3F-E Bent pushrod (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jan 14, 2022
Threads
7
Messages
41
Location
Brooksville FL
Hey 3F-E engine experts, I have a new to me 91' 80 series with a 3F-E with 175k miles. I purchased it as a project with a poorly running engine. upon getting the LC home, cleaning it up and starting to diag. the motor I found Cyl. #6 to have no compression...borescope revealed nothing obvious and the valves appeared closed. So...off came the valve cover and dang....#6 intake pushrod bent and out of the rocker. Valve does not appear stuck and bounces on the spring when tapped with a brass hammer. Also scoped the pushrod hole in hopes to see if the lifter came out of the bore. It looks ok from what I can see which is not much....My question is: Should I just get a new pushrod and install to get it running and see where I'm at? or should I order the lifter too and dig into the side of the lifter cover etc and go quite a bit deeper? can I change the lifter from the Side cover? Are these hydraulic lifters or solid? anybody have any experience with one tossing a pushrod?....History on this truck is that the guy I bought it from only had it for a couple months and purchased it for a father son project and decided to go a different direction. so It sat in a parking garage in Miami for 3 months prior to me taking it over. Before that it was trucked from NC where it was parked for an undisclosed amount of time and for unknown reasons. I am speculating that the pushrod came loose very recently when the Father Son did a cap/rotor/plugs change out and may have overrevved a sticky valve from lack of use before he got it. The reason I say recent is that he told me he did a compression test and got good numbers when he did the plugs(he had no reason to lie to me) also I drove it out of the garage and it barely made it down 7 levels and onto my trailer, we had to push it to get it up. This thing would have never climbed 7 levels of parking garage they way it ran with no #6. so now you know the story, Any help and guidance will be greatly appreciated TIA!! As a side note I am getting the FSM as we speak!!
 
Here’s a few pics of my situation…lifter end of the pushrod is a bitt marred so I hope the lifter didn’t get buggered up. Engine is a bit gunky but I’ve seen worse….

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I'm not a 3FE expert but I'd get a pushrod, install it and see how far off the adjustment is, and I'd cycle the engine to see if the valve shows signs of sticking/etc.. If that valve is behaving consistently and there aren't signs of things being way out of spec I'd go ahead and run it once you get it adjusted again. When it first starts listen closely for excess valve train clatter (esp. for a single cylinder sound vs. typical, consistent multi-cylinder noise) because if there is a bigger issue I assume this rod will at least start running loose very quickly and the valve could stick open and do this again pretty quickly.

The sticky valve theory seems sound to me and it looks like the rod could come out of the arm socket and then find something to wedge against to then be bent by the action of the lifter. Gravity would hold the rod down where it could get chewed on a bit by the lifter so I'm not seeing any contradictory evidence at least. You could also test if the rod has enough slack to fall out of a socket by opening an arm/valve the typical amount (don't over open it) while the lifter is retracted, that may make it clear if your theory is at least possible. Varnish/thickened fluids and carbon build up can cause this and I've seen it multiple times on engines I've let sit though fortunately I've never seen a rod unseat (as I recall at least). Weak springs and other mechanical issues could also cause this but since your engine was sitting I'd say that source for this is more likely.

You could also clean (various options here) and exercise the valve to help loosen it up if needed. Disassembly/cleaning/inspection could also help you verify that the spring is in spec and the valve is not sticky, etc. but it's a slippery slope and you can skip all of that with minimal risk in my opinion. I'm guessing once it runs just a little that things will loosen up and work properly in the valvetrain again. Some hard running, regular oil changes and an oil that may do more cleaning (like a diesel oil) and you should be able to quickly forget about this I'd guess.
 
what JPoole said. x 2
Replace new pushrod with new, rotate the engine a few times, set the timing to factory spec and good time to adjust the valves while you are in there and see how she runs.
 
Ordered the pushrod yesterday from Cruiserparts.net. Seemed to be the fastest way to get one. Toyota still lists it so it doesn’t seem like it will be an issue getting one. I also put it back in with the rocker rotated out of the way and spun it over to see if the cam was pushing the lifter up. Everything moved up and down consistently with the rest of the bank so I doubt there is any damage down below. Keeping fingers crossed that a new pushrod, a valve adjustment, and a few detergent oil changes along with some tender loving care and this thing should purr.
 
Ordered the pushrod yesterday from Cruiserparts.net. Seemed to be the fastest way to get one. Toyota still lists it so it doesn’t seem like it will be an issue getting one. I also put it back in with the rocker rotated out of the way and spun it over to see if the cam was pushing the lifter up. Everything moved up and down consistently with the rest of the bank so I doubt there is any damage down below. Keeping fingers crossed that a new pushrod, a valve adjustment, and a few detergent oil changes along with some tender loving care and this thing should purr.
REALLY inspect what you get from that vendor. They are known for not the best service and passing off stuff as new when it's not.

Many question that vendor and their reputation.

You may also buy parts from www.partsouq.com and McGeorge Toyota Online and others. Toyota Online Parts | Genuine Toyota Parts | Toyota Parts Online - https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/

You may want to spray a little transmission oil or penetrating oil on that particular lifter in order to help break down some of the gummy stuff prior to starting it.

Do not install a new lifter on an old cam. It will chew up both the cam and the new lifter.

New cam, new lifters so they wear to match.
 
REALLY inspect what you get from that vendor. They are known for not the best service and passing off stuff as new when it's not.

Many question that vendor and their reputation.

You may also buy parts from www.partsouq.com and McGeorge Toyota Online and others. Toyota Online Parts | Genuine Toyota Parts | Toyota Parts Online - https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com/

You may want to spray a little transmission oil or penetrating oil on that particular lifter in order to help break down some of the gummy stuff prior to starting it.

Do not install a new lifter on an old cam. It will chew up both the cam and the new lifter.

New cam, new lifters so they wear to match.
Bahaha!! I see that now, nobody is happy with them…well lucky it’s only $20…we’ll see if I ever get it. I also have it in my cart at Toyotapartsonline…or heck maybe I just call the local dealer and see what their turn around is. Either way thanks for the feedback and good call on the Penetrant on the valves…I’ll give them all a good soaking before I reassemble
 
OK so I got the replacement pushrod and installed it. I didn't do a valve adjustment yet. I just got it in there and made sure it wasn't to tight or loose and put the air box and hoses back on and fired it up. it ran obviously better (Not good but better) with compression on all 6 and seemed to be oiling properly so I put it all back together with a fresh valve cover gasket and started it again. I still have a dead miss in Cyl. #2 and #4. I have compression and spark at the plug. Cap, rotor, wires, and plugs appear ok and were replaced by PO and since I have spark at the plug I have not looked to deep at the distributor. Plugs on #2 and #4 are clean and do not appear to be getting fuel....Any tips on anything I should check first before I start looking into the fuel delivery system? Gonna get out there today and try tapping on the injectors to see if they are stuck...OH and I have CEL on with codes for 22 (Water temp Sensor) 24 (Intake Air Temp Signal) 28 (O2 sensor) and 31 ((Air Flow Meter)
 
Plugs on #2 and #4 are clean and do not appear to be getting fuel....Any tips on anything I should check first before I start looking into the fuel delivery system?
I would look at those injectors first.
The 3FE ECU fires 2 groups of 3 injectors. Bank 1 is 1,2,3 and bank 2 is 4,5,6. Since 2 and 4 are on different banks, it is likely that these injectors are stuck/clogged or otherwise buggered.
The injector connectors are now 30 years old and if your neighbor sneezes they can fracture. New connectors can be purchased from Toyota, etc.
Injectors all receive +12 on pin 2 (black/green stripe) and are grounded by the ECU to energize the coil (white/light blue stripe bank 1 and solid yellow bank 2).

EDIT: thinking some more about this. Not a direct injection motor, so the individual injectors would not effect specific combustion chambers. I would hazard a guess that there are 2 stuck intake valves.
 
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I would look at those injectors first.
The 3FE ECU fires 2 groups of 3 injectors. Bank 1 is 1,2,3 and bank 2 is 4,5,6. Since 2 and 4 are on different banks, it is likely that these injectors are stuck/clogged or otherwise buggered.
The injector connectors are now 30 years old and if your neighbor sneezes they can fracture. New connectors can be purchased from Toyota, etc.
Injectors all receive +12 on pin 2 (black/green stripe) and are grounded by the ECU to energize the coil (white/light blue stripe bank 1 and solid yellow bank 2).

EDIT: thinking some more about this. Not a direct injection motor, so the individual injectors would not effect specific combustion chambers. I would hazard a guess that there are 2 stuck intake valves.
Ok, So are you saying that the specific #2 and #4 injectors if stuck would not directly affect cyl. #2 and #4? because they inject into the manifold rather than directly to the Cylinder Combustion Camber?

Looks like I'll be pulling the upper Intake regardless even to test the pulse, if I have to go that far I might as well order the fresh connectors, gasket, and just service the whole set. Doesn't make much sense to pull it all down and not have them gone through.

Remember I have compression in those cylinders so a stuck intake valve should not be the issue. however... I'll do another full Compression test and post the results.

Edit....Compression results:
#1 130
#2 125
#3 120
#4 120
#5 120
#6 122
 
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Ok so after all the basic diag it seemed inevitable that i would have to pull this upper intake and have a look at the fuel delivery system..so I got it torn down and amazingly did NOT break any connectors! I found it odd when I pulled the rail off that a couple of the injectors stayed in the rail and the rest stayed in the lower intake. Wouldn’t you know it was #2 and #4. When I pulled them out they are completely clogged with red gunk!! I’d say that’s why I had a dead 2 and 4….

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Did the engine sit for months or years before you bought it?
 
Did the engine sit for months or years before you bought it?
I have no idea but I would assume yes. The info I got from the PO was that when he got it the original owner had stopped driving it. SO yeah, This thing prolly sat a while. Just got done filling my shopping cart at Toyota with all the rings, seals, and such. Also added a fuel filter and all the little copper washer gaskets. since I know there was gunk in the rail I'm going to try to flush all the fuel lines as best I can to get any other residue out. Also gonna go ahead and drain the tank as it's a little under 1/4 so I'd rather just get it out and start with a fresh tank of Rec 90.
 
After you drain the tank put some sacrificial fuel into it and disconnect your fuel line at the injector rail and with some high quality fuel system cleaner and put some power to the fuel pump and clean the lines out before you reassemble. Also new filters all the way around.
 
Deleted per :banana: mechanic learning...
 
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Those injectors look like some kind of sealant some one used ,maybe on the oil pan etc. I’d do a compete valve job while your in this deep
 
@Heelerdude : any updates on your 3FE 80 Series resurrection?
Runs like a top, such a sweet little truck, I ended up replacing the fuel tank because it had pinholes, so as far as the fuel system goes, It's all new from the tank to the pump/sock, all rubber hoses, filter, and blew all the lines clean!! also went through the valve adjustment but I have now put about 1500 miles on it and it seems to be cleaning itself out and I need to do them again. I can still hear 1 or 2 of them clicking just a bit... I just took it on the North GA Traverse overloading route and it did great except for being really slow on the mountain passes. So far super happy with this FJ80
 

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