be sooo down to have a cannon... lol

and over all it is straight forward, detailed on the cleaning is a PITA but it looks soo nice when you're done, i had to get a new head so its was super shiny, made my whole engine bay look sooo bad i went a little over board on detailing it haha. then i took it wheeling and put a nice fresh layer of mud and dust lol

 

whats PITA mean?

yea the 400 pound barrel fell on me when i was 7 and damn it hurt.

for the most part im going to clean it as needed and then after its back together ill spray it with cleaner and shine it up. I really dont do much off roading. i just want to make it more into a pristine condition, ya know "as close to stock" but with a lil height, maybe 2in lift and then call it good. Shes a good lil truck and drives great in the winter here so she deserves to be nice

 

pain it the a** haha PITA

and that sounds pretty chill build, calmer than most on here lol. as you can see on my icon pic i'm not so calm lol. but my boy is first and foremost a daily driver so i'm sad to see him under the wrench right now for transmission trouble. but when he's fixed I'm going to hit a nice easy trail but calm down a bit because i can't afford to break anything else lol