Prepping for my Swap

[91_4x4runner]

Now that I've got an engine, I need to start saving my money and doing prep work. The swap won't be happening till early June, so I've got prep time. Whilst loading the car onto the trailer, we found that we had a pretty bad power steering fluid leak (looks like a cracked hose, ). It took near 2 hours to get that damn car onto the trailer. It had a broken lower a-arm and the strut was torn in half. Basically, the tire was beating the crap out of the fender, which didn't matter since it was already trashed.

Went out there today to turn the car on and the starter wasn't getting enough juice, so it wouldn't turn over. No big deal, it's a pretty crappy battery. Plugged the charger on for a while and then turned the car on. It started right up without a problem. I looked at the guage cluster and noticed that the battery light was on. Got the voltmeter out and the battery wasn't getting a charge from the alternator. I didn't have time to do any troubleshooting after that, but there are two possibilities:
1) Bad Alternator, P/S fluid coulda leaked onto the alt and trashed it.
2) No Connection between alt and battery

The first option seems the most viable right now, so I might have to break out the wallet on this one.  I made a prioritized list of stuff I'm going to need to do to my 4Runner before/during/after swap.

Fix Power Steering Pump Leak
Fix Alternator
Clean Throttle Body
Pull off cam covers and inspect cams/valves
EGR Deletion
Change spark plugs/wires (maybe)
-ADDED: Leakdown Test
Clean injectors.
Check timing belt
Check Distributor caps
ADDED: Check/Replace Starter Contacts
Manual Transmission Swap Parts
Rebuild Transmission
Check fuel pump outputs
Motor Mounts
Body Lift
Electric Fans (Thinking Flex-a-Lite FLX-240. Thin, high output, mediocre price.)
ADDED: Check fitment of SC400 Radiator
Headers/Exhaust Mods
New Fluids
0 ga. wire to starter,alt, battery
Change Oil in Diffs.


Tell me if there's anything I might be missing. Thanks, Eric.

[Smitherz]

I wouldn't even bother with the leakdown test, takes too long and I wouldn't want to know if I didn't have perfect compression  . There is a grommet in between the power steering (PS) reservoir and the pump itself. Just replace the hose, the grommet (FOR SURE since it's so easy and grommets are almost free) and replace the gasket on the cap and you probably won't have a leak from there. If you do then you will have to pay the big price for a rebuild (last resort). Just dump degreaser the alt. to clean it and see if it works later when you start it up. A new one is like $150 retail... I got one with a lifetime guarantee for a little less I believe.

I highly recommend taking off the oil pan to inspect the bottom of it for anything interesting (hopefully not). This is nice and easy to take off right now and costs nothing to do it except the silicon when you put it back on.

[91_4x4runner]

I wouldn't even bother with the leakdown test, takes too long and I wouldn't want to know if I didn't have perfect compression  . There is a grommet in between the power steering (PS) reservoir and the pump itself. Just replace the hose, the grommet (FOR SURE since it's so easy and grommets are almost free) and replace the gasket on the cap and you probably won't have a leak from there. If you do then you will have to pay the big price for a rebuild (last resort). Just dump degreaser the alt. to clean it and see if it works later when you start it up. A new one is like $150 retail... I got one with a lifetime guarantee for a little less I believe.

I highly recommend taking off the oil pan to inspect the bottom of it for anything interesting (hopefully not). This is nice and easy to take off right now and costs nothing to do it except the silicon when you put it back on.

I have like 2 gallons of Superclean (supposedly really good degreaser), could I just soak the alternator in a bucket of it and then let it air dry for a few days and test it out?

[Smitherz]

No you don't want to super dry out the bearings! lol. You're talking Castrol Superclean right? Well that's a great cleaner and so strong it cleans concrete. Dilute that stuff half and half with water and just soak the alternator with a good spraying, let sit for 5 mins and hit it with a pressure washer if it's really oily around the windings. A good blast with the hose and using a brush on it should take care of it with a heavy degreaser. After using floor stripper and heavy degreasers I'm never using gasoline or solvent again, too expensive. Mine was completely soaked with PS fluid and it cleaned up right away with this method.

Don't soak anything containing bearings or electronics. It's not worth the risk of drying out the bearings or causing any kind of corrosion. The degreasers that they have out there are really good and work better than solvent/gas because they attack the dirt as well as the oil.

[91_4x4runner]

No you don't want to super dry out the bearings! lol. You're talking Castrol Superclean right? Well that's a great cleaner and so strong it cleans concrete. Dilute that stuff half and half with water and just soak the alternator with a good spraying, let sit for 5 mins and hit it with a pressure washer if it's really oily around the windings. A good blast with the hose and using a brush on it should take care of it with a heavy degreaser. After using floor stripper and heavy degreasers I'm never using gasoline or solvent again, too expensive. Mine was completely soaked with PS fluid and it cleaned up right away with this method.

Don't soak anything containing bearings or electronics. It's not worth the risk of drying out the bearings or causing any kind of corrosion. The degreasers that they have out there are really good and work better than solvent/gas because they attack the dirt as well as the oil.

This is the stuff I have: http://www.superclean.com/index.php

Did you at least take it apart before spraying it?

[91_4x4runner]

When I do my swap, I'll be putting in electric fans. That'll replace the current hydraulic fan in the engine bay of the SC. How do you guys think I should go about getting rid of the hydro pump? I know I can't just d/c the lines because it will seize, but if I take it out completely, I need to get a shorter belt. Could I just run a hose from the outlet of the pump to the inlet and it just pump that way? I don't know how difficult it'd be to replace it with an idler, but that might be the route I go. What are your suggestions? Thanks, Eric.

[Cebby]

You can fill it with oil and cap the in/out hose locations or you can do what Smitherz and I did - get an idler from a 2UZ.

[Smitherz]

Hey just a break to comment back.
Hah! That Superclean is some crazy stuff! Use gloves for sure. Be careful what you use it on and always test a small area first. I actually did try some concrete cleaner thinking it would speed up the degreasing process but it just make a little smoke and left some pits in the aluminum =o I removed it as fast as I could grab a spray bottle of water. I just soaked my engine with degreaser while it was hanging from a cherry picker then pressure washed it. Just do it over some gravel, not your garage floor    Getting the engine spotless is just a bunch of TLC but it's worth it! Now that mines clean I know it won't attract dirt or road dust. Once it's spitshine clean I spray things down once with silicone spray and it repels all that stuff.

[91_4x4runner]

I'm really hoping that the superclean will get my alternator back to working condition. 100% of the power steering fluid went through it over a period of 2 hours.

[Smitherz]

Oh it will be fine. There is nothing fragile about an alternator. You can dump that thing in oil and it will still work. It really needs to be sprayed clean just so that the oil doesn't attract dirt into the bearings or clog up the contacts. You should be good to go.

[91_4x4runner]

I'd go out and try to fix it now if every door on my car wasn't iced shut. How awkward is that when living in TX.

[D.affen]

im ditching the aod for a c4. what all do i need to do the swap? any little detail...will the aod driveshaft work? reverse light harness? shift linkage? flywheel? anything at all....
thanks