4Running Daily's Build Thread

[LuckyRunnerLTD]

12 hours to the sequoias?? You must be driving really slow. I was gonna go back a month or 2 ago but went to big sur instead cuz it was just as long to get there but we weren't driving up a mountain the whole time. I do that enough coming home to Ramona

 

[KidVermicious]

Compression came back relatively low. I'm taking it camping anyways. This motor can be toast, I don't care. I'm driving until it has holes in it. Worry about it later. Hahaha

Word. If it starts making rude noises, just crank up the Zeppelin and keep driving.

 

[4Running Daily]

12 hours there and back.

I drove it to my buddies house in Temecula. Running rough again.

 

[4Running Daily]

I wussed out though. I'm driving a ford.

 

[BrianSD_42]

If that's your plan be sure to bring a fire extinguisher. They sell them cheap at West Marine and Costco.

 

[LittleCaesar]

I wussed out though. I'm driving a ford.

I think I'd rather take my chances in the 4runner, having owned 5 Fords in my 20 years of driving.....eep:ound:

That said, have a good time and post the #s when you return.

 

[02SE]

Compression came back relatively low. I'm taking it camping anyways. This motor can be toast, I don't care. I'm driving until it has holes in it. Worry about it later. Hahaha

My advice is the same as the last two times, find a competent repair shop.

A properly replaced headgasket(s) will be just as reliable as when the engine was new. The problem is there are a lot of hack parts changers out there, masquerading as Mechanics.

Perhaps someone in your area knows of a competent, qualified Mechanic.

Good luck.

 

[4Running Daily]

My advice is the same as the last two times, find a competent repair shop.



A properly replaced headgasket(s) will be just as reliable as when the engine was new. The problem is there are a lot of hack parts changers out there, masquerading as Mechanics.



Perhaps someone in your area knows of a competent, qualified Mechanic.



Good luck.

I think I'm either going with a used, low mile, Engine. Or a rebuilt unit if I can find one from a decent shop.

But probably a used motor off ebay with 50k miles and a new supercharger along with a few other things.

Dual cases probably won't happen this summer.

 

[4Running Daily]

So the compression test results were the highest amount being 180 psi and the lowest being 140 psi.

So my current theory is that my passenger head is warped slightly. When the engine cools, the metal contracts causing coolant to flow into the top of the cylinder. When it's hot the metal expands, filling the small gap so coolant doesn't continuously flow into the cylinder. That's why the coolant loss is legible over short periods of time, there is no constant white smoke, and I only begin to lose coolant once I park the car and it starts to cool off. After a cold start, the engine runs rough for about a minute, but then it seems to run normally. Possibly it just has to burn off whatever coolant/water has flowed into the cylinder.

Does this sounds right? It is almost midnight hahah

 

[KidVermicious]

I think I'm either going with a used, low mile, Engine. Or a rebuilt unit if I can find one from a decent shop.

But probably a used motor off ebay with 50k miles and a new supercharger along with a few other things.

So humor me - why not buy an engine stand off craigslist and get a rebuild kit and rebuild the entire motor yourself?

 

[4Running Daily]

So humor me - why not buy an engine stand off craigslist and get a rebuild kit and rebuild the entire motor yourself?

The motor is cursed

 

[02SE]

The motor is cursed

Not to keep harping on this, but your engine is an inanimate object. The problem is that the people that have worked on it before, were incompetent.

Find a shop with Mechanics that have a clue, and get it fixed properly.

The key to fixing a blown head gasket, is to do it correctly. Hack mechanics don't replace them properly, and they fail again in short order.

It's not rocket science; The block deck needs to be within tolerance for flatness. The head(s) also need to be in good condition, and within tolerance for flatness. The RA of the block and head surfaces needs to be appropriate for the head gasket(s) used. New head bolts (especially if they are a TTY specification, which the 5VZ-FE headbolts are) should be used. The proper tightening sequence with a quality torque wrench needs to be followed.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Doesn't Brian stand 100% behind the guys who fixed his? Try them. No need to opt for driving the Ford Focus just yet.

 

[rubbertoe]

whats a ballpark price for a job like this ?

 

[BrianSD_42]

I don't know if I stand 100% but it is still working so far.

 

[4Running Daily]

Alright. Now that I'm back in town, this is a forum, I would like from people with legitamate experience to comment on what they think the problem is with the engine I have now.

I lose coolant while the engine is cold. It is not going into the cylinders and being burned (no smoke). It is not going into the oil (clean oil). And it is not going onto the ground. But I still occasionally have a rough start (could be a dirty injector/separate problem)

 

[BrianSD_42]

Well I'm no mechanic but here goes:

That coolant is going somewhere. Investigate that first. There are a variety of tests that will reveal some light on the situation.

 

[Rockdawg84]

when you pulled the spark plugs to do the compression test were any of them super clean like steam cleaned. if so you could be loosing coolant into that cylinder due to a bad head gasket. How much coolant are you loosing in what amount of time?

 

[02SE]

Alright. Now that I'm back in town, this is a forum, I would like from people with legitamate experience to comment on what they think the problem is with the engine I have now.

I lose coolant while the engine is cold. It is not going into the cylinders and being burned (no smoke). It is not going into the oil (clean oil). And it is not going onto the ground. But I still occasionally have a rough start (could be a dirty injector/separate problem)

I don't know what you consider legitimate experience. I worked as an ASE Certified Master Tech for years. Until I got tired of working for others, who were mostly dishonest.

During and since that time I've built/rebuilt hundreds of engines. These days I work on professional racing machines. In that capacity I/we might rebuild an engine up to 8 times over the course of a racing weekend.



If it were my truck, I'd take out the spark plugs and inspect each combustion chamber with a Borescope. I'd be willing to bet you'll find one (or more) that is much cleaner than the rest.

Because based on your description, the dubious record of the repair shop it's been to twice now for the same problem, and my years of experience, I suspect you likely have a slowly leaking headgasket.

There is a possibility you're slowly losing coolant from somewhere such as the water pump. They have a tendency to seep a bit of coolant which dries before it can leak enough to form puddles under the truck.

But based on the trucks repair history, and your description, I'd most likely suspect a headgasket leak.

 

[KidVermicious]

If I were a betting man, I'd bet on 02SE being right. But you can confirm or disprove his theory with just a little effort. Get a block test kit from the parts store - if your coolant is disappearing into a combustion chamber, you'll also have exhaust particles getting into your coolant, and the block test kit will confirm that. If it comes back negative, then you have pretty much ruled out a bad head gasket.