Been working on a 81 Diesel Toyota Pickup for the last 4 months while attending Diesel mechanics course at my local college.
Here is what it looked like the day I bought it.

 

I took a day and was able to get it running. It had sat for 14 or so years and became a squirrel and mud dauber sanctuary. It had a-lot of dirt and grime but was all there. Ran really strong too. I took the first couple weeks getting it ready for the road. Lights, tires, brakes etc... But was able to get it all cleaned up, tagged, and pass emissions.

 

One thing I noticed early on, was excessive blow-by. I pretty much made up my mind at this point to to a mild rebuild, maybe replace the rings. Clean it up a bit. Keep the body how it is for now and just enjoy it. I daily drove it for about a month. Gave my Audi a rest and just enjoyed the slow lane. On the last day of school for the fall semester,I heard a ping and the 5 speed manual transmission just gave out (going 68 downhill with a tailwind lol). I had a fellow student tow me to class. This was the sign I needed to start the tear down... transmission rebuild phase. I have never cracked a case on a manual transmission before in my life. Now I feel confidant I could do it with my eyes closed! So after a month of fun, I dusted off the Audi and the disassembly of the Toyota began. I'm the bearded guy on the left.

 

A little about the engine. Still ran strong at this point. Actually the engine was still warm when I pulled it. The engine is a Toyota L engine that is a 2.2L 2188cc engine that pushed out 75hp when new and about 95 foot lbs of torque on a good day. I always liked these mini trucks and to have one fall in my lap with a diesel in it was truly a blessing.





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The L52 transmission in the other hand was inoperable. Turns out a snap ring broke and took out the input shaft gear and the cluster gear. During further inspection, I found some cracked syncros and metal shavings everywhere from the input gear. Over all the rest of the gears and output shaft were in great shape. I orderd new input shaft, cluster gears, rebuild kit, and small parts kit off of ebay for $400. I was pretty intimidated with it from the start, but I had access to shop-key, the original FSM, and my class instructor. My worries where put to rest. I had formerly been an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force for just about 24 years and I had a pretty strong mechanical background.

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I took good notes when I disassembled and must of put it back together a thousand times in my mind. I was very excited to finally get the parts and to start the rebuild. I sandblasted what I could and wire brushed the rest, then painted. Shifts good on the bench and ready for oil and installation when the engine rebuild is done.

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The one thing I was the least worried with, turned out to needing the most work. After tearing down the engine it was evident that it needed more the just a ring job. All four dry sleeves had excessive wear. Number 4 piston rings were broke. Number two piston had a glow plug tip break off and did a barnyard square dance on the piston crown. Number one connecting rod bearing was on its way out and tore up the crank a little. All eight valves were worn down pretty excessively.

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First thing I did was take a week to just asses, clean, and try to locate parts. I found a great company in Australia to get the sleeves from. They are called Precision International and can be found here. http://www.precisionintl.com/Engine....ID=4484&Page=1. It took quite a bit to get all the parts I needed. As I type I am still waiting on the pistons and cant order the crank bearings until I get the crank back from the machine shop where it is being turned. While I am waiting im taking care of some other stuff like cleaning and painting etc... I also had the machine shop on campus build a tool to my specs to push out the old sleeves seen below. I settled on a high temp Dupont color of Detroit Diesel Alpine Green and it turned out pretty nice.



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Sleeves finally came in an I used the same tool to press them back in. The liner protrusion checked out good. I chose the piston sleeves that were fully furnished and ready to go. Precision international was out of STD pistons so I had to source them on eBay from another dealer in Australia. Still waiting on the pistons. Supposed to be here bu this Thursday. Fingers crossed.

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One more look an the transmission I had to reopen today to fix a jammed syncro.

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ADMINS please move to the appropriate forum if needed.

Thanks,
Scott

 

Great post and pics. Will be fun to follow your progress. Looking good..........

 

Awesome progress so far!

It is cool seeing the rebuild of an L diesel. You don't see too many on this forum, or in the United States for that matter.

I will definitely be following to see how things turn out!

 

That is a true statement! I have been looking for another one. They are either completely redone or in dire straights like mine was. Most of the parts are from Australia or Europe. I thought I found one on Craigslist, but turned out to be a scammer. For the most part, parts are available but the shipping wait time and cost will get you if your not careful.

 

Love that alpine green. I'm subbed and rooting for you.

 

Other then my tools, these books have been my best investment so far.

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Maybe I missed it. What was the mileage on the odometer when you got it??

 

It was at 116,226 miles. I later confirmed this with the DMV when I titled it.

 

I learned a new skill in class today. Valve resurfacing or valve grinding. These are my valves out of the L engine. I did purchase new valves, but I could reuse these as they are now well within specs.



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No reason not to reuse them if the stem diameters are good and if the head margins are still good and wide, especially on the exhaust valves.

I'd prefer the used genuine toyota valves over new ones that were not OEM, for sure.

 

The margins are perfect. I will check the stem diameters and report back tomorrow. I agree with you though. Genuine Toyota is the way to go, for sure.