Octanejunkie's T4R project - 99 SR5 4WD 5-speed

[octanejunkie]

I've got some catching up to do on this thread. Is the blaring glare on the hood you talk about only when you have the lights running, correct?

If so just move them to the bumper. Everyone that puts the lights up high like that has that problem.

The ARB has great mounting points and the design allows you to just drill new points to put the lights.

Just just a just a thought

The glare is actually sun off the sport bump, my lights aren't even hooked up yet lol. However, if you look a little closer, you'll see that I'm no longer running the ARB bumper [emoji33]

Yes thanks I did see that but in your subsequent post you stated a 3M product but 3M isn't mentioned in the Amazon ad. other than the optional 3M adhesion primer sold separately. Just wanted to clarify.

The material itself identifies itself as 3M, not sure why the ad doesn't say it. The guy I worked with confirmed this is not the typical material that they use, it's a lot more aggressive and a little thicker, we have no idea how it's going to hold up over time.

We used another 3M product, a glue that he had with him, in a few key spots to get extra hold. Liberal use of the heat gun was required regardless.

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[octanejunkie]

Weekend Update 255,102

Replaced the water pump, it was leaking from the bottom gasket seal - that was the source of the coolant leak (as I originally expected)

I used Asin water pump PN WPT-100 which came in my ebay Aircabinman kit, but can also be purchased from Amazon as a kit with the pump gasket, and the thermostat gasket: https://a.co/d/fNLtO9Y

Followed Timmy and Sean's videos for the most part, so I won't post all the steps and pics (I barely took pics as I went) but I will list what I did differently, some of which was inspired by Part 2 of the video

Disassembly
Pretty straight forward, but when I got to removing the timing cover #3, top, the belt looked great so I decided to reuse it, along with the rollers

I also checked the tensioner and tensioner roller, no oil seepage and spun/looked really good, so I reused both of those, too.

Deviating from Tim's video, I removed the tensioner with two 12mm sockets, leaving the AC compressor and bracket installed, just like he did):

• a 3/8" short 12mm on a 6" Snap-On wobble extension (vs the universal and tape) on the rear bolt, with another 6" extension below it
  - here is a 10" Dewalt wobble on Amazon: https://a.co/d/5haJIDY as an example
  
• a 1/4" short 12mm socket and ratchet on front bolt.

I opened the tensioner bolts evenly front and back until the tensioner dropped out. I used a ball joint press to reset the tensioner and held it in place with a small jeweler's screwdriver that fit the hole, barely protruding from the rear hole of the tensioner.

Reassembly
I made a check list of all parts and torque specs and crossed them off as I went along.

I cleaned chased all the threads with wire brushes and this kit from Amazon: https://a.co/d/90PAZgp

Cleaned everything else as best as I could with degreaser, brake cleaner, and lots of shop towels. Then oiled all the surfaces with Marvel Mystery Oil.

I spent extra time cleaning the gasket surface for the water pump, razor blades to get all the old material off, then steel wool, then paper towels and inspected with finger and optics (magnifier and zooming into camera pics)

I noticed some mild pitting on the gasket sealing surface of the block after cleaning the snot out of it so I decided to use FIPG like Timmy did in Part 2 video. Applied a thin bead on the block side of the metal-shim gasket, installed it, then the pump. Torqued to 168 inch pounds in 3 steps in a criss cross pattern, including the thermostat housing studs. Let that cure an hour, then installed the thermostat and housing and checked/retorqued all to spec.

When it came time to install the belt, I did what every one does except I installed the actual tensioner last. I was super careful with the tensioner roller threads since aluminum, those were good, thankfully, and torqued it down carefully. The belt slid back on with minor effort.

Installed the tensioner, pulled the pin, and ran it around a few times to check timing, all dead nut.

To make the AC belt easy, I removed the AC idler roller (I was planning on replacing it, but it too was good) the belt installed easily and I was able to drop the roller in, torque it and tighten the belt. The other belts were done first no issue.

Before I refilled coolant I gave started the car and let it run for a few seconds, sounded same as before. Yay! Filled with coolant and let it sit overnight (about 24 hours, actually) for the FIPG to fully cure, then burped it and drove it the next day. All good.

Why did the water pump gasket fail?
I can only speculate, but here is what I observed:

1. Gates brand pump with a sealant channel was used (the pump is still good, actually - I did not reuse it)
2. A paper gasket was used
3. Black RTV (or FIPG) was used on the pump side
4. Gasket surface on the block was not clean, I scraped off more than 1 gasket
5. Gasket surface on the block had mild pitting

I suspect that the bolts were not torqued to spec, and in time the paper gasket saturated with coolant which lead to the failure.

I will check the belt at 307K miles, and if it still looks good, might run it another 25K and check again. Next time I go in I will replace everything including the crank and cam seals.

 

[JoeT4R]

Why did the water pump gasket fail?
I can only speculate, but here is what I observed:

1. Gates brand pump with a sealant channel was used (the pump is still good, actually - I did not reuse it)
2. A paper gasket was used
3. Black RTV (or FIPG) was used on the pump side
4. Gasket surface on the block was not clean, I scraped off more than 1 gasket
5. Gasket surface on the block had mild pitting

I suspect that the bolts were not torqued to spec, and in time the paper gasket saturated with coolant which lead to the failure.

I'm willing to bet that it was the totality of your observations which caused it to fail, but the biggest concern to me would be that it had more than 1 gasket along with the pitting. Glad you were able to take care of this, though. Did you throw in a new thermostat? Or reuse the old one?

 

[octanejunkie]

I'm willing to bet that it was the totality of your observations which caused it to fail, but the biggest concern to me would be that it had more than 1 gasket along with the pitting. Glad you were able to take care of this, though. Did you throw in a new thermostat? Or reuse the old one?

I reused the thermostat but replaced the gasket and monitor temps with Torque Pro - I might replace it along with the fan clutch and belts soon just to be safer

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[JoeT4R]

I reused the thermostat but replaced the gasket and monitor temps with Torque Pro - I might replace it along with the fan clutch and belts soon just to be safer

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That's good to hear. Might as well, right? I replaced my fan clutch a few years ago and my engine has been running nice and cool ever since. Perfect 186-190, even in the heat of summer.

 

[brillo_76]

My one had a gates belt on it with water pump and it's gasket failed. Very interesting indeed.

PO had it done. I replaced it all with an aircabin kit when it let loose. Yes my gasket actually failed.

My bolts all seemed snug. I chalked the failure up to aftermarket parts. Granted, the timing belt seemed all right.


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[octanejunkie]

My one had a gates belt on it with water pump and it's gasket failed. Very interesting indeed.

PO had it done. I replaced it all with an aircabin kit when it let loose. Yes my gasket actually failed.

My bolts all seemed snug. I chalked the failure up to aftermarket parts. Granted, the timing belt seemed all right.


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The problem is the use of both sealant and the gasket, but let me qualify that:

Smooth sealing surfaces require a gasket to conform to surface inconsistencies and seal. Toyota pumps and blocks have smooth sealing surfaces.

Sealing surfaces with a channel, like the Gates pump, call for sealant only applied to the channel, no gasket.

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[Unner]

I'm impressed you got the tensioner off without removing the AC compressor bracket. I've done my timing belt twice now and both times I tried, with no luck. Sounds like you found the perfect combination of extensions and swivel joints.

For your next timing belt job, replacing the idlers makes a world of difference in how loud the engine is at idle. When I changed my original ones around 180k I couldn't believe how quiet and smooth it ran compared to before, not that it was loud or had bad bearings, but it did make a noticeable difference.

 

[brillo_76]

I done 3 timing belts now. I have never taken ac bracket off. It's very possible, just tricky.

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[phattyduck]

I done 3 timing belts now. I have never taken ac bracket off. It's very possible, just tricky.

One of my tensioner bolts was the wrong type/length, so I had to remove the bracket to deal with that anyway... at least I know it was replaced at least once before ~270k miles when I last did the belt!

-Charlie

 

[octanejunkie]

I'm impressed you got the tensioner off without removing the AC compressor bracket. I've done my timing belt twice now and both times I tried, with no luck. Sounds like you found the perfect combination of extensions and swivel joints.

I'll post pics of the arsenal I used, but it was pretty basic. I could not get a 3/8 inch swivel between the oil pan and the AC bracket, the wobble socket extension was a godsend

For your next timing belt job, replacing the idlers makes a world of difference in how loud the engine is at idle. When I changed my original ones around 180k I couldn't believe how quiet and smooth it ran compared to before, not that it was loud or had bad bearings, but it did make a noticeable difference.

I had a squealing at cold start that is now gone, I did clean up everything before reinstalling it and might go back in to replace the fan clutch

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[brillo_76]

One of my tensioner bolts was the wrong type/length, so I had to remove the bracket to deal with that anyway... at least I know it was replaced at least once before ~270k miles when I last did the belt!

-Charlie

Happens i did belts on 3 different engines.. Seems to get easier after you do a few..

 

[Romeo1]

I done 3 timing belts now. I have never taken ac bracket off. It's very possible, just tricky.

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It all depends on the combo of extensions, swivels, and sockets your using. I have a pile of various ones from back in my technician days. Took me two or three tries to find the right combo. F pulling the AC pump. Ain't no body got time for that.

Can't remember if I used 1/4 or 3/8 drive long or short to be honest. Way faster, way easier though.

 

[octanejunkie]

It all depends on the combo of extensions, swivels, and sockets your using. I have a pile of various ones from back in my technician days. Took me two or three tries to find the right combo. F pulling the AC pump. Ain't no body got time for that.

Can't remember if I used 1/4 or 3/8 drive long or short to be honest. Way faster, way easier though.

This guy (internet pic)

Invaluable to get that rear tensioner bolt

 

[Romeo1]

This guy (internet pic)

Invaluable to get that rear tensioner bolt

Yeah, those kind of extensions are awesome.

 

[octanejunkie]

Update 256,526 miles

Hearing a knocking noise from the rear when taking faster turns, mostly when turning left, sometimes right.

Passenger rear wheel bearing is going out, confirmed by lifting each wheel off the ground and rocking each wheel at 12 & 6 - rear passenger has about 1/4" of play at the outside of the tire. Seal not leaking yet.

Will monitor and prepare a set of replacement axles with new bearings. It literally never ends lol

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[brillo_76]

Update 256,526 miles

Hearing a knocking noise from the rear when taking faster turns, mostly when turning left, sometimes right.

Passenger rear wheel bearing is going out, confirmed by lifting each wheel off the ground and rocking each wheel at 12 & 6 - rear passenger has about 1/4" of play at the outside of the tire. Seal not leaking yet.

Will monitor and prepare a set of replacement axles with new bearings. It literally never ends lol

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1/4 play.. is not going.. it's gone...

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[GhostRing]

Update 256,526 miles.

It literally never ends lol

too true..!

 

[octanejunkie]

1/4 play.. is not going.. it's gone...

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It's less than 1/4" to be fair, but it's gonna get there soon

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[brillo_76]

It's less than 1/4" to be fair, but it's gonna get there soon

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Ok. They are moaning or hauling yet?

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