gamellott

Until it's constant, it's kinda hard to speculate. Mine had a moment years ago where it ran like crap for a short time and then nothing... It could have been something as simple as water in the fuel I guess. I would definitely check to see what the computer thinks it has a problem with.

I've been wanting to do the same. I think most of that stuff is nearly unobtainium right now. Maybe Safelite or one of the glass companies has a source for the rubber. Past that, if you're looking for the plastic pieces of trim, you're likely going to have to go to a junk yard.

@RainGoatThat's some crazy @!*%. I did some skimming and I would tend to attribute the battery(ies) dying due to the Texas Heat and then Cold in the winter, or likely some other external factor/abuse. Batteries die at a rapid rate down in the south, especially after a cold snap below freezing where a bad cell will rear it's ugly head. Also, if you do put 2 batteries in parallel, you better get 2 of the same size, brand new, at the same time so one battery will be less likely to kill the other because it has a marginal cell. If you don't, you're inviting trouble. Battery problems don't seem to happen so much here in the PNW unless you deplete them and let them sit uncharged. ?

The original voltmeter that has a range from 6 to 18VDC is not that great of an indicator. It works, don't get me wrong. A working range of 10-15VDC would be preferable with the given range of the OE meter. With that in consideration, I prefer to have some kind of backup, especially considering these rigs are approaching 30some years old and the electronics get glitchy with age. Even though it's a cheap chinese meter, it works and seems to be accurate enough. ?

High output alternators have a higher current (amperage) rating. If that alternator is somehow achieving the higher output with a higher voltage past the initial charging of the battery when you start it up, then there is something wrong. Batteries, when fully charged, will have a float voltage around 13.6 VDC as indicated using a good digital readout (And that is good). If you've been driving for a while and you battery voltage is indicating 14+VDC or conversely 12-VDC , there is a problem. Your battery may have a bad connection, wires badly corroded, alternator not working correctly... etc... The one reason to have a high output alternator is if you have added a equipment that will be used for an extended amount of time that exceeds the current output of your alternator. If you're running a stock rig and you don't have all of that stuff that would tax your alternator, you don't need to spend the money on the HO alternator. Now, if you've added a winch and a lot of lights, then you just might need that extra current. I would suspect, if you have a winch, and you anticipate using it a lot, your best bet would be to have a second battery since you may not be in the vehicle and it will likely be idling. At Idle, most alternators aren't going to be putting out much current, regardless of being a high output alternator or not.

If your voltage remains at 14vdc once the battery is fully charged, you will eventually cook it off. Higher voltage, although desirable in some instances, is not good for your battery if it's already charged. BT.. If you're judging the 14Vdc by the analog gauge on the dash, I recommend installing a digital one. I installed one in the cigarette lighter along with 2 USB connections. Great upgrade!!

92' has a CEL? I have never seen or noticed one on mine, and I had a bad coolant temp sensor connection for a long time.... Maybe its burned out... I'll have to have a look... The only way I knew I had a problem is when I queried the computer.

If you're going for the VG30, you can piecemeal the gasket set from Rock Auto a lot cheaper (Fel-pro) and where they sell/use the paper gaskets, simply use silicone like they did OEM. But if you want to go for the $43 head gasket, go ahead ? I'm not judging ?

Today is day two since I have had it all finished and completed my commute to and from work. The engine appears to have a little more power (I really notice it when I'm climbing hills). It runs a LOT smoother. The annoying hickup just past idle is gone, and I can release the clutch without giving a quick flick of the gas to get it to go without stuttering. Oh, and the exhaust is not noticeably leaking.? Because it was sitting for so long, The dash lights independently turn on and off at will. Sometimes they're all off. The door dinger that notifies me that I either left my lights on or keys in the ignition, is silent. The list goes on and on... It appears as though I will be cleaning electrical switches and stuff when the weather warms up and/or I have a dry place to work in ? Projects for another day ?

If you're going to do the timing belt, it's frequently recommended that you replace the water pump. If you don't know the age of the pump, it would be a good idea and an ideal time to swap it out. I've done the timing belt twice on my rig and it's a long time consuming job. Also, if this is your daily driver, and have no backup, take a weekend to do it. Parts are not as readily available to do this as they may have been 10 years ago. Also, a good opportunity to replace that crank seal that is possibly leaking ?

One thing I noticed when I pulled the heads off of mine was that 3 out of the 6 cylinders had cracked lip seals on the gasket. Only one was seeping water into the cylinder, it was also pressurizing the water shortly after heating up to the point of vomiting the coolant out if you took the radiator cap off while it was hot. If you're just going to do a top end rebuild, better do it now before you actually overheat and possibly damage the heads. I was fortunate enough to have noticed the issue before it did. The heads were relatively flat, and the machinist only took out .006" Overall cost was for the whole repair was about $600 and it's now running better and smother than it ever has in the 6 years that I have owned it. I suspect it'll run even better once I get a fresh tank of gas into it. It's about a year old and likely varnished ? Tip: I didn't actually purchase the gaskets and parts required until I got the heads back, not knowing if they were good. If they were bad, I would have gone another route, possibly the VG33 route. I also piecemealed the gaskets because Rock Auto was selling the individual gaskets significantly cheaper than they were selling the whole head set, which I didn't need all of the gaskets in that set anyway. I just used Permatex where OEM was silicone anyway.

Ok, lots more progress, it's running, the exhaust is leaking, and the timing is WAY OFF. I believe that I clocked the pulley on the Harmonic balancer incorrectly. With the timing light, it's indicating about 120 degrees out. Does anyone have an illustration of where the pulley should be clocked on the balancer? Edit... Turns out I had an idiot moment. I was setting the timing on cylinder No.3. Timing set, runs good. Gonna do another oil change again since there's likely lots of water contamination in the sump. The alternator does not appear to be charging now; will be looking into that later... Oh, and... my heater now works!!! Well, We'll see if the heat keeps pumping out. That has been an intermittent issue that may have been a symptom of the bad head gasket... At least, that's the theory ??

I doubt that they make this. There is the whole "lubrication" issue that you would have on a chain vs belt. The cover is not even designed to hold fluids.

If you're going to pull the motor to do this, You might want to consider swapping over to a VG33. There are threads on this. I literally just went through the heads on my VG30, new head gaskets, intake, valve lapping. Blah Blah blah... I have a few lessons learned....

Making lots of progress. The small water hoses on the back of the intake manifold are proving to be a bit of an issue. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get a good handle on them in order to get them on with the manifold on?? A dab of grease, I suppose.... They're kinda on/installed, but not as secure as I would like. Bolt extractor worked for the cam bolt like a champ. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I wouldn't have thought an extractor would work considering the bolt head got destroyed with an impact, but it did. New cam bolts torqued properly, not with an impact this time ? Hopefully, this will be the last time I ever have to do all of this with this engine. Almost everything on the engine is assembled. All that is left is the nuts on the LH exhaust manifold to pipe, belts, hoses, radiator, fan, oil and coolant. Should be firing it up and setting the timing tomorrow. Just in time for it to snow next weekend ?

@Slartibartfast, Ya, I don't do much assembly with the impact except when I don't believe I'll be able to get enough torque on it (as it was in this case) when I was trying to put on the rear bolt, which has a significantly higher torque spec. This, if nothing else, has been a long learning event. As stated before, this is the first time digging this deep into this engine. Or any other OHC car/truck engine for that matter. I have worked on OHC motorcycles, but this is clearly not the same critter. Same Concept maybe... Provided I resurrect the engine, One good thing out of this is that I should be eliminating all of the exhaust leaks now that I will have all broken studs replaced. No, I didn't upgrade to the 10mm studs. Give me a couple of years, and I'll have the VG33 upgrade... maybe When I discovered the broken studs, I only replaced the passenger's side gasket. I couldn't seem to get anything on the nuts on the driver's side and that became apparent why when I took off the heads... 3 studs had backed out somehow, 1 was broken and the manifold was only being held to the head by 2 studs.... Which is apparently why I couldn't find any of them by feelsies 5 years ago.... With the upper intake off, I believe I should be able to get a better angle of attack on those nuts to tighten them down properly. Speaking of exhaust manifolds.... What's everyone's take on those oversized washers under the manifold stud nuts? I was planning on re-using the ones I have, should I get more for the ones that were missing? Or does it even matter? I think it wouldn't hurt.

So, In the event that I damage the sprocket getting it off, it appears as though I will be heading to a Junkyard in order to find them.... I keep seeing a common theme here with a 28yo truck.... The upgrade to the VG33 engine may be coming sooner than later with these options available... although I see the same options with the VG33 ??

@Rockclymr, I think I have a way forward on getting a replacement. First big task is to get it off. We have a Tacoma Screw local here where I can likely get a suitable replacement. @Slartibartfast, I used my impact in order to get it on. It was cold when I did it, and maybe simple thermal expansion made it even tighter when it warmed up a little bit. I doubt that I could have stretched that bolt like I did the head bolts. I started out with a lightly used 6 point socket. By the time the bolt head failed (probably something like 10 minutes of off and on wrenching, I probably slipped off a little) and it rounded the corners of the bolt and the socket is now a wobbly 6 points ? . Sounds like good advice for keeping the camshaft safe from heat. I'll have to take my time and keep everything covered for sure. I'm pretty confident once I get the head removed, the bolt should simply back out. Everything was clean, dry and there was no sign of corrosion.

@TheGhost With a cursory visual inspection, you can easily determine if you have bad bushings. I would have a look at everything though, not just your rear end. At one point, I had, what turned out to be, a complete idiot do a front end alignment on my pathy. One of the upper control arm bolts was cross threaded and not tight against the frame. What happened later, because it wasn't tight against the frame, the shims fell out and I had an upper control arm that was flopping around causing all kinds of mayhem while driving. I recommend a good look over everything!!

Unfortunately, I do not have a welder. Good idea though. I don't believe I would get anywhere with a bolt extractor. If I couldn't get it off with a good 6 point 14mm socket and an impact, I don't think a bolt extractor would work either. I have some of those available, so I'll give it a try anyway ? I did, briefly, try to use a map torch to heat it up to try to get it free. I believe I may have annealed the bolt which probably facilitated the destruction....

Do you already have the turn signals? I would be looking at that before the fog lamps. Although cool looking when they're all installed, there has to be some kind of mounting for the light in order to properly install it. Someone around here should know ?

Latest and greatest... The heads are back on. I torqued the sprockets down while the heads were still off. Little did I realize, then, that I had to install the belt cover/housing behind them. I got the RH sprocket off no problem. I was attempting to take off the LH sprocket and I could not get the bolt to budge. Cranked up the air pressure to 140 PSI and destroyed my socket and goobered up the bolt head in my efforts. Now... I need to figure out how I'm going to get it out without removing the head again. I have an angle grinder and could grind it off, or I can try to take the cam out by removing the bolt on the back of the head... Suggestions/Recommendations?? And... I need to find a replacement bolt too... ? Maybe I should quit while I'm ahead ?

I don't think/know that those fog lamps will work in that model year. I have a 92' and have the factory/dealer installed fog lamps that mount under the bumper. I have yet to see how they mount in the bumper without modifying the plastic insert. All of them that I have seen, while it appears to be a fairly clean installation, have cut the plastic insert. I have been wrong before.

It took me a while to figure out that my speedo is off and low by about 10%. I have learned to compensate for that. But no, I generally don't get passed that much anyway. If I do, it's because some asshat is late to werk and in a bigger hurry than I am ?

Based on your experience, what others have told me, and what I have read, I get the impression that the oil with zinc (at least during the break in period) is for the traditional pushrod engines.