The Rebuild! (90T)

[Cyrus]

well.... for financial reasons, i've decided not to replace the timing belt. would require additional tools and parts, and im already over budget. my timing belt is less than 40k miles old, and it appears to be in great shape. inspected it according to the TSRM, and it passes all inspections. my tensioner spins freely and makes no weird noises. i'm sure at some point in the future ill be doing more major work to the car so i'll tackle the timing belt at that point.

still gonna change out the water pump though. it is cheap and easy, so may as well.

 

[Cyrus]

been a while since the last update...

finally got the head back from the machine shop.



looks nice and clean and the mating surface is smooth as glass. RA is supposedly between 7 and 12. Really happy with the work, looking forward to getting it on the car.

Unfortunately, before that can i happen, I have to finish up the valve adjustment.




did all my measuring, and made the unhappy discovery that i need to replace 14 shims. at toyota prices, that is like $170 or some bullshit. gonna call around to the local pick and pulls to see if i can find a car with 25mm shim over bucket setup so i can vulture some shims. if that doesnt work out, ill probably go for the $7 shims at cylinderheadsupply.com, which will come out to $100 for all the shims I need.

my shim clearances and thicknesses and calculations, for shits and giggles:

Intake Cylinder/Valve	Clearance	Shim Thickness	Adjusted Shim
1/A	0.20	2.84	2.84
1/B	0.06	2.90	2.76
2/A	0.00	2.90	2.67
2/B	0.08	2.88	2.76
3/A	0.10	2.93	2.83
3/B	0.00	2.91	2.68
4/A	0.05	2.92	2.77
4/B	0.04	2.89	2.73
5/A	0.08	2.91	2.79
5/B	0.08	2.90	2.78
6/A	0.04	2.98	2.82
6/B	0.08	2.96	2.84

boo, i dont know why it wont show my tables. here they are unformatted.

Intake
Valve | Clearance | Current Shim | Adjusted Shim
1A 0.20 2.84 2.84
1B 0.06 2.90 2.76
2A 0.00 2.90 2.67
2B 0.08 2.88 2.76
3A 0.10 2.93 2.83
3B 0.00 2.91 2.68
4A 0.05 2.92 2.77
4B 0.04 2.89 2.73
5A 0.08 2.91 2.79
5B 0.08 2.90 2.78
6A 0.04 2.98 2.82
6B 0.08 2.96 2.84

Exhaust
Valve | Clearance | Current Shim | Adjusted Shim
1A 0.38 2.79 2.92
1B 0.20 2.98 2.93
2A 0.08 2.94 2.77
2B 0.25 2.85 2.85
3A 0.06 2.91 2.72
3B 0.15 2.91 2.81
4A 0.15 2.93 2.83
4B 0.13 2.93 2.81
5A 0.04 2.95 2.74
5B 0.15 2.91 2.81
6A 0.00 2.98 2.70
6B 0.15 2.90 2.80

Exhaust Cylinder/Valve	Clearance	Shim Thickness	Adjusted Shim
1/A	0.38	2.79	2.92
1/B	0.20	2.98	2.93
2/A	0.08	2.94	2.77
2/B	0.25	2.85	2.85
3/A	0.06	2.91	2.72
3/B	0.15	2.91	2.81
4/A	0.15	2.93	2.83
4/B	0.13	2.93	2.81
5/A	0.04	2.95	2.74
5/B	0.15	2.91	2.81
6/A	0.00	2.98	2.70
6/B	0.15	2.90	2.80

 

[Cyrus]

also bought a cheapo ebay catch can and did some modifications to it...





will buy baffling and deal with hoses and T's and such once the car is put together and I know where i'm going to install this.

 

[Albert]

Updates Cyrus?

 

[supraguy@aol]

Hey man!
Sorry- I haven't caught up with your progress in a while.
Did you still need shims? Lemme know what you still need. And - what do you mean the timing belt replacement requires more tools?
If your tensioner is fine, then just get the belt. I would never reuse a 40k belt. The belt itself is only like $15- a third of the price of a water pump.

ps- remember our headbolt/ headstud discussion? Two things:
I found it funny that I just caught a set on clearance for $75 shipped. Didn't even really need them, but I couldn't pass up that deal.

And secondly- You used the word "reticence", sweet. High five for use of a $20 word, in a forum plagued by retards that can't spell "the".

 

[Cyrus]

thanks for the interest, guys!

so the lack of updates lately has come as a result of being hung up on the valve adjustment. tried doing a shim swap with a member here on the boards, but something went wrong and the sizes i received are not the sizes i need.

other than that, i am all ready to go! all my shipments have arrived, and i now have all the gaskets and parts and misc. stuff i'll need for reassembly. hopefully i'll complete the valve adjustment soon and be able to move forward with the rebuild.

supraguy: congrats on finding and exploiting such a great deal! that's about half the retail price i remember seeing for the studs.

also, regarding the timing belt and additional tools... my largest torque wrench is 3/8" drive, and more importantly, only goes to 100 ft/lbs. i am a by-the-book guy (mostly because i have limited experience), and i assume i should try to hit the torque figures in the TSRM. i seem to recall the TSRM calls for 195ft/lbs on the crankshaft pulley bolt. not sure how to achieve this without buying additional, and potentially expensive, tools.

another hurdle that frightens me involves the same bolt. I dont know how to get the damn thing off in the first place! i have an air compressor, but it's just a little pancake-style compressor, and cannot run a pneumatic impact gun. i've read up a bit, and heard mixed reviews on the old starter bump trick. the only other method i saw involved a breaker bar and a long steel pipe. again, there were mixed reviews on the probable success of this method. and again, attempting this method represents additional tool purchases for me. minor purchases, but purchases none the less (would just need the steel pipe. frankly, im scared of the potential difficulties/damages that can occur with this method, not the cost.)

so supraguy, you wouldnt re-use a 40k belt? arent the OEM timing belts for our cars rated to last for 60-90k? i would love to get another year or 3 out of this belt. for the record, i am still planning to replace the water pump and belt tensioner, just not the belt itself... please do let me know if this is dumb.

thanks!

 

[supraguy@aol]

Dumb? well, no.
It's just that as I said- the belt is dirt cheap. Do you REALLY want to go back into it in a year, just to replace that belt?
PS- I've seen it recommended that if ANY oil gets on the belt, you have to toss it and buy a new one. The oil kills its life expectancy.

As for my "great deal"- LMAO! I didn't read the ad very close...I received the ARP head BOLTS, not nuts...I am sometimes a complete idiot.

 

[91whitepack]

Following along. Im at the same point in my head gasket swap. I checked valve clearances last night and replaced a few shims. Thankfully i had 3 sets of shims from some old heads and was able to get what i needed to put it in spec.

 

[IJ.]

so i thought i was gonna get this rebuild done for under $600-700.

boy, was i kidding myself.

i'm at $1700 so far.

head work - $800
ARP bolts - $100
Hose Kit - $280
Cleaning Service/Products and Tools - $200
Gasket Kit - $50
Replacing important parts with toyota OEM (timing belt, water pump, tensioner, injector o-rings, cam pos sensor cover, head gasket, egr cooler gasket) - $300

shit adds up awfully fast...

I always allowed about 2K if I had to pull my engine down for anything, if it came in under that I did a danceOjoy :runaway:

 

[Cyrus]

IJ, i gave myself a hard budget of $2k. i was just hoping to get it all said and done for ~$1000. unfortunately, i dont like to cut corners and the only way to make it happen for <$1000 would have been to do things "wrong", using crappy gaskets, not getting headwork done, re-using cracked/dried out hoses, etc.

but luckily for me, that cost list you quoted was inaccurate. i was able to save $350 on the head work by doing the valve adjustment myself. i got a slightly cheaper hosekit by forgoing replacing the intercooler hoses, which saved me another $60. toyota bits and pieces came out to closer to $200. so yea, I think all told I'm gonna be around $1500, and i should have a pretty solid car, so long as the bottom end is still sturdy. *knock on wood for no rod knock*

 

[IJ.]

Don't forget fluids they add up in a rush...

 

[Cyrus]

yea true. that'll easily be another $150+, as i want to change the transmission fluid and differential lubricant. the important fact is, i will come in under $2k, so mission accomplished.

is the toyota red coolant worth the investment? it never really gets particularly cold or hot where i live (40-100 degrees is the maximum temp variation here. usually it's between 50-80.) i was just gonna use whatever coolant the local auto parts store has, 40/60 coolant/distilled water, and then add a bottle of redline water wetter.

 

[IJ.]

I used Toyota Red for years in my 7M, had a few bad experiences with some of the other brand coolants, when I switched to the LSx's I started using Zerex g05 on JDub's suggestion, have to say I'm VERY impressed, it's been in one car coming up on 2 years now and is still crystal clear.

Yep on the cost, I just dumped $150 of Synthetic Trans Fluid after breaking the trans in 400 Kms.... that hurt more than having to rebuild it.

 

[Cyrus]

IJ, i see this Zerex coolant on Amazon for about $20/gallon. p'raps ill give it a shot! thanks for the tip.


so after a couple of cold windy days, today finally warmed up and the winds died down, so i was able to get outside and prep the block a bit. also managed to finish up preping the head for installation.

i am going to install the head without the cams. it will make it easier to lift it and place it without that extra weight. today, i pulled out all the exhaust manifold studs and chased the threads with a 10mmx1.25mm plug tap. i know it would've been good to do the steel inserts and larger/coarser studs from driftmotion, but my head was never overheated, and the studs i removed came out cleanly without tearing out any of the threads from the head. once i get the head on the car, i'll be torquing the exhaust manifold onto it, and we'll see then whether or not my decision here was wise.

installed the EGR cooler plate on the back of the head w/ an OEM toyota gasket, which i spraycoated with permatex copper spray.

i used some hylomar blue to help the lower intake runner seal to the head. i am using a crappy ebay'd paper gasket, and i feel like the hylomar is a good piece of insurance when dealing with a gasket of questionable quality.


only used a very thin layer, applied with my fingertip.

the head is ready for install! but now it has to sit on the bench and wait for the block to get prepped.

 

[Cyrus]

tomorrow i'll finally get the head installed on the car! pretty excited, as this is the last really big step. from there, it is just a lot of wrenching and hose attaching.

so today i spent about 3-4 hours working on the block.

here is what i started with:


i bought a bunch of dirt cheap sponges from a local $1 Dollar Store. 6 sponges for $2! i cut them up and used them to fill the oil and coolant holes in the block.


i realized right after i took the pictures that there were 5 more coolant holes along the driver's side of the block. i filled those too, but didnt bother taking another picture.

and here is a close up of what the block looked like, in terms of filth and leftover gasket. really, not in too bad shape.


so then i went at it with razor blades, scraper tools, an old well-used teflon-safe dish scrubber pad, and a cup or 2 of lacquer thinner.

3 hours and about 6 razor blades later:


i know it still looks dirty, but those are just stains. it is clean as can be, and smoother than a baby's ass. not that i've been feeling up babies or anything. i just hear they have smooth asses...

i didnt bother doing much with the tops of hte pistons. #1 piston had quite a bit of carbon built up inside one of the valve relief slots, so i chipped it out very carefully with a flathead screw driver. other than that. i just gave them a quick rub down with a rag soaked in lacquer thinner. also found some carbon built up at the very top of the inside of each cylinder. i scratched it out of the cylinder with my fingernail, and now all of them are nice and smooth all the way up to the top. i cleaned out each cylinder pretty carefully with rags and compressed air, and rotated the engine at least a dozen tons, stopping to clean out each cylinder when the piston was at the bottom of its stroke. when i finished cleaning and removed all the debris and shit, i also lightly oiled the cylinder walls. hopefully that is the right way to do it... i wasnt sure but i figured it couldnt hurt.

so yea, tomorrow, i'll chase the head bolt holes in the block (didnt have the right sized tap handle for a 12mmx1.25 tap today :: angry :. i'll probably have to do another cleaning of the cylinder walls after chasing the threads, even though i'll tape off the cylinders. i just want to be sure none of the metal bits or junk from the head bolt hole threads finds it way in there after i get done blowing the holes out. then ill wipe down the deck with some more lacquer thinner and throw my head gasket on, and then drop the head on, after i put down some FIPG in the slot between the block and the timing cover.

i am getting excited! the end is in sight and i sooo miss driving this car. can't wait to get it back on the road, hopefully healthier than ever!

 

[Cyrus]

oh also, i forgot to mention that i was able to finish my valve job.

turns out, we have a family friend who is a toyota mechanic! stopped by his dealership and he was kind enough to let me dig through a box of shims he had laying around.

here is what $5000 worth of shims looks like:



and here is what a freshly adjusted valve train inside a freshly cleaned head looks like:


ignore that rusty plug in the spark plug alley. i figured it wasnt worth taking out and replacing. besides, it is probably fused to the head by now, with all the corrosion.

 

[Albert]

Nice! Keep it up!

 

[Cyrus]

Thanks Albert!

so today was a momentous day!

after thoroughly prepping the mating surfaces of the block and the head, i finally reunited them!

but first i slipped in a little protection, because i dont recommend mating without it!

dont worry, i remembered to put FIPG between the block and the gasket, right where the rear timing cover meets the block.

then i carefully placed the head. it was kind of a bitch, because i did it by myself. i am sad to admit, i had to slide the head around a tiny little bit to get it to drop onto the dowel pins. i hope i didnt fuck the gasket up or scratch the (nearly flawless) under-surface of the head. my machinist got it down to an RA of 12, and i could've kept it as a mirror if i didn't need it on the car.



then i lubed up my ARP hardware. i hope there is no such thing as too much lube, because i lubed the shit out of those bolts!


dropped em carefully into the head and, using a deep socket, got them all snugly screwed in finger tight.

got out my trusty snap-on digital torque wrench and went to work! first, i torqued them to 20 ft/lbs. then 35, then 50, 60, 70, 80, and finally 90! i think i accidentally went to 92 ft/lbs on one of them. oops :icon_cry: oh well, i'll fix it when i retorque in a month or so.



buttoned everything up as best i could, and now its time for a fucking beer!


i'm pretty excited. i feel like the biggest part of this rebuild is done, with the 2 halves of the engine reunited. now it is just the long but (hopefully) simple task of plugging in all the hoses and electrical connections.

 

[Albert]

Why does the block not look as clean as it did before?

 

[Cyrus]

talking about the first picture in my last post? must be that dirty head gasket.