I just purchased a 2wd 94 pickup, not running. The motor has spark, and turns over. I pulled the valve cover off and see that the plastic guide opposite the cam chain tensioner (drivers side) is gone....and there is a significant groove in the timing chain cover, the coolant was pretty gunky and gray, but the oil looked normal. My question is should I try to buy a used motor whole and replace the one I have, or should I piece together some used parts? I am leaning towards getting some parts as I am trying to do this as inexpensive as possible.

 

you might try getting it started first and then you can make a more informed decision. if the engine sounds good it would probably be worth investing money in. also it would let drive the truck and check the drive train out. i don't think i would drive it much with broken guides .

 

well if your chain is wearing into the cover, its probably bot gonna sound too good. but I agree with swampfox, try to get it running to see if their is any big problem. then go from their..

 

It's not running, the guy I picked it up from said that his daughter was driving down the road and it just quit, no loud noises, no bang no nothing. Judging by the shape of the timing cover, I am left wondering if he lied about anything else. When I try to start it I get spark, the bottom end turns over, the top end turns over but I get nothing, not even a cough. When I took the cylinder 1 plug out and tuned it over I got a cough/sputter and some air was forced out thru the spark plug hole. When I took all four plugs out, it did nothing..? The plugs did smell like gas, so I assume it was getting fuel. I haven't checked the compression yet, I need to borrow/rent/buy the tool for that.

At this point my best guess is that it has skipped timing, which would explain why it quit while going down the road. Also the truck has 150k on it.

 

it could be a bad fuel pump or fuse or relay, it may not be getting enough fuel. it could also be a plugged fuel filter.

 

Its definitely getting fuel. I ran a compression test on it tonight, wot with all the plugs out cylinders 1-4 all came up with zero. I put plugs back in cylinders 2,3,4 back in and put the gauge in #1 and still got a reading of zero. The battery was well charged and I let it turn over plenty.

Sounds like the valves might be smoked, but what do you guys think?

 

you will not get it to start or get any compression due to it jumping timing.
I say it jumped because of what you have stated you found in the timing chain area!!
I would suggest getting new timing chain components and installing them then seeing if it will run... I would not suggest this if you were not able to use the parts on a new used engine if it didn't work!!
If you but a new used engine you will want to replace the timing chain and water pump before installing it...

 

I finally have the head off. It has at least two bent valves that I can see and as I mentioned it has the tracks in the timing cover. I am planing on droping the oil pan this weekend and pulling the guide out, I have also ordered stuff to replace the timing componets from engnbldr. My questions are:
---once I get the timing cover off, will I be able to visully tell if it needs to be replaced (does the groove intersect the cooling vein);
---will/did the metal shavings from the timing cover destroy my motor; and
---if I get a head off a used running truck, and it checks flat can I just mount it to my motor and go?

It should be noted this is not my dd, money is TIGHT and winter is coming so I need to speed this along.

 

You keep mentioning money...

Do things as cheap as possible, and you'll be chasing your tail!

Look, the thing cost x, and you have y to spend.

It's not like you paid a down payment, collision insurance and are making payments on it for 20 years.

Slow down, and fix the thing right!

You only top quality parts, and try to stay as much as possible with OEM parts, as they were THE highest quality...

I repeat, NOTHING made in china or Taiwan will make your engine last longer after all your hard work.

Find a good machine shop, or good OEM parts and fix it right.

That and PM will pay you and your hard work (b/c these things are not the easiest to work on) back in spades.

 

And another thing. 22R's do not habitually jump time.

They are built so good they often DO NOT give warnings before they break.

A 94 and I almost bet the timing chain has never been replaced.

PM means preventative maintenance. Look in your owners manual, or an FSM (Factory Service Manual) and you'll see...

22R's do not have life-time chains...

That's purely on the PO (Previous Owner)

 

I ordered a reman head, should be here this week. I also ordered a new timing cover from engnbldr, as well as head bolts, topend gasket kit and timing kit. I also got the oil pan off (I am really glad its a 2wd), and will be painting some pieces this week. Hope to start putting it back together this weekend. I also need to get a torque wrench.