91_4x4runner

A long time ago I when I was reading about picking up a car for an engine swap, it specifically said don't pick a car that has been rolled. If/when it was rolled, it may have been left running upside down (oiling system I imagine). Seemed logical enough, so I picked a car that had been toasted in a rear end accident. Sorry to thread-jack a bit... It's just food for thought.

The M90 would never flow enough for an SBC. Perhaps an Eaton M112 would.

Yup. I just didn't get the sarcasm till post #8. Then I laughed.

My interpretation is this: "When I floor it (burning out), only one wheel spins. The other transfers no power to the ground." There's a 99% chance that your differential is an open differential. That's simply how they work. You'lll need to get a limited slip differential or a locker to make both wheels spin.

Perhaps a more aggressive cam?

I'm lovin' the SAS'ed 4Runner in the background. I envy you.

Thanks for your input Mat. I haven't had a chance to work on my car (school/work issues) but I'll check it out first thing this weekend. Again, thanks. I'll let you guys know how it works out.

Alright... I suppose that this is at least a good way to document what I've done to get this POS car to start. Everything I've read (read: searched) says that I may have a mad starter solenoid. I apply 12V to the starter and get a loud clicking noise but no crank. I'll see about switching the starter solenoid from my possibly working spare tomorrow. If that cranks it at all, I'll probably just get a cheap starter from an autoparts store.

Update: I read that if you give 12V to the small connector on the starter solenoid, it should crank. I plugged 12V into it and it didn't crank. It makes a loud click and does nothing else. It sounds as though its trying to engage but it just isn't making a connection. Still needing your help, Zgods. Thanks again, Eric.

Alright, I tested all my fusible links (at the terminal) with a voltmeter. 3 of the 4 tested 12.8V. I also tested for continuity and got no reading. When I turn the key, everything returns seems to go dead. No crank, lights go off, gauge in the cluster shows 0V. I've got no idea what this link goes to. If you look in the above picture, its the 2nd one from the front (solid black behind the orange-wire one). Can someone give me an idea of where I should look for a short? Thanks, Eric.

It seems that every time I fix one problem, I run into another one. I found that the water temp sensor (2-wire) was busted. Broken plastic. No biggie, I replaced it with the spare I had. I fooled around with it for about 20 minutes trying to figure out what might be wrong. I decided to look at the spare intake manifold I had to look for any connections I might've missed. Turns out, the connection for the idle air control was on the plug, but not completely seated, causing it to idle horribly. I adjusted the idle a little bit and it ran great. I come back 20 minutes later so my dad could hear it run and tried to crank it. Nothing. It seems I have a short or bad fuse or something somewhere. When I turn the key to the on position, the tach registers 2300 rpm's (without cranking). I tried another battery and the same thing happened. Nothing, nothing changed at all between the times I fired it successfully and now that its failing. When I turn the key to the start position (cranking), everything goes dead. Lights out, all meters register 0 including the voltage gauge). I know it's impossible to get a straight idea on what the issue could be, but does anyone have ideas? I just want to say that this sucks. Peace all, Eric.

I've got a spare block that I've been salvaging parts off of as I need them. I can always try the t-stat in it and see if it works. If it doesn't, no problem. While I was at it today, I also replaced the wires (from the t-stat wires to the butt connectors) and it made no difference.

I'll replace the t-stat tomorrow and see if it makes any difference. I think it'd also be the reason why my temp gauge has quit working (besides the wire being re-spliced) since no coolant is going to the block.

I haven't touched the idle speed screw (haven't got a clue where it is to begin with). In addition, the engine gets warm fast (by touch) and when I rev it, it doesn't come down quickly like a normally operating engine would.

Hey guys, I've got a new issue. High idle. After some testing, it turns out that a few of my injectors were bad (replaced 'em). Then, I soaked the injectors all night in some carb cleaner. When I pulled them out, there was all sorts of muck and crap in the bottom of the container they were soaked in. While I was pulling the fuel rail off, the water temp sensor (single wire) was wired through the fuel rail and it was so corroded that I couldn't get the plug off. Rather than fight with it (it was around 9PM), I just cut it with the intent of splicing it back together later. I dried them all today and put the fuel system back together. I reconnected all of the injector and spark plugs (correctly). I turned the pump on, let it re-pressurize the system, and cranked it. It fired up after a moment and idled so smooth.... at 2100 RPM's. As I said, I spliced the wire for the temp sensor back together (just by twisting it, my soldering iron is at school), but it doesn't read anything. Its now running on all cylinders and would run fine if it wasn't so rich. Soldering the connection should give me a perfectly good read, correct? Otherwise, I guess I need to replace the thermo sensor? Can you tell me what I might have missed? Thanks, Eric.

The fuel pump is wired up through a switch inside the cabin and is in easy reach of my hand. Here is a picture of the plug that I bridged to get it to run: Also, I've got many bad vacuum leaks... Does anyone have suggestions on hoses that can be eliminated from the system to make it more simple? Thanks again, Eric.

Alright guys. I'm stoked, but I feel like an idiot. I've been fooling around with my car since I got home today and was trying everything possible. The issue of the line being clogged is now gone and it gets good pressure. I found that the injectors weren't getting any power when I checked it with my multimeter. I didn't have much of an idea of what to do, so I went straight to the relay box by the battery. Once I looked inside, it seems that there are two relays missing. One for the fuel pump (which is now wired and toggled via switch), and one for the FI. I bridged the two most likely wires, cranked the car, and it started! It started for the first time since I've owned it (and dang its loud!). I'm heading down to Autozone to get a switch to replace the relay. (Think this is a bad move?) Thanks for the suggestions y'all. Take care, Eric.

Thanks for your comments Careless, I'll try the measures you suggested. I know I've got spark because it fired when I sprayed starter fluid in. The car is a 1978 280Z. L28, fuel injected.

I bought the car back in August from a guy who was moving overseas. According to him, the car had a bad fuel pump and fuel pump relay No biggie, I bought a new fuel pump and just got around to installing it today. Instead of fighting with finding a new relay, I just bought a switch and wired the pump directly. (tested for 12V, was fine) I re-hooked all fuel lines, flipped the switch on, and I can hear the pump pumping. I know I've got spark because I tried shooting some starter fluid in it and got it to fire a little. I figured there was a problem with air pockets in the line (I put 5 gallons in it as well today; should be plenty to start it). Next, I disconnected the fuel filter to let air out of the line. After standing there for a moment, it started to shoot some fuel out. I re-hooked it and cranked the car over, still nothing. I figure that the problem is that no fuel is getting to the rail itself, but how do I bleed the air from the rail? If I'm way off base, please offer suggestions, I'm open to anything. Thanks, Eric.

On Saturday after work, I decided to finally ditch the SC (which later turned into taking it to our farm). After exhausting all methods of loading it back onto the trailer, we decided to lift it up with the engine hoist and back the trailer under it. Aside from being an incredibly stupid idea, it worked quite well. For reference, you can sort of see why I got such a sweet deal on the SC in the second picture, it has excessive wheel travel. Moreso, it has a strut that was literally sheered off, a damaged inner fender, and a broken a-arm. Once we got it to the farm, unloading it was as simple as chaining it up and pulling it off. And finally, getting the Z out of the barn and onto the trailer. It took a while due to approach/departure angles, but we finally managed to do it. My dad lent me one of his old Optima batteries to see if anything in the car still worked. Lo and behold, it actually cranked over (yes, I checked the oil and coolant first, both were clear). Even the dome light functions. Hopefully this coming weekend I'll have time to drop the gas tank, clean it out, install a new fuel pump and start it up. Also, after a more in-depth inspection, rust is a bit worse than I remember. Several holes under the battery tray, tons along the rocker panels, and some beginning along the hood. Oh well, it will be one fast rustbucket. I'm going to start searching for a rust-free chassis to work on once I get everything going in this pile.

You're talking some serious dough on your aftermarket parts. The good thing about the headers for the 1UZ is that the exhaust flange pattern is identical to the 2UZ (which is the only way you'll find cheaper headers). I've seen 2UZ headers for as low as 175, but finding 1UZ headers will put you in the 4-600 dollar range. Cams alone (remember, there's 4 cams) will cost you around 1K (probably have to source them from Australia or NZ). ITB's can also be found "down under" for a nominal fee... http://www.toymods.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2739 I suggest searching on google and Lextreme.com when finding out about aftermarket modifications. EDIT: Just found a really clean swap into an S13 (I assume that the engine bay room is similar). http://forums.freshalloy.com/showthread.php?t=162189

I completely agree with you that a narrow tire won't get alot of power to the ground. Lets say though that I keep the stock setup for a year or two, do I really need a huge set of tires? I think not. I figure that I'll put 35K miles on between the initial setup and the turbo'd setup, so that's one set of tires down (depending on tread life). So for my stock 1UZ (generous guess, 200hp to the wheels), do you think that 225 55 16's will suffice? That's roughly 25.7" tall and 8.9" wide.

Sometime around Christmas I plan on buying new rims (and I've got credit for tires). I'm only going to be putting about 200hp to the wheels at first, but I don't want to upgrade to wider rims when I start putting more power down (won't be going over 500hp, ever). I'd like recommendations for rim/tire size. My current idea is 16x7 (0 offset) and 225 55 16's. Ideally, I'd like to find the compromise between low drag and ability to put power to the ground.

That's the complete harness from the engine to the ECU/internal harness. It doesn't include the wires that go to the instrument cluster and whatnot. I've got to fish out the fuse block and whatnot today after work.

I left them off initially..... It's not a big deal either way. Click a link or make the poor dial-up folks wait ages.