Im a clueless newb how has done the timing belt and water pump job on my 89 4runner with a 3 VZE engine.

I neglected to find TDC, however i did make marks on the cam sprockets and crank shaft. I managed to line the lines back up. I got it all back together and now its making lots of noises (knocking noises), and flutters when I give it some gas. I did most of this work with my 17 year old, a chance for us to bond and accomplish something together. Id actually prefer for us to fix this together rather then take it to a shop.

I was concerned running the engine without it put all back together so I will have a bit of work laid out ahead of me if I need to remove the timing belt cover and observe how it looks. Is there an issue if I dont have water in the car and run the motor for just a minute or so to see how it all looks?

Does anyone have any suggestions on things I should look for?

Thanks,
Jesse

 

Well, I'm sad to say, you're going to have to do it again, removing the belt, lining up the marks. When the belt is reattached, turn the engine crankshaft two revolutions by hand and then double check your timing marks. You have obviously missed a tooth or two in your process. Start there Thankfully, the 3vz motor is a none interference motor. So no worries about the valves or anything.

 

Yes, it sounds to me the only way you're going to solve this is by redoing the timing belt. Only this time you'll have it at TDC.

What rbuchmann meant by the 3vze being a non interference motor is that the pistons will not strike the valves if the valve is open when the piston hits the top of its stroke. The r-series of Toyota engine is an interference style engine. So, you got lucky there but you could've done some serious damage.

It's great to see you are learning to turn wrenches, like me. We can only hope that the rest of our learning experiences can come without any blown seals, thrown rods, or in your case, crushed valves.

Good luck and keep wrenchin!

 

I tore it all apart and aligned the crank and cams. Assembled the Crank Cover and Crank Pulley. Now I have two questions.

1. I turned the engine over a few times and all looked good so I started the motor up and let it run for a minute. It ran well and when I gave it some gas it sounded good. I then looked to see if the belt lined up with the markings on the cams and crank cover, but it didnt. Should the belt line up with the cams and crank cover or should the cams and crankshaft markings line up?

2. Also while torquing down the crank shaft pulley I broke a two of the protruding parts off the face of the pulley and I am concerned this may through the balance of the pulley off. The attached image is of the broken parts. Will I be fine leaving it as is, or will I need to replace it?

Thanks again for the assistance with this project.

 

As long as the timing marks stayed lined up, no worries about the belt.

 

Not sure what to say about the broken pieces. Obviously balance can be an issue, so that one is up to you. If it were me, I'd probably add a couple of washers to add weight back on, but that's me. Its not going to be that much weight, but ....

 

I was considering breaking the pieces of the other two sides.

 

Well that would certainly make it more the same all the way around.

 

Just keep this in the back of your mind, those tabs are there to center the pulley on the harmonic balancer. You should be alright though.

 

I finally got things right. Thanks for your help.

 

You're welcome, just glad you got it going.