so I bought a /91 2WD a while back , with the intentions of giving it to my son .The idea was , now that he is 16 , it would be a great "first" vehicle for him and it would give us a way to spend some time together fixing it up . Well that backfired .. he dosnt want a truck !! he wants a car , so I guess I'm fixin' it on my own .





so pulled it into the shop yesterday .. Dealer I bought it from had started to pull it apart already .. and told me it needed a head gasket .

I started to pull the head off , and yikes .. never ran into this before .. 2 broken head bolts and head was siezed on , it just wouldnt come off . took about an hour , but Finally got the head off







definatly head gasket ..



or not .. I couldnt find any "issues" .. head gasket is intact , so I believe it is a cracked head . pulled the pan off and see timing guide pieces in the oil pan .. so ok ..

anyway .. good for me I have a "spare" engine in the back .

brought it into the shop and started to swap parts ..

pan was first .. and crap !! wouldnt ya know it .. chain guide pieces in the pan .. (dumped out)



so now it needs a chain !! wow .. really !!


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so .. I have to say sorry for the pics ..
I have this brand new camera , and I'm still using my phone ...
what can I say

so this has got to be one of the longest engine "replacements" I have ever done .. going on 5 days now !! :-[



fingers crossed .. should be running tomorrow ...



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Soooo.... fully glassed pre-runner? That would be sweet.

 

nope .. I'm pretty sure i'm just gonna flip it ..

basically finished it up today , runs great .
gonna "pop" on some new front fenders , and put a for sale sign in it



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well sadly for me .. my used engine has a serious knock at mid to high RPM .. looks like it's going to come back into the shop



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gettin close to the year mark .. but reallity has set in . My boy realizes that he just cant afford the car he wants , so in the meantime , he "guesses" the truck will do ...

so .. out comes the knock knock





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Maybe it's time for you to put another blown 3.4 in a truck? I'm sure he would have taken that Trekker you rebuilt.

 

I was actually thinking of building this into a "heavy hawler" .. I was going to extent the frame for a long box, build a rear dually axle and and use our NEW dually fenders . 5Vzfe with the brand new supercharger and URD fuel kit I have sitting in stock , up grade the front brakes , and use this as the new shop truck . still might , as my boy is off to university in AB next year , so when he goes , he's not taking the truck , so I will get it back then .. so we'll see !!



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today we finally got the new/rebuilt engine all buttoned up .. ready to install




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well finally , found a little time to install the engine and do some other fixes .



old bumper removed .. rusty fenders as well
new bumper and valance






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new fenders on , and all back together ...
and all done






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Your son is lucky to have such a generous father. I really would've appreciated a 2wd 22RE ext. cab at my 16th/17th year of life... but an Isuzu Trooper sufficed. Good on ya'!