Hey! I'm new to the forum and also pretty new to the 4runner world. I recently bought a 95 runner with a blown 3.0 v6 3vze engine. The previous owner had somehow run it out of oil and threw... well, 4 rods. So the engine's toast. I work at a parts store and bought a remanufactured engine from Marshall Engines, along with a bunch of necessary parts. But, on to the problem. I was an idiot and didn't mark the timing on my old engine, so now I have no real way of lining up the crank and the two camshafts together before I put the timing belt on it. Is there anyone or any good sites that can help me out? Thanks!

you have the camshaft backing plate, right? there are two notches on the plate that would appear above each cam sprocket. the cam sprockets have notches on the outer edge and arrows on the spokes. align those notches with the notches on the backing plate and you are golden on the top end.

regarding the crank, if the heads are off, rotate it until cyl #1 is at TDC. if memory serves, at this time the notch on the crank pulley should be at about the 2 o'clock position which is where the 0 mark is on the timing gauge.

make sense?

if not, here is a link to the 1993 factory service manual: http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...fsm/index.html

the motor is the same as your '95 and gives a detailed description on how to install the timing belt and set the timing.

good luck!

Awesome! That's exactly what I needed! Thanks! I'll be even more thankful in a few weeks when my runner doesn't explode when I turn the key for the first time.