WOW! That's a lot of work for a sensor! Good job Richard and Faby, and Merry Christmas everyone.

 

I am not going to take the time to re read this last post because i gotta get to bed so sorry if i confuse you all. I'll read through it tomorrow morning but i just wanted to let you guys know my results.
I drove the truck around for about 40-45 miles since sunday and i havent had any problems at all! no Check Engine Light has came on either. I had planned to get my catylic converter, muffler and piping done all over again. but i figured id give it a chance before spending $375 on all that stuff again. So i took my truck to the STAR smog check location(my usual guy) taking a chance that it might not pass. I figured if it doesnt pass for smog reasons then i can always get he cat, muffler and piping afterward and pass it on the retest but apparently my 1.5year old exhaust stuff was still working properly enough to pass the test on the first time around! WOOT WOOT! This news made my year! lol It was actually funny. i saw the 3 guys looking at my truck puzzled. and i asked them "whats wrong" they replied you have a vacuum leak somewhere and were trying to find out where from. I got up to see what they were talking about. then i saw what it was. It was my clogged steel vacuum line. i bypassed this line just by using a longer rubber vacuum hose. and explained to them why it was the way it was. they looked at me wierd then i explained to them that i have done everything to my truck. and previously had a code for improper vacuum lines n stuff. then took the vacuum pumper to the lines to find out it was clogged. anyway they took my word for it and it passed on the first try. I didnt lie to them. It wasnt passed illegally either. I just bypassed one steel line and connected it directly. I explain this on the first vacuum hose video if you watched it. Anyway Here are my results if you're curious to see.


Those guys were in awe when they saw my truck and how i had fixed the truck up. They fell in love with the truck. they said this was the best 1st gen 4runner they had ever seen come in to their shop. That they usually get some with all kinds of leaks, almost always fail the tests, and they were just amazed that mine passed on the first try. They asked what i had done to it. And i got all technical on them and just explained the engine was rebuilt and every single sensor on there is brand new. They really liked it. And it made my day seeing these 3 guys all happy to drive it lol. they especially liked the inside lights and altimeter. haha

Anyway Good night everybody. I'm definitely gonna sleep well tonight now that this STAR smog check nightmare is over with!

Now to move back onto mods and offroad trips! WOOT!

 

Great work man, thank you so much for the write up. I hope to god that I never need it. I am talking to some guys about a swap already so with any luck that won't be the case but I appreciate the details, vids and pics just in case and I'm positive others will as well.

Hope you guys have a great New Year's Eve!

EDIT: Congrats on the smooth pass! Great late Xmas gift there and well earned.

 

Awesome work homie! Congratz on the pass! Great that you kept a list and pics of everyth you're doing....

You too, Faby'lous! Lol

 

Well I happen to have my emissions reports from after my 3.4 swap, and was going to post them, but you don't have an idle emissions test. Not much of a comparison, so pointless now, but good deal that it passed! Great news

 

thank you for the picts down to the sensor rich it really showed off the center timing belt idler which is what i think is wrong with the 90 here i think the bearing in this one is failing also shows off how freaking bad it is to get down to the knock sensor!

 

Hey Richard, nice work on the knock sensor. glad your Runner passed smog without a hitch, all your hard work paid off! I'm glad I don't have to worry about passing smog emissions (yet) where I live!

 

Congratulatons!! And why wouldnt they like a 1st gen as nice as yours with an inclinometer!!!

 

That's a great experience at the smog station. Those aren't usually good experiences. We use to have to go through inspection and emissions every year when I lives in Pennsylvania. Always pucker up when taking I there. Hahah.

I would have to agree that your runner is the baddest of bad!!!

Hope your still having a good holiday buddy.

 

Hey Ray Merry christmas to you too dude. Wish you would have joined us yesterday. There was a red 1st gen 4runner at the bigger Wilmington pick ur part. Mark and i both got a bunch of goodies off it. Im sure you could have used a couple of things off it too.

You are very welcome. I usually try to do my best in write ups with pix and videos and explain everything i found to be difficult or short cuts to help along the way. I'm a newbie and i always appreciate very informative threads when i come across them. I hate getting partial information. And You and your family have a great New Year holiday as well buddy.

And yes i found the smog check pass as a christmas gift. Ive very happy it passed on the first try. Definitely was a treat for me. Especially after everything i have been through with my truck for the past 4 weeks. Not saying i deserve it but i sure think after everything ive put into the truck(especially motor and sensors) i definitely feel that i should pass. lol;

Thanks Mark. You read the text messages i was sending you. lol I seriously thought i was gonna run into some kind of problem. I have always had SMOG problems with every car i have ever owned. I'm traumatized haha I'm just glad that nightmare is over with now.

Thats right! i forgot you did a 3.4 swap. YOU LUCKY GUY YOU! Hey so how is the engine working for you? It's been a couple of months now. Have you had any problems with it at all? Also Do you notice more power? is it better in MPG? gonna have to read through your thread again.

You are very welcome Mr Dragon. Happy to help you out. OH by the way, that timing belt idler that you are talking about was really jacked up on mine when the mechanic did my rebuild. The bearing was toast! We had to replace it. He eventually showed it to me. The timing belt idler, and the water pump. the bearings sounded like crap when i would spin them.

Also Getting that timing belt idler isnt as bad as getting to that knock sensor. You can leave the manifold on, and there is no need to remove the fuel rails either. So really all you would have to worry about is removing the manifold, timing belt dust cover, and remember where all those hoses go.

Thanks Ed. i'm telling ya im definitely happy for that news. That smog check guy was definitely able to see that he made my day when he gave me that news.
Yet? you mean you guys don't have smog emissions at all in Washington?

Lol I have no clue why they wouldnt in the first place lol. I'm telling ya those 2 helpers were mezmorized. i sould see them talking inside my truck from where i was sitting. you could see them pointing at things inside the truck and in the engine bay. it was funny.

Oh wow I cant imagine doing emission tests every year. That must suck.
HA ha Thanks for the compliment Gizler I dont know about the baddest of the bad. but i'd like to think it is somewhere up there with them lol. When i first joined yotatech there were so many other rigs that i would literally bow down to. I was always im aw and wishing that someday my 4runner would look as good as theirs. Or sometimes wish mine would look exactly like another members. Boy im happy i didnt completely copy other people. I love every bit of my rig. So happy i made it my own. Now my own 4runner is my #1 favorite 1st gen on here. After i get a v8 in there with a nice transfer case i will love it even more. But that is gonna need to be much further down the road since i have school coming up. i cant wait!

 

I'm not sure if i shared this picture on yotatech. but my buddy Julio Shared this picture of my truck with me through Instagram. I thought it was a great picture. This was taken after an offroad trip. it was before my front bumper was finished.

 

Great pic!!!!

 

Went to the Wilmington Junk yard with˟Fabt and Mark this past Saturday for the 50% off sale they had for christmas week. We found an 86 4runner and got lots of goodies. Took off the splash gaurds from the passenger side and the driver side off a 2nd gen 4runner. Got all 3 distributor cap bolts to replace my 2 mismatched ones, got a few hose connectors that I'll be using on my differentials for diff-breathers, my fan has always been broken as shown in the picture and the mounting part that mounts to the fan clutch broke so it was finally time to replace with another, got this fan off a 2nd gen 4runner. I got a few male/female wire connectors, and both driver and passenger side door latches because both of mine are brothen. Got an extra "oh ˟˟˟˟" handle to mount on the driver side ceiling to assist getting into my truck. Also got a bunh of miscellaneous fuses, bolts, nuts and screws that weren't pictured. Got a couple grill clips because mime have broken over the years, and I found me some 300watt peak 4ohm Performance Teknique 4" speakers for the front of my truck. I've owned an amp by that brand and it was the best amplifier I ever owned. I know that company makes good products and I know this was a very good find.˟I'm just happy I found every thing I needed for my truck this weekend. And on a 50% off day I only spent $29 for everything.


... And Faby like always turned the trip into a photoshoot. Lol these pix at at the junk yard.


It was a fun day. In the end we went out to a really good Mexican food restaurant that Mark took us to. steak fajitas with beans, rice, and flour tortillas were really good! The chips and salsa with guacamole were delicious too!

 

That's one heck of a deal at the yard!!! Looks like it was a good time. I always enjoy digging through the u-pull it's.

 

Nice Richard, sorry I couldn't meet up with you guys that day. I'm complete now for my camry auto to 5-speed swap now. Half-off days are the best! all this was only $35, one shifter cable is $150 new and you can't even buy them anymore

 

There is definitely more power. It's not like going from a 4 cylinder to a big block v8 or anything, it mostly just holds speeds better and accelerates easier, really don't think it helped my 1/4 mile time much. It's been in for a bit more than a couple months, by the way. More like 46 months and 50k miles. I just got a Scangauge to be able to track stuff in my Subie, hooked it up in the Runner for now. It usually reports somewhere around 18.5 mpg average going uphill from Ridgecrest to home(2000' elevation to nearly 4000') or into a headwind, and up to 22 mpg going downwind or down from home to Ridgecrest. No realy city driving up here for me to give you an apples to apples comparison, though. Also, this is all about 72-75 mph, 33's with the stock 4.10 ratio.

 

50% sale at junkyard!? LUCKY!!

Also i would love to have a 3.4 swap. Bries limited has it and it would be amazing to have in my 1st gen.

 

I love the wrecker. I just picked up a few odds and ends and it was so much fun. Cheap too compared to Yellowknife.

 

Had a busy day today. I wanted to make sure i was able to get a few things out of the way before our Angeles Crest off-raod trip this weekend. Not gonna be a hard trip, but i just wanted to a couple of things done that i had been sitting on for a while.

i first began by finally getting the front mud flaps cut to shape and installed. I Have been lucky so far not to get any tickets for not having any(especially with the wider wheel base due to my spacers) These crappy plastic mud flaps were bought from AutoZone for about $6-7, They are very cheap. I actually wish i would have returned them and just removed some thicker rubber mudflaps off a junk yard truck, but these will work for now. I'll use them till they break or rip.


2nd thing and probably the most important replacement was my engine fan. As you read in my Knock Sensor write up i mentioned that 2 of the 4 metal tabs broke on my original fan. I had my dad weld them back on. But the fact that the metal has a bunch of small brackets that hold onto the "PLASTIC" fan i was really worried about the plastic fan strength being compromised where the center metal ring and plastic are held together. I didnt want to leave it to chance. With my luck the fan would probably shatter in the engine lol. Also the fan was already broken since i bought the truck.

Old fan on the left and new fan on the right. You can see where the tabs were welded back on.


Installed the fan. Then the fan shroud.


Last thing i did today was finally get to installing my "constant hot" extra 12v outlet! I have been wanting this done for a while but i never got around to it. This is one thing i absolutely need for my camping trips. with this i can now keep my truck turned off and still use the outlet to charge my phone while i sleep at night. Woot WOOT! I didnt only want this for camping reasons though. I use lots of electronics and i only have one 12v outlet. Now that i have this i will be able to charge my own phone, my girls phone and my iPod on the stereo usb port all at the same time. This one is definitely a mod worth looking into for anybody that hasnt done it yet.

I ran a red 12 gauge wire from my extra fuse block on my engine bay. Ran the wire through the passenger fender wall where the battery sits at.


ran the wire through the existing plastic loops that hold my headlight/turnsignal lights up toward the top of the fender.


Across the fender and into the cab using the same hole where the antenna goes into.


Ran the single wire across the bottom metal rail where the glove compartment box screws into and mounted the new outlet to the side of the stereo bezel.






That's all i was able to accomplish today. Tomorrow i would like to install my replacement door open latches, and the driver side (ohh shiet) handle. I'd like to swap out my BFG KM1 tires and swap in my 33" SPORT KING A/T tires on SR5 rims again. Been doing too much street driving with my offroad set of tires and ive been wasting away my tred. So i will possibly swap out my m/t's for the a/t's and even use those tires for this off-road trip. Gotta use up the set of tires i dont like first before i use up the tred on my more aggressive tires right!

 

I scored my thick OE toyota flaps at the yard way cheap. Theyre asking lke $40 on ebay for used ones A PEICE!!