What Bone Head Move did you do to your 4Runner

[gamefreakgc]

Put in aftermarket cams with shim spacers. All was good for 2 months with lots of power. Then started to hear a "clicking" noise at idle that sounded like a valve tick. Adjusted the valve clearances again (did it after the camshaft install the first time) and the intake was WAY out of spec. That should have been my clue but I just shimmed it again and kept driving.

Clicking gets worse. Decide to keep driving it and change the oil soon, maybe it was just a bit low or thin. One morning about 50 feet from my house I hear a loud PING and the engine just about dies on me. Flooring it, I get it around the block and back to my house. Parked it on the RV pad and open up the valve covers and the engine spit a shim, crushed it and sent metal shards all through the oil and engine. It was done.

I still have plans to put the camshafts back in but after I put in stiffer springs (should have done that in the first place) as well as converting it shim under bucket.

 

[Joelzy]

Put in aftermarket cams with shim spacers. All was good for 2 months with lots of power. Then started to hear a "clicking" noise at idle that sounded like a valve tick. Adjusted the valve clearances again (did it after the camshaft install the first time) and the intake was WAY out of spec. That should have been my clue but I just shimmed it again and kept driving.

Clicking gets worse. Decide to keep driving it and change the oil soon, maybe it was just a bit low or thin. One morning about 50 feet from my house I hear a loud PING and the engine just about dies on me. Flooring it, I get it around the block and back to my house. Parked it on the RV pad and open up the valve covers and the engine spit a shim, crushed it and sent metal shards all through the oil and engine. It was done.

I still have plans to put the camshafts back in but after I put in stiffer springs (should have done that in the first place) as well as converting it shim under bucket.

Sorry man thats a rough go


I dont fully take responsibility for this just yet as i know for a fact that i torqued my spark plugs to spec but had one blow out last week as i was driving home and it took the threads with it. Melted the coil pack and broke the upper mount, dousing the engine bay in oil as well. I was leaving town the next day and just got back so now i finally get to time-sert the head and hope for the best.

 

[mmw0k7o]

I'm sure after all said and done it feels like you dodged a bullet on that one. So how did everything turn out, are you happy with the results ?:jump:

I love the results so much that I drive my old 3rd gen more than I drive my newer 5th gen.

I have learned more about cars than I ever believed possible just by having a little courage to loosen that first bolt. This forum and others like it gave me the knowledge to undertake projects that I never thought were possible.

They started off very simple and progressively got more and more involved. Let's see what projects I can remember...

• spark plugs
• rear hatch internal latch rebuild (handle wouldn't release and then an internal component broke after hard close)
• AC receiver drier
• air mix servomotor
• alternator
• fixed 4WD differential sensor preventing 4WD from disengaging
• dash light incandescent to led conversion
• power antenna motor replacement
• exhaust; everything back from crossover pipe
• O2 sensors
• AC compressor
• rebuilt front and rear breaks (solved issue with rear brakes that kept destroying calipers in the front)
• replaced electrical cable from alternator to battery that was preventing alternator from charging battery
• quarter panel glass (both sides at different times)
• repaint entire vehicle with bed liner paint
• blown head gasket and cracked head that led to upper rebuild including injectors, reseating valves, water pump, pcv valve
• MAF sensor and IAC cleaning
• full power antenna replacement
• spark plug wires
• brake booster followed by fluid flush and bleed
• suspension/steering rebuild front; upper & lower control arms, upper & lower ball joints, struts, coil springs, shock mounts, inner & outer tie rids, sway bar links & bushings, power steering rack bushings, cam adjuster bolts, diff. drop spacers
• greased axle zerks (solved long time transmission clunk)
• to be completed next week pending parts arrival: suspension rebuild rear; sway bar links, sway bar bushings, shocks, coils, panhard bar bushings, panhard bar conversion kit

Needless to say these did not all happen recently. I've owned the car since 2002 when it had a measly 23k miles on it. Now it has 255k. I feel like as long as I can find these cars at the junk yard it will last FOREVER!

 

[plcfcng]

Took the wifes 2001 threw the car wash today. For got to hit the switch to send the Radio Antenna down. I'm sure I'm not the first to do this one. Got a new one on order :snacker:

I fixed this one over the weekend was pretty easy.:guitar2: