cool, i have been following along and wondered if they got the valve covers off yet to check the valve springs and valves. also carbon build up on the valves can cause cel's. hopefully it is something simple. mike

 

I am starting to get a bit impatient, this is day 20. I am going to go there tomorrow to see what has been done or diagnosed. I am starting to think maybe a catalytic converter again. The mechanic noticed too, when it is running smoothly it still doesn't have the power it should,

 

Well they got it figured out. Apparently before I bought it, someone took the crank pulley off or somehow the crank pulley came loose. It caused the woodruff key to move inside the crank gear. The gear was damaged and so was the crank pulley. It is getting new crank pulley, crank gear, timing belt, tensioners, cam and crank seals, new themostat, drive belts, coolant flush, and toyota coolant. Total price for me, including parts and labor, $1005.

When the gear was moving, the timing was slipping back and forth by at least 8-10 degress. There's my misfire, loss of power and bad idle. My wallet hurts but at least I know what it is. The parts alone were $700.00. I went to the delaer to get most of them. The big ticket items were harmonic balancer $394.47, and water pump $110.46.

 

Ask them what they torqued the crank bolt to. If they say anything less than 217 ft-lb, tell them to check the new updated torque spec and retorque the bolt or the samething will happen again later.

 

My buddy has a torque wrench so I think I am going to check it myself when I get it back. I feel lucky it did not destroy my crank.

 

You'll also need some way to hold the crank from turning. This is what I use:

 

wow! you got a good independant tech. he found what others couldn't!

 

If he's right that is, have you driven it yet?

 

still waiting on some parts from the dealer. That has to be it. He was turning the crank back and forth and both cams were sitting still because all of the play in the crank gear. I will upload pics as soon as I can find that damn cable for my phone.

 

OK well we finished it today. Man this guy is very precise. He cleaned every bolt before it went back in, everything was cleaned and wiped up every step of the way, flushed the cooling system and only antifreeze and filtered water went back in. During the process all tools and parts are layed out on a table. He pressure cleaned all the pulleys, fan shorud and everything else before it went back on the truck. The timing was way off causing a bad vacuum to my brakes. My truck has never had as much power, smooth idle, or braking as power since I have owned it. I am thrilled. It is like haveing a new truck.

 

AWESOME... ...glad you finally got the thing fixed!!! I see you changed out a bunch of parts... ...did you have to change them all out? I am having the exact same problem and need to do the repair on the cheap! Do I need to change out the balancer and water pump? I don't really know anything about it but would changing the crank pulley and gear fix the problem? Money is tight and I don't want to get hosed when I bring it in to get fixed. THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP!!!

Mike

 

The only thing for sure needed to be changed was the crank gear. The harmonic balancer was questionable so I did it too to avoid any major issues down the road. (do it once and do it right). Since I am at 76K miles and we had the timing belt off, I figured to go ahead and to the timing belt service; belt, pump, cam and crank seals, thermostat. I went OEM for the parts since OEM was only a few bucks more than local autoparts. Example: aftermarket water pump $102 OEM $110

 

PS, If you have aloose crank bolt and damaged crank gear as I did, get it fixed ASAP. If you don't you may damage your crankshaft which would result in several thosands of dollars for repair.

 

wow bad luck on that vehicle.

I am the original owner of over 140,000 '99 4runner and here is all it ever needed: regular maintenance not shown, I do the 60 and 120 stuff at dealer

1) new instrument panel at 19,000 toyota TSB, fuel gauge inaccurate

2) rear axle bearings at 80,000. I often mud and don't service it. normal

3) new telescopic antenna, hit some bushes while up

4) clean MAF now and then

5) 130,000 front sway bar links (rotted) new rear shocks (rotted)
new muffler (rock crawling), new cat gasket (rotted)

6) 135,000 all new brakes, drums, rotors and calipers. see item 2 I do a lot
of mudding but no cleaning. so stuff dies. if I cleaned it after going mudding none of this would need replacement

7) 140,000 new a/f sensor, starter contacts

8) and a few bulbs here and there as they blow. glove box, instrument panel, dome, marker, tail, fog, headlight. usual stuff

9) 3 sets of tires


that's it.

well...I did flip it over and it needed a crapload of body work, but nothing else. I mean it didn't
even need a new alignment. the hazards of offroading. needed new doors, new roof, new glass,
new fender. I needed new shorts....
but mechanically it needed zero. did change fluids when I flipped it to be sure though

 

mine wasn't bad luck. It was someone working on it before me and not torquing that bolt like they should. Sucks that one loose bolt cost me $1005.00 btu it feels like I am driving a new truck. Truck has never ran this good since I owned it. I am going to get a pic of that timing gear tonight.

 

great. I was bummed to read this story and then when you said you were
about to get rid of it. ..

cuz as the original owner of my rig, I know these things are nice to own and worth keeping alive forever. the 3rd gen is the last best 4runner for stock rock clearance and stuff not breaking. I got a 4runner 'cuz my sister always owned toyotas and I was jealous. and I go snowboaridng and mountain biking a hell of a lot, and have a cabin stuck at the end of a mile of the boniest road you can ride. so it works for me. all that, plus when I look at all the other 4wd rigs, all I see is vulnerable 'ride qwality' garbage sticking down underneath. just lame.

the 4runner or taco is just the balls for actual 'ride around town all the time and yet ride in the woods all the time' you can get
I've hauled cords of wood in this thing in raw forest....wood packed everywhere but the drivers seat, scraping my pumpkin and plates over hill and dale. getting stuck going slow so I don't break stuff, and hitting the locker to get moving again. the balls !... I've pulled stumps, towed trailers, towed other vehicles out of stuck....and driven to texas and back, twice. (and rolled it over) I love my 4runner more and more the older it gets. it is my daily driver, rock creeper, reliable friend

 

With it runing like a new truck did you notice any improvement in fuel consumption? Mine is not so good now and I am wondering if besides fixing the misfire on 2 and 5 it will also decrease fuel consumption. My next day off is next week and I can't wait to get the new gear in my truck!!!

 

I have had a definite increase in mileage. I was at about 12 mpg and I have not re-calculated but I notice the needle moving a lot slower now. With a missfire you are going to loose MPG. The motor is working harder (using more fuel) when it isn't running smooth and effciently.

 

Here are pics of the gear you can see where it was rocking back and forth.

 

WOOHOO... ...my truck is running great again... ...no more CEL!!! I changed out the crank gear, waterpump and belt and it seems to be fixed. My gear looked EXACLTY like yours... ...and the key was just about worn away. I just wanted to thank you all for the posts... ...I never would have got it fixed without these posts. It's awesome to have a resource like this!

Mike