3FE Head Gasket

[leonard_nemoy]

I appreciate the input, man, I might need to do this.
Cruiseroutfitters is only about an hour away, but there's a toyota dealer maybe 20 mins away.

I would be willing to bet Kurt at cruiser outfitters would be cheaper than the stealership. Plus I would think visiting his shop would be more entertaining than the Toyota parts counter.

 

[Rush]

So, this is weird.
My alternator has an adapter:

It's a remanufactured alternator, but it fits the description of a standard 80amp: external fan, with the bolt and plug on back.

The door badge says it's a 6/90 build date.
I tend to think this means it's an early build weird bastard, and not an early build special unique, rare snowflake.

Anybody know what's up with that alt plug?

 

[bcomnes]

I can check out what mine looks like.

 

[Rush]

Spent the weekend assembling and installing the intake manifold, rockers, and everything that goes along with them. I did the rocker faces on a 150 grit grinding wheel.

I cleaned the rocker cover, too... and I will never use anything other than simple green for super heavy crap like that ever again! I took 200k miles of carbon off with just a hand-held wire brush.

The donor vehicle I got the motor from had a harness in better condition, so after repairing a few segments I swapped that in as well.

I have the air filter housing/intake hoses, plugs/wires, and coolant left.

I'll update tonight!

 

[bcomnes]

How hard is simple green on wires and vacuum hoses (for cases when using it around those parts)?

 

[Rush]

How hard is simple green on wires and vacuum hoses (for cases when using it around those parts)?

I'm not sure on this, but for degreasing/decarbing... man I had no idea stuff could work that well.

 

[Rush]

OK, it's all back together and won't start.
CEL is illuminated.
No code -just a steady blink- when I jump the diag port. (it had 31 and 24, but they were likely from when I was priming the motor prior to reassembly -they are gone now after 3 sessions of cranking since the battery was disconnected for 30s.)

I'll look for @jonheld's EFI diag page and try again.

 

[Rush]

I have CEL, so...

I have spark, so it's not likely that.

I smell a little bit of gas at if I put my nose at the exhaust pipe after cranking.

Dare I unbolt the cold start injector and see how far the gas shoots?

I'll get a fuel pressure tester kit tomorrow, and play that game.


So...

1. Could it be that the wires need an exact match to their rightful spots? I have the obviously longer ones at 1 and 6, the mid length ones at 5 and 2, and the shortest at 3 and 4. They're new. I got spark at #4.

2. It's a fresh fuel filter. If the pump only runs while cranking, how long will it take to fill the filter, rail, etc.?

3. The distributor ohmed within spec yesterday, but I suppose I can confirm the ECU agrees.

4. I'll ohm the coil and ignitor.

 

[Rush]

Oh, AND... I thought it was weird that I never got ANY gas out the rail feed line (exit from fuel filter) when it was disconnected and I was cranking to prime the oil.

Like, no gas at all. I just figured the EFI system wasn't ready due to sensors not connected, but now this seems to be the issue.

Pump? Fuse? Relay?

 

[Rush]

FSM says:

I just so happen to have replaced the harness with a "better" one, so maybe these connectors aren't seated fully or something.

I did the cranking to prime the pump with the old harness, though, so I still think it's a systematic issue somewhere besides these connectors, but I'll doublecheck them.

 

[Rush]

And... Is the fuel filter directional? As in, would refuse to flow if connected backwards?

 

[jonheld]

1. Could it be that the wires need an exact match to their rightful spots? I have the obviously longer ones at 1 and 6, the mid length ones at 5 and 2, and the shortest at 3 and 4. They're new. I got spark at #4.

What does this sentence mean?
The distributor cap has numbers on it which correspond to the firing order. The plug wires have numbers on them. The cylinders are numbered sequentially from front to rear.
#1 on the cap goes to wire #1 which goes to cylinder #1 on the block. There's no guesswork here. Either you put the wires in the right place or you didn't.
If you didn't, it's going to be difficult to get this engine running.

 

[Rush]

What does this sentence mean?
The distributor cap has numbers on it. The plug wires have numbers on them. The cylinders are numbered sequentially from front to rear.
#1 on the cap goes to wire #1 which goes to cylinder #1 on the block. There's no guesswork here. Either you put the wires in the right place or you didn't.
If you didn't, it's going to be difficult to get this engine running.

Hey Jon, thanks for the reply.
I wired them up according to the numbers on the distributor cap, yes. I'm asking this to make sure I didn't/acknowledge that I could have gotten incorrect which of the two longest wires goes between dist slot #1 and cyl 1... vs #6.
The dist is located between cylinders 3 and 4, so clearly the longest two plug wires belong on 1 and 6, Not 3 and 4.

The wires I got are not numbered, so while I personally doubt that there is much hindrance to the cylinder firing if the wire length is +/- the difference between wires #1 and 6, I acknowledge that I do not know there isn't and therefore I bring it up for discussion.

Again, thank you for reading, I appreciate it.

 

[jonheld]

Hey Jon, thanks for the reply.
I wired them up according to the numbers on the distributor cap, yes. I'm asking this to make sure I didn't/acknowledge that I could have gotten incorrect which of the two longest wires goes between dist slot #1 and cyl 1... vs #6.
The dist is located between cylinders 3 and 4, so clearly the longest two plug wires belong on 1 and 6, Not 3 and 4.

The wires I got are not numbered, so while I personally doubt that there is much hindrance to the cylinder firing if the wire length is +/- the difference between wires #1 and 6, I acknowledge that I do not know there isn't and therefore I bring it up for discussion.

Again, thank you for reading, I appreciate it.

LOL, the wire lengths are not relevant as long as they reach the desired cylinder and they are in the correct position on the cap. That electricity stuff moves fairly quickly.

 

[Rush]

LOL, the wire lengths are not relevant as long as they reach the desired cylinder and they are in the correct position on the cap. That electricity stuff moves fairly quickly.

Right! Forgive my self doubt/thanks for confirming. NOTHING (and nobody) is beyond questioning in my diagnostic worldview.

At current, it looks to me like fueling is the culprit. Testing that ASAP.
I saw a few posts of yours from the past that indicate how to give the fuel pump a constant 12v, so that's my next step just to help narrow down if the pump is even running.

Unless you have thoughts pointing away from that, which I'd be happy to entertain.

 

[jonheld]

how to give the fuel pump a constant 12v

On the diagnostic connector, verify that pin 8 is at +12 (or close) with the key in the ON position without cranking the starter.
On the diagnostic connector, short pins 1-8 (FP to B+). That will bypass the FP logic and will fire the FP with the key in the ON position, assuming that the EFI relay is closing and you're getting +12 at pin 8.
Please use this for diagnostic testing only. Do not leave the FP logic bypassed.

 

[Rush]

On the diagnostic connector, verify that pin 8 is at +12 (or close) with the key in the ON position without cranking the starter.
On the diagnostic connector, short pins 1-8 (FP to B+). That will bypass the FP logic and will fire the FP with the key in the ON position, assuming that the EFI relay is closing and you're getting +12 at pin 8.

Solid 12v on B+, in "on".

Please use this for diagnostic testing only. Do not leave the FP logic bypassed.

Understood 100%, but I get why you clarify.

Jumping B+ to Fp it didn't get a start, or any sound out of the pump.
I consistently see 10 volts at Fp while cranking.

I haven't cracked the fuel rail open yet, but it doesn't sound like the pump is spinning.

 

[Rush]

I looked at the freely-available 3FE addendum to the FJ6x FSM (maybe I ought to buy a digital copy of the 91 FSM...) and it indicates to check the EFI/IGN fuses under the hood, as well as the EFI relay.

The EFI relay had a good 14.4v across pins 2 and 4. Things clicked when I unplugged it.

The EFI and IGN fuses were good.

 

[jonheld]

Solid 12v on B+, in "on".


Understood 100%, but I get why you clarify.

Jumping B+ to Fp it didn't get a start, or any sound out of the pump.
I consistently see 10 volts at Fp while cranking.

I haven't cracked the fuel rail open yet, but it doesn't sound like the pump is spinning.

With no jumpers in place, the FP will fire when you crank the starter, so 10 volts while cranking seems reasonable. I would recheck that voltage at the pump with the jumper in place. It should be closer to 12. If you have the FP access plate open to test voltage, you could probably hear it run.

You can slightly crack the banjo fitting for the cold start injector. Fuel should spray out with the pump running.

Keeping the jumper bypasses the FP logic so the FP will continuously run with the key in the ON position. In the event of a collision, if the engine stalls, the FP should cut off.

 

[Rush]

With no jumpers in place, the FP will fire when you crank the starter, so 10 volts while cranking seems reasonable. I would recheck that voltage at the pump with the jumper in place. It should be closer to 12. If you have the FP access plate open to test voltage, you could probably hear it run.

So I moved some of the dielectric grease the PO put on the diag terminal, and can see the contacts better. I get 12v at Fp when jumped to +B.
I get 10 volts at the pump with +B - Fp jumped and cranking both, despite the "homemade" splice of wires right before the fuel pump connector:

You can slightly crack the banjo fitting for the cold start injector. Fuel should spray out with the pump running.

So I did, and it came out alright... My EGR is now very clean.
And it comes out of the FPR return line, too, when cranking.

Keeping the jumper bypasses the FP logic so the FP will continuously run with the key in the ON position. In the event of a collision, if the engine stalls, the FP should cut off.

(Keeping this to preserve the integrity of your post when quoted.)

So, this fuel line looks kinked to me:

But I didn't do that, and the truck drove right up until I pulled the head last year.
So... Is it just not enough fuel... Is it old fuel... Is it the FPR?

Although... I don't see dots/a mark on the flexplate when the distributor is pointing at the #1 plug wire, but I was able to adjust valve lash, so that means I'm not out 180 degrees off on the distributor, right?

I'm 180 degrees off, aren't I.