1st Gen Lunchtable Thread - General Discussion

It's admittedly unfun. You'll pay a lot for it to be done at a shop I suspect just due to how much has to come off. If you truly don't have a place to tear into it for 4ish hours then it might be worth eating the $150 diag fee. TBH they put those charges on there because it wastes their time to change parts that don't need changing and then don't solve the issue (which then they argue charges over).

 

Just look up the job involved in taking said parts off.

It's like when you read the instructions for something before you dive right in.

Don't let apartment living stop you, I've done a ton of wrenching on many vehicles at an apartment complex as well as uncovered parking lots.

Just familiarize yourself with the process, read up on "common issues" such as a wire harness loom crumbling, etc and have the parts ready to tackle said issues if they arise.

 

Yea I understand that. I'm just not sure what more diag there is to do at this point. I guess they'd probably look at the fuel trims with their scanner to see if its running lean or pinging.

 

You'll be able to hear it if that were the case.

 

Yeah I guess I might just have to bite the bullet and set aside a day to tear into it. I'm just a little nervous of messing something up even more, then its all on me to fix it.

 

99% of the time the knock sensor code is from a rodent chewing on the harness. They love to make nest in the valley of a Toyota v6 where the sensor is berried. Not sure where it is on the 4 cylinder. It also dos not help that the harness is Soy-based.

 

Maybe find a shop that rolls the diag fee into the job quote if you choose to have them fix it. Chances are they'll come to a similar conclusion and then they'll put the diag fee toward the cost of the repair. Thing is, you know that you'll need the harness and sensors and you can bring them to them as well so they don't use shitty aftermarket ones or fix the harness themselves (hard to do with EMI shielded wiring).

 

Yea some of them have policies against using customer-provided parts. Must be some liability thing.

 

Hm, I haven't seen any evidence of rodents but who knows. I think it was sitting a lot of the time down in Texas so they could've got in there. I think you still have to do most of the labor to get to the harness though, so then the question is do you replace the KSs and intake gaskets as PM at that point..

 

Bribe a buddy with some beer and pizza in trade for a garage for a day and some company? You'll need more than just the sensors and harness too BTW. Need gaskets for all the components you take off and possibly some hoses if yours are brittle from oil and heat.

 

Fuck I'd love some beer and pizza but it wouldn't even be required if we're wrenching at my place

 

I don't know of anyone local to NWA but yea that'd be ideal!

Do you know of a parts list/kit for all the hoses and gaskets involved? I searched on here but only found the intake gaskets and KS/harness.

Thanks.

 

@Ozark_RegCab

Like Zane mentioned, maybe seek out a buddy who can lend a hand as well as the space.

This helps two-fold because often times you might need to make a trip to the store and you can't if your vehicle is down.

True story, I had to replace the ECT sensor on my 4R as it'd leave my vehicle disabled for moments at a time.

Most my tools were in storage, the 4R was at the apartment, and my other car was in a familiy member's house for storage.

Had to walk to O'Reilly's for a damn socket, one I already owned but didn't have with me. So just be mindful of that, it's totally normal to miss something or need something so having the means of going to the store is definitely a huge help.

Oh and I just reminded myself of when I installed Kings on my 4Runner and I had started the job in the late afternoon. I was getting to the front end when it was already dark only to find that I left the top hat bolts in storage

Don't even know why I pulled them out of the box to begin with. Had the Tacoma still but I had to wait until the next day to drive out and pick them up early morning.

 

I tried to find an alldata article for you, but honestly it's one of those things that's not common enough to have its own professional checklist. I know you'll need upper plenum to lower intake gasket, lower intake left and right bank gaskets, i cant remember for sure, but might need water outlet neck gasket, the tough part is what you find once you expose the valley. Once in there you could find that the harness is submerged in coolant from a failed heater midpipe or oring in which case you might need a new pipe or new pipe gaskets and orings.

 

what motor is it? I know this is not what you have but it can give you an idea of what it takes to do it on a v6. It is for the 4.0 and from personal experience its not a fun job. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...p0333-diy-knock-sensor-harness-repair.547066/

 

Yea I have the 3.4

 

Exactly this and why I mentioned "trip to the store".

Definitely want to be ready for those "what if" moments for sure, so good point.

You reminded me of the box of O-rings I bought last year...they're on the shelf as well as cotter pins. They come in clutch for sure as I told myself one day "never again will I go without one"

 

I put Elsa to work last night. She toed pretty good but did not want to stop.