So I've been working on the never-ending rebuild... I've been so busy with work and other things, that it has literally taken me MONTHS to finish this rebuild... much of the time has been devoted to cleaning parts... Anyways, I put the engine together, following all of the great advice found here and other places... Got the engine put back in the truck, and everything hooked back up... Now for my issues...

I have a very small oil drip from the back of the engine - I can't quite tell if it is the rear main seal or??? I'm not sure if it can be fixed easily...

My bigger issue - I filled the radiator with coolant, and as soon as it got close to full, I had a pretty bad leak coming from the bottom of the vsv (the valve which bolts to the head, in between the intake manifold mounting locations (the valve that is not part of the intake manifold). The leak seems to be coming from the bottom of the vsv, where a water pipe bolts to it. I used a new gasket, and a SMALL amount of FIPG, and yes, the bolts are tight... Not sure how to fix, without pulling the whole intake manifold...

My BIGGEST issue - I started the motor (a little gas down the carb, and it started right up), and noticed that I was not seeing the oil pressure guage go up at all... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" /> I shut the engine down... I primed the oil pump with vaseline during the rebuild. Before trying to start it up, I pulled the spark plugs, put a very small amount of oil down them, pulled the ignition coil wire, and cranked the starter intermittently to try to prime... Upon seeing no pressure when starting the engine, I repeated the above step, and still no pressure. My gauge cluster and oil pressure sender worked fine before the rebuild. I checked to make sure the wiring was all hooked up... No pressure. I'm in the process of shopping for a real oil pressure gauge, so that I can get an accurate reading...

Anyways, mostly venting... I'm just wanting to be done with this, so that I can move on! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />

Ken

I hear ya. Shortly after my rebuild, the front seal let go, then my water pump went out. Now, the engine sat for about 6 months after it was long blocked by the machine shop, so I figure the front seal was my fault. However, the water pump letting go about a year after it was cranked and started being run irritated the crap out of me. Getting these things right IS time consuming and CAN BE a pain in the butt.

I don't have any great advice, other than to keep at it and walk away if necessary. One good thing is you are not alone.

How bad is the rear oil leak? I might leave that until last if I was not forced to pull the motor for some other reason.....

I had a similar leak after a rebuild, I thought it was from the vsv also, but it was leaking from the hose to tube connection and running down the back of the head.

Had some similar experiences when I rebuilt mine. Check the half moon gasket on the rear of the valve cover for your oil leak. For the coolant, had a very similar one, I could not for the life of me figure out where it was coming from, eventually discovered it was from one of the coolant hoses underneath the intake. The crappy springsteel hose clamps that were on there just weren't tight enough and some coolant was leaking by. Replaced it and havn't had any leaks since. Just keep plugging away at it, you'll eventually get it all figured out. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

Welcome to toyota!
My first rebuild I had similar problems.
1) You HAVE to pack the oil pump. I never fired mine up, but I couldn't get oil pressure w/o removing the front cover and packing the oil pump. If you don't want to remove it, another poster said that you could use a pressure sprayer and spray oil (a lot) into the oil passage at the filter and this does the trick too.. Haven't tried it myself.

2) Locate your oil leak.. Could be something simple as posted above.

3) Find the water leak too...

You're close!

>>>*Did you by chance remove to oil galley plugs during the cleaning process?

If so, the one down by the pan rail gets missed quite often, it could be as simple as that plug not reinstalled.

But I have also seen these engines refuse to pick up oil pressure, I had one I started and read zero, I knew it had been built with lubriplate so I took her to 4000 and still nothing.

So we pulled the relief valve, squirted in gear oil, put it back and instant pressure.

Of course I also worked on one for 2 hours trying to figure it out, then I noticed the little wire to the sender was off...(Felt a tad dumb on that one...*LOL**)...*EB

WOW ! Lubriplate ! Can ya still get that stuff?

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Mike in AR

Help me out here EB... I'm feeling pretty stupid about now! I "discovered" two extra plugs in the box that the machinist gave me with all of my old parts... I'm now wondering if I missed reinstalling the oil galley plug that sits at the back of the engine block (to the right of the rear freeze plug). One of the leftover plugs that I found is the same diameter as that plug, and I also have a pretty bad oil leak coming from the back PASSENGER side of the motor, right below where that oil galley plug goes... It looks like I'll be pulling the engine to double check... But that still leaves one more oil galley plug that was in the box of old parts... I have all of the visible oil plugs on the side of the block covered... is there another "Hidden" oil galley plug somewhere, other than the one on the back of the block? Since I'm thinking that I probably overlooked the oil galley plug in the back, would this explain my lack of oil pressure? I pulled the oil pump twice to repack with vaseline, I squirted oil in oil pump bypass valve, I squirted oil into the oil pressure sender hole, and I even purchased a nice Auto Meter oil pressure guage. It didn't register any oil pressure either... any suggestions. Looks like I'll be yanking the motor to check that oil galley plug... I had a teacher tell me once - "The key to mastery is repetition..." I guess I'll be a pro once I get this figured out... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />

Ken

>>>*Well, the plug at the back won't be a drip, it would pour out...unless the one down by the pan rail is missing also, then very little oil would get up there since that just dumps back into the pan if unsealed..

*Sounds like you might be on the right track....*EB

there are no left over parts from a motor, used ones yes. extra no.
hard lesson.