bluewavecaptain
New member
According to both my chilton and haynes manuals, it's the little notch on the rear lip of the timing belt gear. I set it at TDC before I put the heads on.
My 3 point slow rebuild
- Thread starter bluewavecaptain
- Start date
According to both my chilton and haynes manuals, it's the little notch on the rear lip of the timing belt gear. I set it at TDC before I put the heads on.
BucknutBob
New member
Given the placement, the heat build-up that causes the gasket problem is pretty much non-negotiable. Also, the design of the driver-side manifold is SO restrictive, the heat is held in the pipes much longer while the gases fight to make it down the line. At the very least, you would think they would've brought the two sides together in a down-turned Y, instead of making the passenger side slam halfway up the other manifold before having to turn against itself to go downward. It's no wonder why headers are the #1 suggested mod for engine performance with the 3.0--without that, any other mods don't have a chance to reach their true potential.
mikebontoft
New member
yup that's the mark. on my crank gear there was a nice machined dot on the front exactly 180* off.
did you by chance get new injector seals? I thought mine would be OK until I went to fire it up and gas came out of everything. I had to tear the manifold down. then once more to fix the timing.
did you by chance get new injector seals? I thought mine would be OK until I went to fire it up and gas came out of everything. I had to tear the manifold down. then once more to fix the timing.
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bluewavecaptain
New member
I'll pick some up if they are not in my gasket set. Thanks for the advice!
BucknutBob
New member
Two that I know of are NorthwestOffroad.com (their own design) and Rocky-Road.com (Doug Thorley headers). The guy that runs NWOR is a grouchy old fart, and his shop's hours are extremely limited, but they do seem to have some good custom products (I have their V8 headers and some other items). Haven't tried the Thorleys, but those guys have been building headers for decades. Expect high prices for any you find (limited demand, I guess).
4runnerBrett
New member
LCEperformance has a header also. But its like $600
mikebontoft
New member
the only ones I've been able to find lately are the Doug thorleys for $600.
it is seriously a ridiculous amount considering the engine. this is why I insist on using passenger manifolds and cutting the crossover apart.
not sure where the best place is for the y-pipe... not famiar with the travel of the front driveshaft and if it actually changes angle or if it just slides.
4runnerBrett
New member
I would do a heat wrap around the pipe. Its like $30 -$60 dollars.
Yeah, I put this on my motorcycle years back, still holding up.
Diverse4runner
New member
bluewavecaptain
New member
Time to install the front camshaft seals.
Be sure to lube up the lobe generously. Also slather some assembly lube on the seal itself. The goal is to make sure the seal seats properly and the seal lip doesn't roll over while you are installing it.
Slide the seal on by hand first. If it does not go on by hand, something is wrong or you have the wrong seal.
Using a seal seat tool, a large socket, or (in my case) a piece of exhaust pipe, seat the seal. Place a block of wood on the end and hit around the surface of the wood with a hammer being sure to seat the seal evenly.
The seal won't seal perfectly flush, but it should be even all the way around. If one side is sitting higher than the other, the seal is not fully seated.
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bluewavecaptain
New member
Apply gasket sealer to all four corners of the head where the cam bearing cap meets the head. This will ensure no oil leaks.
Install the new valve cover gasket on the valve cover. Pay attention to the orientation of the gasket. The gasket will not seat perfectly until you bolt the cover on, but all four corners and the long sides should be pressed into place before installation.
The valve covers installed. The cover with the oil cap goes on the driver side.
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bluewavecaptain
New member
bluewavecaptain
New member
Cleaned up the cooling outlet flange on the intake.
NOTE: The gasket that attaches to the thermostat goes AROUND the lip on the thermostat. If you look closely at your gasket, you'll see the groove that it sits in.
The thermostat installed in the water pump.
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bluewavecaptain
New member
Oh sh*&!
So...I'm in the back of the truck going through my parts and I come across this...
Do you see the problem here? This is the plate that goes between the engine and the transmission. After several choice vulgarities, I opened up the books to see how to handle this. Needless to say, unless I feel like ripping the heads off again, I have the unhook and unbolt the tranny, unbolt the motor mounts, slide the whole **** forward, unbolt the engine, and put the plate in... I am not a happy camper right now. I crawled underneath by the tranny and its not pretty under there. Not only is there not much space to work with, everything is rusted to hell. At this point, I gave up for the day and decided to go drink. I'll start fresh this coming weekend...
NOTE: IF ANYONE has not installed this plate and had no problems what so ever, LET ME KNOW!!! It would save me a hell of a lot of time right now. I would put it back in eventually, but I'm trying to get the truck running for winter.
So...I'm in the back of the truck going through my parts and I come across this...
Do you see the problem here? This is the plate that goes between the engine and the transmission. After several choice vulgarities, I opened up the books to see how to handle this. Needless to say, unless I feel like ripping the heads off again, I have the unhook and unbolt the tranny, unbolt the motor mounts, slide the whole **** forward, unbolt the engine, and put the plate in... I am not a happy camper right now. I crawled underneath by the tranny and its not pretty under there. Not only is there not much space to work with, everything is rusted to hell. At this point, I gave up for the day and decided to go drink. I'll start fresh this coming weekend...
NOTE: IF ANYONE has not installed this plate and had no problems what so ever, LET ME KNOW!!! It would save me a hell of a lot of time right now. I would put it back in eventually, but I'm trying to get the truck running for winter.
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BucknutBob
New member
Well don't THAT just suck! Been there many times myself, friend--just about done, and then notice the part that got left out. My best friend and I had this little joke--if a project went too well, we would always say "tear it apart", figuring that something important HAD to have been missed. I can't imagine that plate being expendable--I would put it in.
EDIT: Alright Bill, stop stealing my lines! Same time, same comments (LOL).
EDIT: Alright Bill, stop stealing my lines! Same time, same comments (LOL).
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bluewavecaptain
New member
Well, I had an epiphany this weekend while working on the truck. I was able to get the 3VZE out without the transmission. Here's how I did it...
- Remove the IFS "axle" from under the truck.
- Disconnect the steering bar from the pitman arm on the driver's side.
- Unbolt the sway bar from the frame (crosses under the transmission pan.)
- Make sure the radiator is out, the fan bracket is removed, and the engine has been disconnected from the truck. By this, I mean make sure all the wires, connecters, lines, hoses, etc. are disconnected and the engine is ready to lift out.
- Hook an engine hoist to the engine.
- Unbolt the motor mounts from the frame (2 bolts).
- Lift the engine slightly so that the motor mounts are loose, and then unbolt them from the engine and remove them from the engine bay.
- Now, slowly lower the engine until it stops. If you did it correctly, the transmission bell housing should be resting on the rear IFS frame mount.
- At this point, there is enough room behind the engine to unbolt and remove the exhaust crossover pipe.
- Unbolt and remove the crossover pipe. It does take a bit of weaseling to get it out. You may have to remove the coolant sensor block on the back of the intake.
- Once the crossover pipe is out, raise the engine and transmission slightly and place a jack under the transmission to support it. Be sure to use a wood block if you lift on the transmission pan.
- Unbolt the transmission to engine bolts and lift the engine out.
and VOILA!
As you can see, the transmission is still in the truck. Never disconnected anything on it.
- Remove the IFS "axle" from under the truck.
- Disconnect the steering bar from the pitman arm on the driver's side.
- Unbolt the sway bar from the frame (crosses under the transmission pan.)
- Make sure the radiator is out, the fan bracket is removed, and the engine has been disconnected from the truck. By this, I mean make sure all the wires, connecters, lines, hoses, etc. are disconnected and the engine is ready to lift out.
- Hook an engine hoist to the engine.
- Unbolt the motor mounts from the frame (2 bolts).
- Lift the engine slightly so that the motor mounts are loose, and then unbolt them from the engine and remove them from the engine bay.
- Now, slowly lower the engine until it stops. If you did it correctly, the transmission bell housing should be resting on the rear IFS frame mount.
- At this point, there is enough room behind the engine to unbolt and remove the exhaust crossover pipe.
- Unbolt and remove the crossover pipe. It does take a bit of weaseling to get it out. You may have to remove the coolant sensor block on the back of the intake.
- Once the crossover pipe is out, raise the engine and transmission slightly and place a jack under the transmission to support it. Be sure to use a wood block if you lift on the transmission pan.
- Unbolt the transmission to engine bolts and lift the engine out.
and VOILA!
As you can see, the transmission is still in the truck. Never disconnected anything on it.
