Connecting Rod Bearing Replacement

[cyclenut]

Hi there, new member here. This is a great board! I also posted this thread in the 96-02 section.

I've got a 1999 4WD 4 runner with the 3.4 liter with about 150,000 miles. Although I'm religious with my oil changesl, I'm afraid I've got a connecting rod bearing thats on its way out. It has the signature clack for about 1 second on a cold start until oil pressure builds. Could it be anything else?

I've got a great shop except its setup for motorcycle work and racing. I'm pretty handy with tools and do most of the maintenance on the 4 Runner, however I've never done a con rod bearing.

Alldatapro has it listed as a 5.4 hr warranty or 7.3 hr standard job, but doesn't list the actual procedure, just the clearance/plastiguage specs and torque values. Can the oil pan be removed and this procedure be done with the engine installed? I eyeballed it and wasn't quite sure.

I'd be gratious for any input people have from their experiences. I couldn't find anything on the subject with the search function.

Thanks!

 

[toyoboy]

what kind of oil filter are you using? does it knock on hard accel? and yes you can remove the oil pan with the engine still installed, just need to lower front diff.

 

[cyclenut]

what kind of oil filter are you using? does it knock on hard accel? and yes you can remove the oil pan with the engine still installed, just need to lower front diff.

Its a Fram oil filter. Do you think the oil is draining out or something?

It doesn't knock on hard accel. Actually it hasn't knocked since the weather has gotten warmer here in Ohio. The knock was most notable on cold morning (0 - 10 F).

Thats great that you can pull the pan in-situ.

thanks

 

[ysrsquid]

I've gotten to do the engine replacment on my 4th Gen 4Runner and it also was making 'ticking' noises before complete failure. One thing that I REALLY wished I had done was to take an oil sample in for testing. The oil test will show high traces of the bearing material if one of them is failing. Unfortunately I told myself for too long that it might be 'injector noise'. By the time that the engine really began to knock the damage was beyond repair.

I've heard that you can drop the pan without pulling the motor on the 3rd gen.

Good luck, Dave