I was hoping to not have my first post here be a cry for help but I'm at my wits end here. Got my 1990 4runner SR5 3.0 5 speed 4x4 Last year, had a great time driving it till she threw a rod through the block at 350K. Picked up a 3.0 with 194K on it from a pickup that was rolled, dizzy was destroyed on impact so I wasn't worried about it having run upside down. Tore it down, replaced the head gaskets and other seals above them, water pump, Timing belt, thermostat, and switched the sensors and connectors over so the 90 wiring harness matched up, and dropped it in. Wouldn't crank at all at first, replaced a blown 80amp alternator fuse and it cranks over good but will not start. Pulled fuel lines and its spraying fuel, pulled plugs and the pistons are pushing fuel out of the cylinders. The plugs are getting spark, they'll jump to ground (also accidentally felt the spark through my hand, ouch). Throttle body is opening. Pulled valve and timing covers, turns out timing belt was off a few teeth, reset it to account for initial slack and turned it over multiple times and it's now clocked correctly, put it back together, still no fire. Tried both a 90 and 94 distributor since they are different, only difference is that when I had the 94 dizzy on it would sputter and make a really nasty backfire noise every now and then while the 90 turns over smoother more like a normal no start condition. Starting fluid didn't do a thing. Checked compression, all around 120-150 PSI. Two parts of the wiring harness are damaged: the 02 sensor was cut when I got it and never seemed to make a difference but I've heard that it can cause a no start, and the oil sensor by the oil filter (I think it's pressure) needs it's wire re-soldered but I don't think that would do it either. The battery is old, however if it's getting spark it should fire right? Any ideas appreciated, for some reason the site won't let me search past three pages so I can't see every thread on this site.

 

You need compression, fuel and spark, all in the right proportion and at the correct time...

30psi variance is a lot, way out of spec. Typically they should run with whole cylinders not functional..

How good is the spark? On a spark tester you want about 3/4-1" of thick(ish) bright blue.

Plug gaps checked?

Ground wires in place and clean?

How certain are you of the distributor position? Typically if the directions are followed closely it will be set around 5° of where it needs to be, the rotor will be pointing very near the #1 plug wire.. Verify the plug wires are in order and firmly seated, loosen the hold down and try spining the adjustment while it is being cranked.

 

 

this only works if your spark signal wires are mixed up generally..

A typical scenario is it didn't start so you checked the wires and then swapped a few.

Pretty sure these (6cylinder) are waste spark systems also so you get a fraction of the energy on the other cylinder.

 

The relevant facts I see first off are: #1 starting fluid doesn't do anything and #2 you have spark. So your spark must be happening at the wrong time. Roll your crank shaft up to TDC and check your cam shaft timing marks again (if they line up you should be on the compression stroke) then check the #1 piston position with a screwdriver or a drinking straw or something to verify it is at the top of it's stroke and your crank pulley is not spun. check the distributor rotor position (pointed at #1 plug wire?)

 

I guess the other option is that there is so much fuel that you are drowning out the spark. you could try pulling the fuel pump fuse and try starting it a few more times and see what happens.

 

 

So I turned the dizzy 180 and she sputtered pretty regularly. So I rolled it back a tooth on the distributor despite the marks still being aligned and it freaking started!!!! I had already gone through this process several times and thought it was moot but I guess one of my timing marks is off by a bit. I know this probably seems trivial to y'all but I had never pulled a timing cover before this let alone torn down and swapped an engine! I was wore out and not thinking straight on this one, thanks for setting me straight yall! I'm normally a Nissan guy (NPORA life) but I'm super excited my yota runs again and I can be a part of this side of the fence!! I'll be posting mod pics soon hopefully!

 

Always worth checking if you are in doubt, if everything looks good and no real obvious wrong ones leave them where they are..

Still waiting for one if the 3.slow guys to confirm or deny waste spark system. Am at work can't dug out the book.