2.7L Compression Test Numbers

One of the buckets lifted up a good inch when I was trying to pull out the shim. It went back down but I had to spin it a quarter turn or so before it fell back. It seemed to be normal afterwards. Might that have anything to do with it?

 

I wouldn't think it would if it went back down unless it, or the other one, still wasn't fully down for some reason.

recheck compression to be sure the valves are working correctly but my first thought is dirt got onto the lifters and they are just sticking a little making it clatter

 

No lifters on a 3rz, the cam sits directly over top of the valve and the lobe serves as the lifter.
Pull the valve cover and look at the chain guides for any abnormal wear. Also look at the chain tensioner and make sure its doing its job.
Another thing, have a look at all the shims and make sure they are properly seated in the buckets.

 

granted but the spring caps serve the same example even though it has looser tolerances for clearances but it still can have the same result of sticking if grit got in there.

 

The shim bucket?
It doesnt really move once the cams are torqued down.

 

are you serious? it sits on top of the valve stem and moves constantly going up and down with the valves and cam lobes, if they don't move the valves don't function

 

Yeah im serious, the bucket stays pretty much stationy (except fo the few thousandths of lash)its between the cam lobe and the valve spring. The spring moves up and down via the cam.

 

I just tore it down again and can't find what I did wrong unless it was just that the cover wasn't screwed down tight enough.

All of the cam retainer bolts were tight and in the right order. When I manually crank the engine everything looks like it's moving as it should. There were no signs of metal on metal contact. Everything was covered in a nice layer of brand new oil.

I didn't pull the cams again because I don't have my replacement shims yet.

 

Do any of you guys know the torque spec for the bolts that secure the valve cover? It's not listed in the FSM as far as I can tell.

 

Hand tight- then 1/2 turn. they're not supposed to be very tight. Id say 12-15 ft lbs.
Did you get your noise issue figured out?

 

Yeah, I think my Haynes manual lists them at 13ft/lbs.

 

Thanks. No luck on the noise. I took it all apart again and don't see anything that would cause the noise. I might figure it out tomorrow night when I install my new shims. I sure hope so.

 

Post a video of it running if you dont get it figured out tomorrow.

 

Ok. . Thanks.

 

Ok. I know there is probably an existing thread about this but you guys have been so helpful I wanted to run it by you first.

I decided to take the heat shield off of my exhaust manifold while I was working on my truck. It has been rattling some and I wanted to see why. It turns out there are two hairline cracks in my exhaust manifold. They look worse than they are because they got some oil on them.

Is this a problem? Will it cause problems? Is it worth fixing? Is it as easy to fix as just unbolting this one and bolting on a good junk yard version?

 

yep that will mess with your engine sensors but its really easy to fix and the best way is to buy the stock header conversion for it. its made of tubed steel so it never cracks and its a one time permanent fix. replacement cast iron headers always crack after a couple years and you will be facing this again. its also made of much thicker tubing and heavier gage steel then aftermarket headers and the stock headers are fully legal and use stock heat shields unlike most aftermarket headers. (but the heat shields are different fit then the cast ones)

there is a factory stock header style design they went to in 2002 and it looks and works a lot better then the old heavy cast design, but you wont get any performance gain from it or anything like that.

read this: http://www.yotatech.com/f37/tacoma-4runner-2-4l-2-7l-mini-header-kit-now-available-179930/

 

Thanks. I'm really starting to consider selling this truck and getting a newer one. I might just leave it.

 

that would be a shame, you are well on your way to solving all your problems with this thing.

once you take care of the little things like this that people overlook and never fix, there is nothing left to do but enjoy driving your truck for another 150k miles without any problems.

any used truck needs repair and these trucks need the least repairs of all and are the cheapest trucks to repair, more then any other out there and these trucks also will outlast any other brand by a good 200k miles on top of that.

 

I guess I should have been more specific. I love my truck and would gladly keep it forever. My needs have changed since I bought it a decade ago. I now have a family of four and can only seat 2. Also, it doesn't have air conditioning which gets old a few months out of the year.

I'm not against fixing it. Honestly, I really like working on it. At some point I'm going to have to get something different and the winter is a great time to sell a Toyota 4x4 with no air conditioning.

 

well the manifold is something to pass on to the next owner and do what you gotta do. im sure people drive around with cracked manifolds for years and don't even know it. side effects are probably just a rough idle (as if you could tell lol) and mpg would be slightly off buts that's all I could think off so if your not choking on exhaust in the truck your ok to ignore it.