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Is it just me or do the lifters near the firewall almost always sound a little louder than the front ones when using a screw driver as a stethoscope, on the valve cover nuts?
Yes, they usually do.
Are you using the screwdriver and just your ear? If you put on a pair of ear protecting, sound deadening, headsets, you'll be able to hear much easier what's going on. We used to call them "mickey-mouse ears", when I was in the military. Readily available at most hardware stores, or gun stores.
Best thing, though, is to get a mechanic's stethoscope at Harbor Freight, or many auto parts stores. They're really, pretty cheap. They allow you to get much more precise on exactly where a problem is, and more exactly what the sound is you're chasing. They also block out a lot of external noise that can interfere with what you need to hear. So do the mickey-mouse ears, though
Have you pulled off the valve cover, and checked the valve lash with a feeler gauge? It might help you actually SEE what's really going on.
Bear in mind, you'll need a gasket set for the valve cover when you go to put it back on, so get one before you start. A complete set, the valve cover gasket, the half-moons, and the gaskets for the bolts, are all included. Last time I got one, from Fel-Pro, it was like $17.00. If you don't put on new gaskets, you'll more than likely have oil leaks.
These trucks don't use lifters, BTW. Overhead cam. Lifts the valves directly with lobes on the cam-shaft. Just thought you should know...
Correct torque on the valve cover is key as well. If the rubber washer/grommets are blown out it will cause issues too. The rockers can come into contact with the valve cover if over torqued.
I understand completely. I had a 78 Chevy Vega before I got my first 4WD truck. A 80 Chevy Luv, I got in 84. Which is really an Isuzu Trooper II with a different body. I had never had a 4WD before, and I took it out offroading the day I bought it. Drove it out onto a sand bar on the Colorado River, and buried it up to the axles. I had to walk across the river to get home, and call a tow truck. Before cell phones. Not even those ones in a bag, let alone the huge bricks. The river almost came up to my thighs at it's deepest point.
I had a heck of a time getting used to not setting the points once a week, setting the timing and idle at the same time. Things like that.
Then, in 88 I got my pickup, and in 90 I got the 4Runner, and I haven't looked back. I still drive my two trucks. Or I would drive them both, if the 4Runner's inside fuse box hadn't caught fire. But it'll be back on the road before you can say Jack Holmes. He the guy working on it.
I love it!!! Thanks for sharing, sounds like quite the adventure
still driving this old thing too...it's my hunting wagon, if you bury it your gonna need a tractor to get you out
1985 k10 400 small block
Last edited by 87-4runner; 01-06-2021 at 01:32 PM.
Have you pulled off the valve cover, and checked the valve lash with a feeler gauge? It might help you actually SEE what's really going on.
Bear in mind, you'll need a gasket set for the valve cover when you go to put it back on, so get one before you start. A complete set, the valve cover gasket, the half-moons, and the gaskets for the bolts, are all included. Last time I got one, from Fel-Pro, it was like $17.00. If you don't put on new gaskets, you'll more than likely have oil leaks.
i do disagree on the cover gaskets, and acorn gaskets. but, i purchase them from toyota, rather than aftermarket options. i am able to reuse them numerous times without leakage, meaning pulling the cover at least 6 to 8 times before replacement. no leaks, at all. that's primarily to check the valve lash at 25 to 35K, but a few other things, too.
i do disagree on the cover gaskets, and acorn gaskets. but, i purchase them from toyota, rather than aftermarket options. i am able to reuse them numerous times without leakage, meaning pulling the cover at least 6 to 8 times before replacement. no leaks, at all. that's primarily to check the valve lash at 25 to 35K, but a few other things, too.
I believe you.
I may overdo the gasket thing. I've just found it works better for me to replace gaskets when I pull anything. Valve cover, whatever. I have a personal policy: If it has a gasket, replace it.
The valve cover is probably exception, but it's just my personal policy. It's served me well so far. Overdone? Probably. But hey, it's just me.
If his valve cover gasket is old, though...
01-06-2021, 10:35 AM
