meks' 1990 Pickup Build-Up Thread
Dec 15, 2009 | 05:56 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
meks' 1990 Pickup Build-Up Thread
Picked up a ’90 yota pickup 4x4 single cab deluxe (whatever deluxe means) with a blown motor and no wheels a cpl months ago because I’m tired of getting stuck in the swamps/woods hunting here in the bottom of S.C.
Craigslist has become a very integral part of this build. So far from it I’ve picked up a bench seat and had it recovered, a rear hitch receiver, a front bumper, a used motor, and a set of rims with BFG’s already mounted.
I took the new/used motor apart that I was told was a running motor in decent shape and found out it needed more than a couple of things. This turned out to be a recent reman that the kid I bought it from had no idea about, but I could tell due to the rear freeze plug having that blowout rubber plug in it that reman companies put in to tell if u overheat it and try to return it. Seems he had overheated it anyway, but the plug never blew out. I started pulling the motor apart and the first thing I saw was a couple of bad camshaft lobes. So now I’m getting bummed, this won’t be a quick motor swap after all.
Pull the head and see where the head gasket was blown, Oh greatttt more surprises, 3rd cylinder has some small pits where the top ring would be in the area of the blown gasket. Pull the pistons and find that 2 of the wrist pins are so loose you can clank them loud enough to hear it next door, just great…
Take the block to the machine shop and have it checked out, fortunately it turns out to be in good shape even though it’s already bored to the limit of .040 . Had the cylinders honed and that seemed to clean the pits up good enough to last for a few years of hunting. Had new wrist pin bushings installed/honed in the rods. Had the head checked, it’s warped and has a cpl of bad valves. Shaved the head .015 and did a valve job with all new seals and a cpl new valves and all seems to be well, had the crank polished.
After doing a little research on this site I called a nick named engbuildr<sp> and ordered the bearings, rings and the new head bolts I needed… I already had a gasket/seal set.
Start putting this motor together, get it almost all together and the cam bolts strip in the head before I even get to 8ftlbs, more surprises I didn’t expect. Drilled and heli-coiled the holes and tried again, it went together fine this time. Usually I use keenserts for holes that do this but I didn’t want to wait the days it would take to order them so I went with heli-coils I could get fast at a local auto parts warehouse.
Pull the blown motor and trany (5 speed manual) out only to find that the front driveshaft is toast, all the u-joints are wiped and the splines no longer exist. Call around and this thing is anywhere from $500 to $800, gezzzzz… call a junk yard and I can get one for under $200, enough is enough already. This was supposed to be a quick engine swap and in the woods I go before hunt season is up, well deer season is up in 2 weeks so I doubt I make it with this truck this year.
Pulled the dark tint off of the windows and steam cleaned the frame and under the hood real well to remove the grease from all the previous leaks and a ton of dirt dobber nest throughout etc… it sat on a 75 acre piece of property in a rural area for a cpl of years untouched.
Once I pick up a set of seals for the trany, the driveshaft from the junk yard and repair a bunch of the old cracked up wiring under the hood I’ll finally be able to start putting this thing together!
So even though I’ve been a wrench for a few decades for a living I know nothing about these Toyota pickup’s and will be asking for a ton of advice from all of you people that have already been here done this and will appreciate all the help I can get!
Just a small thread on my build with an intro and with pics to come real soon.
Thanks for any headsup on this project ahead of time and a nod for the great site you seem to have here.
btw I’m Rob
Craigslist has become a very integral part of this build. So far from it I’ve picked up a bench seat and had it recovered, a rear hitch receiver, a front bumper, a used motor, and a set of rims with BFG’s already mounted.
I took the new/used motor apart that I was told was a running motor in decent shape and found out it needed more than a couple of things. This turned out to be a recent reman that the kid I bought it from had no idea about, but I could tell due to the rear freeze plug having that blowout rubber plug in it that reman companies put in to tell if u overheat it and try to return it. Seems he had overheated it anyway, but the plug never blew out. I started pulling the motor apart and the first thing I saw was a couple of bad camshaft lobes. So now I’m getting bummed, this won’t be a quick motor swap after all.
Pull the head and see where the head gasket was blown, Oh greatttt more surprises, 3rd cylinder has some small pits where the top ring would be in the area of the blown gasket. Pull the pistons and find that 2 of the wrist pins are so loose you can clank them loud enough to hear it next door, just great…
Take the block to the machine shop and have it checked out, fortunately it turns out to be in good shape even though it’s already bored to the limit of .040 . Had the cylinders honed and that seemed to clean the pits up good enough to last for a few years of hunting. Had new wrist pin bushings installed/honed in the rods. Had the head checked, it’s warped and has a cpl of bad valves. Shaved the head .015 and did a valve job with all new seals and a cpl new valves and all seems to be well, had the crank polished.
After doing a little research on this site I called a nick named engbuildr<sp> and ordered the bearings, rings and the new head bolts I needed… I already had a gasket/seal set.
Start putting this motor together, get it almost all together and the cam bolts strip in the head before I even get to 8ftlbs, more surprises I didn’t expect. Drilled and heli-coiled the holes and tried again, it went together fine this time. Usually I use keenserts for holes that do this but I didn’t want to wait the days it would take to order them so I went with heli-coils I could get fast at a local auto parts warehouse.
Pull the blown motor and trany (5 speed manual) out only to find that the front driveshaft is toast, all the u-joints are wiped and the splines no longer exist. Call around and this thing is anywhere from $500 to $800, gezzzzz… call a junk yard and I can get one for under $200, enough is enough already. This was supposed to be a quick engine swap and in the woods I go before hunt season is up, well deer season is up in 2 weeks so I doubt I make it with this truck this year.
Pulled the dark tint off of the windows and steam cleaned the frame and under the hood real well to remove the grease from all the previous leaks and a ton of dirt dobber nest throughout etc… it sat on a 75 acre piece of property in a rural area for a cpl of years untouched.
Once I pick up a set of seals for the trany, the driveshaft from the junk yard and repair a bunch of the old cracked up wiring under the hood I’ll finally be able to start putting this thing together!
So even though I’ve been a wrench for a few decades for a living I know nothing about these Toyota pickup’s and will be asking for a ton of advice from all of you people that have already been here done this and will appreciate all the help I can get!
Just a small thread on my build with an intro and with pics to come real soon.
Thanks for any headsup on this project ahead of time and a nod for the great site you seem to have here.
btw I’m Rob
Last edited by meks; Dec 15, 2009 at 06:02 PM.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
RedRunner_87
95.5-2004 Tacomas & 96-2002 4Runners (Build-Up Section)
84
Jun 1, 2021 01:51 PM
MMA_Alex
86-95 Trucks & 4Runners (Build-Up Section)
25
Apr 18, 2017 05:07 AM
