Putting my Motor Back together, preferred Order of Operations (1 Viewer)

[krispy]

Hi All,

I'm finally at the point of putting my motor (1978 2F) back together after having cleaned everything from years of oil/mud that frosted everything like a cake nobody wanted. It's all repainted and ready to go back together. I have it on a stand and spun it 180 degrees. I put the oil pan/gasket on with gravity in my favor. However, before moving forward, im curious if there is a preferred order to bolt things back on. I.E., should the head be next, or should I work on the timing cover/gasket, or...

A couple of other things im curious about, with the intent of setting myself up for success, is with the motor in this state, how do I ensure the motor is at top-dead-center I've read a lot about valves and marks... but with the head off I'm not sure? Also, I want to ensure when I put the distributor back in. I put slide it in, again, setting myself up for success, and im not sure how to line it up so the gear seats down in the best position.

Here are some pics of where im at before I put the oil pan/gasket back on.

 

[Pighead]

The dimple marks on the crank gear and cam gear...

 

[Steamer]

The dimple marks on the crank gear and cam gear...

Pighead or anyone, I have a question. I have always assumed that when the timing gear marks are matched up, the engine is at TDC on compression, but I have never found it stated so in a manual. I intended to confirm this, the last two times I’ve installed a cam but forgot both times. So, my question is, have you found this stated somewhere or have you physically confirmed it?

And to the OP. You could confirm this by aligning the timing marks and confirming that #1 piston is at TDC. Then to check if #1 is on compression or exhaust, you could temporarily drop in the pushrods to see which group of six pushrods are down and which group of six have some raised. The groups I’m referring to are 1,2,3,5,7,9 and 4,6,8,10,11,12 which are the two groups used when adjusting valves.

 

[B y r o n]

You might want to review this document. It's the engine manual. In particular page 3-16 will give you the assembly order.

 

[middlecalf]

FWIW

Im not concerned about finding TDC for #1, I’ve got access to the valves and know I’m on compression for #1 at TDC, so when I go to put the dizzy in I’ll be good to go. What puzzled me is the position of the timing gear marks. Rereading the F-engine repair manual again (mines a 9/66 printing) there’s reference to aligning the marks but no statement as to what’s where wrt cylinders or valves. I realize now that that’s because there is only one way the gears go on their shafts because of the slotted keyways as indicated in red in the pic. The green indications show where the timing marks are when #1 is at TDC and compression. Nothing in the F-engine repair manual says anything about cylinder or valve position when the marks are aligned.
View attachment 1832510

@myquestoyota posted a pic from a 2F manual that does state that #6 is at TDC and compression when the marks are aligned (so #1 is TDC on exhaust stroke). Don’t know if the later motors have a different timing gear mount other than the previous slotted keyway mounts, but in any case they include the cylinder and valve position, which is good to know anyhow.
View attachment 1832509

 

[Steamer]

FWIW

That's worth a lot to me. Thank you sir. The manuals I have don't make reference to engine position when the marks line up but just say "line them up". I never would have guessed it was #6 on TDC compression when the marks are aligned. Saving that pic for sure. I converted it from png to jpeg & enhanced it a little to make it easier to save it if others care to. Thanks again.

 

[krispy]

Thank you all! This is super helpful. I really appreciate it! Im going to start reading through and absorbing all of this!

 

[middlecalf]

Glad it could help @krispy and @Steamer. I haven’t looked but I wonder if that page is from the manual @B y r o n posted? I found it in a thread @myquestoyota posted in. I’m still puzzled why this info isn’t in the F Repair Manual, and also why wouldn’t Toyota have put those matchmarks on the timing gears so they aligned when #1 cylinder was at TDC/compression vice #6. I didn’t have my motor apart so it was an issue for me other than seating the distributor.

 

[Godwin]

This was carried over to the 3FE also. We've been resealing a 3FE and first pulled the timing cover and aligned the timing marks on the cam and crank gears. When we pulled the distributor cover the rotor appeared to be 180 off. Drove me crazy thinking that this motor had been running like this for 200k miles and only became clear once I cracked open the FSM.