Good job finding a shop that will take your project. I've found the same issue with my Oldsmobile, where shops outright refuse to work on your stuff, it's like they don't accept money or want "easy" these days. When I talk to the shops it seems many won't even touch carbureted pre-smog vehicles or my small block/big block hybrid is "not straightforward enough" for them to make a quick turnaround.

Nice shop indeed. We're getting a new place out in Newcastle and it has no garage. Told wife I'll need to build some structure eventually to house my fleet - she just rolled her eyes and walked away, lol. A lift would definitely be in the works, as would a trench so I can just drive over it....and a drive-through style garage....and....and...and... and how the heck will I pay for all this? lol

 

Don't have kids, that's for sure. Bahahaha.

 

Truth!
Worth every penny, but they sure cost a lot of them.

Glad you found someone who sounds like he still as a passion for the old 'Yotas.

 

Build the structure at the same time!
everyone I know who has said "I'll build it in a couple years" ends up never getting around to it

 

just got a call from the mechanic who has the 4runner. after checking it out and scoping the truck, hes very worried. he told me that the least of the issues was the fact that it looks like the distributor has at some point sat in water and the pickup has some rust on it. hes going to try to sand it clean and save it, but he thinks that where the misfire is originating. the major issue was that he thinks the intake valves are over tight. he says he can hear them backfiring through the intake and that there is a worrying amount of oil getting into the exhaust. He thinks there is some mechanical failure and hes hoping that the head in general is still in good health. He also mentioned that he couldnt figure out why the engine builder (Crackway Racing Engines) would have tried to rebuild the head and take a risk when you can get drop in, fully built heads for $450. I explained to him that the valves were spot on when i checked them and were fine. Hes going to pull the valve cover and crank the motor at about 450RPMs and watch the valve train move. best case scenario, its gonna cost me $600. Worst case.......who knows. he said theres a VERY small chance that the piston rings could be damaged.

suffice it to say i am pissed... if the head is junk, im going to take it to crackway's shop and leave it on his desk as a paper weight.....

 

Hoping for better news on his more in-depth check!

 

more in depth check revealed that the head is junk. he said that the valve guides had so much damage to them that the machine shop threw in some oversized shims to get them to seal better but they just ended up tightening so much when warmed that they never fully closed thus causing the intake backfire when hot and the turbo to feel like it was doing nothing. it was basically was doing nothing since it was pressurizing the freaking intake. The mechanic cant figure out why the machine shop would have done this knowing full well that the head was shot.

long and short is that hes going to get a new (not rebuilt) head from a company he trusts in florida. Hes going to install it simply due to the fact that in order to get the truck drivable home, hed have to rebuild the existing head anyways. so, thats gonna eat up $1400 bucks. At this point, im past the point of being mad. Im just disappointed. it sucks how shady Crackaway has been through this entire process. In fact, the guy working on the runner has a 68 firebird, in his shop for work, that Crackaway built the motor for($9000 in engine work done to a 383 stroker) that when it was dyno'd made a whopping 183hp. The motor had 8.1:1 compression. So my mechanic now needs to either rebuild the top end with a new cam or talk the guy into just supercharging it, Mechanic also used to use Crackway to do custom head work for customers, but when he started getting heads that were $1000 in work over budget, he had to stop using Crackway. Mechanic couldnt afford to pay eat that extra cost over what he already told his customer that it would cost.

I guess the moral of the story is to STAY AWAY FROM CRACKWAY ENGINE AND MACHINE. They are super shady.

 

That stinks. It probably won't help you, but you could file a complaint with the BBB against Crackway. It might help the next person who checks BBB reviews before using them.

 

Second that. What a company name anyway? A bunch of crack-heads probably work there - LOL!
I would also do a yelp review, and post a warning on other Toyota forums.

 

Still bummed when I read this, any updates?

 

x2 what up, S-J?

 

x3...

 

.....x4......

We NEED to know how it ends..... Don't leave us hanging!

 

anything new?

 

Sadly there are a lot of bad machine shops out there.
I took a set of heads to a machine shop years ago, two weeks I couldn't get an answer from them if the heads are ok and if the needed to be machined. They said they were fine and I came and picked them up. Reinstalled them and the rear head poured coolant into the engine when pressure tested. Had a crack 8" long you could see once dipped clean. I ended up having to buy a used head out of my profit to fix the car right. Next week the machine shop closed down.
They were closing and knew it and didn't care. Stole my money cost me more to go back in a second time and they didn't care.

 

Sorry guys, didn't mean to be absent, but life has been shaken up for me lately. Truck is still at the shop. He's not charging me to store it. Still haven't been able to fully pay off the work and as suck, I've asked him not to work on it until I do. Hopefully that'll be soon. Only problem is that I've started a new job working for Amazon and I'm working 5 10s with possible 12s thrown in. Will update soon with new info. Keep hanging in there.

 

Well, good luck mang.
Congrats on new job.

 

I lives in rocklin, which shop you using, i need some stuff done

I got a 86 22ret 4runner

 

Small update.

missed the goal of having it done by xmas for doomy. Oh well. S hes alright with it. Got her a full interior set of RealTree AP Mint seat covers(front and rear), steering wheel cover, and floor mats instead.

as for the runner itself, well, it's being the same old cranky bastard it's been since day 1. Albert has been working on it when he has the time. The head has been swapped and when that happened he found out that the timing chain is almost a tooth off because the machine shop decked the block too far. He was able to pull the timing back 12* and with the install of a new TPS(old one had a rather large dead spot in the middle)t's running nice. There is a slight hesitation that he started tracking down that lead him to checking the turbo and finding that every now and then the turbo is boosting 8-13 psi. It's supposed to be wastegated at 7pounds. I think it'll be fine for doomy since she's not going to hot rod it, but I will be installing a boost controller in the future. Still trying to find the hesitation, he checked voltages at the fuel pump for any drops. Everything is good. But while following the wiring, he discovered that the crush washer for the fuel pressure damper was leaking a bit. While checking the rail itself he discovered that the spring for the fuel pressure regulator was frozen. No rising rate for the boost. Zero movement under any rpm or vaccuum. So he thinks the diaphragm is shot and will be replacing that. If that doesn't fix the hesitation, I'm not sure what he will be onto next. Like I said, in true fashion, this truck is fighting tooth and nail to not be compliant, but we both have faith it will be done soon. I really hope so. Doomy has been driving my dad's old 94 Chevy pickup. 300k miles and gets about 2 gallons per mile. Thirsty old girl. S hes only driving it to Drs appointments and to take my oldest to school, but we are spending almost $100/month in gas for the thing.

I'll try to keep you guys updated a little better. I've just been shattered lately. Up at 430am and not home from work till almost 730pm. Spend a few minutes with my girls and then pass out. Hahaha. But the busy season is over now and my schedule should be going back to normal.

plans as of right now? Well, as soon as I get the truck back, it's going to the exhaust shop to have the exhaust sone and then on to my friends house to get all the wiring prepped, stereo, alarm, wideband, and lighting installed. Should be a busy day there. Then i need to fix the rear window. It still doesn't roll up. After that, I've gotta change pads, rotors, drums, and shoes(have all the parts waiting), gonna just duct tape the ripped CV boots for now to keep them from spewing more grease, replace one of the PS hoses that has a slight leak, get bumper and hitch thrown on, front and read difs swapped to 4.88s and then...maybe then...I can enjoy driving it. Feels like a long way off still.

 

how do i follow a thread?