Hey guys, so I'm new to the Toyota forums since usually I am in the Audi forums for my S4, but I have recently considered getting my dad's '88 3.0 V6 back and running after seeing it sit for the past 10+ years. Prior to it sitting, all it needed was a new fuel pump in order to run proper. I live in Southern California so the truck hasn't had to deal with too extreme of weathering and surprisingly isn't dealing with too much rust but it has been a very long time since it's moved so before even trying to start the thing I plan on doing the following:

- Flush fuel, engine oil, trans oil, and coolant systems and replace with new fluids, fuel pump, and engine & trans oil filters
- New spark plugs
- New Battery
- Replace gaskets (Valve Cover, Plenum, EGR, Throttle Body, PCV) (It had an oil leak which I am sure is the valve cover after reading that's a common issue with these trucks)
- I'm sure the coolant & vacuum hoses and timing belt are about to fall apart so those will need to be replaced as well

Now I have never tried to get a vehicle running after sitting for so long and these are just things that first come to my head. If anyone more familiar with these trucks has any additional tips or items to add to my list for getting one of these running again, especially with an engine that's sat for so long, it would be greatly appreciated. Now let's hope I can get this engine to start up, and I can get a truck project started.

 

Start slow when turning the engine over. Since you'll have the plugs out and the valve covers off, use that opportunity to squirt oil into the cylinders and all over the valve mechanism. Turn the engine over slowly by hand with a wrench on the crank bolt. Make sure it turns freely before ever engaging the starter.

There are techniques for pressurizing the oil system externally, using the oil pressure port, but I don't know exactly what equipment that takes. Otherwise, once you have the engine freed up, use the starter to spin it without spark plugs installed until you see the oil pressure come up.

Others may chime in with more/better ideas.

 

Once you get it turning well as RJR describes, you might consider some diagnosis before you start throwing parts. Just because someone says "it needs a new fuel pump," doesn't mean that it does. Gaskets aren't a "service item," so if you don't have a leak you don't have to replace them (the service interval on the timing belt is 96k miles, and it will strand you if it breaks, so replacing that is worth doing.) Same with the hoses; those aren't hard to replace, so you could replace only those that feel "hard" to the touch.

You always have a very small chance of something big going very wrong. If you had water in the crankcase, you could have very rusted bearing journals. So I'd try to get it running first (DO replace the gas). It would be no fun to replace all those items, and then find out the engine cannot be economically saved.

 

If the belts and hoses are that bad off, replacement is a very good idea!

Make sure you check the small coolant hoses under the throttle body, feeding the various items on the intake and throttle body. Popping one of those on the highway is a bad thing, and very frustrating. If you're going to replace the throttle body gasket, or the intake plenum gasket, while you've got them off, check all the small coolant hoses.

Same with the heater hoses. It's a real bummer to suddenly be sitting in the cab, with you feet soaked in coolant! Meanwhile, the engine temp is climbing...
Be aware, if you lose a coolant hose, and are dumping coolant, the temperature gauge is no longer of use. It reads the coolant temp, so, no coolant, no temp gauge!

When you flush the coolant, and if you're going to, flush it a few times with just distilled water before refilling the system. Check the thermostat's operation on the stove, or replace it with a new one. A Toyota OEM, not a Napa cheapie (example!).
Once you've got it refilled, make sure you burp it thoroughly. There are a lot of nooks and crannies all through the system that can hold an air bubble, and release it once things get running, and warmed up. Now suddenly, the radiator is low on coolant. Park it nose high on a hill, or maintenance ramps, so that the radiator's filler neck is the high point in the system. Make sure the heater control is set to full hot, to get any air out of the heater core. This will allow any air that bubbles out a way to go out of the system. Leave the radiator cap on, loosely. This will allow any overflow to go into the recovery tank. I usually let it run 20-30 minutes, making sure it's good and warm, and any air that's going to, has bubbled out. Then, wearing a heavy glove, tighten the radiator cap down properly, shut off the engine, and let everything cool down completely. Then, check the level in the radiator, and the recovery tank. They will both, probably, need fluid.
Burping the system

When you replace the battery, make sure the terminal connections are clean and shiney. Not just the terminals ON the battery, but the connectors on the wiring. Make sure there's no battery acid damage down inside the wire's insulation. Both the big cables, like going to the starter, or the ground cables, or the smaller wires, like the fusible link going to the fuse box, etc.
If the acid damage is bad enough, you might need to replace the cables/wires. Battery acid can get down inside the insulation of wire, and corrode the wires inside, with no evidence on the outside of the insulation. A little baking soda and water can be a really useful thing to have. You might need to do some hard scrubbing with it, depending on how well the PO maintained these things.
Check all the ground points. There are four or five. It's easy to have a broken ground connection, and not notice it until you give it a little tug.

And, of course, all the things the others mentioned!
Pat☺

 

Thanks everyone, this is all very helpful.

 

Last month I helped a friend resurrect his 1988 22RE motor home. The fuel pump had given out and it sat for years. The biggest issue as a result from the sitting was the rust in the tank where it was exposed to air. The lower part of the tank that was covered with gas was ok, the upper part, not so good. The fuel pump bracket took a beating as did the fuel sending unit.

 

My advice is simple, though applies more when it’s a carbureted car...have a fire extinguisher nearby.