Builds Wompom's Painfully Slow Rebuild Now Part II!

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Bump. Anyone? Bueler?

I don't know that they'll separate "fine". There was a member recently who tried to do this without knowing, and it didn't go too well. The torque converter fits snugly into the oil pump, and it has to be straight to come out.
 
Btw, if needing to use channel lock type pliers, knipex makes the best. The kind that has the small adjuster teeth. You can crush things you previously struggled to get grip on. Love them. A 3 peice set is like 90 bucks on amazon.
 
Got this huge hunk of metal out finally. Still have to figure out how to separate it without being able to turn the crank and access the flex plate bolts.
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So much room for activities!
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Coming apart piece by piece:


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Question for the masses. Do timing covers normally look this cracked on the exterior? Are these just from casting or something to be worried about?


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More on the timing cover -behind the oil pump. Are these cracks just from casting?

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Oil cooler was much cleaner than i've seen most people post pictures of. Makes me think this motor was pretty low mileage (unknown from the seller).
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Before and after cleaning pistons. I used a pinch of Brakleen and a brass brush after using a gasket scraper for the heavy deposits.
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Engine is torn down to the block. I went this far planning on replacing the oil pan FIPG, not doing the main bearings. Am i being dumb not replacing them at this point? It doesnt seem like it would need them. It turns veryyy smoothly and based on the cross hatching and lack of filth overall in this thing its hard to think this was an original motor to the car it came out of. It was also painted black but the head was not which makes me think new short block at some point?
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Anyone have any input on the timing cover cracks or the little bit of pitting below?
Just worried if i need to deck the block or not. Dropping the head off today at the machine shop.
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The timing cover casting 'cracks' are normal - I have seen this disconcerting appearance on other Toyota castings. If you see no evidence of oil migrating through the casting, don't sweat it.

The head surface pitting is harder to judge. Some folks use 'spray copper' on heads before installing new gaskets, but this is a no-no on an MLS style gasket (which I assume this has). If you have a conventional gasket, you can safely use it. Some people still hate it, but it's used for filling small imperfections.

Can you snag your fingernail on the pitting? That is a casual way to determine if it's enough to worry about. Maybe ask your machine shop. Decking the block would be a pain, but so is a coolant leak on a freshly rebuilt engine!
 
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Started disassembling the old motor today to see if i could find the failure point.

Off to a gross start. The oil dipstick end - had to be pried off. COVERED in corrosion.
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Now i see what everyone says about he wiring harness being hard to route. I got it off without separating the manifolds by just popping the fuel filter and hardline off.
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Took the drivers engine mount off randomly.

Whats that?










wait


























seriously???????????
Perfectly hidden behind the mount and it was holding all the debris.
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Will it turn over yet? Did you get it out?

I keep getting confused when you switch back and forth between engines. :D
 
Will it turn over yet? Did you get it out?

I keep getting confused when you switch back and forth between engines. :D

I pulled that chunk out and now it spins freely!
At this point it should be mostly putting things back together now hopefully. The one going to the machine shop is hole free.
 
Dropped the "new" block off at the machine shop today. Discussed the hot tank issue with the bronze bushing. he assured me they would use a bath that was safe for metals like bronze, brass and aluminum. Everyone I've heard on here says nothing but hot water should be used? Is this just fear of wrecking it or should i insist it doesn't get tanked?
 
Got the block back today. Looks awesome. Not as clean as i'd hoped since they cant hot tank with the oil pump bushing. They used the tank for aluminum, brass, bronze, etc. Bushing looks good and no play so I think its okay. Everything checked out okay with .005 taken off the deck cause of pitting. Light hone on cylinder walls and polished the crank. I can't decipher the writing on the crank tag but he told me to use standard size bearings all around and standard rings.

I did notice some wear on the block face and timing cover from the oil pump gear. Is this normal? (pic below)

Getting ready to start rebuilding. Need to get my hands on Toyota seal packing & rings.
I went with Clevite/Mahl bearings and i think i will be using NPR rings based on recommendations.

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Great write up! Keep us posted as you continue. Sorry I don't know what that means. Ned
 
Realize its been a while since i updated. I was in an accident and it totaled my DD built out subaru wagon. Currently have no car, time to kick it into overdrive!

Since i had the block back from the machine shop i went ahead and painted it. I wanted something different than a black block so i could see any leaks easily. Went with alpine green (aka detroit diesel).
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Moved on to rebuild the front axle. FWIW i removed the axle while it was unlocked and had no issue popping them back in.



Before:
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Yumm
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Drivers side was actually ok. Passenger had soup.
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Packed with a few tubes of grease. Debatable if i put enough in looking back on this photo now.
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After wrestling with s***ty snap wring pliers and the snap rings for 40 minutes i went to oreily and bought these. Done with both in about 20 seconds. Now a much loved and needed tool.

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Realizing how much time i've spent on this thing already and never even driven it!

After:
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After the axle i cleaned the hell out of the valve cover and did the VHT black wrinkle on it. Came out so so with a heat gun. Would do a few things different next time.
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Ready to built a short block.
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Top mains in.
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Main bolts all in spec and being reused.
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Crank set in place. Definitely recommend a second set of hands here.
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Mains all plastigaged out right at .002 with standard size bearings.
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My best friend spent 8 hours cleaning pistons. They looked brand new when he was done.
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Rings on - not oriented yet.
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ANNNNND S%$T. Piston dropped. large dent on the right and two smaller in the center. Dont think this will make a difference. Opinions before i close the motor up?
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Bottom end built. Very easy to turn. A little sticky since i used an assembly lube the consistency of tar (permatex red).

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So i took the oil cooler off the original motor hoping to use it on the new build. This is what i found. What does that orange look like? All i can think is oil filter pieces? theyre rubber.. like a drain back valve...

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This nut? yeah it caused some problems. I was distracted while assembling the cooler and didnt feel my torque wrench click.. i stripped the stud and had to cut it off with a cutoff wheel.
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