Dude, you have been defending the 4.3 over and over, and have missed my point all together...price. Back up your claims with how much the mods will cost. My point again, is that a 350 SB will give you more bang for your buck. End of story.

 

It's me again..
Well, I just got back from tinkering with it to see what I have. I got the motor torn down to the crank pulley (forgot a breaker bar GRRR). The timing belt seems to be stuck on the bottom pulley, and it appears to be frayed down there. I was able to turn the drivers side cam pulley, but the passenger side wouldn't budge. I tried everything to get it to roll, so that I could put the dot at the top, but it wasn't budging.
Could the compression on that side be holding it? Or is it likely that something IS broken in the valve train? I ran out of time to pull the plugs and such.
I did crawl around it, and I still think 400.00 is worth it even if the motor is gone. no rust on the frame, slight rust on the passenger rear quarter, rust on a piece of top trim, new 31/10.50's, and a newer CD player. It does have 214k though, not 114k like I thought.

I owe you guys one,

John

 

I paid $800 for an '88 4Runner with a warped head and slight rust in the pass rear quarter panel.... Mine has 230,000 miles on it and no carpet - but I was able to drive it home.

$400 sounds like a steal! But, I would also hate for you to feel like you ripped him off since you'll be seeing him at work and all. If he wants to get rid of it, get it!

 

Thx Jokeplayer..any thoughts on getting the passenger side cam to move?

John

 

Pull the plugs to release pressure. How far does the other cam turn? You're compressing 6 valve springs during 1 full rotation so you're going to be fighting a few of those at any time. You'll probably need a breaker bar to turn the cam sprocket. Unless a valve is bent, you should be able to turn them. Being a non-interferance, you shouldn't have any bent valves.

Does the engine turn freely? Or is the belt still stuck down below the cover?

 

The motor turns freely, I can turn it over using a socket on the crank pulley. Th drivers side cam sprocket moves about 3 inches by hand, the passenger side doesn't budge....I will try a little more force tonight

The belt is not broken, but it appears wedged down ont he crank sprocket. I have not pulled the lower cover yet (forgot the breaker bar)

John