Roost

Found the vacuum leak that was keeping it from running. In the process of assembling the engine, one of the rubber O rings that go on the intake manifold and is for the injectors, never made it on. BIG air leak. Of course, nobody has it tonight, so I have to order it tomorrow and hopefully get the whole upper side of the engine put back together and timed correctly. Same batty place, same batty time..

Oh...thanks for that . My luck is historic when it come to mechanical issues and this transplant is no exception. It was the third engine to get it started right. And that was only the beginning, the list could go on and on. It's all good, though. Thanks for reminding me that I am not the only unlucky guy out there .

IT"S ALIVE, IT"S ALIVE...runs like crap...but, IT'S ALIVE . I can't keep it running long enough to get around to the throttle under the hood and adjust the timing,but IT'S ALIVE. The transmission is working fine, that is, with all four tires off the ground. The exhaust system is smoking like a drunk slut in a bar :tonguefinger: , but I did soaked it with PB Blaster during removal. Now just have to find all the vacuum hoses that I didn't get hooked back up and adjust the timing. Then I will put the torsion bars backs on, the front tires on and then drop it and head on down the road. I may have fried the stereo though. I can turn it on and go through the channels and get the CD player to work, but no sound to the speakers, at all. But IT'S ALIVE....... Semper Fi

I took some time off for the holidays to spend with the family and now should hit it hard again tonight. But alas, other things will have to happen first. The A/C compressor on the wife's car seized on us, on the way to the beach, this past weekend. Had to buy a new one for $260 today and am going to install tonight, hopefully.

As for the front rotors, iirc, those rings are threaded are should spin off. I use a #2 phillips to put in a hole and rotate. There may be a locking washer that has a bent over tab that has to come off first. The bearing should just come right out. The half shaft replacement is necessary if the boots are not replaced immediately and that should also take care of the wobble of the splines if it is not cause by the bearings being warped or loose. I hope this helps and the Chilton and Haynes Manuals should be adequate for this application. Semper Fi

If that doesn't fix your problems, try looking at you rear brakes. Hope this helps

Sounds good to me. I hope that I will have the time to get some wheeling time in with ya. Let me know when your going to be in town and maybe we can do breakfast or something :coffee!: at least.

Things are starting to blend together and with the holidays, I don't remember . I hope it was good. :tonguefinger:

One more update if anyone is actually tracking progress besides my wife. The old exhaust system is put back together, which was quite a feat, let me tell ya. We didn't take a great amount of care when we had to cut the Y-pipe off to get the system off. But it is now back together, well, sort of. I didn't bother to get the gaskets to reinstall the factory exhaust, I was going to put on the headers. WRONG. But, a lot of patience, three different types of welding and a bit more time than I expected, it's back together. Tomorrow I will pick up the gasket and finish the exhaust system and maybe start getting the transmission lines reinstalled and take them through the new cooler.

No headers, AARRGH. They won't work and I am a little miffed about it, to say the least . I would have to reroute some brake lines, move this and that, and that just isn't worth going through or sacrificing for a little sound and ponies. Got the original manifolds put back on and started fitting the exhaust system together so that we can weld the pieces that need to be welded, back together. Had to leave the project earlier than I wanted to attend a rally that I help organize. Well worth it, as the BBQ and company was great.

Going into 4x4 on the fly is fine as long as it is into 4 high and your going below 25mph, I believe. Going into 4 low, I believe you should be stopped to go into it, I can't remember for sure. Coming out of 4x4 into 2 WD, you can do it on the fly a few time, but it is NOT recommended. Stopping, shifting, go into reverse for a few feet is what disengages 4WD "properly". Of course, I cannot come make you shift it, but that is the way to keep it working for a long period of use. I don't have enough money to be going through transfer cases, so I have to be smart about how I use it. Good luck with all the repairs and I know that this vehicle will give you many years of enjoyable service, if you maintain it correctly

To disengage the transfer case properly, you are suppose to go in reverse for a few feet. Doing a transfer case disengage going forward is not recommended with the way a stock PF is set up. Hope this helps

Lowered the transmission and inserted the lone sensor. Put the starter in and connected it up. Put the passenger side header in and got the driver side in place ready to be bolted in. This header is going to be a pain in the arse, for sure. Put the front grill fascia and the marker lights back in.

One thing that you may not notice but if you don't know about it, you'll learn the very way. The dip stick tube is not located in the same location on the Japanese model as in your American model. If you try to keep it in the same Japan location, you will not be able to get the dip stick out until you remove the oil pan, which means removing the engine. Yeah!!!! It's a bit of a pain to knock out the brass insert, so I took a old broken handle screwdriver and put a couple of bends in it to make it look like a crescent moon. A lot easier than removing more engine parts that are a pain to work with.

The VG30 is pretty much the stock block for the 88-95 PF's. If you get a new one, you'll pay a lot for a brand new engine. If you buy one from Japan, you'll pay a lot less for a engine with about 40-50k miles before you do almost a complete rebuild. I would suggest the Japan engine again. Get all the advice you can, ask questions if you have them and ask questions if you have the least doubt about something. It's cheaper than doing it twice. Get manuals, Chilton, Haynes and the expensive Service Manual that goes for about $100 or more. If one doesn't have the information that you are looking for, the other just might. I had the Haynes manual tell me something that the Service Manual did not, well worth the money. You can also get a CD from Ebay that has the Service Manual so that you can print one page of if you need just one page to replace one or get one really nasty, greasy and not care. I wouldn't get just the CD, even though you can get it to your place for about $8. The ink to print the damn thing would cost more than just buying the manual. If you can get someone that knows what their doing to help, it's worth a lot more than you'll know. I hope this helps. Semper Fi

Just got back from the transplant operation of the PF. I had to cut it short because some dumb dumb, forgot to put the liners in his motorcycle pants and the temp. was dropping to below 40F. Got all the sensors into the transmission, the filter changed and the pan with the gasket back on. Realized that I forgot to put in the sensor that goes on top of the transmission, so I will have to lower the tranny a bit to get the one lone sensor put back in. I'm full of dumb dumb moments lately. I also had my lovely bride drop off the headers this morning so that they where at the garage for me. Ain't she grand! We'll get back to it tomorrow and hopefully get a lot more progress on this thing. Semper Fi

I got my replacement engine from a place called Japan Direct here in NC. They may have one out there or something like it. I would not suggest anything shipped to you, as if it has any issues, your screwed about replacement or resolve. I had to go through3 engines to get the one that would work. The first one had to big of a crank, 32mm vs. 25mm. The second one was burnt on the inside, but hte outside looked great. Third time is the charm. It's a great engine and I didn't have to pay a dime for any of these issues. Just my $.02, hope this helps. Semper Fi

I just did almost all of the gaskets and seals on the engine and transmission, I went with Fel-Pro. I am very happy with them in everything that I've done in the past and am sure that this time will not be any different. You should be able to get Fel-Pro at your local Advanced Auto Parts or something like it. I wouldn't even think about using another brand of gaskets and seals. As far as the seals go, don't forget to put a coat of oil on them before installing them. If you have any questions about the rebuilt and transplant, I will do my best to help. I am almost done with mine with only a few things to finish up to get it back on the road.

We got the transmission in place last night and I bolted the fly wheel to the torque converter the hard but safe way through the starter hole. I did a little happy dance once the 4th bolt was in and started, then went and tightened all of them down good. I then put the drive shafts in and connected the transfer case linkage. We got some of the electrical connections put together on the top side, as well. Hopefully I can get to a point that I can crank up the engine tonight, but I think that might be a little out of reach. Semper Fi

If I don't get it done by Christmas, you can come out and shoot me .

OK...it's being a slow process, but the transmission/transfer is ready to go in. It's on the jack, under the truck and ready to go up. We ran out of time last night and I had to call it quits after getting the transmission cooler sandwiched in.

Get your truck started and then while running, remove the positive(red) terminal off the battery. If it still running, then the alternator is fine. If it remains running, have someone turn on you head lights while you have a volt meter on the removed positive cable and on the negative post. If it drops out, the voltage I mean, then your alternator regulator is gone. If it just dies, it could be the alternator or it could be the starter solenoid, as it has a lot of the heavier electrical components can run through the starter. If this seems to be the way it goes, remove the item that you think is bad, take it to Auto Zone or something like it and the should test it for free. If the starter tests bad, ask them to test the solenoid. If this doesn't seem to sound right or not work, than I have no idea but to let some electrical guru take a look at it. Good luck Semper Fi

A new trick I just used and it worked. Heated up the metal around the bolt with a propane torch. Then hit it with the PB blaster, reheated and then turned the bolt out with vise grips. It was on the exhaust system that had not be touched in over 12 years.

I started to get a few things done today on the transmission to get in reinstalled. I had to remove the rear transfer case housing off the old transmission and transfer in to the new transfer case. It holds the 4wd indicator sensor and the transfer case did not have a port for it. So I had to also go get some more gray RTV, since we use a whole tube of it on the engine oil pan. Oh, also had to buy a new rear output seal, as it would probably leak. It won't be in until Monday. One more delay, gotta love it. Cleaned up around the shop a little bit and then welded on the new bung ring over the old O2 sensor hole. It was stripped out something nasty while removing the old sensor.

I just scuffed them up with a green scouring pad. I then painted them with the ceramic high temp. paint. I went against some popular suggestion and wrapped the headers today and I am waiting for them to dry to put the outer ceramic spray onto the wrap.