1978 toyota chinook, 1kz-te powered. fueling/cooling issues (1 Viewer)

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Oct 3, 2019
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Location
Langley, British Columbia, canada
First time poster, i apologize that i do not have a current build thread to share with the community beyond what is shown on my personal instagram. IG handle is my Ih8mud forum user name.

Firstly let me say that the truck in question is a 1976 Toyota pickup(Chinook) that has received a 1kz-te heart transplant and a r151 tranny/tcase behind it. built by Big Country Customs in Abbotsford, British Columbia

After the completion of this build and about 8000 miles i have noted a few areas that need improvements and i am hoping the community can offer some new eyes to existing problems.

1. Cooling issues
I overheat pulling hills or on hot days normal driving
- Running a 2.5" exhaust with free flowing muffler from turbo back (custom dump pipe as well)
- inter-cooled
-Large radiator with two front mounted fans
(my notes of improvement are as follows, remove inter-cooler to increase room behind rad, add rear mount rad fans (no room for mechanical) possibly do hood scoop with top mount inter-cooler. Not a lot of airflow through the front of the truck)

2. rattle/engine miss/intermittent smoking on warmup/ low rev chatter/hesitation
smokes on fire up with evident timing issues, warming up and driving stops this but under decompression or little throttle there is still evident timing issues. under load and in boost no visible issues
-
170km roughly on motor, a/t ECU
- fresh head, new cam
- EGR deleted
- Rebuilt injectors
- fresh valve adjustment
- new glow plugs
(my notes for improvement are as follows, purchasing a mechanical pump(found) changing the truck from an electronic to mechanical 1Kz-T under the impression that my pump is causing my timing issues and Upping boost (to help climb hills and keep airflow up for connected cooling issues) )
IMG_20190225_143738.jpg

43174322_468721256948151_5662259929839304704_n.jpg

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smokes on fire up with evident timing issues,

What colour is the smoke?

under the impression that my pump is causing my timing issues

Could well be, but its a lot of money to spend on an impression. I would seek professional advice if you cant nut it out here.
Electric fans seem to work great on vehicles that had them fitted at the factory, others not so well.
I think you are on the right track removing that intercooler and adding a mechanical fan.
Thing like radiator shrouds can make a big difference.
Is your radiator making pressure?
 
What colour is the smoke?



Could well be, but its a lot of money to spend on an impression. I would seek professional advice if you cant nut it out here.
Electric fans seem to work great on vehicles that had them fitted at the factory, others not so well.
I think you are on the right track removing that intercooler and adding a mechanical fan.
Thing like radiator shrouds can make a big difference.
Is your radiator making pressure?

The colour of the smoke is a blueish white

As far as professional advice goes it was suggested that my pump was the root by ebi cruisers out here but these kz motors are kind of hard to find experts for locally. I wouldn't mind just spending the money and going mechanical regardless. 🤷‍♂️ I could take a Gamble and have it rebuilt but after only finding one shop locally and a pricey quote a new pump isn't too far off. I know my spill valve is questionable at best as it is.
I apologize, I do not have room for a mechanical fan. Block to rad i just can't clear the fan and clutch for factory mechanical. This motor is literally shoe-horned into this engine bay. I will however have room to place my fans on the backside without the intercooler in place.
Originally my new rad cap was a faulty cap from the start but since it has been replace with a new identical cap I do make pressure.
 
but these kz motors are kind of hard to find experts for locally

These are basically the same as a Bosch VW injection pump. Denso make them for Toyota under lic from Bosch. Anyone who can work on VW pumps can probably get these sorted if they have the FSM.
 
First off, that is a really cool truck! Good job on that!

Regarding your cooling issues. Turbo IDI motors run hot when under load. This is a function of the precombustion chambers being surrounded by coolant in the cylinder head. Cooling challenges for 2LTE/1KZTE and turbo 1HZ/2H etc. IDI engines are very common.

Now your engine bay is definitely tight, and that is part of your problem for sure, but I think it is possible to improve things. That is a really nice and large intercooler, but it is loosing efficiency by being behind the radiator. I'd recommend going with a much thinner one and putting it in front of the radiator. It'll be getting cooler air, which will offset the change in thickness. I'd then put your engine cooling fans behind the radiator drawing air instead of pushing it from the front. I think they will flow more air through the radiator this way. Try to space your intercooler as far in front of your rad as possible, so the rad can get cool air from around the intercooler easily. Intercoolers really are needed when under load. When your truck is under load it will be traveling at high way speeds, so the intercooler will naturally be getting some decent air flow (as opposed to putting it really close to the rad with the intention of benefiting from the electric fans).

Are you sure it's not possible to fit a mechanical fan in there? Have you tried one? If it is possible, this would be the best. Mechanical fans can pull a few kw worth of air. You'll never get that much from slim electric fans. There are different fan/hub combos that you can try from different Toyota motors. You'd have to make a custom shroud to make the most of it.

You could also look into getting a thicker custom radiator made.....

What t-stat are you running? Many of us have gone with high-flow t-stats from Tridon in australia. These definitely do help out with the 2lte at least. Running a bit of a cooler t-stat will give you a little more head room also.

Part of this issue is in the right foot also. Even though the 1kzte has the power to fly up hills, you could gear down and take it slower. This will reduce the load on the engine and thus heating system.

OK, now regarding the engine running issues. This is almost the first thing I'd work on if I was you. Why? It's possible it's causing some of your heat issues. I've found over my years of wrenching that it's often good to start by fixing the obvious problems first, and sometimes the other more subtle problems will fix themselves.

Being that your 1KZ has such low mileage, I would not be immediately blaming the motor/injection pump for the issues you're seeing. I'd probably be placing some blame on the wiring/installation/service that was done first. So here are a few thoughts on how to approach this.

Download the injection pump and engine manual if you have not already. Read them carefully so you get to know your engine well. I recently posted the manuals in posts #3 and #4 in this thread: 1KZ-TE Smoking and very poor fuel mileage

Check the engine ECU codes. Hopefully they wired in a check engine light for you somewhere. Pulling the codes is simply jumpering a connection in the diagnostic connector. These codes will tell you if the ECU thinks a given sensor is out. If there are codes (especially injection pump codes), it'll give you some big clues to the problems.

I'd probably be inclined to double check the engine timing; especially that the injection pump is not out by a tooth. A bit of a PITA as you'll have to remove the timing belt cover.

Is it running a Toyota factory glow system? You can use a multi-meter to test that it's working right. In this cool weather you should be getting 11V on the glow rail for about 7 seconds, and then an after glow of 6V or so for probably 30 seconds or more after. This on a cold start of course.

Do you have a boost gauge? How much boost is the motor running? Is the turbo (boost) consistent?

Have you checked compression at any point on the motor?

Is there any documentation for the wiring that was done?

A manual injection pump probably would sort a lot of this out. But it suppose it depends on how much $$ you want to drop.

Can you post a cold start video that shows the exhaust?

Anyhow, that should get you started....
 
First off, that is a really cool truck! Good job on that!

Regarding your cooling issues. Turbo IDI motors run hot when under load. This is a function of the precombustion chambers being surrounded by coolant in the cylinder head. Cooling challenges for 2LTE/1KZTE and turbo 1HZ/2H etc. IDI engines are very common.

Now your engine bay is definitely tight, and that is part of your problem for sure, but I think it is possible to improve things. That is a really nice and large intercooler, but it is loosing efficiency by being behind the radiator. I'd recommend going with a much thinner one and putting it in front of the radiator. It'll be getting cooler air, which will offset the change in thickness. I'd then put your engine cooling fans behind the radiator drawing air instead of pushing it from the front. I think they will flow more air through the radiator this way. Try to space your intercooler as far in front of your rad as possible, so the rad can get cool air from around the intercooler easily. Intercoolers really are needed when under load. When your truck is under load it will be traveling at high way speeds, so the intercooler will naturally be getting some decent air flow (as opposed to putting it really close to the rad with the intention of benefiting from the electric fans).

Are you sure it's not possible to fit a mechanical fan in there? Have you tried one? If it is possible, this would be the best. Mechanical fans can pull a few kw worth of air. You'll never get that much from slim electric fans. There are different fan/hub combos that you can try from different Toyota motors. You'd have to make a custom shroud to make the most of it.

You could also look into getting a thicker custom radiator made.....

What t-stat are you running? Many of us have gone with high-flow t-stats from Tridon in australia. These definitely do help out with the 2lte at least. Running a bit of a cooler t-stat will give you a little more head room also.

Part of this issue is in the right foot also. Even though the 1kzte has the power to fly up hills, you could gear down and take it slower. This will reduce the load on the engine and thus heating system.

OK, now regarding the engine running issues. This is almost the first thing I'd work on if I was you. Why? It's possible it's causing some of your heat issues. I've found over my years of wrenching that it's often good to start by fixing the obvious problems first, and sometimes the other more subtle problems will fix themselves.

Being that your 1KZ has such low mileage, I would not be immediately blaming the motor/injection pump for the issues you're seeing. I'd probably be placing some blame on the wiring/installation/service that was done first. So here are a few thoughts on how to approach this.

Download the injection pump and engine manual if you have not already. Read them carefully so you get to know your engine well. I recently posted the manuals in posts #3 and #4 in this thread: 1KZ-TE Smoking and very poor fuel mileage

Check the engine ECU codes. Hopefully they wired in a check engine light for you somewhere. Pulling the codes is simply jumpering a connection in the diagnostic connector. These codes will tell you if the ECU thinks a given sensor is out. If there are codes (especially injection pump codes), it'll give you some big clues to the problems.

I'd probably be inclined to double check the engine timing; especially that the injection pump is not out by a tooth. A bit of a PITA as you'll have to remove the timing belt cover.

Is it running a Toyota factory glow system? You can use a multi-meter to test that it's working right. In this cool weather you should be getting 11V on the glow rail for about 7 seconds, and then an after glow of 6V or so for probably 30 seconds or more after. This on a cold start of course.

Do you have a boost gauge? How much boost is the motor running? Is the turbo (boost) consistent?

Have you checked compression at any point on the motor?

Is there any documentation for the wiring that was done?

A manual injection pump probably would sort a lot of this out. But it suppose it depends on how much $$ you want to drop.

Can you post a cold start video that shows the exhaust?

Anyhow, that should get you started....

I will upload some additional pictures in regards to the room in my engine bay, as well as the cold start this morning

- to answer your questions GTS

- this truck weighs close to 7300 lbs when i have my motorcycle on the back so going places quickly is not in the name of the game for me. I average 95kmph on highways with no incline where as going up hills i average 20-60kmph, usually 2nd/3rd at about 3/4 throttle is where i try to keep it. The truck is 4.56 gearing to boot. when i am on these hills airflow is almost NIL which is why i end up having overheating issues. in the flat road scenario i really dont have a hard time with temps.

- Thermostat i believe is the 81degree, i maintain a 180F temp on normal driving, climbing hills can rocket me above 200F in a flash if i am not cognoscente of my right foot.

- in some of my photos to be uploaded you should see the degree in which my motor sits. while at the top i have room for a mechanical fan, at the bottom i do not. i am also playing with centimeters of room in height on top.

- The intercooler is redundant in that position as it is neither below the rad enough to have airflow and it is too high that the hood closes and blocks all airflow. I have been wondering about a thinner intercooler for in front of the rad, with the fans gone it might be possible but again pictures say it all. (top mount with hood cut out might be my only option without huge fabrication nightmares)

- i measured 7 1/16" from block to end of a factory KZ mechanical fan, at the bottom of the rad i have a meager 4" with no additional room to kick my rad the the same angle as the motor. if i could ditch the clutch and run belt driven all the time it could be done?

- down we go to engine
- engine bottom end was inspected and cylinders/rings were happy as was the overall. my timing gears were munched from the get go so after sourcing parts and redoing my timing belt/gears it is possible that we are a tooth off but the shop that did the re/re is adamant that is not the issue. from the get go my spill valve had been tinkered with, it had to be removed and benched in the shop before it was put back on to get the initial first run in this truck. i know the spill valve has been monkeyed with. beyond that i do not know.
- from alternator to rear tailight the wiring harness is brand new on this truck. it was built from a spare harness i had as well as FSM that was available to my shop. the mechanic did a superb job (you dont want to know what the harness cost to make) it includes a check engine light, glow plug light, fuel water, and all the oil pressure/water temp goodies one could need. also included is a EGT at my manifold. no engine codes to date as far as i am aware, and nothing electronically funky so far.
- this morning during cold start i measured my glowplugs and yes it is factory off the ECU, i started at a 10.54volts but forgot to check for afterglow. (will remeasure)
- boost was never tinkered with, whatever the factory set was is where it has stayed. that said i can feel it spool up and hold especially during normal driving and hills.
- i am sure if i begged i could have them sit down and do me a PDF of my wiring schematics hahaha i know the paperwork is in a safe place at BCC.
 


cold start, note the two puff puffs at the end from the exhaust. that usually continues until operating temperature or until I have started driving.
chatter in the motor, though in this video it isnt very loud
 
I'm still home sick and just woke from a nap so it's going to take my brain a bit to process what you've said there...LOL

Anyhow, right off the top seeing your startup it reminds of when I've had air in my lines before. It's not acting like you have a glow problem. Has your primer/filter unit ever been replaced? They do wear out and air can get in that way. I bought a knock off one from Ebay which worked well for me. Also, replace the little spring clamps on the fuel lines with hose clamps. Air can even get in from the little injector fuel return rail. Make sure everything there is tight. I usually have to crank down the torque on that rail a little more than the factory spec. The little rubber hose from that rail back to the injection pump also can leak air.

Could also be related to the spill valve somehow I guess. I have not had that problem before, so can't really comment on it. What year 1KZ is that? Is the spill valve the same part number as the 2LTE? I have a spare 2LTE injection pump here.... I have not run it but am told it's fine. Maybe you could try the spill valve if it is compatible.

Regarding speed and weight, I tow with my LJ78. My 16 camper trailer weighs about 3500lb loaded, and my truck is about 5500lb loaded. So I sit around 8500-9000lb total when I go camping. I have tuned my 2LTE up a lot, and it makes probably the same or more power than a 1KZTE. I can do 90km/h up a 6% grade at that weight. I have 4.88 diffs which help a lot though. But the auto does not help, ahha. Anyhow, so I do have some experience with the challenges of making these little turbo idi's work hard. Heat is always a struggle for me too. But I think your truck has potential to be doing a lot better.

What is the size of your radiator core? I'm curious to compare it to the size of a KZJ78 core for example.

Do you every use your winch/bumper? Maybe you could sacrifice that, and put the intercooler lower down in front of the radiator, roughly just behind where your winch is? I really think moving the intercooler in front and putting fans behind the radiator will improve things for you significantly.

I see it is very very tight in there. You're right, I don't think any mechanical fan could be made to fit in there....

That's good you have the CEL etc. on your harness. Have you tried pulling codes then?

Once you do get these odd running issues sorted out, your engine could probably do with a tune up of more boost/fuel. More air pumping through the motor can do wonders for keeping things cooler as well. I found the more power I've made with mine the happier it is in general.

Do you have a pyrometer?
 
What concerns me about the puff puff is that its rythmic. If all the glow plugs are working it wouldnt do that. It could be low compression on one cyl. As it heats up , it gets easier for the fuel to ignite.
I would recheck the timing belt also.
 
I'm still home sick and just woke from a nap so it's going to take my brain a bit to process what you've said there...LOL

Anyhow, right off the top seeing your startup it reminds of when I've had air in my lines before. It's not acting like you have a glow problem. Has your primer/filter unit ever been replaced? They do wear out and air can get in that way. I bought a knock off one from Ebay which worked well for me. Also, replace the little spring clamps on the fuel lines with hose clamps. Air can even get in from the little injector fuel return rail. Make sure everything there is tight. I usually have to crank down the torque on that rail a little more than the factory spec. The little rubber hose from that rail back to the injection pump also can leak air.

Could also be related to the spill valve somehow I guess. I have not had that problem before, so can't really comment on it. What year 1KZ is that? Is the spill valve the same part number as the 2LTE? I have a spare 2LTE injection pump here.... I have not run it but am told it's fine. Maybe you could try the spill valve if it is compatible.

Regarding speed and weight, I tow with my LJ78. My 16 camper trailer weighs about 3500lb loaded, and my truck is about 5500lb loaded. So I sit around 8500-9000lb total when I go camping. I have tuned my 2LTE up a lot, and it makes probably the same or more power than a 1KZTE. I can do 90km/h up a 6% grade at that weight. I have 4.88 diffs which help a lot though. But the auto does not help, ahha. Anyhow, so I do have some experience with the challenges of making these little turbo idi's work hard. Heat is always a struggle for me too. But I think your truck has potential to be doing a lot better.

What is the size of your radiator core? I'm curious to compare it to the size of a KZJ78 core for example.

Do you every use your winch/bumper? Maybe you could sacrifice that, and put the intercooler lower down in front of the radiator, roughly just behind where your winch is? I really think moving the intercooler in front and putting fans behind the radiator will improve things for you significantly.

I see it is very very tight in there. You're right, I don't think any mechanical fan could be made to fit in there....

That's good you have the CEL etc. on your harness. Have you tried pulling codes then?

Once you do get these odd running issues sorted out, your engine could probably do with a tune up of more boost/fuel. More air pumping through the motor can do wonders for keeping things cooler as well. I found the more power I've made with mine the happier it is in general.

Do you have a pyrometer?

Sorry for my delay, I ended up taking a weekend trip with the truck to a hot springs. Ended up cooking an alternator and belt 50km up a dirt road. Thank goodness for a friend running me the belt because I was dead in the water literally (no water pump) I also learned that my oil catch can I just installed doesn't breathe well enough so I turfed it after only 200km.

So when I had the motor apart everything on the bottom end looked good. I have not had a compression test (much to my displeasure as I have asked many times) but I can tell you with motor running and my dipstick out I do not spit oil everywhere. A import diesel shop suggested that was a pretty easy test to check for compression leak.

I do have a pyro that I watch religiously. I range from 600-1100 on flat to hill climbing. I try not to let it hit 1200.

My dad core is almost 2.5inches

The primer/filter is a new oem part with only 10000km on it, and I did have a little leak on one injector pre my rebuilding them but I don't have diesel leaks anywhere that I could ever see and I checked as many clamps as I could and they are tight.

I have also heard that the spill valves cross over...

The truck will go in this winter to have my cooling issue adjusted. Currently I do not have the factory intake as I turfed it thinking I wouldn't ever need it but my first plan would be to play with my rad position. Perhaps I can do a mechanical. I have two different fans and clutches from two different Toyotas I can try as well as a factory kz fan available nearby. But without tearing into that I'm not sure what gameplan I will have.
 
Can you post more pics of the whole rig? 4x4 turbo diesel chinook sounds awesome!
 
As well as limited air intake area, could there be an issue with air getting out of the engine bay? Could a high pressure area be created there stalling airflow despite the fans?
 
As well as limited air intake area, could there be an issue with air getting out of the engine bay? Could a high pressure area be created there stalling airflow despite the fans?
That winch sure doesn't help, but I have notice I don't have a ton of air coming to my windshield.
I've thought about dumping the winch but It really does add needed weight on my front axle
 
I tore into the
Sorry for my delay, I ended up taking a weekend trip with the truck to a hot springs. Ended up cooking an alternator and belt 50km up a dirt road. Thank goodness for a friend running me the belt because I was dead in the water literally (no water pump) I also learned that my oil catch can I just installed doesn't breathe well enough so I turfed it after only 200km.

So when I had the motor apart everything on the bottom end looked good. I have not had a compression test (much to my displeasure as I have asked many times) but I can tell you with motor running and my dipstick out I do not spit oil everywhere. A import diesel shop suggested that was a pretty easy test to check for compression leak.

I do have a pyro that I watch religiously. I range from 600-1100 on flat to hill climbing. I try not to let it hit 1200.

My dad core is almost 2.5inches

The primer/filter is a new oem part with only 10000km on it, and I did have a little leak on one injector pre my rebuilding them but I don't have diesel leaks anywhere that I could ever see and I checked as many clamps as I could and they are tight.

I have also heard that the spill valves cross over...

The truck will go in this winter to have my cooling issue adjusted. Currently I do not have the factory intake as I turfed it thinking I wouldn't ever need it but my first plan would be to play with my rad position. Perhaps I can do a mechanical. I have two different fans and clutches from two different Toyotas I can try as well as a factory kz fan available nearby. But without tearing into that I'm not sure what gameplan I will have.
truck a little bit more yesterday
I'm still home sick and just woke from a nap so it's going to take my brain a bit to process what you've said there...LOL

Anyhow, right off the top seeing your startup it reminds of when I've had air in my lines before. It's not acting like you have a glow problem. Has your primer/filter unit ever been replaced? They do wear out and air can get in that way. I bought a knock off one from Ebay which worked well for me. Also, replace the little spring clamps on the fuel lines with hose clamps. Air can even get in from the little injector fuel return rail. Make sure everything there is tight. I usually have to crank down the torque on that rail a little more than the factory spec. The little rubber hose from that rail back to the injection pump also can leak air.

Could also be related to the spill valve somehow I guess. I have not had that problem before, so can't really comment on it. What year 1KZ is that? Is the spill valve the same part number as the 2LTE? I have a spare 2LTE injection pump here.... I have not run it but am told it's fine. Maybe you could try the spill valve if it is compatible.

Regarding speed and weight, I tow with my LJ78. My 16 camper trailer weighs about 3500lb loaded, and my truck is about 5500lb loaded. So I sit around 8500-9000lb total when I go camping. I have tuned my 2LTE up a lot, and it makes probably the same or more power than a 1KZTE. I can do 90km/h up a 6% grade at that weight. I have 4.88 diffs which help a lot though. But the auto does not help, ahha. Anyhow, so I do have some experience with the challenges of making these little turbo idi's work hard. Heat is always a struggle for me too. But I think your truck has potential to be doing a lot better.

What is the size of your radiator core? I'm curious to compare it to the size of a KZJ78 core for example.

Do you every use your winch/bumper? Maybe you could sacrifice that, and put the intercooler lower down in front of the radiator, roughly just behind where your winch is? I really think moving the intercooler in front and putting fans behind the radiator will improve things for you significantly.

I see it is very very tight in there. You're right, I don't think any mechanical fan could be made to fit in there....

That's good you have the CEL etc. on your harness. Have you tried pulling codes then?

Once you do get these odd running issues sorted out, your engine could probably do with a tune up of more boost/fuel. More air pumping through the motor can do wonders for keeping things cooler as well. I found the more power I've made with mine the happier it is in general.

Do you have a pyrometer?
I tore into the truck a little more yesterday GTS, i placed a clamp on both of the rubber lines running into the top of the injection pump by the spill valve. i tell you. what a PITA that was. now i can confidently say that air getting into my fuel lines via rubber connections is no longer a viable concern.

i have run the truck a few more times since then and my cold starts( considering the temperature) dont seem so bad.

heres something new i have noticed. pre start i run my glows through one full 7second cycle, then i reset the relay and start it during another cycle(havent been able to volt meter while doing this to see if it stays on for another full cycle during start up)
in doing this, plus i also put it in reverse within seconds and slowly back it out of my shed so i dont kill myself, the puff puff and hesitations seem to go almost away. specifically once the motor is loaded and backed up that 10' during warm up and idle there is still a noticeable hiccup in the timing, and if i just sit there and listen there are some character noises that do not belong (as i have always said) BCC has not been the most cooperative with me when i insist that something is amiss. I have no mechanical "education" therefore i dont know anything right?

thoughts on this?
 
Since you are in Langley why not give Jason at Cruisin Offroad a call and see if he can help you out. To me that intercooler is not in the correct location. I would maybe get a smaller one and fit it in front of the rad.
 
Since you are in Langley why not give Jason at Cruisin Offroad a call and see if he can help you out. To me that intercooler is not in the correct location. I would maybe get a smaller one and fit it in front of the rad.
Actually, Jason has been involved with this truck heavily though I haven't bothered to ask him a great deal of questions about my motor as I see how busy he is with that frame swap currently.
I believe I really only have about 2.5" Max of clearance between my grill and rad support. Do they make some that small for that amount of airflow?
 

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