1999 Tacoma 3.4 has some "issues"

Good thread! wish i could help, but it's very interesting to read!

What compression are the 3.4L cyls supposed to be at? anywhere one can rent a compression tester?

 

Dont know where to rent but harbor freight has them dirt cheap

 

Hey!! the threat of naked GF pics worked!!! I thought I had a picture of her tit but it turns out it was just her elbow. Sorry guys....

No new updates yet, just ordered the head gasket kit and will begin disassembly very soon. Those gasket kits sure do range in price from 65.00-450.00 for the exact same parts. I split the difference and went middle of the road and bought new head bolts too since Toyota "strongly recommends" them.

I'm really hoping I'll find that the head gasket is blown and can just keep the repairs to the top half. Before I bought this truck I had noticed that a lot of them bragged about new head gaskets around the same milage so I've just made the assumption that between 150-180K miles, the gaskets give out. Haven't heard much feedback regarding poor cylinder wear/re-ringing these engines so I'm still optimistic that there's hope for it yet.

I don't have mantenaince history so unless there's a clear indication that the T-belt has been replaced, I'll be doing that and the water pump at the same time I'm doing the heads.

 

Sorry guys.....I left ya hangin.

Anyway, to sum it up, the #6 piston had broken down to the ring groove and just beat the living shit out of the piston and head. That explained the bent electrode on the plug. I'm surprised that it didn't demolish it but needless to say, the motor had to be scrapped and another used one installed as the cylinder had suffered enough damage that it was cost prohibitive to repair it. Wasn't much fun in this KS heat but I managed to get it done. BTW....I replace the T-belt, thermostat and water pump on the new engine. Purrs like a kitten.....more or less.

Another interesting point worth mentioning is that apparently when this happened, it caused the timing belt to jump about 5 cogs. I can't believe the damn thing even ran, let alone driving it almost 200 miles home at 80 mph. Pretty impressive if you ask me.

So I installed a used engine and things are going fairly well other than a CEL coming on and now I'm trying to trace down why the new O2 sensor isn't cooperating with me. Now I'm having some issues with it falling on it's face after a while of driving. If you're interested in that whole ordeal, tune into my latest thread and feel free to comment or offer suggestions.