Hey all,

Just bought an '85 4Runner with original 22RE.

The previous owner said he had just replaced head gasket, timing chain and sprocket, plugs, wires, rotor and cap.

I noticed quite a bit of hesitation and lack of power during the test drive and he stated that he hadn't timed it yet and that was probably the problem.

So I take it home and start checking out the basics. When I pulled the distributor cap here's what I found:



The rotor:



The spring loaded button contact for the coil wire has been completely smashed into the top of the cap and melted there. You can also see where the rotor was slicing into the cap contacts.

I got a new cap and rotor and noticed that the new cap didn't quite seat. It was "bottoming out" the contact on the rotor as well. So after studying the distributor in my 85 pickup for comparison it appears the distributor shaft is not seated all the way in the housing. I removed the rotor and gave the shaft a little tap with the BFH and sure enough, it did move in very slightly.

Will the distributor shaft seat at the correct place in the housing with a few more taps or is it possible to go too far?


Thanks,
TS

 

Yeah, you can pretty much attribute your (his) issue as to a poor assembly on his part. I am actually surprised you went ahead and bought it considering you knew the truck had a problem.

You should have made him fix it before buying it. But who am I to talk? I completely ignored a clutch problem on my recent purchase of my 96 4Runner until I got home, some 380 miles away. Well, $750 later, it has a new clutch.

Anyway, "tapping" on the distributor shaft is ok, but there should be a cotter pin or something (cant remember) holding the shaft in place, and preventing it from working its way out.

Someone with more 22re experience could better help you. I hope it works out for you.