battleaxe
Captain Obvious
Damn, that's rough... Glad to hear you're ok.
I'd be thankful that you didn't get t-boned in the 4runner... They have some pretty poor ratings for crashes (ultimately the main reason why I sold mine)
El Burro - 1989 4Runner Build
- Thread starter TheCascadeKid
- Start date
Damn, that's rough... Glad to hear you're ok.
I'd be thankful that you didn't get t-boned in the 4runner... They have some pretty poor ratings for crashes (ultimately the main reason why I sold mine)
O.B.A.K
Member
So sorry to hear about that chain of events Cascade. Hope it all ends up ok for you!
TheCascadeKid
Observer
2 Weeks ago I was headed up to Crystal for what was gong to be a banger powder day. The 4Runner started to intermittently misfire about 30 miles from home. I milked it home and started to read up and diagnose the issue. At the time I threw a code for a cylinder 4 misfire and a fault for the MAF and IAT sensors. Still not sure how the 2 sensor codes play into the picture.
While working on the diagnosis I noticed that my coolant reservoir had been drained...not a good sign and likely pointing towards a cracked head or toast head gasket. Pulling my plugs to do a compression test confirmed this possibility when my cylinder 4 spark plug (shown on the left) came out looking matte and milky in comparison to the remainder.
Plugs
Results from the compression test were as follows;
1- 185
2- 188
3- 137
4- 190
5- 195
6- 193
I tested cylinder 3 more than once in hopes of operator error. No dice
Looks like I may be chasing at least two issues. I ordered a leak down tester for do diligence and to pinpoint the issues before I dig deeper. In all likely hood it looks like I'm in the hunt for a low mileage 3.4 or a rebuild.
While working on the diagnosis I noticed that my coolant reservoir had been drained...not a good sign and likely pointing towards a cracked head or toast head gasket. Pulling my plugs to do a compression test confirmed this possibility when my cylinder 4 spark plug (shown on the left) came out looking matte and milky in comparison to the remainder.
Plugs Results from the compression test were as follows;
1- 185
2- 188
3- 137
4- 190
5- 195
6- 193
I tested cylinder 3 more than once in hopes of operator error. No dice
Looks like I may be chasing at least two issues. I ordered a leak down tester for do diligence and to pinpoint the issues before I dig deeper. In all likely hood it looks like I'm in the hunt for a low mileage 3.4 or a rebuild.
TheCascadeKid
Observer
Ran my leak down test and found the cylinder with low compression was leaking out the intake valve. I pulled off my intake and popped off my valve covers to have a look. Unfortunately what I found was not promising. It looks like the PO neglected the engine and went too far between oil changes.
I've gone back and forth between a rebuild, a JDM engine swap, or trying to revive this 3.4 without a compete tear down. With a valve cover gasket kit already on the way I'm going to give this engine a shot at coming back to life. I'm going to follow the steps outlined by the "Sludge Monter". If it bites the dust after that I'll go with the JDM swap. Good news is I found my coolant leak while warming up my engine to run the leak down test. So I got that going for me
I've gone back and forth between a rebuild, a JDM engine swap, or trying to revive this 3.4 without a compete tear down. With a valve cover gasket kit already on the way I'm going to give this engine a shot at coming back to life. I'm going to follow the steps outlined by the "Sludge Monter". If it bites the dust after that I'll go with the JDM swap. Good news is I found my coolant leak while warming up my engine to run the leak down test. So I got that going for me
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Crenshaw
Adventurer
Holy crap that looks awful.
I usually can't endorse or trust any sort of "snake oil" type of products...but, a heavy duty seafoam treatment brought my old 3vze back from the dead at one point. It was using a ton of oil and the seafoam must've knocked some crud loose on a valve stem seal or something because it literally quit burning oil entirely after the smoke show. It did develop rod knock a few thousand miles later but that was because it was a neglected piece of crap, not because of the seafoam. Good luck!
I usually can't endorse or trust any sort of "snake oil" type of products...but, a heavy duty seafoam treatment brought my old 3vze back from the dead at one point. It was using a ton of oil and the seafoam must've knocked some crud loose on a valve stem seal or something because it literally quit burning oil entirely after the smoke show. It did develop rod knock a few thousand miles later but that was because it was a neglected piece of crap, not because of the seafoam. Good luck!
TheCascadeKid
Observer
After a long hiatus from working on the 4Runner I dug back into it this weekend. I finally decided I didn't want to spend any more time trying to revive an engine with 325k miles. I started prepping to pull the engine and had it hoisted in record time compared to the first go around.
I picked up a JDM engine from an importer here in Seattle so I could check it out in person and brought it home.
I got to stripping the accessories and fresh timing components off my US spec 3.4 to move over to the JDM engine. Having added an air impact wrench to my arsenal helped make quick work of this task. After a couple hours this afternoon I'm ready to strip the JDM and re-assemble.
Being sidelined from DH biking for a bit with an injury spurred this progress. Hoping to finish the swap before I'm healthy and all my free time is once again spent on a bike. Cheers!
I picked up a JDM engine from an importer here in Seattle so I could check it out in person and brought it home.
I got to stripping the accessories and fresh timing components off my US spec 3.4 to move over to the JDM engine. Having added an air impact wrench to my arsenal helped make quick work of this task. After a couple hours this afternoon I'm ready to strip the JDM and re-assemble.
Being sidelined from DH biking for a bit with an injury spurred this progress. Hoping to finish the swap before I'm healthy and all my free time is once again spent on a bike. Cheers!
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TheCascadeKid
Observer
Yeah - not ideal. I like how clean the engine is, but it doesn't let you get an idea of what its past life was like.
TheCascadeKid
Observer
Oil pressure sender, plugs, wires, and freshly balanced 4 hole fuel injectors installed. Popped my crankshaft pulley bolt free and called it a night to take my pup to the park. Tomorrow night will be on to the timing belt, water pump, dipstick relocation, oil pan swap... I forgot how many little things you have to do for this swap! Last of my parts should be arriving by Saturday. I have a fighting chance and getting it wrapped up this weekend!
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TheCascadeKid
Observer
Getting pretty close to finishing my engine prep and ran my first issue. Looking for help if anyone has run into something similar.
There is what appears to be a press fit coolant nipple interfering with my passenger engine mount as shown below. This doesn't exist in the US spec 3.4 layout. My understanding is I need to use my original engine mounts. I feel like there are 2 options.
1. Grind my engine mount to fit and then put a dead end coolant line on the bung. It sounds like some people crimp and weld them shut, but I'm not sure what the PF fitting is made of. I could try to weld one that looks similar that's scrap.
2. Cut the PF fitting flush with the block, drill it out, tap it, and fill it with a set screw.
Option 2 seams more permanent and less likely to lead to a cracked engine mount or a coolant leak. It also has a higher risk of error.
Thoughts or experience with this? I couldn't find any other JDM 3.4 swaps online that mentioned this particular issue.
There is what appears to be a press fit coolant nipple interfering with my passenger engine mount as shown below. This doesn't exist in the US spec 3.4 layout. My understanding is I need to use my original engine mounts. I feel like there are 2 options.
1. Grind my engine mount to fit and then put a dead end coolant line on the bung. It sounds like some people crimp and weld them shut, but I'm not sure what the PF fitting is made of. I could try to weld one that looks similar that's scrap.
2. Cut the PF fitting flush with the block, drill it out, tap it, and fill it with a set screw.
Option 2 seams more permanent and less likely to lead to a cracked engine mount or a coolant leak. It also has a higher risk of error.
Thoughts or experience with this? I couldn't find any other JDM 3.4 swaps online that mentioned this particular issue.
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TheCascadeKid
Observer
Pulled what I thought was the drain plug above the fitting and coolant came gushing out the spigot. Yahoo! The bolt was a bleeder valve to release coolant out the fitting. Hacked it off flush with the block and went back to re-assembly.
TheCascadeKid
Observer
Getting closer! Pulled the oil pick up and cut a hole in the slosh baffle to accommodate the 3.0 version. So much cleaner than the last one!
Drilled my dip stick relocation. Pneumatic drill was hard to run slow enough but its all I have for a right angle drill.
Drilled my dip stick relocation. Pneumatic drill was hard to run slow enough but its all I have for a right angle drill.
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Silverback07
Adventurer
No, he pulled the engine with 325k miles and replaced it.