My Own Buildup...

[Nikon Samurai]

Alright, so after reading some of the other buildups that have been going on I've been inspired to finish my own project.

I took the engine out of my '86 P/U 9 months ago after the timing chain guides gave way and the chain ate through the water pump housing, spilling coolant into my oil.

To begin with, my tiny garage has been a mess, and the engine has been laying on its side with the clutch still attached and all.

So after cleaning up the garage and setting up the engine stand, I set to removing the clutch. After encountering some problems with the 17mm bolts between the flywheel and engine block, I decided to tackle removing the oil pan and getting the crankshaft ready to take out.

(Yes, thats oil/coolant sludge in pools under the crankshaft :barf: )

Any tips on how to get those 17mms off? I can't seem to keep the engine from turning over when I try to undo them, and if I brace the engine I don't seem to be able to apply enough force.

Anyway, thats as much progress as I've made for tonight, after getting the engine rebuild finished I think the scariest part will be putting it all back together... I have god knows how many random bolts and parts laying around

But I guess at the end of the day, all that really matters is I'm one step closer to climbing back into my baby...

NS

 

[WristPin]

watch out for those two pelicans on your roll bar!

 

[EVILSPOTTER]

If you don't have access to air tools then the flywheel bolts can be difficult. Cut two wooden blocks that will fit between #2 & #3 rod journal & the side of the block, soft cheap wood like white pine. These will prevent crank rotation. Have a plus sized friend stand on your engine block. Now if your friend is big enough everything should be immobile.

 

[Nikon Samurai]

Alright, progress today!

The suggestion to use wood to brace the crankshaft from moving was brilliant, worked perfectly, though I broke one of my [cheap] 3/8ths wrenches on those bolts, since I can't seem to find my 17mm 1/2'' socket.

Now the block is all ready to be cleaned and possibly bored... not sure what exactly I'm going to do with it. To be honest I was quite pleased with the power I had before.

I've decided to try to keep things semi-organized, even if I don't use those pistons.

Yee olde crankshaft

Here's what the garage looks like now..

... and some sauce...

Now to decide exactly what I should replace.... thoughts on that guys?

Should I just have the block cleaned and re-honed? Should I just get my crank honed and get new bearings/etc? New pistons or just new rings?

Like I said, I was happy with [probably less than] stock horsepower and torque, and I don't plan on using bigger tires than 31'', since I run IFS.

NS

 

[liljlandon]

The way I would look at it is, if a stock IFS has been known to hold up to 35's (bigger in some cases) and you plan to run 31's I would definately make a 22r stroker. It will hold up to the power fine, and youll still get pretty good gas mileage!

 

[Hilux]

P&P the head...

cams are cheap, and if you can't get it in the RPM range you want use an adjustable cam gear from LCE.


EFI from ORS would kill! and give your engine longer life as well as give you more MPG. (don't use a carb cam on an EFI though)

I would not put plastic TC guides back in it.

Are the guides plastic?

If so, how proficient at light fabrication are you?

As long as the chain has not put a hole into the cover it will be fine. Just put some REAL guides back into it.


Read this post

And this thread but go down a little then it starts

I'd say a vise, a hacksaw and some determination would end the plastic guides going back into my truck. I have never seen the plastic guide on the slack side break so at the very least get the tension side. They always break.

I see multiple trips to Harbor Freight in your future...

 

[Hilux]

Should I just have the block cleaned and re-honed? Should I just get my crank honed and get new bearings/etc? New pistons or just new rings?

The machine shop will mike all the journals in your engine and tell you what is best. As a rule I would not just willy nilly go boring. That's that much more you have to pay for, and that much more it will be over bored in the event you want to rebuild it again.


How was it doing before the tear down?

Ran good? Then I'd run a hone down it and re-ring it. If you get a precision gauge set you can mike it yourself.


Knocked and rattled? Then she'd go to the shop.



See FSM on redoing the block and head. If she used allot of oil then it's possible vale seals were the reason,,,pretty common on Toytas

FSM:
Toyota Tacoma 4Runner/ FJ Cruiser FSM Page

 

[Nikon Samurai]

Hey, thanks for all the tips Hilux

To start with, I'm not sure what you mean by P&P the head? Mine is warped and I've figured it might be cheaper to buy a new one than fix my old one...

As for EFI vs my carb, really I'd be fine putting the old carb and everything back on it. Before rebuild I was getting 19 mpg every day, engine ran great etc and was at 300k miles before rebuild time. I was happy with the stock torque peak (2800 RPMs) and boy did that thing chug wonderfully there

As for the chain guides... thats something I'll need to order, presumably from engnbldr.com, their kit is $88 for steel guides. Unfortunately I don't have the machinery or skills (yet) to do any machine work or welding for that matter

I guess I should add that the only reason I'm doing a rebuild instead of just replacing the chain guides and cover is that I was told the engine bearings were probably tarnished and ruined.... upon pulling the pistons etc out they look fine to me :l

Anywho, thanks for the advice!! Any local guys want to recommend a good machine shop? There's one right down the hill from me (@ Orchard and Chinden) that I've popped in a few times and they've done 22Rs before, I was thinking of going with them.



NS

 

[Hilux]

Hey, thanks for all the tips Hilux

To start with, I'm not sure what you mean by P&P the head?

P&P, port and polish. You'll have to get it done and it will cost you. But like a BUNCH of other things it is an option.

I don't know if it is beneficial to mpg and power but as I have read it comes highly regarded.

As for EFI vs my carb, really I'd be fine putting the old carb and everything back on it. Before rebuild I was getting 19 mpg every day, engine ran great etc and was at 300k miles before rebuild time. I was happy with the stock torque peak (2800 RPMs) and boy did that thing chug wonderfully there

Stock, and carb is fine. Just know it's a dieing thing and one day just finding a carb may be a problem. And you'll only pic up a few MPGs so it's really just another option.

As for the chain guides... thats something I'll need to order, presumably from engnbldr.com, their kit is $88 for steel guides. Unfortunately I don't have the machinery or skills (yet) to do any machine work or welding for that matter

I know for a fact, if you plan on using the premium Fel-Pro gasket that is IIRC solid(not like fiber board) and wide, the only thing you will have to do is waller out one hole(with a chainsaw file) and trimm off enough for them to fit under the TC cover(with a hack saw).

 

[Nikon Samurai]

P&P, port and polish. You'll have to get it done and it will cost you. But like a BUNCH of other things it is an option.

I don't know if it is beneficial to mpg and power but as I have read it comes highly regarded.

Argh, yeah, I realized what p&p meant when I was in the shower
I think I may just buy a new, built head, since mine's warped

Stock, and carb is fine. Just know it's a dieing thing and one day just finding a carb may be a problem. And you'll only pic up a few MPGs so it's really just another option.

True enough, I guess I just prefer the all-mechanical nature of a carb

I know for a fact, if you plan on using the premium Fel-Pro gasket that is IIRC solid(not like fiber board) and wide, the only thing you will have to do is waller out one hole(with a chainsaw file) and trimm off enough for them to fit under the TC cover(with a hack saw).

Ahh, I misunderstood. Good idea on picking up the 20R TC guides

Since you seem to have experience with this, where should I get a gasket kit and piston ring + crank bearing etc kit from?

 

[KLF]

First, you should start shopping craigslist for an engine stand and air tools. I can't imagine rebuilding an engine without it being on a stand, that would really suck. It's a good way to hurt yourself. Make sure to get one that has 4 casters, the 3-caster models tip over too easily.

A warped head is no big deal. You can have at least 0.020" (20 thousandths) milled off before it starts to effect the cam timing. Call around, it should be less than $100 to have this done.

The engnbldr cam set is OK, but the kit only includes one metal guide, the driver's side. The other one is plastic. I really think it's worth the extra $$$ to get the DOA metal guides. And I personally would ONLY use an OEM chain tensioner. It's kinda important.

Off topic: Please don't take this the wrong way, but IMO you should try to learn how to use depth-of-field better with that camera. Take it out of Full Auto mode and play with it. I love my trusty old D70, but I hardly ever use the Auto modes anymore.

 

[Nikon Samurai]

Off topic: Please don't take this the wrong way, but IMO you should try to learn how to use depth-of-field better with that camera. Take it out of Full Auto mode and play with it. I love my trusty old D70, but I hardly ever use the Auto modes anymore.

Heh, actually I've been working with the new 50mm f/1.8 I got recently, usually shooting @ f/2.8 (all of those are @ f/2.8 intentionally), which gives a crazy thin DOF. On top of that, it doesn't autofocus on my D60 (not a problem for me anymore), but more importantly the lighting in there is horrible and its not worth setting up a tripod to get properly exposed shots, so using a big ol' aperture gives less blur when hand-holding in crap light. Really I just wanted some quick pics to post up.

Oh, and 75mm true focal distance is a pain to work into a tiny garage

I'll probably just use my Sony H3 for more pictures to appease you whiners!

EDIT: Oh, and I never use auto mode, 80% is in aperture priority either with my 50mm so I can use that thin DOF, and my other lenses are sharpest @ f/8-f/11, so I like to keep them there. I'll pop it into manual for other times to get proper exposure on artsy ****

NS

 

[dstire69]

Just my opinion, but if you machine your old head go ahead and port it but I wouldn't waste the money to have them polish it too. If you put it on a flowbench you will not get any more flow from a polished head compared to unpolished.

 

[Nikon Samurai]

Alright, update time; mostly questions.

I have made almost zero progress on my engine in the last 6+ months. I am stuck at the funding level... and am now looking for alternatives.

What I NEED:

Piston rings
Engine Bearings
Timing Chain Guides + New Cover (unless you guys feel that my JB Weld job will hold)
Replacement for my Head.

Where would you guys recommend getting the piston rings, bearings, and TCGs from?

As far as the head goes, I was going to get one from engbldr.com, but $500 is too much for me to swing for a new head. My old head is warped, but could I pull the cam + valves etc out of it and put it into a non-warped shell? Where should I get a new head shell? What other options are there for relatively cheap rebuilt heads?

My main goal is just to be able to drive the truck again... it was reliable before and got me 20mpg, and if in the future I feel I need a brand new head, the replacement will be no problem compared to this rebuild.

Thanks for your help guys

 

["N8"]

Do yourself a favor and get a set of feeler gauges. I know you can get em from harbor freight for like 7 dollars =P or just run down to your local auto parts store, should be just as cheap.

Then get a good straight edge, like a nice level that hasn't been abused or a brand new framing square. and test how much your head is warped by placing the straight edge around the perimeter of the block and cross wise (i.e. the diagonals) and stick various feeler gauges till it tells you how far out the head is. if its not too bad like Ken said you can just have it smoothed again for cheap money. If you search around you might be able to find a guy to do it for 50$ or something.

I personally always just get the stock tc guides, but I do trust klf on these topics and if he says get the doa guides you might consider just saving your pennies and get em from doa.

Rings and bearings your probably gonna have to get from toyota. But if you can find em after market (probably the rings) then you should be able to get a better price than toyota.

Good luck man

p.s. I like the toyota special service bag full of grass clippings tool you got next to your block!

 

[Nikon Samurai]

Alright, I will definitely do that. The only thing that worries me is that I cannot turn my cam shaft when it is bolted to the head, so I'm not sure if that resistance would cost me horsepower as well as greatly increase the wear on the cam + head. I took the cam off yesterday and after I loosened the bolts on the front-most section that holds the cam in place it was able to turn easily.

 

[KLF]

First, there is NO WAY I would trust a builder's level or framing square, no matter how new it is, to be flat and straight enough to check a head for flatness. You need a machinist's straightedge, it is a thick piece of metal with no markings on it but ground absolutely flat and straight on one edge. I have one that is 36" long, I think it was around $50-60 when I bought it. I thought it was gonna be a waste of money when I bought it, but I've since used it many times.

If you don't want to buy the straightedge (understandable) then just take it to a decent machine shop, have them check it and render an opinion if it can be shaved flat.

You should absolutely be able to spin your cam by hand easily when the bearing caps are properly torqued down. If not, then something is out of alignment. Again, a machine shop can probably fix this, but it involves using a line boring machine.

 

["N8"]

ya ken admittedly I was thinking of items to use that would be on the cheap.

But a while ago I did take a bunch of items like that and threw them on the mill and measured deflection with a dial indicator and remember being surprised how straight the stuff was. (just remember that it was good enough for a deck hight estimate don't remember exactly what the deflection of any of the stuff was)

but ya, a machinists edge would be an ideal tool =P

 

[Nikon Samurai]

Bumping this as I've now got a good job and will probably be able to finish the rebuild.

Other than engnbldr.com, where would y'all recommend getting new parts (piston rings, timing chain cover, timing chain + guides, etc)? Not looking for 'cheap' parts, but lower price is good..

 

[liljlandon]

I've found that engine shops that rebuild heads, blocks, etc. can get a decent rebuild kit for a really good price. Although, I know people frown on it... Oreillys can get it, and other than their timing chains, i havent had a 'horrific catastrophic' failure.