Bought this truck in March 2011. The engine was locked up and the kid did not know the reason why, but it was cheap and the general condition of the body was excellent....................



So, out she came!..............



Found the problem. Spun rod bearing so the crank was shot! Ordered a re-manned crank. In the mean time, took the block and head to the machine shop to have it cleaned and checked. Here it is after I got it back with a clean bill of health.



The new crank.........


Decided on new pistons so the machinist went .020 over


Kinda slacked off on the photo taking at this point but here are a few at various stages. She got a new HD timing kit, new water pump, and new oil pump...............



The clutch looked just ok but I figured it was the right time to throw a new one in while this thing is out!


This is my first Toyota, as well as my first engine re build. If it weren't for sites like this, books, friends, and You-Tube, I could have never done this myself.
I have put about 3000 miles on the rebuilt engine thus far. At first, I was getting a little better than 20mpg, but after break-in and fixing a high idle issue, I am currently getting better than 22mpg.

I wish I had kept the camera snapping and will definitely be adding more to this. I am set to receive a set of Tj coils next week and will be getting rid of the sagass syndrome. Will document that mod here.

Thanks for looking! Stay tuned................................

 

A couple pics of what it looks like today:

 

i cant wait 2see the follow up with the Tj coils

 

looks good! do you have any more upgrades planned?

 

WOW!!
That thing is clean.
Nice work.

 

I want to really concentrate on the suspension and t case as my next projects besides tires. Tires is where the next $$ is going.

I really need to go thru all the wheel bearings, check out the shocks, and the t case has a very small oil leak I need to address.

Also looking at installing a roof rack possibly if I can find the look I want.

 

Not a huge project.........heck! Not even a project really, but I found it locally on Craigslist for $30 obo. I offered $20 and got it!!! I'll paint it later

Before:


After:

 

That is a great looking truck. I always thought that body style was sharp. Looking good.

 

Thanks for the nice comments guys! I am having a blast with this thing.

 

how long did the engine rebuild take?

 

For being your first engine rebuild looks like you did a fine job. These are great little trucks and fairly easy to work on. Really dependable. But you are right this site helps tremendous. Hope to see more of your build. Its addicting.lol

 

alex mcnair,

From start to finish, working on it every day after work and weekends, with a few days in there waiting on parts, the entire engine rebuild took 3 weeks.

 

Sweet build so far. I will be keepin an eye on it. Subscribed

 

Here we go! I got the used Tj coils in the mail today so time to get rid of the sag ass in my truck.

Let's see what she looked like before:


After:


The springs as they came and then after cutting them down to 12 1/2 inches long:



Jack it up!!










I got a full 3" lift doing this and I drove it a bit tonight and it's saweeeeeet! This whole mod took me about 1 hr and I'm a newbie to working on rigs. I'm pretty pumped right now about the way it turned out. The pair of springs cost me $44 delivered. I got them off Ebay. Very affordable.

Thanks for lookin. Stay tuned for more mods

 

Thats a sharp truck what I would give to find a bed even half as nice around here

 

How did the springs effect the ride? My wife truck has the sag going on.

 

The ride is awesome on the street! Won't know til tomorrow how it does in the hills but it's like night and day how nice it is now in town. I love it.

 

That came out lookin pretty slick!! Seems pretty easy too. Might have to hit up my buddy and get his old TJ springs

 

Very easy. The local auto parts dealer loans out the spring compressor so that didn't cost me a dime. My plans to test it out in the hills today got changed so that will have to wait a week or so but I will post my findings as soon as possible.

Now I just gotta figure out what my next mod is going to be!

 

Mud tires going on this Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't wait.