[Captain J]

anybody done this before, well, this is the first time I have torn into the motor on my 4runr. As many of you know, I have dubbed this 4runr the misquito killa because of the choking smoke it produces.
Well yesterday I did a compression test and found the the pressure was right at where Chiltons says it should be so the next step is to replace the valve seals.
The process sounds easy enough.

step 1, remove valve cover and any accessories (vacume lines and sensors etc) make sure you mark them so they go back where they came from.

step 2, remove 10 head bolts in a cross pattern as per chiltons (or FSM if you have it) states.

step 3. remove spark plugs

step3.5 remove the rocker arm carrier. this should come out with a little nudging, I used a crow bar and light pressure to loosen it.

step 4, place air hose (I bought the adapter from O o o Oreiles) in spark plug hole.

step 5, using valve spring clamp, compress valve spring enough to allow you to remove the keepers. They are two 1/2 circles that hold the valve spring in place.

step 6. remove spring and then valve seal. DO NOT TOUCH THE VALVE at this point because all that is holding it up is air. if you do, the valve will fall to the piston and you end up where I am. after a few choice words, remove the head following the instructions in the book and then continue swapping the valve seals until you get them all, there are 8 total on this engine.

reinstall everything in reverse order and see if the thing still smokes.



Now, I am at the point of having to fish the valve out before I remove the whole head. I don't know if I will be able to get it at all.

 

[onelastcast]

Cap, Ive done it before and maybe about 3 or four times but in ford engines. it is all pretty much the same. loks like you got yourself into a fishing job. lol shit happens!

know you have to take off the head and fish for those valves. don't feel to bad because i have found out it is actually easier to work with the heads off. before you do that make sure you drain as much water as possible form your engine. as soon as you take off the head water that remains in the block and head will go into your cylinders. a little water and antifreeze will still get in there but not as much. you can always pick it up with a soft rag. make sure to cover the top of the block once the head is off to avoid anything getting in there. from there if your engine was not passing any water to the block then i guess you don't have to take the head to get it resurfaced. you still can if you want but I don't think you have to if you are limited in money, although it won't be a bad idea. they will resurface it for you and with the valves already seated and hand it back to you all clean and ready to bolt on. know you have to buy a head gasket kit and there it includes the valve cover and valve's gaskets. if you bought those appart and can return them, then do so to save some money. oh, if you have it resurfaced then you will have to hand them the valve seals so they can install them for you.
from there all you have to worry about is to thighten the head down properly. the book will probably tell you to go start with 15lbs and start from the inside out in a cadi corner direction and so on and so on. if the book is not to clear PM me and we can talk it over.

GL!
JOse

 

[Captain J]

ok, I pretty much gave up on the fishing job after about 2 hours. just to small a space and to big of hands. so I will look into pulling the head tomorrow or Sunday as time permits.

on a side note, I am glad this is my toy and not my DD so I can leave it for another day.

 

[Interex]

A little trick is you drop some rope down the spark plug hole with the piston down, then turn the motor to bring the piston back up. The bundled rope on top of the piston will hold the valve up while you change the seal.

 

[Captain J]

what a kick ass idea. I now have two valves dropped and one of them might be bent or broke. soooooo the head is coming off.