Prepare for rant....

I'll try to not go to go to far off topic, but it was the Midas right near me. Spelled M I D A S. I figured a national chain, "muffler experts" and close enough to the house so I could drive there with my freshly installed open Downey headers at 7:30 in the morning. Plus they have all the experience, tubing benders, welding equipment, lifts... yada yada yada.

I have never been so wrong.

Their overall "design"... for lack of a better word. I told them I wanted it tight to the frame for running trails. I don't have a pic, but it was way lower than my frame rails when they where finished.:



Super rad tailpipe. I think the bling tip was a gimme. Sweeeeeeeeeeet.



Some of the welds.:





The Midas version of reusing the O2 sensor bung. Why would someone go to all the trouble to install headers and run 2.5" back just to have it bottleneck like this...?



You can see all the exhaust leaks. I only ran it for three weeks and then cut it all out to redo it myself. There was maybe 3 or 4 more sections welded that poorly.

When I took all the parts back up to the shop to complain and get a refund, they told me that was a no go because they didn't have a chance to fix the leaks. Thing is, you couldn't see the leaks until the system was cut out to look at the tops. Their explanation was... ."it's hard to fully weld the pipes on the vehicle". MIDAS SUCKS... at least this one does.

Should have gone to a little guy, a guy who cares... but didn't have the ability to drive the 4Runner very far without exhaust and didn't wish to incur the extra expense of towing it somewhere. In retrospect, that was a costly mistake. Live and learn.

So... that's why I do all my own exhaust at this point. I figure even if my welds aren't the best and I have a few 'odd" curves, I am still in pretty good shape.

 

Hmmm... after my rant I started thinking... maybe you were referring to the harsh "bend" at my 3.0 PS pipe being "rediculous". If so, you are still right, but that was me who did that.

 

Oh that's funny, LOL

 

lol sorry but that is pretty funny. Thats ok your new system looks much better That shop needs to fire the idiot who welded that. My first welds ever was building an exhaust for my chevy 1500 and they dominated compared to those Midas welds. Ive had problems with them aswell but nothing like that

 

Yes... does seem I missed the original critique. But feels good to get that whole Midas thing off my chest.

And how dare anyone say my work is "rediculous".

 

haha well sorry it kinda was but your work has much since aproved We all have stories like that Midas one and it feels great to get it off your chest. I think if the work is that bad and they dont fix it then flaming them on a site like this is pretty much in order.

Not to Steel from your thread but i think i found my issue with why my runner is running rich. I had a bad circuit opening relay so i orderd a new one from toyota and it came today. im out of light and need to charge the battery but hopefully tomorrow i can turn the key again and have power and hopefuly make a drive around the block Hopefully you can too tomorrow

 

I agree. I think me turning the key is unlikely even though that is my hope. Lot's of little loose ends to tie up. Probably will be frustrated and loose a lot of time finding the correct hoses as well.

But... let's hope for the best. Here's to your circuit relay fixing the problem, and here's to all the stuff I have done actually being correct.

 

Cheers back to you and good luck with it and all the loose ends

 

So i spoke to soon and cheered too early as far as mine goes The new relay didnt change anything im still flooded and the gas is getting to my head. Im at a loss with mine and getting prety fed up with it. Not to scare you with my poor fortune and i wish you all the luck with yours. BTW you get to turn the key today?

 

Got a fair amount done today. Found coolant lines and ran all those. Went into NAPA with some wire I bent into the shape of the lines I needed as was greeted by a very unenthusiastic counter person. The idea of him searching through hundreds of hoses hanging on the wall with a wire model in his hand for reference seemed to not inspire him. Instead, he kept asking me what vehicle I needed the hoses for.

Luckily, I convinced him just to let me look for a while. Found these, they worked great.



Orange lines show where I cut them, if at all. I think they may fit better than the lines I had on the 3.0.

Re-installed the hood and checked for clearance. No go... as expected, but not by much.

Bracing removed... still won't fit. I'll probably start opening up the hood tomorrow :



World peace through 3.4 swaps....?



Got most of the electrical lines run today as well. Really close to getting this thing fired up. My goal of by this weekend actually seems in reach if the weather holds.

Tips:

Leave your hood off as long as possible. Makes access to the rear coolant and fuel lines much easier. Luckily, I actually thought of this ahead of time, and didn't have to learn the hard way.

The starter relay plug is attached to a harness that comes from the tranny area. It's easy to loose track of this necessary plug. So, hold on to even the most "useless" bits of 3.0 wiring until the end.

 

Posted before I saw your news. That's to bad. If mine actually starts, maybe we can work out what is wrong with yours.

I'd try to help you now, but if mine doesn't run... you don't want my advice.

 

During my work today, I upgraded the supply line from the battery to factory fuse box. I had done the "Big 3" wiring upgrade before, but now with the battery being moved to the DS that 12V wire from the battery was very short.

While at NAPA, I asked for a length of wire... but misspoke and instead of asking for 6GA I asked for 4GA. I could tell right away what I had done when this very thick wire was handed to me, but since it was cut and my fault, I just went with it.

Actually, this mistake worked out very well.

I wont go in to to much detail. A search for the "Big 3 Upgrade" will get plenty of information. Just show how I got a 4GA wire to fit in the box.

This is a pic of the fuse box with bottom lid off. Taken from underneath, and shows my previously upgraded wire. I removed a small portion of the fuse box to increase access:



It was at this point I realized I could have the 4GA wire exit the side of the box instead of the factory location, as there was nothing but empty space right next to the connection.

So, I ground the box a little with the handy Dremel:



You can see my 4GA wire in place at this point. I had to take a little off the lid as well, and happened to have a perfect sized grommet I bought sometime ago for who knows what.

Shot from above showing new exit strategy. Hmmm... where have I heard that term before...



And the finished product:



I'll now secure this line and fuse it at the battery end. Pretty happy with how this turned out.

 

Yeah those guys can't take a piss without year, make and model.

 

Haha ya Napa sells good stuff if you ask for it they usualy have it at a good price but so true they take so long. Aspecialy at the Renton Store here in WA its the biggest one in the state and has a huge crew yet you have to pull a ticket like at the DMV and ive stood in line with one person in front of me for so long its not even funny.

As for my problems it sucks royaly and i cant figure it out so if i dont ill sell the motor which is good (it has to be wiring or a sensor)and do the 4.3 instead. Ive spent way to much trying to make this work that if i dont find out by the end of this week its either sell or destoy I dont want to but it may have to happen. Im sure youll get yours running mine is a fluke on why its a POS

Sorry about my problems but yours is looking great

 

Well... getting really close... but have an issue.

I tried to start it today, and it fired beautifully!! But then when I released the key, it died immediately. My instant and magnificent glory shattered before I had time to appreciate it. Oh the humanity.

When the key is at IG2 position, I have 12v at the igniter, MAF, diagnostic port (B+)and ECM (+B). Most likely elsewhere, but that's all I checked. I still have the O2 after the cat disconnected as well as the EVAP VSV’s… but don’t see why that would make a difference.

As I said, when I turn the key to ST1 position (start), the engine fires right away... then dies as soon as the key returns to the IG2 position. I have tried to give it gas, no change. Have tried to start 12 or so times and always the same.

Sounds like it runs fine for that second or so. In fact, sounds really good. Very strong, unstrained. Puts out exhaust as well. I pulled the front cover and double checked the timing marks... they all line up.

My guess is that I have wired something incorrectly between the ECM and '90 body harness. This "something" would most likely keep the ECM going after the key returns to the IG2 position. It's like the ECM just shuts off after the key drops back to IG2.

Any guesses? I am a little confused as to the operation of the circuit opening relay and am leaning towards the connects between my '96 ECM and the '90 relay being the culprit.

Here is a couple pics of the "finished" install:





At least it looks good.

 

It looks real good Do this pull the spark plugs and see if theres gas covering them. Thats my problem. If i let mine sit for a bit and fire it up it does pretty much the same thing. It comes right to life and sounds real good. I does kinda spike in power then just like you when i release the key after start it dies within 1 to 2 seconds if that. Check the plugs for gas cause if thats whats killing it we may both have the same issue

 

The circuit opening relay contols the Fuel pump and FC on the ECM.

 

Also check all your grounds to the motor

 

Actually, I am looking through all the FSM's I have right now as I truly think it's one of the 11 or so wires I transfered from the '90 to the '96 ECM causing the problem.

I think I have my fuel control crossed up.... I'll obviously post up with the results and check the spark plugs if I can't resolve any wiring issues.

 

Steve - looks really good. Sorry I don't have any suggestions for your current issue. Hope you get it sorted out soon and I'll see you at Martinez next weekend.

PS: time to update your sig line!