Turns out my 1994 4Runner has a bad rod bearing, among other things

[brocktice]

you cant get the cotter pins out because theyre too small?
im confused.

Can't get a grip on them with pliers. The bent end just barely protrudes beyond the castle nut. I tried tapping them out from the free ends, but they just bent up and eventually broke off.

a grinder? what exactly are you working with there? cotter pins are soft, bent or broken easily.

I meant for the ball joint spindle.

if they are indeed actual cotter pins, and they are stuck.
just clip them as close as possible, enough that you can get the socket on the nut, and unscrew it. it will be hard at first, but will eventually loosen up.
then once the nut is off, just use a small punch or screw driver to drive the pin out of the hole.
replace with new pin.

done.

Hm, I tried that, but it did not feel like it was going anywhere, even with my 2' long torque wrench. May have to try again. I tried drilling out the pin but just ended up with a broken drill bit.

 

[KidVermicious]

Soak those pins in PB Blast, that'll help loosen the corrosion that's causing them to be stuck. Then use a punch drift to knock em out - they'll bend at first, so get your needlenose in there and bend them back and then go back to work with the drift.

Use lots of anti-seize when you put the new pins and castle nuts on and you won't have near as much trouble next time.

 

[brocktice]

I'm calling it fixed.

Finished up late last night and took the car out for a drive up and down our street. I thought the steering was loose and had me wandering all over the road. Had a hard time getting to sleep wondering what I could have done wrong.

This morning I jacked it up and checked the wheels, no play at all. Took it down the road again and immediately realized the problem: we have a sort of 'trench' where the two sides of our street come together, like the street is a very wide, nearly flattened 'V'. That was pushing me around in the dark and I didn't realize it.

Drive it about 20 miles, first up and down the highway near home, then toward the nearest town and back. Nearly had a heart attack when a loose bit of metal inside the car (long story, but it was not the engine!) started making this rattling/pinging noise that seemed to be associated with RPMs. Once I figured out what it was it sure was a relief.

Oil pressure held really well, even with hills, revving, etc. No discernable knock after the car was good and warm.

Since the lower ball joints seem OK I'm just going to tackle that another day. At least I have spares on hand. It's nice to have my car back.

Next projects: new rear shocks/coil springs (I have them already) and replace the valve cover gaskets (have those already too).

Thanks everyone for the help in this thread! I know much better how my 4Runner works now for sure.

 

[nevada]

cool deal man.
that's a project most people wouldn't take on.

glad it worked out for you.

 

[brocktice]

that's a project most people wouldn't take on.

It was that or pay more than I paid for the vehicle 1.5 months ago to have someone else fix it.

 

[95MillenniumFalcon]

Congrats!

Glad to hear you got it up and running - I've been rooting for you the whole time. Terrific job and enjoyed following this post.

 

[brocktice]

Glad to hear you got it up and running - I've been rooting for you the whole time. Terrific job and enjoyed following this post.

Thanks! Hopefully over time I can contribute back to others as you guys did for me. Already started to!