What a job!. According to the photos I took of the process I started this on October 3rd and finished it last night. The list of maintenance is a lot but the opportunities were in front of me. I was not trying to rush because my big Mojave trip is not until January so time was on my side. Rain slowed me down for a week (sun roof leak and repair took place as well). And I had to wait a week for my replacement parts to arrive. I had to make two separate orders. !st order was the starter, the intake gaskets, and the water bypass gaskets, front and rear. Then once I got everything removed, I ordered the water pipe gasket, the other water pipe gasket (there is a big and a small one), new knock sensor connector, new battery connector, new throttle sensor connector, new fuel injectors (reman denso), ome injector O-rings, and new intake manifold stud and bolt. All OEM. Like I said, I was not in a rush and I really do not want to do this again.
After finishing the job and my first start I had a leaky injector. The front driver side injector. I pulled all the injectors and it looked like I did something to mar a couple of the O-rings. I think I torqued down the fuel rail on the spacers to much and cause the O-rings to be damaged because they looked perfect when they went in. I bought the reman injectors from New England Injector:
Wide-ranging OEM fuel injector solutions from New England Injectors—shop remanufactured automotive, marine, street-bike, RV, and snowmobile injectors, plus rebuild kits and connectors. Exceptional selection, fast shipping, and top-notch service.
newenglandinjectors.com
Mat who runs New England Injectors has supplied me with reman injectors for my 92 Ford Bronco earlier this year. They were shipped fast, in great shape, and ran like a charm. I messaged Mat about the leaky injector this time. Within two days I had a replacement injector and 8 new O-rings free of charge. Mat really took care of me and stands behind his product. If you end up buying reman injectors please message Mat on his website or through
eBay under the same company.
Got the truck started up again last night and no leaks in the fuel line or the coolant. The reman denso starter is night and day difference from the China one I pulled out of there. It really makes me have a lot of confidence in the vehicle.
I learned a lot. For anyone doing the starter I would recommend the following:
-Get a top-side creeper. This saved my back and gave me access to the whole back of the engine compartment.
-When removing the starter, there is a 4 connector wire harness that connects to the top of the bell housing, just below the starter. I remember there being a 10mm bolt that holds it there. Maybe an 8mm. Remove that bolt and you can push the wire harness out of the way in order to easily get to the two bolts that hold the starter in. I would not have been able to see this bolt without the top-side creeper. Take out and install of the starter was way easier.
-Drain the coolant and replace the water cross over gaskets in front and back. You will need a tube of FIPG for this as well. Buy once cry once.
-Clean all your electrical disconnects before disconnecting them. This helped me remove some, especially the injectors.
-You can de-pin the old connectors with a simple pick tool. No need to buy fancy.
-Did I mention to buy a top side creeper? Haha
This took me months to track down the issue. I am feeling pretty good about this now. Thanks you everyone who responded on this thread!
In the last 2 months I got a new windshield, all this, and fixed the drain issue in my sunroof. I'm itching to get on the Mojave road with my son and my brother. Thanks to everyone that helped me out here.
