rough idle, after tearing the heads off

surphrat420

New member
So i just finished tearing into my wifes 4runner. i did a head gasket job and replaced just about every gasket on the motor, becuase we were getting a big puff of smoke at startup after the truck sits for a few hours. well now it idles pretty rough, it took cranking about 30 times for 6-7 seconds, to start, but now will start right up. it idles really rough and the motor is a little shakey. I made sure to line the timming marks on the crank up and set it on the TDC stroke at 0'. Then the cam pullies went on with the pin that keeps them in line with the cam, and the marks on the pully lined up with the marks on the rear timming cover. but MAYBE the exhaust cam did not exactlly line back up,( my markings i made durring tear down, pretty much washed away durring cleaning). In the morning I will take off the valve cover and check vavle clearance. Does anyone know visually, when checking clearance on a specific lobe should the lobe be pointing 180 deg. from the valve or 90 deg. before or after contact? that is the only thing I can think of that is wrong, Any other ideas? I did see some posts about cleaning maf sensor, so ill try that, and im gonna do a recheck on vac lines, although when i remove one of the vac lines on the intake, it lets me know right away so i doubt i missed any.

Thanks in advance for any help.
Great minds need reassurance evey once in a while

Thank You ALL
 
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surphrat420 said:
So i just finished tearing into my wifes 4runner. i did a head gasket job and replaced just about every gasket on the motor, becuase we were getting a big puff of smoke at startup after the truck sits for a few hours. well now it idles pretty rough, it took cranking about 30 times for 6-7 seconds, to start, but now will start right up. it idles really rough and the motor is a little shakey. I made sure to line the timming marks on the crank up and set it on the TDC stroke at 0'. Then the cam pullies went on with the pin that keeps them in line with the cam, and the marks on the pully lined up with the marks on the rear timming cover. but MAYBE the exhaust cam did not exactlly line back up,( my markings i made durring tear down, pretty much washed away durring cleaning). In the morning I will take off the valve cover and check vavle clearance. Does anyone know visually, when checking clearance on a specific lobe should the lobe be pointing 180 deg. from the valve or 90 deg. before or after contact? that is the only thing I can think of that is wrong, Any other ideas? I did see some posts about cleaning maf sensor, so ill try that, and im gonna do a recheck on vac lines, although when i remove one of the vac lines on the intake, it lets me know right away so i doubt i missed any.

Thanks in advance for any help.
Great minds need reassurance evey once in a while

Thank You ALL

what year is your wife's t4r? that's a great idea to clean your engine parts. i plan to do the same. take everything apart (maybe MOST of the stuff) and clean it out good. and yes, cleaning the MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensor will increase hp and also gives you car a smoother ride. there's also other sensors you could clean out, just basically don't get any dust into the sensors.
 
did it turn on after you clean your MAF sensor? it happened because you haven't properly plug it in all the way. but you might get it after taking parts out from your car. but check the problem, and if everything seems okay, get it reset and your set. ;):
 
no i have not cleaned the sensor yet.
the light came on after the truck finally started after about 10 min of cranking after doing the head job.

How far off does a cam have to be to cause a idle that will barely stay running.

The roughness, or missfire seems to go away as i rev it up. (not driving)
 
Last edited:
YEAH BABY!!
Got it fixed...its amazing what putting in the exhaust cams with the tiny little dots at the REAR of the gear in line with the tiny holes on the rear of the intake cams , will do!!
All seems good , no leaks , no smoke ....
double DOHC what a headache the FIRST time. ( at least now i now the secret)


The exhaust cams were put back in with out putting tension on the sub gear, its still sounds like a diesel, i belive the sub gear needs to be tensioned, that will be next weekends project....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!@!!:happy bda
 

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