Just saved one. 1993 5speed 3.0. She was heading to the boneyard. But
i couldnt let that happen. Imma dump a few grand in her


Rust
bad headgasket
windshield.
Geeked door and fender.

Ill toss some pics up here shortly
thinking of just ordering a long block

 

Some pics of here when I picked her up.
Started her up and she smoked after a minute.
Blown head gasket for sure. PO claimed it lost coolant..
but never got hot. I brought 2 gallons of antifreeze 50/50
mix. She took a gallon. I noted the Toyota badge on the grill....I knew she'd make it home the 10 mile ride.

 

In between my engine research, I have been cutting the cancer from my new found treasure. Only rust is in the rear quarters and doglegs. Cowl..front end, floors...rock solid. Got the door and fender that where sprung off. The a pillar is not tweaked so all in all...some body work...but pretty light stuff.

Still researching buying full quarters or just the metal patches made by the two companies. (Not interested in vendor comments or bashing) Just thought I'd share my journey to toyota nirvana through busted knuckles, sweat, and tears.

Not totally done cutting...need the panels first....but I have wire cup brushed the surfaces....sprayed metal ready anywhere i could get it to reach..to convert the rust...and flushed it all down so i can apply weld through primer then por15 everything I can reach back there.

 

Door and fender were tweaked back by leaving the door open backing out of a garage. It closed...but was tweaked and out of alignment. Thank god the a pillar is so beefy. Way stronger than my mustang days.

 

So, I got some work to do...but I think I have a really solid base to start with. I am really looking forward to the engine rebuild...which I will document.

I am also considering oredering the patch panels for the rear end from both companies...and documenting the installs on both sides. No fiberglass...I have a nice mig with co2 /argon mix...and welding is fun.

Interested in an actual install thread with both types? one on each side? (wink wink if any sponser wants to donate...lol)


Dave

 

i have nothing but respect for you, sir, for saving a beautiful machine like that from the jaws of the imminent death it was headed for...

looks like shes gonna be a nit of work, but im sure shes gonna turn out just fine for ya...

 

I used a set of the 1/4 patch panels at the bottom of this page, from Corey at www.toyotafiberglass.com

http://www.toyotafiberglass.com/4runner.htm

You can weld them in. I used an overlap joint and panel bonding adhesive. They fit perfectly.

Just a thought.

 

Yes. Those are ones im looking for.
Do they do the area down behind the bumper
by the side bumper mount?

And do they flare out or are the oem looking
looks like they have a flare?

 

No, there is no rear panel for the area behind the bumper with them. I simply made my patch panels for that area out of 18 gauge steel. The panels are factory exact. There is no flare whatsoever.

 

Busy week but got to at least diagnose the health of the shortblock. Compression test showed 172-180 psi on 1,2,3,4,5, and 6 maxed my gauge and filled it with antifreeze.
( I suspect there may be a head gasket failure..lol)

So #6 is got a water jacket to combustion chamber blow. No oil in water no water in oil. Im going to just pull the whole motor and check the shortblock out closer...re gasket the whole motor.

Thanks for the description on the patch panels. With the fender flares Im using....I wont cry if I dont get professional results...but Ill obsess on it a bit Im sure.

Crossing my fingers the deck is ok. Suppose I might as well redo the heads if Im gonna get em checked anyway.

Had a good old foamy engine cleaner session to save myself some grief when I tear her down.

So anyone here do a MLS gasket yet? Was the ticket for my 4.6 dohc rebuild on my mach.

 

Well had a couple hours to play with "jade" (her name) today. Got the upper intake...fuel rails...upper timing cover
pulleys, and valve covers off. Took alot of pictures to help in re assembly. No signs of oil/water mixing anywhere. Makes me pretty happy. Cams look a little worn...so I guess Ill totally do the heads as long as the shortblock looks good. Otherwise more than likely a longblock. It would be sweet to keep the shortblock going though. I feel as though a toyota becomes more beloved the higher the original miles are.

Next post few random pics. What do you think of the cams?
I think they are ok...but look a little scorched...

 

Few pics....bout time for a timing belt ya think?

 

PS...not oil/coolant mixed in last pic....I sprayed some foamy engine bright on the cam to clean it up for wear inspection.

 

Ok I won the battle of the bolt. Both heads are off. No pitting on deck. But I have decided to just go ahead and have a machine shop machine the block and I'll reassemble it myself.

My garage is a wreck. Tools are scattered. One bloody knuckle.

Time to clean this disaster up a little before I yank the block.
At least I get to scrub the whole bay really good now. I cant stand a nasty engine bay.

 

wow, I would say you have pics of my 4runner in my garage. but mine was dirtier 16 year olds do not staighten up until dad has a fit. # 6 piston on my engine had a bent rod for about 130 000 miles That rod was replaced and all pistons replaced. What I did for wheel wells and behind bumper (right side) was made panels seam started under fuel door down door edge and down the flat in the rear. I was able to get the curve from the left side as it was not as bad . Are you going to lift it ? I do remember a lot of baked oil on block where it meets the head on the back pass side and I do notice a small oil leak there now . That sucks but oh well she will be like that for a long time now.

Keep us posted

 

Ill be ordering 2 new heads and a full rebuiuld kit this week.
I realized it would be stupid to just do the top end while
I have done so much work. Just going to yank the motor out and get her to local machine shop. We will assemble her at home.

Pretty easy to see which cylinder was blown by the combustion chamber. Which one is it....hmmmm??

Been cleaning/inspecting/painting parts.

 

Well....after calling local machine shops and weighing all the costs, I called oregon engine rebuilders. Looks like Im going to order a longblock from him. Be cheaper and assembled by a pro. Just makes sense. Be a week or so before I fund it...but Ill let you all know when I do. I bet it gets back on the road a bit quicker too. I think ill do the regular one though...not the super stock. A few hp are meaningless in a 4runner to me...Im not a boulder basher or mudpit swamper. More camping/trail typer stuff.