the BIG RED Restoration ! (1 Viewer)

[half k cruiser]

I had to take a gram or two off two pistons and I think three rods. All very close though.

Its pretty amazing how close everything is when you start looking in the FSM. .0007 spread between possible rod bearing combos !

 

[half k cruiser]

I got some goodies in the mail yesterday. NPR pistons rings and Clevite main and rod bearings, plus some new thrust washers. I was surprised to see all of this stuff is made in Japan ! Surely Clevite is not the OEM supplier for Toyota's bearings ?

 

[half k cruiser]

The block is back from the machine shop. I had .010 taken off the deck to remove the pitting on #6. While it was there they deglazed the cylinder walls in order to prepare them for the new rings. Some before and after shots of the same cylinder. I'm getting closer to putting this thing back together. I will finish cleaning and painting some of the accessories first, then when everything is laid out I will start bolting things back on.

 

[half k cruiser]

A little bit of engine porn for you guys.

 

[half k cruiser]

I decided to pull the wiring harness out. After 20 years it was starting to show its age, I also broke two of the fuel injector clips when I originally pulled the motor. 30 minutes and two rolls of electrical tape later I was able to get the harness looking up to par. I stripped off most of the old tape and put plastic armor on the longer run of wires that heads back over the transmission to the o2 sensors. I will order new injector clips from Dan this week.

 

[half k cruiser]

Decided I'd better check the head bolts before making my order from CDan, just in case I needed to replace a few of those as well. Everything checked out though, four of them were a bit smaller but nothing under the FSM minimum. I also painted my manifolds last night, they seem to have turned out pretty well. It looks like its going to be a pretty durable finish. I hope so since I used half of my propane cooking them.

 

[half k cruiser]

FINALLY !! I am now putting parts back IN the motor. It feels really good. I wanted all of the prep work done first however and have everything laid out and ready to go. Pictures are of the block when I started. Oil nozzles back in. Clevite tri metal main bearings going in.

 

[ardentyota]

What kind of paint did you use on the manifolds?

 

[half k cruiser]

What kind of paint did you use on the manifolds?

VHT extreme header paint. Supposed to be good for 1200 and up. You have to spray it then bake and cool it in three different stages. I hope it holds up since it took about 3 hours for the whole process.

 

[half k cruiser]

Time for an update. I spent most of a day cleaning piston tops and ring grooves, what a mess ! Finally everything is clean and ready to go back together. I installed a set of NPR rings and rented a ring compressor from Autozone.

 

[half k cruiser]

The crank is in, new mains, everything plastiguaged to spec. Since the pistons were set up I lubed the bores and dropped them in along with the fresh rod bearings.

 

[half k cruiser]

Its starting to look like a real motor again. I had a slight delay waiting for a few parts, but I am now back in business. The lower end is completely together and resealed, including the oil pans and front and rear mains. The head is back on and the factory bolts have been torqued to specification. Now I need to set the cams and time them to the lower end. After that it will just be a matter of putting the manifolds and various accessories back on.

 

[94SRUNNER]

Fantastic engine build!

 

[half k cruiser]

Fantastic engine build!

Thank you. Between some very helpful members of this forum and the FSM, its actually become a very enjoyable project.

 

[half k cruiser]

Its getting there. The cams are in and timed, VC back on, exhaust manifolds, AC comp bracket and various sensors are installed. I need to go to the parts store tomorrow and pick up some oil, spark plugs, and some low strength Loctite to put on the oil pressure sender and the VC bolts.

 

[half k cruiser]

So 3 months ago when I ordered my gasket kit from Beno I decided maybe while I'm in there I should take care of my alternator. The truck is 20 years old after all, who knows, maybe it needs some attention. Tonight I had one of those rare moments where you realize you made a good decision. The parts bag calls this a brush holder assembly. The two metal bars are spring loaded and press up against a copper shaft inside the alternator. The springs allow them to self adjust with wear. Still, there wasn't much adjustment left in the old one !

 

[half k cruiser]

All of the major components are installed and now I'm at a point where I'm wrapping up some odds and ends. I forgot to post before and after pictures of my injectors. Basically I cleaned them by hand, then made a homemade spray bench to clean the flow. After that, new seals and O-rings from Beno.

 

[half k cruiser]

I got the lower intake on last night, then decided to stop since I needed to run the wiring harness through there. Today I removed all the broken connectors from the harness ( x4 ) and replaced them with new from Cdan. A little extra armor, electrical tape, and heat shield and the harness is good to go. I also took some time to replace all of the vacuum lines, including the snakes nest you see below. There are about twenty different lines and they were pretty old and hard. All of the soft fuel lines have been replaced as well.

 

[half k cruiser]

And finally the motor as it sits this very minute. I was hoping to have it ready to drop in this weekend but I have discovered I am missing the two gaskets that go to the EGR pipe. FSM shows one on the side of the block and one up top where it plugs into the upper intake manifold. I guess I'll take a break and work on some power steering stuff.

 

[half k cruiser]

FINALLY ! Yesterday was the big day. Every seal has been reinstalled, everything painted, torque converter seal replaced. I got up in the morning and mounted the leveler to the engine hangers, then pulled out the shop crane for the big lift. I assumed that I was going to have to let all the air out of the tires in order to clear the front, but this thing has so much lift I just took it up and over. That's with almost 12" of room taken out of the system by the leveler and the hook from the crane. It had even more room to go up but I didn't need it.

The leveler was worth every penny. My dad came over and we had this thing bolted back down in about 30 minutes. I'm going to work on getting everything plugged and bolted back together. Hopefully it will be running by tomorrow night.