OP, you ever find the actual problem? Why did it wipe that rod bearing? I'd want to know that before buttoning up that rebuild.

When the thing you're looking for clicks onto the magnet, that's the happiest sound in the world.

Found several things wrong but no smoking gun. What I don't know I how much oil was actually in the truck. The oil that I did drain is thick black syrup.
I think the material in the pick up tube screen is bearing material. The oil pump looks fine.
The oil passages didn't seem plugged but I'll do a additional cleaning before final build up.
The rod, I think I could have honed back to size but it blued slightly and one of the bolts doesn't thread in with ease. Its the only one and its not the bolt.
All cap and rod torques seemed ok.
I did find a chain tensioner guide broken so a small piece could have floated and restricted an oil passage.
The vvt solenoids where sticky, the filters were fine.
My son drove this truck with a CEL and never really addressed the problems. Oil was crap and he drove it 1500 miles in about 2 days. I say poor maintenance and loud stereo were contributing factors.

LOL. That's perfect for anyone with kids.

So I'm curious about the decision to rebuild vs. looking at a new engine. Seems like you're really experienced at these type of repairs. It just seems like with several issues stemming from a shoddy maintenance history, a new engine would add piece of mind. How's the rest of the truck? Is it a 4x4? hows the transfer case, etc? Was your son at Ft. "Lost in the Woods?" (Ft. Leonard Wood). I took BCT there. Anyway I'm curious about the repair costs for taking the rebuild route. I'm certainly interested in following along. Best of luck!!

Good questions, the decision to rebuild is basically financial. The local yards out here want between 2 and 2500 for a used motor. Even with a replacement motor I'd be wondering what condition is it really in.
It is a 4x4 automatic and so far the trans seems solid. My soldier's last duty station was Fort Riley in Kansas.
Thanks


So far the cost
Bore .020 over- $240
Piston & rings - $200
replacement rod - $106
Crank grind & bearings - $160
yet to buy
gasket set- going Toyota ~ $240 I think
oil pump - ~ $60
water pump- ~ $90
head bolts ~ $120
Timing chains, guides, tensioners ???
Still working on the valves, so far on bank 1 I think all can be reused. Have not touched bank 2 yet.

Here's my list, tensioners not included as I'd already bought them:

13506-AD010 Chain $187.22
13521-AD010 Crank Sprocket $20.91
13523-AD010 Exhaust Cam Gear $24.76 (x2)
13507-AD010 Secondary Chain $55.60 (x2)
13559-AD010 Chain Guide Right Lower $27.16
13562-AD010 Chain Guide Upper $16.19 (x2)
13561-AD010 Chain Guide Left $66.95
13530-0P011 Idler Gear $16.99

Other misc parts:

96761-35031 Water Pipe Gasket $2.96
16326-31020 Water Inlet Gasket $0.93
13550-AD010 TENSIONER ASSY, CHAIN 68.78
13560-AD010 Tensioner $31.88
90311-A0005 Seal $13.06

(there's a 3rd tensioner, but I had already bought it locally during my initial troubleshoot)

The chain and chain components are crazy expensive. The only good news I wont be ready for that purchase for another 2 weeks.

Melling and Cloyes are reputable aftermarket brands in the domestic market and offer complete kits in the $350 ballpark. The parts are import/Taiwan, and I opted to spend extra for Toyota parts...but it's an option to consider.

Lots of shiny stuff in all kinds of locations. The VVT filter collected a few pieces from getting into the VVT controller and saving the cam caps.

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I was hoping to simply hand lap the valves after a very good cleaning but no luck. The intakes (IMO) look good and lapped nicely to the seats. The exhaust valves had too many pits even after lapping. My local shop charges $75 to grind the seats. They'll also grind the valves and then I'll do a final lap.
I haven't soaked the head yet.

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This didn't help. My son said he would randomly get a CEL.

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Valve job seems like a deep rabbit hole, considering the resulting change in cam lobe clearance and the parts needed to adjust it. I dealt w/ this on my prior '03 Tacoma 4 cylinder, which had hardened shims on top of the buckets and no need to remove the cam to change them. My understanding of the 4.0L is that the entire bucket is replaced to adjust clearance.

How many miles on this 2008? Was it lack of maintenance (oil changes) that caused the failure?