My '97 Maintenance and Transformation Thread

[dranven]

Thanks guys. I will take the pans off and redo it. Steam cleaner blasting seemed to get most of it the first time. I would think perhaps the fresh stuff would be easier than the old stuff, but I guess we'll see.

where did you get your gasket kit? i'm looking to get one

I got my gasket kit from CDan at American Toyota. Been getting other parts locally since then.

Geez Ian, I'm really glad I was able to help. I was actually hoping you would say "Yeah, I did that too." At least you weren't posting trying to figure out why your head gasket leaked or why a rod let loose...

It takes a hell of a man to admit he screwed up. :whoops: You have my utmost respect sir!

Jim

I'm glad you were able to help, too.

Man, I would be an idiot not to admit it. That would be bad karma / slap in the face to God / however you wanna look at it. I mean, how lucky am I that I would have put this thing back together and had it all blow up in my face after all that time, effort, and money. I'm very grateful you brought it up. What are the odds that I would just happen to mention the torque on the head studs, which would prompt the question.

Perhaps there are some experienced guys reading having a chuckle at my mistake, but hey, it happens and I won't make the mistake again. You don't know what you don't know. The good thing is the rest of the process seemed pretty straight forward without any procedures I am unfamiliar with (aside from cylinder honing, but I seemed to do a pretty good job on that I think), so I am pretty confident I haven't screwed anything else up. I specifically remembered the rod bearing caps, because I remembered being confused when reading the instructions. I suppose I should have asked then for clarification, but it just really did not make sense to me to provide a torque spec, then say go beyond it by a quarter turn. I just thought the quarter turn was a way to describe torquing it down evenly by alternating.

Thanks again for being observant and helpful. I will continue on.

 

[TYM4FUN]

That is why I like working on my own cars. You learn a lot, save a lot and have the great feeling of accomplishment knowing you did it yourself....even if you do make a mistake here and there. Your LC sounds like it is in good hands.

 

[dranven]

Thanks.

Well, torqued the head studs, took off the oil pans, cleaned it all, torqued the bearing caps. Gonna put the oil pans on tomorrow. I need a 2nd set of hands.

Started putting some stuff on up top though:

 

[blkprj80]

Wow! Now THAT's red! Looks good! Mine is just black. Stealth mode.
Keep up the good work!

 

[94SRUNNER]

Looks great!

 

[dranven]

So I've been slacking with the updates lately. Basically been putting stuff back together when I can. It's been slow going, but nearing the final stretch.

As I mentioned somewhere earlier in the thread, my injector connectors were all brittle, old, and most of the tabs were broken. I asked about replacing them, but no one chimed in. I couldn't find any info on replacing them here on the forum, so let this serve as some info that may be helpful to others in my situation.

First, you can order the new connectors on eBay by searching "Toyota Denso Connector." I got mine for about $2.50 each (includes the rubber boots and terminals) whereas Toyota wanted like $6 per connector. Some of the sellers on eBay insist their connectors are genuine OEM. I dunno if that's true, nor do I know if it really matters.

Anyway, I did numbers 6-2, then shot pictures on the process on number 1. Funny, number 1 was actually in the best shape and I could have just left it alone, but oh well.

So, here's what you have:

There's a white tab that locks the terminals in place. Pull it out with pliers like mine. If you don't have them, you can use a little pick or a paperclip to kinda wedge it out. Beware of your injector basically crumbling apart when you're messing with it (i.e. cover your lower intake manifold holes).

Once you get it out, the metal terminals are still held in place by a plastic tab on each. So, pry them up with something pointy. I used an exacto knife. Some of them pop up really easily while others may be a pain and break all kinds of stuff in there. Either way, no big deal because you are removing and tossing everything in the trash.

Once the tabs are up, now you can simply slide the connector off.

Now you're left with these terminals and the rubber boots at the base. My goal was to cut off as little wire as possible, so I unwrapped the tabs holding the rubber boot in place and bent the metal up so I would cut only a small portion.

Note: Unless your new connectors are exactly like the old ones, you can't leave those terminals on. The new ones I got didn't have that white locking tab and they lock into place differently. So, those terminals need to come off.

Pull the old boots off and put the new ones on. You can probably reuse the old ones if they aren't damaged I suppose. Up to you.

Note: Put the new ones on before you strip more wire; it makes it easier. If you don't do this, it's not a huge deal though. You can still get them on. Just twist the wire first, then as you put the boot on, twist the boot the same direction. Worked for me.

Now strip the wire, grab your new terminals, and put them on / crimp them.

Note: You're supposed to have a "B" shaped crimp; however, my crimpers don't have a small enough point to get that B shape, so this will have to do.

Slide the boot back on and do a circle crimp on it.

Now slide the connector on making sure you're putting it on the same way the old one came off. Push down until it locks into place. You will hear it click.

Plug it in and here's what you have:

(Yes my fuel rail is blingin')

 

[dranven]

A couple of the throttle body / intake mani connectors have busted clips as well. Anyone know a more specific name for them or if they're available through Toyota? I'm thinking about replacing them as well.

 

[blkprj80]

There will be a 5 digit number on the connector. That's all the dealer needs to order a new connector housing.
Looking good on your build! You won't see much of that injector rail when you get all the parts on her.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

Absolutely amazing... You scare me. You said that you were a mechanic. That must make me a .005 mechanic! This is looking awesome! I am looking forward to "hearing" how she runs after all of this!

 

[dranven]

There will be a 5 digit number on the connector. That's all the dealer needs to order a new connector housing.
Looking good on your build! You won't see much of that injector rail when you get all the parts on her.

Thanks. The few connectors look pretty easy to get to once it's all together and running, so I'm just going to use the old ones for now, then look at swapping them out once this thing is actually running!

Yea, the fuel rail was just an add on when I did my valve cover. Looks cool for now anyway.

Absolutely amazing... You scare me. You said that you were a mechanic. That must make me a .005 mechanic! This is looking awesome! I am looking forward to "hearing" how she runs after all of this!

Well I haven't made the journey completely alone. I've gotten some great warnings/advice from a few forum members, my dad, and of course various threads on the forum in general. I've never been in this deep on a vehicle before. I've learned a lot doing all this and perhaps when it's finished and running, I may have graduated to a guy.

 

[dranven]

Upper intake is going on today.

Here's the "old":

Here it is cleaned:

And here it is with all new vacuum lines:

Notice the custom EGR block off plate, as I will be deleting the EGR system using the resistor mod. The EGR hardpipe was also deleted from the head and a blockoff plate was installed there as well. Also, a freezeplug was put in the hole on the exhaust side. Thanks to ToolsRUs for the resistor and advice.

 

[dranven]

Well, finished it and started it up yesterday!!

Luckily someone told me about priming the oil pump first (I've never done this before), so I disconnected the EFI relay and the ignition module connector, then cranked it for a while until the oil pressure gauge went up. Reconnected them and then cranked it again and it started!

I need to adjust the timing today and also put the front end back on, but it runs.

 

[jdeitch]

Congrats!

 

[TYM4FUN]

Very nice man, those battery cables look stout!

 

[blkprj80]

Congratulations on a job well done!!!!

That picture looks eerily familiar...

I tried to match your picture. It ain't photoshopped I swear!

 

[dranven]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Yea, I upgraded the battery cables to 2 AWG and also replaced the fusible links because mine were looking really ratty like the wires were going to break at any moment.

1 week update: Truck drives great! No trouble whatsoever! I'm going to drain the oil and coolant in another couple hundred miles.

I also installed a new J lift and Slee rear towbar. Photos to come soon.

 

[jdeitch]

I'm so glad everything worked out. I always knew you could do it. Glad I could help.

8^)

 

[94SRUNNER]

I noticed in you completed picture the exhaust manifold heat shields were not installed? Did you end up not installing them or had they not been re-installed at the time of the picture?

 

[dranven]

I'm so glad everything worked out. I always knew you could do it. Glad I could help.

8^)

Thanks for your help!!

I noticed in you completed picture the exhaust manifold heat shields were not installed? Did you end up not installing them or had they not been re-installed at the time of the picture?

They are still not yet bolted up. They have some cracks in them and a couple of the holes have rusted and made the hole where the bolt goes through break off.

My dad is going to weld them, then I will throw them back on.

 

[dranven]

So here's the truck as she sits.

I am missing a light! I bought Depo lights and did not research enough ahead of time, so I thought they were plug and play. Come to find out, the low beam requires an H4 bulb, so I purchased some 9005/9006 connectors, along with H4 connectors and wiring, so I can create an adapter. I am waiting for them to come in the mail.

Funny angle, but the truck is actually quite level. The rear is a measured 1/8" higher than the front. My new setup is OME 850J/863J with L shocks and 2" metaltech spacers up front.

Here's my new Slee rear 2" receiver mount installed.