What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

Finally finished up reassembly of this head gasket job. New pair of reman heads too. Picking up new radiator in the morning then we’ll see if she wants to start. Couple time lapse photos. Definitely a learning experience since this was my first time tackling a HG. Thanks to everyone that helped me out in the process.

 

popped your engine cherry... just wait. it gets worse.. next thing you know you have a 2nd gen mr2 with a sienna minivan v6 you cobbled together with spare parts and pistons from a hybrid...


nice job with that ol gasket swap!

 

Would strongly strongly recommend getting some kind of cap for the big ass fuse you bolted down there. One dropped wrench is all it'll take to burn it all to the ground.

Clean it up now. You won't be able to stop the fire you could create due to some lazy wiring. Such and overlooked thing.

 

Yup you're right. I already have some 1inch split loom on order but gotta figure out something with that giant fuse. I'll be moving around some of those wires soon as I wire up an external fuse box for accessories. Wiring is something I just don't enjoy much I can never make it look good.

 

Usually I see them with boots. My blue sea breaker is similar.

$25 Fastronix 250 Amp MEGA/AMG Fuse Holder Kit

https://www.amazon.com/Fastronix-25...t=&hvlocphy=9003784&hvtargid=pla-568980320846

EDIT - just boots:

$9 Fastronix 3/8" Stud Terminal Covers (Red)

https://www.amazon.com/Fastronix-St...locphy=9003784&hvtargid=pla-570261080377&th=1

 

Installed a SoftTopper yesterday.

 

The valley where your fuel rail is so clean. I assume you recently did the valve cover gaskets before this job since your covers were painted? What paint did you use?

 

Ya I took some simple green and a wire brush to it before I reinstalled it two days ago. It was much dirtier than that lol.

 

It looks like you did a really nice job when's the first fire up?

 

Fired it up about an hour ago! Started first try, seems to idle fine. Just burping the system right now.

Question:
I’m following my coolant temp gauge while I’m burping it. At what temp should I turn it off before it gets too hot? Let cool, burp, repeat.

 

If it's getting hot it's got a pretty big air bubble I would turn it off immediately. If you're talking about a real gauge like something you see on the scan gauge I would turn it off if it's getting above 220

 

I should’ve said scan gauge. That’s what I’m using. I’ve been turning it off once it gets around 210.

 

Only thing I’m noticing is the temp gauge on the dash is not working and when starting it it makes a sound I’m not so fond of…
Old man is saying it could be your new battery, it’s just got a strong crank… ehhhhh

 

potentially forget to plug something back in?

iirc there are two sensors under the plenum for this based on what @ToyRyd04 told me.

And I didn’t realize the picture order was you building it back up, that makes more sense. I’m balls deep in cleaning mine right now, got at least 4-5 hours cleaning the valley alone.

Started like this:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

 

Not that I can remember of. Now we’re having a hard time getting it to hold temp. I’ve been burping it, squeezing the top hose, parked at an angle, drove up and down the street. Still getting into the 210s.

 

Yep two sensors, first in the front of the motor is ECU temp sensor near the the upper coolant outlet.
Gauge cluster temp sensor is at the back of the motor near the FPR on the driver side.

 

Need a funnel to really help with this, also have your heat on full blast to push any pockets out of the heater core. Having blowing hot heat is a good indicator that majority of the air is out of the system.
Also another quick trick is fill up your coolant overflow reservoir and go for a drive then park it. If there is a pocket of air, it'll push up as pressure decreases and make its way to the top into the overflow and pull coolant from there back into the radiator.

 

This guy is working pretty well for me so far. I do also have the heater going and it’s blowing hot. It just idled at about 168 for like 5 minutes didn’t budge. Gave it continuous throttle for a little bit until it hit 180s. Let off throttle. Then it idled itself to 212 again.

I’ll try that technique though.

 

I believe it’s that sensor behind the plenum that’s disconnected. I remember seeing it and I never found a connection for it so I figured it’s an “extra” and let it hang there. Clearly not.

 

Fill the resivor to the FULL mark or literally fill resivor to the top?