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Hello All, thought I would share my project with the group. First time Toyota owner. This will be an open ended multi year project and I'll keep this thread updated as I progress along. Thanks for joining!
I purchased this 1979 Toyota 4x4 SR5 in July. It's got a 1985 22R, 5 speed transmission, Weber 32/36, Pacesetter header and rust in the usual spots.
July 2018
I changed all the fluids, plugs/wires, distributor, air filter, fuel filter and added a fuel pressure regulator.
First major project was to repair some frame rot. I removed the bed and cut out the rusted spots to good metal. Spent two days cleaning the inside of the frame with a brush attached to a drill, compressed air and a vacuum. Welded in 3/16" replacement steel. I coated the frame with two coats of por15 plus the topcoat. Then I coated the inside of the frame with eastwood's internal frame coating spray.
Rust where the frame turns down at the forward spring perch Bed removed Dirty inside! All cleaned up and ready for the patch. 3/16 replacement steel Two coats of por15 plus topcoat and coated the inside of the frame with eastwood frame coating spray
Thanks! I'm not sure the history. It's been in the Seattle/Tacoma/Puget Sound area for the last decade or so. We do occasionally get some moisture here.
I finished replacing the timing chain today. Upgraded from the plastic guide single row to the LC dual row kit with metal guides. I didn't get too many pics of the process as it was a greasy mess. I followed the guidance and documentation of many before. Not terribly difficult, just have to pay attention.
The chain had stretched and was chattering around especially at start up. The plastic guides were still intact, but the tensioner had seen better days. It was sticky and heavily worn. Also had oil leaks all over the place-pan, front main, valve cover, perhaps other places too. Not too many other surprises. The power steering tensioner pulley bearing was frozen and the crankshaft pulley had a groove in the shaft. The chain had rubbed on the inside of the timing cover at some point in the past as evident by the wear marks and the shavings in the oil pan.
After finishing the assembly I have one small water leak where the pipe from the intake manifold connects to the timing cover. I think I'll wait and see if it seals itself, otherwise it looks like I can drain the coolant, drop that pipe and put some sealant on the flange.
Midway through tear down. Note the oil everywhere! New chain installed and ready for reassembly.
I had a bit of time today to fix something that has been irritating me for a while. The loop on the accelerator pedal had failed and the pedal slipped all over the place. I replaced the stock pedal with a modified 2000 Tacoma pedal. I followed the methods of Kawazx636 here:
I cut the top of the pedal assembly off and flipped it over, then removed the pivot from the stock unit and welded it to the new one. All lines up pretty well. I tweaked it in a few places on the press brake to get a better angle. I think it will need a few more tweaks but it is sitting pretty good despite how the photos look. Never mind the crusty Dynamat--it's holding the floor pan together! Old floppy stock pedal New vs old Finished
I installed the LC spiral weber adapter today. I've been battling a vacuum leak(s) with the redline adapter plates and finally threw in the towel and bought the adapter plate. Fit and finish were top notch. Took about an hour start to finish to install.
The obnoxious whine is gone. But other issues have reared their head, unrelated to that adapter install. I may have an air bubble and/or a blockage with the coolant. Temp gauge goes up to about 40% but I have no heat in the cab. Warm air at the windshield defrost vent and cool air blowing from the others. Further investigation is needed. Blocked heater core? Malfunctioning flaps?
The tachometer is also acting wacky. It was fine for the first 15 minutes of the test drive, then it would not go above 2000 and just hang there. Maybe a bad wire? or ground? I'll try and dig up a diagram. It wouldn't surprise me, the wiring has seen many "modifications."
Otherwise timing is set and the carb needs some fine tuning. It was nice to be able to take it out for a drive today!
Good update! Did you bleed the coolant system of air? I bought one of those funnels to bleed the air that has an adaptor to fit into the radiator cap and it worked really well. Just like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lisle-Sp...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
Good update! Did you bleed the coolant system of air? I bought one of those funnels to bleed the air that has an adaptor to fit into the radiator cap and it worked really well. Just like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lisle-Sp...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
I saw that funnel at Napa the other day. I tried to bleed/burp but I think there is still air in there. I'll try and burp it again and if that doesn't work I'll pick up one of those funnel systems.
I got the coolant straightened out. I ended up getting one of the fancy funnels and worked like a champ! The napa guy was insistent that I did not need it and was a waste of money. He went into great detail about how he saw a method on youtube to build one with a milk jug, tubing etc. I was like just take my money already dude! C'mon! I still do not have heat blowing from all the vents, the floor blows super hot, defrost pretty hot and side vents cold. I don't know anything about how the heat system works in these trucks, so if anyone has insight please let me know.
I had a loose wire splice going to the tach. Re crimped it and we are back in business. It still reads higher than my test tachometer, but it was that way before.
Got the carb tuned and adjusted the valves. The intake was spot on and the exhaust were all at 0 ?!
Made a few 50+ mile highway trips to Olympia and Snoqualmie Pass. Overall everything is ok, averaged about 19 mpg. Our little trucks certainly dislike strong headwinds!
After the accelerator pedal mod my throttle cable is binding somewhere. Intermittently the throttle cable sticks. I can feather the gas and it drops back down to normal. I put a new spring on the throttle linkage and seemed to help some, but is still binding. I suspect at the pedal end where it goes through the firewall might be out of alignment.
Also pretty certain I have an exhaust leak at the manifold. I replaced the gasket a while back and things quieted down. But I still have some noise, actually a lot of noise at cruising. I've got a pacesetter header straight back to a raptor muffler. I pulled the header off today and there is quite a bit of discoloring around the gasket. I put a straight edge on the manifold and it is indeed warped. I have some permatex copper and will try that and see if it can take up the gap. I would love to chuck that thing in the trash and redo the exhaust but that is not in the budget right now.
Oct 20, 2018 | 06:25 PM
