Can I put together a 3FE when I don't know what I'm doing? Lets find out... (1 Viewer)

[Curtice]

Some pics of recent work. Oil pan installed and head bolted down. I’m trusting the torque specs and that I did the oil pan right. It doesn’t feel very tight, particularly on the arched portion. Black FIPG on the corners, made sure everything was aligned. I bolted up on a criss cross pattern.

On the head, likewise on the torque. I worked my way up to 90 ft lbs in sequence over several passes. Just didn’t feel super tight. Maybe I’m stronger than I think

 

[Curtice]

Also installed the timing cover and crankshaft pulley. I’ve heard a lot about getting the right bolts on the timing cover. I stupidly didn’t mark it document correctly when I removed, so I just did the best guess I could on size. Seemed to tighten up well. I did t use any type of sealant on the timing cover gasket. If anyone thinks I should have, shout at me!

Haven’t torqued the big crankshaft nut yet, since I don’t have a torque wrench that goes to 253 (!!) ft lbs. auto zone rental here I come.

 

[BILT4ME]

Thanks. I actually got too worried, so am going to try to do this “the right way”

I bought a bore gauge that is small enough to measure the lifter bores, since doing it with a caliper was hard. I also went ahead and purchased new lifters, just to be safe. I had a friend say new camshaft should have new lifters, so they can seat/wear together.

I want to make sure everything is spec per manual before installing. So once everything gets delivered, I’ll have another go at it.

The lifters should always go back into the hole they came out of. If they got mixed up, it's a crapshoot on getting it right. They wear themselves to match the bore. Absolutely correct on new lifters new cam. Never run new lifters on an old cam or vice-versa. They will wear VERY quickly and will have frequent adjustment issues.

Nice work on this!

 

[Curtice]

Thanks. Glad I took the time to double check. I got a bore gauge, but since I have new lifters, I’m wondering if I need it. I don’t think the bores could have gotten smaller at all. Is there a chance they could be too large? Seems unlikely given how tight the old lifters were.

 

[Mixelplix]

You might have a hard time finding a torque wrench that goes to 253.

If you can't find one, structural steel subcontractors will have them. I ended up borrowing one from a steel guy. It was 3/4" drive.

 

[Curtice]

Autozone has a loaner that goes to 250. Can I use that? I mean its soooo close.

 

[Rush]

I used the O'Reilly's one that went to 250.
I'm not sure the rentals are any more or less accurate than a new one bought retail.

 

[Curtice]

Cool. I’ll plan to do similar.

Two questions:
1) should I soak my new lifters in engine oil overnight? I’ve read that that is a good idea.

2) what is the best way to ensure tdc on compression stroke? I know where tdc is, but I don’t know which stroke is which. FSM says says when you can feel pressure in the spark plug hole. Will I be able to do that, once the lifters, push rods, and rocker assembly is installed?

thanks.

 

[jpoole]

These are solid lifters right? I'd think assembly lube or grease so that they aren't dry on first start may make more sense. If I'm mistaken and they are hydraulic lifters then cleaning followed by cycling in oil to prime them up could be a good idea.

Regarding TDC on compression if your valve cover is still off and your valvetrain installed you can watch the valves opening/closing to help figure out TDC on the compression stroke. The intake valve will open and then tdc after that, when both valves are closed, is the top of the compression stroke. After compression/combustion/expansion you'll see the exhaust valve open for the exhaust stroke and then return to the intake stroke again. If you put a wrench on the crank bolt and roll through the strokes you can follow the valves and figure out where you are in the strokes. You can also put your finger on the spark plug hole to feel the compression ramping up as the engine heads towards the top of the compression stroke. Rolling the engine over is a lot easier with the spark plugs out of course. Get close to TDC using the above and then there should be markings on the crank pulley that help you position the engine precisely on TDC.

 

[Curtice]

Thanks. I believe they are solid lifters (I don't know what hydraulic ones are, but these don't seem hydraulic to me ). That is a good point, all of the "soak the lifters" info was probably referring to hydraulic lifters which would make sense on why to soak them. I will use assembly lube as originally planned.

And exactly what I was looking for on TDC. Makes sense and helps a ton. I'll give it a go once I have the whole valve train installed.

 

[bigredmachine]

in combo with watching your valves you can also go with the pencil trick, stick a pencil in the spark plug hole and watch it go up and when it starts to go back down you just passes tdc

 

[Rush]

Haven't done this part yet.
You're making me think I should insert them from underneath while I have the crank out... it's just the camshaft left in the way.

So I did mine, and had to tap (read: push) on a few of them with a long 1/4" extension down into them (like the pushrods will).
one or two stuck more than the others, but once in, they all move up and down -freely- as I rotate the crank.

 

[Curtice]

Good to hear, helps me know what to expect when I do mine.

 

[cahill]

Autozone has a loaner that goes to 250. Can I use that? I mean its soooo close.

When I did the crankshaft oil seal on my 1fz I needed one that went to 305ft/lb or something in that range. Called autozone and they said they only had one that went to 250. When I went into the store and looked at their little mat on the counter of items to borrow I noticed they had a 3/4" drive torque wrench that went to 400 or so. Asked if it was available and sure enough it was. Looked like I was the 1st to use it or that it got very little use. No one seemed to know it was even available and am guessing not too many people need a torque wrench that can hit those numbers. Might be worth just checking the list in the store as the people that worked there were clueless that they even had that tool available. The long handle made it easy to tighten to spec.

 

[Curtice]

I didn't see the 400lb wrench, so used the 250 one. Just did it today.

Still waiting on the lifters, so just worked on some odds and ends. Torqued the crankshaft bolt, installed the ps pulley, retorqued the oil pan bolts, and spruced up the fan with a cleaning and new blades. Before and after:

Started looking at the water pump and had a question. Do I need to replace the gasket behind the plate? The wheel on the inside looks a bit rusty. Should I be disassembling this and cleaning it all up? Or I thought I read somewhere that it is best to just get a whole new pump?

 

[Curtice]

So I did mine, and had to tap (read: push) on a few of them with a long 1/4" extension down into them (like the pushrods will).
one or two stuck more than the others, but once in, they all move up and down -freely- as I rotate the crank.

Ok, so my new lifters finally came from Toyota. I checked my bore sizes with a bore gauge (as best as I could, given the minutes space) and all seemed to be in spec. So I started putting the new lifters in. Some went in fairly easily, but 4 or 5 were pretty tough to push in and a couple of them I can’t push down with my fingers, they seem very tight.

So a couple I was able to tap in with an extension. But two of them seem stuck and won’t go even with some tapping. What should I do????

 

[Curtice]

Ok gave some validation to the title of my thread. The ones that wouldn’t go down we’re because they were on the “lifted” cam part...they were “up”. Duh moment for me.

So now I can push all up and down with my fingers, some of them pretty tight. when I turn the crank, the lifters don’t go back down on their own. I can push, but kinda tough. Will the rocker arm apply enough downward pressure?

 

[ppc]

Did you coat the lifters and bores with assembly lube?

 

[Curtice]

Thanks. Yes I did.

 

[Curtice]

Ok. Got the rocker assembly installed. Took a while to figure out that the shaft has a groove that need to line up with the studs, in order to fit properly. I’m able to hand crank and watch the valves open and close, etc. so happy, since I had myself worried for a bit.