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Losing my mind trying to post a photo from my ipad today...every time i try to upload the photo it bounces me out at a previous page in this thread!
Anyway, i decided to pull the oil pan and take a look at #3 rod bearing. Cyl#3 had been making noise anytime ambient temp was about 40F or below on cold starts. Pulling the plug wire made the noise stop.
The bearings appear to be original, std size and have 190k on them. #3 did not look as bad as i had feared. It shows wear and a scratch. The crank journal looks fine and smooth. So if this rod bearing doesn’t cure the noise, i’ll chalk it up to piston slap and wait for a complete lower end rebuild. I had a Corolla with 275k on the engine and similar symptoms. Never got to the bottom of it.
what i know about the engine in this truck:
-believed to be original with original lower end, 190k miles.
-po had a head gasket and timing chain with metal guides put on about 10k miles ago.
-appears to be factory head. I think it had a valve job.
-somebody used blue rtv for the oil pan gasket so i know they had been in there.
-compression not great, 140-120 #4 is the lowest.
-i found some small pieces of black plastic in the oil pan sump, believed to be from the timing chain guides. No metal.
-rear main seal leaks, burns/leaks a quart of oil every 1k miles.
-overall runs good, gets 22 mpg highway in summer, but i dream about how much better it would be with a full rebuild.
hopefully this bearing takes care of it for now. Maybe a rebuild next winter. I hate for it to be down during the summer months. Should be able to take some measurements, put it back together and get it running Tuesday.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 02-15-2020 at 03:03 AM.
So here’s a look at the suspect bearing. The lower half had a scratch and the upper half showed wear on the sides but not as bad as i had expected.
i checked the oil clearance using plastigauge and it was still within spec. I installed the new bearing, checked it, and it measured very close to the same. I put it back together using some assembly lube and put the oil pan back on using blue rtv. All went pretty well.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 02-22-2020 at 03:06 PM.
After letting the rtv dry for a few hours I started the truck and listened for strange noises and looked for oil leaks. None noticed so i took it up the street for a test drive and all seemed ok. Friday, weather was clear and sunny so i decided to take it to work on the 50 mile commute. It ran fine and no leaks but the noise when the engine is cold still seems to be there which makes me lean more toward believing its a wrist pin, not the bearing. I’ve decided it can go on making noise when cold for this year. Next winter i’ll pull and rebuild the bottom end and address the rear main seal leak, radiator leaks and clutch all at once.
After letting the rtv dry for a few hours I started the truck and listened for strange noises and looked for oil leaks. None noticed so i took it up the street for a test drive and all seemed ok. Friday, weather was clear and sunny so i decided to take it to work on the 50 mile commute. It ran fine and no leaks but the noise when the engine is cold still seems to be there which makes me lean more toward believing its a wrist pin, not the bearing. I’ve decided it can go on making noise when cold for this year. Next winter i’ll pull and rebuild the bottom end and address the rear main seal leak, radiator leaks and clutch all at once.
sounds like you have a good base for a rebuild! Could be real easy. Ours was already rebuilt in the past that's why I never considered rebuilding the engine that came with the truck . I do know it has never been decked before and maybe the block was in better shape than I thought. Anyhow if you want help with that in the future let me know I could share my limited experience 😉 run some 20 w 50 in it this summer. it'll quiet it down a bit. My first VW engine build the small end rod bearing failed right away on me and we drove about 1500 miles that way.
sounds like you have a good base for a rebuild! Could be real easy. Ours was already rebuilt in the past that's why I never considered rebuilding the engine that came with the truck . I do know it has never been decked before and maybe the block was in better shape than I thought. Anyhow if you want help with that in the future let me know I could share my limited experience 😉 run some 20 w 50 in it this summer. it'll quiet it down a bit. My first VW engine build the small end rod bearing failed right away on me and we drove about 1500 miles that way.
Thanks for that. I have 10w-30 in it right now. Will try 20w-50 next oil change.
After driving around with my son yesterday afternoon, i decided to use a cheap endoscope camera i got for Xmas and my ipad to try and look in the cylinders but it was mostly futile because the camera focal distance is about 6 inches. So while i had the plugs out and the engine was still hot i ran a compression test. It verified earlier tests that i had done.
#1 149
#2 130
#3 140
#4 110
Blasting a bunch of wd-40 in to #4 didn’t change anything.
I ran a vacuum gauge test on the engine and it pulls 19” steady but when opening the throttle quickly and releasing it, it drops to zero and overshoots to about 23 which by diagnostic charts indicates bad rings. I wonder if #4 has a broken compression ring?
I believe the original head got a valve job when the previous owner lost the head gasket but will check all that out when it’s apart. So basically, it needs a bottom end rebuild, maybe an overbore.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 02-24-2020 at 03:33 AM.
Weather has been good and the roads are free of snow and salt so i drove the 4runner about 200 miles over the last week.
My son and I had it out Sunday for a drive along the Massachusetts coastline, stopping at Marblehead point for a photo and look around.
I can’t wait to get that hard top off for the summer!
Looking sharp! Nice little trip. It's hard to believe it's March, haven't seen such a warm March since 98. I was soooo tempted to take the top off the other day but just wasn't ready to do that yet
Looking sharp! Nice little trip. It's hard to believe it's March, haven't seen such a warm March since 98. I was soooo tempted to take the top off the other day but just wasn't ready to do that yet
I need it to be a bit warmer to get back to buffing paint, applying a pin stripe and doing a little more bodywork on the rear corner. After that, TOP OFF and beach bound to MV this summer! I rented a house in July and may finally get to drive on the beach!
Hey!
I saw your said you got the right rag joint, did it make any difference in the steering?
Looking great!
hey Magnet, yes it made a big difference in the play on the input side of the steering system. I’ve changed them On other cars with similar results. In my case i would still like to rebuild my steering box because that is the only part left that could have play and is leaking. Oh, i just remembered at a recent state safety inspection the tech said my passenger side wheel bearing was borderline...will have to look into that. I had changed the drivers side.
Working from home this week but my wife needed fresh air and sunshine so we took a drive up the coast in the 4runner today. Before we left, I installed the new cupholder i bought off ebay. Gotta say, i was a bit disappointed in the way it held the two things i most commonly drink, a coke can and a water bottle. I showed it to my son and we brainstormed on it and he actually came up with the idea to fix a piece of tire tube in there to hold the drink from wobbling around.
Rubber membrane stops cans from moving around.
I used a small piece of vacuum hose as a spacer on each.mounting screw.
Wife gave it a stress test with giant Yeti mug. It passed.
Saw this shop with about 50 little British cars near Portsmouth NH. Everyone knows they multiply.
Saw this stealth ship in Portsmouth, NH. I was yelling, “get a photo of that!!” as we drove by. For the real story on this monster just google Ghost Portsmouth NH.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 03-21-2020 at 06:39 PM.
Hey any information on rebuilding the steering box that your hoping to use ? I looked in to it and looks similar to the pump. Mine isn't leaking currently but you should check the rubber return line also. Mine doesn't look like it's going to hold up much longer but I'll watch it for now. As of writing this, this is the first time the 4 runner isn't marking it's spot in the driveway!
Hey any information on rebuilding the steering box that your hoping to use ? I looked in to it and looks similar to the pump. Mine isn't leaking currently but you should check the rubber return line also. Mine doesn't look like it's going to hold up much longer but I'll watch it for now. As of writing this, this is the first time the 4 runner isn't marking it's spot in the driveway!
No, ive got my steering box leak on ”ignore”. The box i was planning to rebuild is the original off the truck. The one on the truck is a Craigslist deal that was supposed to be low mileage. I think its lower than my original but not exactly as it was sold to me. My lines look good and i have changed the pump oring and hose on the return line and cleaned out the reservoir at that time. Ive watched a bunch of videos on rebuilding the steering box but i still don’t know if its going to be worth all the work in my case so that's why it’s back burnered.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 04-09-2020 at 08:47 AM.
sounds like you have a good base for a rebuild! Could be real easy. Ours was already rebuilt in the past that's why I never considered rebuilding the engine that came with the truck . I do know it has never been decked before and maybe the block was in better shape than I thought. Anyhow if you want help with that in the future let me know I could share my limited experience 😉 run some 20 w 50 in it this summer. it'll quiet it down a bit. My first VW engine build the small end rod bearing failed right away on me and we drove about 1500 miles that way.
that happened in the rebuild of the flat-six in my ‘48 dodge, except it was the big end. drove it with a bad rod bearing for 6 years and 4000 miles. blew the rod out the side of the block at the end of 2017.
I spent the afternoon with a carpet cleaner borrowed from my neighbor and while we had the seats out of the truck, i had my son disassemble, wash and paint the console.
I used the same SEM graphite interior dye i had used on the rear panels and SEM Trim black. This paint is expensive but worth every cent.i believe it is the best paint on the planet Earth.
When i put the console back in the rear window switch suddenly stopped working. I took it back out, Tested it, juiced the heck out of it with contact cleaner and after much frustration, i realized it wasn’t the window switch, or the lock switch that was the problem. I had the wiper switch in the ON position.
Stupid wiper switch fooled me.
Love that dirty water...
Hey, Rey? I’m gonna need that seat back now...
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 03-28-2020 at 06:38 PM.
Here’s the carpet after. It's no longer gross to the touch. Much better.
It irks me that i paid $50-something dollars for this cupholder that i had to modify to actually meet expectations but at the same time, it’s well worth it proving itself on the lightning run to Chik-Fil-A for yesterday’s lunch. Now i just have to finish reupholstering the passenger Sr5 seat and we’ll be ready to put the soft top back on!
Smells nice, too.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 03-28-2020 at 06:48 PM.
01-31-2020, 12:10 PM
