Richard's 89 Turbo Runner -The Creep-

[Damin]

Nice build, I like the skid for the differential and the color. But I need that power steering reservoir do you have any idea year and model that came off of.

[257speed]

Originally Posted by RiskyRicky

Well I think my motor has had it, Started with light tap, and now its a hard knock and screech. Not to sure whats going on in there but it is bad. No Power in the motor, Planning to rebuild it, might ditch the turbo set up and go back to 22re not too sure yet. Going to try to tear into this weekend see where the damage resides.
Ill have a video up soon of the screeching motor.

Met you a couple times in socorro, I had the black and orange 4-runner. I have a ton of EFI stuff (everything), and I am looking for a turbo. Interested in any trading?

[RiskyRicky]

Originally Posted by Damin

Nice build, I like the skid for the differential and the color. But I need that power steering reservoir do you have any idea year and model that came off of.

I believe it was from a 95 Isuzu rodeo, so i think range there is 91-97. Worked perfect, did have some issues with it overflowing out of cap but I think that was just due to air in the system. Haven't had problems since. But did add a seal to the cap and an overflow port.

Originally Posted by 257speed

Met you a couple times in socorro, I had the black and orange 4-runner. I have a ton of EFI stuff (everything), and I am looking for a turbo. Interested in any trading?

Jerry I believe, Ya i remember the 4runner. I might be really interested in doing some trading. Im going to tear into the motor over this week, my spring break. Want to asses the damage, see whats more cost effective. So I will get back to you on that.

[RiskyRicky]

Got the turbo and manifold out over spring break... have a cracked exhaust manifold, and the turbo was leaking oil on exhaust side of turbine. So probably going to try to tig the exhaust manifold back to good state, and turbo just needs a rebuild kit.
Still need to tear into motor. Im thinking its just valves right now, so maybe new head? Leaning more towards getting rid of turbo. Which would involve new injectors, ecu, exhaust, afm.

[RiskyRicky]

Today got around to testing some things, checked and adjusted valve clearances according to FSM specs. They were all pretty much with in spec only a few needed to be adjusted.

Ran a Compression Test
Removed efi fuse, bottom left 15A fuse on driver side kick panel.
Note: this is with a cold motor

cyl 1 -- 127psi
cyl 2 -- 110psi
cyl 3 -- 110psi
cyl 4 -- 110psi

I have read, minimum you want to see is 100, 114 and 145 with 10% between readings. So I am a bit confused here what minimum is correct.

Spark plugs all looked pretty black, and oil is very clean no water mixing going on. So im pretty sure my head gasket is good.

[RiskyRicky]

Well did some more compression testing today
I noticed last time I did not hold throttle wide open so retested numbers

cyl 1 -- 129psi
cyl 2 -- 109psi
cyl 3 -- 100psi
cyl 4 -- 110psi

Added oil to each cylinder:
cyl 1 -- 130psi
cyl 2 -- 135psi
cyl 3 -- 155psi
cyl 4 -- 150psi

So looks like my motor needs a major overhaul. I still suspect that my knocking is rod knock. But have not quite verified that yet. Right now I am leaning towards just getting a new motor/possibly reman to get my truck going again and keep this one to rebuild as a spare and learning process.

Thinking of going with either a local shop here that sells reman Toyota engines, or Davez reman engine. Will be going to back to a naturally aspirated 22re with maybe cam upgrade and header.

Will be swapping out injectors, and Looking for stock ecu.
--> Does anyone know if the Turbo AFM will work with a non turbo set up?

Here few photos of getting ready to pull the old motor.





And the two opposites in the garage


Also am officially an Engineer. Graduated this May with my Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from New Mexico Tech. Woo Hoo

[LTDCDUDE]

Sucks to hear man. I know Brian at Empire engines on San Pedro and Alameda builds these engines all the time. I have had lots and lots of work done by him and no complaints. Just my .02

[RiskyRicky]

Got the motor all pulled out and getting ready for the rebuild. Motor pulled out, tractor sure does come in handy. I will be rebuilding my motor converting back to natural aspiration. Picked up a few parts, 89 ECU, and a LCE Pro Header. Will be reusing my DOA C270 Cam and ARP head studs.







Motor has been stripped of all accessories and ready for the machine shop. I will be having Reliable Engines out of ABQ rebuilding the motor. Stopped by their shop last week and browsed through, looks like top notch parts and great quality craftsmanship. Will have a better review once I get my motor back.

[RiskyRicky]

Got the Motor dropped off Tuesday should have it back within a week or so.
Made some progress cleaning things up. Cleaned up all intake plenum parts and repainted brackets. My awesome polished intake plenum next to stock for comparison. And all brackets cleaned and repainted. Also washed out engine bay.

[RiskyRicky]

Well parts started showing up. Had some stock injectors off my parts motor and had them rebuilt. Sent them in to Fuel injector connection for full rebuild. These things were so filthy when I sent them out and came back looking brand new.




So Picked up my rebuilt motor this past week. Re-used my DOA C270 cam and ARP head studs. So rod bearing on cylinder 2 had spun and was causing the knocking. Also the timing chain had begun to dig into the timing cover and was about to break into the water pump area. So Picked up a new timing cover as well. Motor looks pretty good, and turn around time was great. Now the real rebuild begins.







On a side note: Just a lil review of my experience and lessons learned with Reliable Engines out of ABQ. So this company fully rebuilds engines in house with their own machine shop. As far as the rebuild on the motor goes, they did an excellent job. I rechecked all the torque settings on the cam, rods and head bolts, and everything was in spec. I had sent the motor to them with my timing cover, harmonic balancer/pulley, rear head egr plate, lift hooks, and dipstick still attached. So come time to pick up the motor they misplaced these items. I Received a box of various hardware and bolts and had to later go back to their shop to pick up some of the missing items. Ultimately they argued with me that I had not included the dipstick when I dropped off the motor, but did get the dipstick tube back. Also got pretty much everything back that was missing except for lift hooks and dipstick. And had the fun of locating where all the bolts fit properly. So new dipstick on order from LCE, and luckily used lift hooks off my parts motor.

[RiskyRicky]

Some progress:

Picked up 4xInnovations motor/tcase mount kit. and painted them to match my setup. The frame side brackets for both motor and tcase came in bare steel, the others had this nice looks like zinc coating, can see it where bushings go.



Got around to some work on the motor. Timing cover, water pump, brackets all installed, part of the intake plenum, and the pulleys. waiting on my order from LCE for injector seals and few other miscellaneous parts for exhaust. Valve cover getting color scheme. Hopefully rest my parts show up this week so I can get the 4rnr up and running this weekend.

[RiskyRicky]

About ready to drop the motor in. The rest of the intake and accessories will go back once the motor is mounted. New exhaust studs in along with alternator, valve cover installed and motor mounts bolted on. Got the flywheel and clutch back on. Luk Gold Pro clutch.

[RiskyRicky]

Had the day off on Friday so was able to get a lot done. Got the motor installed, intake plenum all back together, wiring all hooked up, remounted my electric fan, which now only turns on when motor is on Before would always come on just with power. Custom made afm bracket and piping, relocated o2 sensor and finally got her fired up.

And the pictures

New Spark Plugs...


Cleaned up the engine bay when the motor was out. After experimenting with different power steering reservoirs driver side was completely covered in grease and dirt from all oil collecting. So got everything pressure washed and repainted. Also re-zip tied my hydro assist lines. Just using some old garden hose wrapped around them where they are rubbing the frame and brackets. Has been holding up great.











And getting the motor installed. This was not as easy as I would have liked, Mainly because I tried to drop the motor in with the 4xinnovation motor mounts installed. This made it very difficult to align the transmission into the motor, and ended up pulling off brackets and aligning the motor first.







With the motor in, moved back in to the garage. It sure has been getting quite hot out here and is just the start of summer. Just from the install i can tell the 4xinnovation motor mounts are solid. So on to the rest got the injectors in with new seals. I had a wire that travels from the intake plenum wiring harness over to the ignition coil across the exhaust so wrapped it in heat wrap with electrical tape just to give it a bit more protection. got rest of intake bolted up. Sorry some the photos came out blurry

[RiskyRicky]

On to the exhaust, radiator, and afm.
So picked up a used LCE Header locally and got there new stud kit and egr block off plates. Made a custom bracket to hold the afm, re used some fittings and piping I had laying from the intercooler set up. Just painted it black to get rid of its chrome finish. Bracket came out pretty nice and holds afm securely. Much better than it previously just sitting in engine bay bouncing around. Re mounted the electronic fan on the radiator and mounted up the relay, also attached my power steering cooler. Oh ya, and reattached my grill with some zip ties.

[Micah@ORW]

motor looks great! did i miss the part when you decided to go non turbo?

btw nice subie! i own one as well and love it!

[RiskyRicky]

Thanks dude, Yes u did. 4runner had been turbo for over 3 years now. When turbo seal/exhaust manifold failed also ended up spinning a rod bearing. So with the rebuild I decided to go back to non turbo to save some headache on the trails.

[RiskyRicky]

Lil update and a few issues...
Finished up the exhaust, moved o2 sensor to right after the header. and welded on a muffler and turndown. Dont mind the chrome, its the only turn down i could find that day.








So fired up the motor, and I am having some problems. So currently truck cranks over, but will not idle and throttle is choppy. Also at higher rpm just above idle truck seems to missfire. First thought is to adjust timing. Jumped the diagnostic leads and set timing to about 5deg BTDC. Having some erratic throttle response so next on to TPS. Tested and adjusted the sensor according to the 4crawler site. I guess next it could be the AFM. I am running a supra AFM, not sure if that would cause the issues. Probably check out that tomorrow, make sure it falls within spec. Also will get a video up here soon. If anyone has any suggestions please chime in. Im kinda puzzled right now. Could it maybe be the ECU?

[RiskyRicky]

So I crossed over the two diagnostic pins to read the error codes. I am seeing a 2, 4, 5 and 52 code.

• Code 2 is AFM error code, not sure whats going on there, as AFM itself tested out ok.

• Code 4 is water temp sensor

• Code 5 is an o2 Sensor short - think this code is caused by the LCE Header

• Code 52 is a knock sensor I read suppose to have two, and I am pretty sure I only have one hooked up.

So moving forward I borrowed my cousins ECU and swapped that in. Truck had same results and also read out same error codes. Motor seems to run ok at higher rpms, but will not idle correctly and seems to miss fire at RPMs just above idle 1k range. All the sensors including the o2, TPS and AFM were working correctly before I took apart the motor. Im not sure how they could have failed from just being removed and sitting on the shelf for a bit.
Also the motor has a weird screech that seems to happen just after you release the throttle. You can also here the AFM door slapping closed at low rpm. If anyone has experienced some of these problems please feel free to chime in. I would prefer not to just throw money at the problem and replace all the sensor systems.

-->Click on Image to View Video<--

[RiskyRicky]

So been troubleshooting almost everything. Pulled apart and cleaned Idle Air control Valve, checked all vaccum and pcv lines as well as the coolant lines and fitting for Idle air control valve. All sensor sytems have tested out good and within ranges according to FSM.

So I figured maybe the previous owner swapped harness for the turbo as it seemed to match the pin out for the RE-T harness. Over the weekend swapped the entire harness for one I had off my 22RE parts motor. Oddly enough the weird screeching/bird sound went away, But still have an idle surge issue and all trouble codes are still active except for the knock sensor.

Have talked to several mechanics and have had two look at the truck. Most of them seem to be pointing to the timing chain. But does not explain the trouble codes I am seeing. Contemplating going propane right now if I can find a good deal

[RiskyRicky]

Picked up another ecu yesterday out of an 87 4runner. Check engine light is now gone completely. But motor is still having idle surge problem. Hunts at idle from about 400RPM up to 1500RPM. Just keeps bouncing when it should be idling. Runs good and has power at higher RPMs just at idle state. Also will ramp up RPMs when in gear also, so will act like the gas pedal is being pushed.

[Wainiha]

I have a different motor with an idle issue. All is clean: MAF, IAC TB etc.

I was wondering if a faulty A/F sensor(o2 for you) would cause an incorrect mixture at start up. Or is that a set ratio from the ECM? Open loop till its warmed up...

I guess if you replaced the ECM it is not that on your truck.

I'm wondering about sensors that are dying or out of spec, affecting performance. While still NOT being "off" enough for the ECM to throw a code.

[ArmyTaco]

Dont know if the older trucks have a TPS or Idle Control Valve cant remember but could be the idle problem. I know on my old 01 Taco it would do that where it would just bounce like that and it was the TPS or Idle Control sensor...cant remember exactly but it was a sensor that controls it LOL.

[RiskyRicky]

I believe the o2 sensor operates in a open loop setting till it has warmed up and the ECU just uses set ratio.

I looked over all the main sensor components according the FSM and all are within spec. I have replaced TPS and cleaned out IACV which is temperature based off coolant lines.

--
Propane kit has been ordered!

[RiskyRicky]

In preparation for propane...
Got about to getting some things done. Removed the gas tank and skid, as you can see it was BASHED. more the reason for propane! Also had a major valve cover leak on rebuilt motor. so figured try to solve that one. I have ARP head studs and the Valve cover was hitting the front two studs right on some support ridges. I backed off the head studs and tried to tighten the stud themselves in more to see if it would clear. Finally ended up grinding down the ridges. Seals perfectly now.

[RiskyRicky]

Working on the propane install lately. Picked up a kit from Cary at GotPropane.



Removed the wiring harness and got the intake all apart. Will be removing injectors and plugging off ports with 16mm freeze plugs. Covered with rtv just to make sure no leaks





Made a block off port for the cold start injector




Made a bracket for the mixer and placed a layer of tube between bracket and mixer to help somewhat with vibrations. Utilized the evap canister holes in the firewall to mount the bracket, just added some holes in fender well.




All hoses routed.


22r Distributor installed with vacuum advance. I picked up a 22r ignitor coil assembly also. Went over to my cousins to check wiring on his 87 22r. And strangely enough he had a EFI coil ignitior assembly with the ecu plug just hanging. So I am going to try this out first, just leave my EFI one in for now.

Test fitting the mixer, found that reversing the radiator hose provides enough clearance for the mixer. However did run in to a small problem. Because I am running 4xInnovation motor mounts and a larger throttle body the motor/intake sits higher. Thus, the main propane line to the mixer hits the hood. I am going to rotate the mixer pointing the air filter towars the driver side.

The proposed way in instructions:



The way I have to run it: Going to take some craftiness to get filter mounted, right now thinking of extending it over to where stock afm was.



Solenoid wiring was tied into the wiper motor switch power. Easy 12v source and ground connection. Also connected my fan switch relay to same circuit. Tank should be in today then on to mounting it and running main propane line

[RiskyRicky]

Got the tank mounted, and plumbed intake. Was able to reuse the bracket I had made for the afm. Welded in a short section of 3in exhaust pipe to act as a coupler between the two. Got a flexible intake hose made by Spectre from vatozone, quick easy fix

[RiskyRicky]

Running strong, Used my narrowband AFR gauge to somewhat set the propane mixture. And advanced timing quite a bit. Running strong and has power. Will dial in the settings when i take it out for a longer drive.

RUNNING ON PROPANE

[RiskyRicky]

Created some franken leafs to help level out the 4runner.

Had been running some cheap Pro Comp lift springs off Summit Racing for some time now. Three 3 leaf pack rated at 340lbs/in Model number was EXP-31212.
But anyways these leafs flex great, but after the Exo the extra weight was definitely noticeable. Bottoming out front over every little bump.

So picked up some stock toyota rear leaf springs and added in 1 Leaf to the pack. Height of the truck is back, but more importantly not sitting on the bump stops anymore.











FOR COMPARISON Before ProComp Leaf Pack w/Exo


Now After I added a Leaf *Can really tell difference by the shock shaft exposed



Flex Tested

[RiskyRicky]

So wanted a new steering wheel, and liked the idea of a removable one. So looked around and found this kit on ebay. Its a 350mm Deep Dish Steering wheel with PVC Leather and blue stitching. The weight reduction from the stock wheel is pretty significant.
Quick release hub can be removed and I can just install the wheel alone. But for now using the hub.

[RiskyRicky]

Some updates.

New leaf spring bushings ordered, picked up a Autometer Water Temp gauge, and my second propane tank has been mounted.
My power steering box has begun to start leaking and Hydro Assist seems to be suffering. Bought the seal at napa just need to swap it out and see if it resolves the issue.

But have been playing around and a few trails.
Some Video Footage: Creeper and XJ on Edge Trail