Well its been a while since I have updated this thread. Well I replaced the head gasket but the oil leak continued. I drove it for a bit and a few weeks ago it began running really bad. so It has been parked since. I think I may have burnt a valve, so Im either going to replace the head or just have a valve job done. I have also been doing some updates. I found a mint 4runner bumper at pickapart so off came my 2wd bumper and on went the 4runner. Now because that was chrome and the grille wasnt I couldnt have a mixed front end, so I found a chrome grille on craigs. I then put clear signals on the bumper. Then I decided to see if i could find a sr5 cluster. I found one and got most of it to work. I couldnt get the tach working but everything else is. Now I have a few secret items im currently working on and once im done with those I will have pictures.

 

damn looks hottt

 

BEAUTIFUL bro. Truck is looking good.

 

yup looks good!!!!

 

So today I finished my project. A couple of weeks ago I went to pick up a new bed. The guy was super cool and asked if I wanted shaved doors. I told him let me think about it. So after I got home I told my girl about it and she said why not do it. So I emailed the guy and said let me order my remote set up then I will come get them. So Sat my kit came (AVS 4 channel setup) and I began hooking it up and rewiring under the dash. I removed my old dash decided to start sanding the dash that came with the truck cab I got from sdyota. By sunday afternoon I got it all hooked up and working, so I called the guy and he said that he had them waiting to go. So yesterday I got the passenger door switched and this morning I got the driver done.

 

And the bed I got is shaved too. I just need to do some work on it to make it bolt to the truck. The guy I got it from had a tube framed truck, so he couldnt have a bed floor. But I have skined a bed once before in my prerunner days to mount the bedsides, so Im going to do the same with this one. Everything is shaved on this bed, taillights, gas door, tailgate mud gaurds and it has a welded in top (I will change that once its mounted). I plan on using 60-66 c10 tail lights and 61 thunderbird backup lights to make it all legal.

 

Nicely done bro. Truck is coming along fast.

 

well I dropped off my head at an engine shop to have a valve job, they said it needed some work but wasnt what was causing my issues (oil in intake, blow by, smoke on start up) so with 168k on the clock they figured could be the rings. So this weekend Im going to finish taking the engine apart so I can take it to them on monday. I figure spending a few hundred dollars to make it run like new will be worth in in the long run.

 

just rebuild the sucker so you can forget about all problems lol. and this trucks coming along super fast and nice man...

 

so I droped the block off at the engine shop. And as soon as they disasembled it they found the issue. The piston broke in the ring area on the #3 piston. So it looks like we will rebuilding the engine. Next week they will give me an idea of how much it will be bored so I can order my rebuild kit from egnbldr. At least when Im done it will be basically a new engine and will go another 200k or so, just kind of sucks to be spending my tax return on an engine instead of paint and body work. But a truck that looks good doesnt do me any good if it doesnt move.

 

Today I picked up my engine from the machine shop. It looks like they did killer work. So now to paint the block (cant have all that work done and have a nasty looking block) and put all back together. Hopefully it will be back on the road in 2 weeks. Now i need to get my new bed all mounted and fix the rear axle leak.

 

Get her back on the road!

 

how much did the block rebuild cost you

 

well I spent alot on the block. At first I thought it was the head, so they cleaned and rebuilt the head (was newer 30k but needed work) then I took them the block. I had a broken ring which destroyed a cylinder so the sleeved that one. Then they bored all of the pistons (.020) and decked the block. Then my bearings were garbage so my rods were rebuilt and the crank was fixed. So out the door with all that work, some disassembly (stuff I couldnt get) and cleaning I spent $967 on the machine work (including the $230 for the head). I know I could have just got a used engine and dropped it in or gotten one of those craigslist specials and saved some money but I figure I might as well do it right the first time. I got the rebuild kit from egnbldr with a cam, new head bolts, water pump, and clutch. I warented my starter and coil from autozone, replaced the wires and cat before I tore it down. All thats left is I need to have my flywheel resurfaced and have my injectors cleaned. I figure by the time im done I will have spent between $1700 - 1800 on the engine. But I will basically have a new truck for that.

 

I just read through this whole thread, and wow bro. Its coming along nicely and im liking that bed. Keep it up!

 

Thanks.

So in yesterday and this morning I began the process of putting my engine together. Last week I painted the block and some brackets. I set the engine on the stand and put my pistons together. I hope to get the crank and pistons in the block and set up this weekend (with mothers day and my kids baseball this weekend I have small windows of time). I hope to have the engine together by next weekend and hopefully in the truck. Then I have so send my injectors out (including the cold start, figure its apart make it all good) to be cleaned and matched. I figure my goal is to have it running and on the road by the end of the month.

 

I was hoping to work on the truck a little bit this weekend but I had some things come up and along with my boys last baseball games, my cousins first communion, and mothers day I didn't figure I would have any time. Well after coming home from my aunts, my girl didn't feel well so she went to sleep. Well I set the engine up inside our living room in a corner so I could work on it whenever. So tonight I didn't do much but I at least got the crank back in the block. I tried to also put the freeze plugs back in, but the brand new tube of rtv was dried out, so the crank was as far as I got. But at this point Im a little bit closer to having it back together. Now time to celebrate my small achievement with a nice frosty beverage

 

so over the last week I have been assembling the engine in my girlfiriends living room. I got the flywheel resurfaced and new injectors this week so I was able to finish the rebuild. Over the past weekend I finally got it put back in. Hopefully tomorrow I will fire it for the first time.

 

Once I got the pistons in then I finished the short block. I didnt take any pictures of the head going on, but the last is the complete engine on the stand.

 

Next since I built it inside a house I had to get it through the door, so engine stand was pushed as far as it would go through the door then the engine hoist grabbed it. I installed the clutch and flywheel and moved it to the front of the truck.