stump----I don't buy into the piston hitting the head......this is easy enough for you to verify yourself by checking it from the oil pan side. You can do the work in your assigned spot if you make it appear as if you are not doing anything major or messy. Drain the oil.....dispose of it
remove pan...hide it someplace(lotsa newspaper in back of Runner.)
remove the rod caps....mark eack one so they can go in exactly as before.
pull crank/remove "bad piston" and see if the mechanic was lieing.

I bet your noise was from the rod beariing end. You just need to eyeball it....right now, you really don't know where you stand. Then when you see the actual issue, call engbldr.com

 

I don't know. The sound my engine was making was really more of a "BANG!!" than a knock, and it was occurring in time with the idle. It was so loud that we couldn't have a normal conversation if we were standing next to it. We would have to be yelling at one another. It wasn't a knock like you hear after you've put bad gas in your tank. It was LOUD. It might not have been the piston hitting the head, but it was definitely metal hitting metal with a lot of force.

 

Stump, i'm inclined to agree w/ZUK, as you can probally guess.

you'll easily be able to pull this off there in your parking spot inasmuch as the only thing that may be apparent to the other tenants is that your 'runner will have a higher front stance in that it will be up on jack stands so that you can gain access to the underneath.

then do as previously suggested & drain & remove the oil pan, baffle plate & oil pick up tube so that "you" can get in there & see for "yourself" what it is that is going on (a word to the wise: check out "bryanr's" post, live & learn from other peoples mistakes keeps you from making them).

as for the "...loud knock...", this is generally due to one or two things:
--------best case scenario--------
1. the bearing is "spun", allowing the additional play for the piston to travel high enough to make contact w/the "ridge" located @ the top of each cylinder & perhaps even the spark plug electrode (although not likely, but i do still want you to take a look @ it), but not necessarily the actual "head" itself.
-------worst case scenario--------
2. the bearing cap or connecting rod have snapped & now the crank bangs against the end of the connecting rod of the piston that is jammed into the cylinder housing on each revolution.

again, "you" need & should get in there & find out for "yourself" BEFORE you decide what course of action you need to pursue, i.e., the low cost, high esteem DIY method - or - the probally major out of pocket expense & serious down time method. as always, w/it being "your" ride, it's ultimately "your" choice to make...but "you" need to know, if you know what i mean ("bryanr").

i'll be here for the rest of the evening to see what you decide,
later,
frankenrunner

 

never pulled the pan off of a 3vze in a rig can you even get the pan off

 

yes, DudeBud, you can!

you simply remove the undercover from the engine (if there is one), then &/or, remove the 19 or so "10mm" (i think, it has been awhile) mounting bolts (an extension may be required @ times) & then, if need be, tap the pan loose w/a rubber mallet.

wah-la, the pan is now removed. you will, of course, have had drained it prior to the removal.

 

cool becuase i had a hell of a time getting the pan off of my 88 with a 22re had to jack the moter up pull the steering stablizer off and pull the pickup tube and still it was a pain to get around that fron diff

 

with an '88, it is best & i believe actually instructed, to remove the differential prior to removing the oil pan solely for the "access" issue, which is not the case w/the 3VZE-V6.

 

Thanks for the help guys, but I've run out of time to do this myself and have already put the truck in with an engine rebuilding shop. I got a quote that was much more reasonable than the original $3500.

So now I'm looking at doing some improvements while it's torn down. I just bought oversized valves from engnbldr.com on Ebay. Now I'm looking at EFI cleaning, TB and plenum cleaning, that kind of stuff. Any other recommendations while the engine is torn down?

Thanks.

 

How much was the quote?

 

$1688. Less than half of the original one.

I'm also going to have them replace the timing belt and water pump while they're at it. That will add a little more to the price for parts, but nothing for labor since the engine will already be apart.

 

i'm out

-f-

to clarify before i recieve a thrashing due to misunderstanding:

i was in it to help out a fellow 'runner in need to both keep them from getting shafted from a "stealership" or by a "jackwrench", & help them learn something about their own rig, not to mention improve their sense of accomplishment by showing them how a task that seems/is presented as trully daunting, is not so after all.

you can lead a horse to water...(not to be condescinding, just an expression of dissapointment in this case...afterall, what is this site here for?)

 

Maybe you should call the company of the engine oil cleaner. If you can prove that the cleaner distroyed the engine ....you might beable to get some money from them.... you could always sue (not that I would...but if you're the type...you could!)

 

-"bump"- to "gomezza"...a damn good idea!

-f-

 

you need to relax a little, this isn't the pirate forum... not nearly as much flaming/thrashing, all your efforts were appreciated, maybe not acted upon but time constraints limited the possible options. keep up with the good tech information

 

i'm looking for the ritalin now & should be ok in a bit (ha-ha)

perhaps i just try too hard because i've been screwed over before i knew better, did'nt enjoy it & hate to see it happen to someone else & this is probaly what causes me to overly("?")encourage others to do for themselves so that someone else does'nt do it to them(damn, need another ritalin).

later,
-f-

p.s. "they" tell me that i "am" getting better...heh,heh,heh!

p.p.s. apologies all around for my overzealous overtures(the ritalin must be kicking in)

 

I did the same thing 3 months after I got my 95 with 98k miles..cleaned the engine, broke a rod, bought a rebuilt Jasper...total loss...6300 bux...

 

No worries, frankenrunner.

Like I said, I just ran out of time to try to do this on my own. If all goes right, I should have my truck back on Friday of this week. I appreciate your advice and would have worked on my truck myself if I had another vehicle. It just didn't work out this time.

 

You got shafted on that deal. People don't even pay that much when they go to the dealership.

 

Anybody know a good place in Houston to get fuel injectors cleaned?

I just talked to the guy at the shop where my truck is being worked on and they charge $150. I called Cruzin Performance on Saturday and they are so booked up their turnaround time is 2 weeks. I found another place online, called affordable-fuel-injection.com, that will charge $70 plus shipping but I don't know that I'll get my injectors back by Friday.

So far the places in Houston I've talked to charge anywhere from $135 to $150. Any ideas?

 

That's kinda the only thing I ever found. And most of those places charging that much don't do as great a job as cruizin performance does. You may have to put this one on the back burner for now.

BTW - another thing that is commonly debated is switching out the fuel filter. Toyota does it when they put in a new engine and I liked that idea. They are supposed to last forever, but come on... I never noticed any real effect from swapping mine, though some have, but I do have piece of mind. It is a total pain in the arse to do, but I would be glad to walk you through that one and it does give you an excuse to get some in-line wrenches!