Probably a grenaded transfer case

[DouglasVB]

BTW, if you can reasonably do so pulling off the pan is better. I originally just removed the front bolt and bent the lip enough to get out the cover. It always had a slight weep from the corner where the new FIPG met the original pan seal.

I'm planning to drop the pan to look for plastic chunks and anything else off-nominal. Plenty of room with the SAS to do that. The pan was replaced two or three years ago because it was leaking at the drain threads. There was a hole drilled through the threads that basically wouldn't seal. I guess it was an attempt to get every drop of oil out of the pan? The new pan didn't have that hole and doesn't leak.

Before that, I had the pan off maybe five years ago when I was trying to figure out where the leak was that was later fixed by replacing the whole pan.

 

[DaveInDenver]

There was a hole drilled through the threads that basically wouldn't seal.

Are you talking about in the threads on the pan bung itself? I'm pretty sure that's the way it was intended. I think the cross drilled hole is to give fluid and debris a place to go without fouling up the threads. The seal should happen between the bolt flange and outer surface of the bung. You do use a new crush washer with each change, right? I've flipped them over in a pinch but my experience is once they crush to the imperfections it's easier to just spend $0.50 for a new on next time. The torque on the drain plug is I think 27 ft-lb and that washer is soft aluminum, so it flattens out pretty much.

 

[DouglasVB]

Are you talking about in the threads on the pan bung itself? I'm pretty sure that's the way it was intended. I think the cross drilled hole is to give fluid and debris a place to go without fouling up the threads. The seal should happen between the bolt flange and outer surface of the bung. You do use a new crush washer with each change, right? I've flipped them over in a pinch but my experience is once they crush to the imperfections it's easier to just spend $0.50 for a new on next time.

Yeah that's probably what it was. Yup, new crush washer. Maybe there was a hairline crack I didn't see at the hole but that's where it was leaking. The new pan doesn't have the hole.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Yeah that's probably what it was. Yup, new crush washer. Maybe there was a hairline crack I didn't see at the hole but that's where it was leaking. The new pan doesn't have the hole.

I don't remember if a new pan had it or not, but it would not surprise me that domestic replacement parts come from a U.S. supplier and little steps like that are eliminated, either by spec or just to meet a price point. Both original pans on our 22R-E would have been made in Japan.

 

[DouglasVB]

Doing the timing chain went well today. I'm about half done. There were a few head scratchers but Bill, Daine, Travis, Justin, and Townsend lent their virtual support in our chat group and I made it through relatively well.

I have the old chain off and the new chain on with the guides and tensioner installed. I'll put the rest back together throughout the week when I have long enough breaks during daylight hours to make progress. The truck is in my friend's driveway where it gets cold at night and where there aren't good lights.

The oil did smell strongly of exhaust gases when I drained the pan. Maybe I'll need a head gasket. We'll see when it's back together I guess...

The old drivers tensioner had the upper bolt hole broken and a chunk missing. I did not find it in the pan or anywhere else. Maybe it broke some time ago and flushed out in a previous oil change or dropped pan or whatever and I didn't notice. I don't know where else that big of a chunk could go.

There was *zero* plastic in the pan. There was no evidence of coolant in the pan. Just oil.

The old chain seemed to be aligned correctly on the sprockets but the shiny links weren't facing outward so it was hard to tell. The old cam sprocket was lined up with the old crank sprocket at TDC as best I could tell. It's correct now anyway.

There was no wearing on the timing chain cover. All looks great there.

I made two mistakes: 1) I waited until Step 18 in Roger Brown's (4crawler's) directions to break the crank bolt rather than doing it earlier. It worked out okay because I was able to use the starter to break it free. 2) I put the crank sprocket on backwards initially and couldn't figure out why things weren't lining up but luckily Bill spotted the issue in a photo I sent our group chat.

I'll see about dumping some photos below.

Before surgery begins.

Coolant draining, removing stuff from the front of the truck to make access easier.

Radiator out. Air hose out.

All these hoses 🙄

Distributor cap off.

Distributor removed, power steering pump and alternator moved out of the way.

Head cover off.

Closer look at the old cam sprocket and chain. So strange they didn't bother using the shiny links.

Oil pump gear.

More oil pump.

Dat crank.

No signs of damage to the timing cover.

All good.

No damage.

The old timing chain.

View from the other side.

I never did find the broken bit.

Grooves in the old tensioner.

Everything apart.

All looks good.


More photos in the next post...

 

[DouglasVB]

.... continuing with photos.

The broken tab must have been missing for a while based on the accumulation of oil on the area it used to be.

Everything looks good here.

Looking at the valve train before reinstalling everything.

Is it just me or does the oil pump cover area on the timing cover look like the Millennium Falcon?

New timing chain in. The distributor gear is bolted in temporarily.

New timing chain, new sprocket, new guides, new tensioner.

Hard to see but it is lined up with the dot.

New guides in place.

This is where I left it today. More to follow.

 

[DouglasVB]

I got the truck 95% back together today and only have one mystery bolt.

It was a mild PITA to get everything back together but it went smoothly enough. The biggest problem I faced is that my bolts are not all the same length as the bolts on Roger Brown's writeup. I think this must be a model year difference? Or maybe because I've got the AC bracket? Or someone before me put the wrong bolts back onto the truck? Whatever the case, I spent a solid two hours sorting that out.

All that's left to do is put fluids in, put the battery in, and try to start it up. Then assuming there isn't a big crunch of valves, I'll need to time the ignition.

The mystery bolt... I'm not sure where it goes. It was one I took off early in the process so probably it was from an accessory or smog equipment or something. I counted in and out the bolts for the timing cover, and all were accounted for. And yes, the bolt that goes into the timing cover from inside the head is installed. I guess I'll add it to my collection of mystery bolts from the truck that is always growing.

At some point I should get a new BVSV because mine is missing its cap. But it's been that way a while and it passed smog the last time without problem.

Here are a few photos:

 

[On the RX]

The mystery bolt reminds me of my brother's first body work on his girlfriends Daytona back in HS. He and one of his friends grabbed a front bumper, right front fender, and the associated lights for the right front corner. They also grabbed a 30 pack of Boosh light, and they got to work. They did not have any leftover cans but had a whole tub of leftover hardware. My brother took it for a test drive the next day and started to see where the hardware was missing. The front bumper and fender were flapping in the wind, and the turn signal had found its way out and was hanging by the cords. He drove it back to our house and we found a home for 95% of the remaining hardware. It all worked out in the end and since then, niether he nor I have been heavy drinkers while wrenching!

 

[DouglasVB]

I wish I had a 30 pack to blame it on but we're doing Dry January so this leftover bolt is all on me 🤣

EDIT:

*maybe* it's the bolt I circled in blue. That's the only one I don't have a very clear memory of putting back in.

I won't be able to check though (or even get a photo of the bolt) until sometime later this week. It sucks not having a place to work on my truck at my house.

 

[DouglasVB]

I briefly visited my truck today to get a few photos of the extra bolt. @Squishy! thinks it might be a bolt for the oil pump or water pump. I didn't have time or the right clothes to dig into the engine bay and check. I'm like... 95% sure I didn't miss any bolts on those but I'll go back and double-check another day before I try starting the truck up.

Are there other places this bolt could have come from while doing the timing chain job? Maybe the AC system?

 

[DouglasVB]

Today my buddy from work Jonathan and I got the truck fired up for the first time since replacing the timing chain! Jonathan found that the mystery bolt belongs to the big water pipe on the drivers side of the engine.

Jonathan also got the timing adjusted and is starting to work on re-installing the driveline e-brake and fixing the AC and stereo.

He's buying the truck from me because he's moving to the Boulder area early this summer and the truck really belongs in Colorado. He really enjoys going camping in hard to reach areas and hiking from trailheads that normal cars can't get to.

Don't worry though -- I'm keeping visitation rights 😁

I've encouraged Jonathan to jump on the message board to say hello and I hope he does that soon. He's read through all the past threads on the Albino Rhino so he knows what's up with the truck.

We'll be taking the truck out for a test drive probably on Monday. Running it in my friend's driveway, the engine sounded pretty good. No sign of any major problems. So... mission accomplished on the timing chain???

I'll be sending Jonathan with pretty much all my spare parts and accessories so he should be ready to fix just about anything on the truck.

 

[jonathanLucy]

Hello all!

I'm the Jonathan mentioned above(thanks Douglas) and am indeed hoping to buy his truck and go drive it all over colorado. I'm coming from a 2wd Yaris which spent way too much of it's time getting me places it shouldn't of gone, so I'm pretty excited to be getting something can I can go on trials with!

I'll probably be posting alot on this forum in the future as things break and need repair, and with other dumb newbie questions. Hopefully I'll see some of you out in the wild soon!

 

[jonathanLucy]

hi all, I'm in the process of reinstalling a transfer case e-brake kit(this one) and am dealing with a staked nut for the first time. Is there any consensus on here about whether you can reuse them? If not, where would I get one? It's the nut that holds the companion flange on the backside of the t-case, it fits a 30mm socket:

Does anyone have any useful tips/ tricks for dealing with staked nuts? I'm hoping to be able to get it off with a screwdriver and move on to bigger and better things like air conditioning 🥵

 

[rover67]

I have a punch that has a 3/16 diameter tip that I have ground into a wedge to hammer under the stake. The right screwdriver could be used the same way. You could reuse if the nut didn't end up stopping in the same spot so you can restake with a good amount of new material. Typically I'd just get a new nut though.

 

[jonathanLucy]

I have a punch that has a 3/16 diameter tip that I have ground into a wedge to hammer under the stake. The right screwdriver could be used the same way. You could reuse if the nut didn't end up stopping in the same spot so you can restake with a good amount of new material. Typically I'd just get a new nut though.

gotcha. Thanks for the info! I was thinking along similar lines. I'll try to get a new nut, I imagine they're pretty cheap.

 

[jonathanLucy]

After test driving the truck over this last week with @DouglasVB everything seems to be running great! Still need to find a compressor hose to air up the tires but the rebuilt transfer case and new timing chain seem to be working well. There does appear to be some axle wrap going on though.

Does anyone have experience putting on an anti-wrap traction bar on a forerunner? @DouglasVB mentioned he noticed some axle wrap while I was parking it the other day, and I'm chewing on the idea that axle wrap while shifting and a faulty carden joint might have combined to cause this whole transfer case grenade situation in the first place. I like the idea of a traction bar better than just replacing the leaf springs, it seems like a more permanent solution to the problem.

looking at options currently. Seems like BudBuilt has a kit specifically for the 1st gen forerunner: Budbuilt traction bar
and there are other options, which require a bit more welding and wondering where to put them on the axle:
TMR anti wrap bar
RuffStuff antiwrap bar/kit

 

[DaveInDenver]

My $0.02 is it's not worth the trouble reusing stake nuts if you don't have to. It's my luck that they usually fracture at the spot you staked and end up losing a chunk and grinding threads or generally making something harder than it has to be. But YMMV.

Remind us what the rear suspension situation is. Did Douglas use blocks in the lift? I'd lean towards figuring out if axle wrap is really an issue and fixing it correctly in the springs rather than a band-aid. It feels like to me traction bars on normally built trucks would be like using two steering dampers to prevent death wobble when the real issue is knuckle angles and geometry. OTOH there's real reasons why spring under axle is used and in some case SOA stock set ups are converted to SUA, like is common with desert racing Tacomas I know.

 

[DouglasVB]

Did Douglas use blocks in the lift?

It's got Chevy leaf springs and 3.5" lift blocks that were installed in 2017. I had always planned on getting some custom Alcan springs to ditch the blocks. Previously it had shorter leaf springs from I think Trail Gear or similar but was really squatting in the back.

 

[DaveInDenver]

It's got Chevy leaf springs and 3.5" lift blocks that were installed in 2017. I had always planned on getting some custom Alcan springs to ditch the blocks. Previously it had shorter leaf springs from I think Trail Gear or similar but was really squatting in the back.

The Chevy spring swap has baffled me for some time. One thing that never occurred to me before owning my Tacoma is that Chevy (like 05+ Tacoma) uses an inverted shackle, e.g. being in tension vs. compression. This is *not* a small difference I suspect when thinking about wrap.

There's a century of engineering behind leaf springs, they're not as simple as they seem. The arch and length, particularly the short (forward side usually, which acts as a trailing arm in essence) vs long end (which has a greater effect on the ride quality). The stack-up and rates.

It's actually a fairly complex system to get working right.

And the blocks certainly don't help with wrap and 3.5" seems like a pretty tall block. With this rear suspension traction bars might be the right way to go, though it seems counterintuitive to go to so much trouble trying to get travel and then put on bars intentionally to limit it.