Topic: 85 4runner build

[Greiner]

okay i have had this thing for about a year now and so far i have put a brand spanking new crate 22re engine in and thats it. my reverse went out about 6 months ago so this last weekend i finally took the time to put a new transmission in.  so today i finished hooking everything and i went for a test drive and my engine was strugglin a little bit and then a cloud of white smoke shot out the tail pipe.  when i poped the hood white smoke came from under the hood also. when i was replacing the tranny i took the headers out to paint them (barbaque paint) and just put them ack on today. so i am almost positive there is an exhaust leak from between the headers and the head. but now the engine barley holds it idle i dont want to belive the headgasket blew because the engine is only a year old. i check the spark plug wires but im completley stumped. before i put the new tranny in the engine idled extremly smooth and was perfect after new tranny barley runs anyone got any ideas?

i post some pics tommorow

[RockRescue]

what kind of headgasket did you use ?   What kind of Coolant do you use ?  what are your headbolts torqed down to ?

[Greiner [OP]]

i dont know any of the information i bought the engine as a crate engine so it was completly built when i got it i just swaped it. i think the coolant is red but ill have to check im not sure. i feel like it is very weird because i have had absolutly no problems with this engine all the way untill i changed the transmission. i am going to compression test it tommorow but im trying to think of what in the process of changing the transmission would harm the engine? when i was pulling the transmission i missed the bolt that is hidden behind the slave cylinder and i was pulling it a little bit could that have ruined the crank shaft? also there are two bolts on the top of the bellhousing that are a pain in the BUT to get in/out, i still need to put those in

[Early]

also there are two bolts on the top of the bellhousing that are a pain in the BUT to get in/out, i still need to put those in

WHAT!!! you drove without 1/5 of the bolts properly on?!?!?!?!

ill give you a hint, put a jack under your cross member, unbolt it from the frame and drop it an inch or two, then get two long socket extensions and 2 or 3 small ones. put those bolts in from where your shifters poke threw the body.


Ok, to your problem. its an efi engine correct.

where is the motor from, company?

I would start by looking at any hose or wire near the header, you had to disconnect a couple things from the area to stick a header in there.

[Greiner [OP]]

WHAT!!! you drove without 1/5 of the bolts properly on?!?!?!?!

i was excited haha. but ya tomorow ill do that to but i dought that will fix the problem

the only things i disconnected during the swap was spark plug wires, headers, starter, and slave cylinder. but i checked all of those and they are all fine except for the headers (i think theres a exhaust leak between the headers and the head)

this is a dumb question but when i went to autozone they said that the transfr case took 3 quarts of 75w 90 and the transmission took the same amount and same type of oil. when i was refilling the transfer case only took 2 quarts and the tranny took 4 quarts, is it possible i put to much oil in the transmission. i noticed when i was driving that the transmission was making a humming noise?

also is it possible if the old transmission didnt slide off completly straight it might have messed up the crank shaft?

[RockRescue]

White smoke is steam    (water )   Blue smoke is  Oil      The  trans should take   3.5 if i remember right . just fill it till it flows out of the fill hole .   have you looked in your radiator to see if it was low ? also if its been sitting it is possable the the themostate   stuck on you ?

[Greiner [OP]]

i know the thermostat is okay because i have a mechanical temp gauge at the thermo housing and it opend when i was driving. i do agree though white smoke=coolant i just dont want to belive its the headgasket, and if it is i must have messed up the crankshaft by pulling the trans out unevenly. so if thats the case im looking at rebuilding the whole engine. does anyone know if pulling the transmission out unevenly can cause damage to the crank shaft?

[RockRescue]

IF you do end up changeing the headgasket  and it sounds like you will  DO NOT USE a fell pro gasket    they just do not last .  I would get one from ENGBLDR.com    also  if i remeber right  the factory calsl for i think 58 lbs on the headbolts ? i take mine to 62 .    just for the heak of it i would check each bolt to see what they are torqed to ?   i cant imagain  takeing the trans out would have anything to do with a headgasket ?  there is a metal hose that goes behind the head  . could you have done something to that ?

[Greiner [OP]]

okay so the other day i checked the compression and it was fine so i think the headgasket is good  i also put the two bolts in the bellhousing it was really easy after Early's suggestion of putting the jack under the crossmember. today i just finished making a block of plate for the shifters. but now that i have the transmission in it is leaking pretty bad, i was wondering if anyone has any good recommendations on easy ways to stop it. i dont want to pull it out and take it apart   i'll post some pics soon

[Early]

are you leaking tranny fluid or motor oil? if you can't tell by touch/look/taste check your fluids.

glad to hear the trick helped 

[Dingman.]

Well the puff of smoke under the hood might very well be the paint you used on the header..



Couldn't tell you about why it's running weird

[Early]

Well the puff of smoke under the hood might very well be the paint you used on the header..

x2

and i had issues with my runner after i rebuilt the motor. ended up having a few issues that you should look at:

spark plug wires, i had two that had split and one that kept falling off but looked on

my spark advance connectors had a wire that was starting to pull, took me all day of wheelin to break and die. so i could fix.

My distributor cap was worn which could have added to problems

And i thought i had a fuel problem through the whole ordeal.

[Greiner [OP]]

well if im completly honest i might have accidentaly put to much oil in the engine and there was to much oil pressure.  i was sitting and listening to the truck idle the other and i looked at my oil pressure gauge and at idle and it read 60psi so i checked the dipstick and it was over full. i drained out some oil and it runs perfect again. it makes sense because when i changed my oil the truck was facing up hill a little bit. the head gasket is okay!!!!!!!!  now i just have to figure out how to stop the tranny leak, im going to try some stop leak but i doubt it will work cause its leaking so bad.