Ionstorm66

Make sure both surfaces are clean and flat. A good set of precision ground stones or diamond hones can is the best way to see if the deck/head are smooth, and a good precision straight edge and a flash light to see if its flat. When a head gasket is tightened on an aluminum head/block, the fire rings dig into the surface. You have to get that section back to being smooth and flat. If you have a good set of precision ground stones, you can blue that section of the head/block and run the stone over to see if its still there.

Rebuild Guide.

This will be a rebuild/info post for the EA82 Hitachi AC compressor model MJS170. The one the mounts to the inboard of the alternator. Work in progress. Generally you can rebuild a compressor that leaks, but functions. I have great luck getting R134a converted compressors out of junkers. Generally the system leaks, the PO replaces the hose orings and oil, and charges with R134a. The issue is the factory orings in the compressor are not rated for PAG oil, so they fail. You can grab the compressor, replace the seals for ~$20, and have a working compressor! Also I recommend rebuilding any compressor you currently have if it works and is quiet. The oil wears out over time, as to the seals, and a bit of preventive maintenance will make it last the life of the car. This was a factory 250K mile compressor. Second rebuild, don't know what caused that bit on corrosion to push the gasket. Look at the bores though, like factory hone still! Seal info: >Rear plate to case: ID: 118 mm CS: 2.5 mm >Outer valve body: ID: 107.5 mm CS: 2 mm >Inner Valve body: ID: 63 mm CS: 2 mm >Pass though tube: ID: 12 mm CS: 2 mm >Front plate to case Paper ID: 107 mm OD: 116.5 mm Bearings: >Clutch ID: 40 mm OD: 62 mm Depth 24 mm If you order a shaft seal these models cross reference: MJS170 MJS130 A5000 Make sure you get both parts of the shaft seal. Some kits only contain the fixed seal and snap ring. You want the complete kit the fixed seal, snap ring, and the spring loaded thrust seal. You should only replace them in pairs, replacing just the shaft seal can cause the thrust seal to wear out quickly. The rebuilt kit I use. https://www.polarbearinc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=459&ParentCat=23 Shaft seal. https://www.polarbearinc.com/index.cfm/product/371/ss-0721.htm Also my #1 recommendation is to upgrade the filter dryer. The factory ones aren't great, and the aftermarket ones are worst. I took the stock dryer, cut the dryer off and braze the bottom closed, so it is just a sight glass. Then take the line that runs from the dryer to the firewall to a hose shop. Get them to install female 3/8 SAE flares on to it. I run a 8 cubic inch drier.

Pretty sure they need a new/used replacement, not locating it on the car. Are you sure the sender is bad, and not just the wires? Mine had a wire go bad where it goes though the tank. I stripped it all down, used some new fuel safe wires and epoxy to reseal it.

R-152a is in-between R-134a and R-12 in pressure ranges, HC-12a is lower than even R-12, so it helps with old worn out compressors. R-152a is EXTREMELY toxic when burned, and is just as flammable as HC-12a. So the only improvement is you don't have to mix it.

Forgot to mention, it is insanely cold now. HC-12a has a lower head pressure, so it's easier on the worn out compressor than R12 or especially 134a. I have sub 50* air out the vents on a 90-100* day.

So after suffering though trying to find the leak in my system, and even harder tracking down R-12, I took the advice of a friend and converted the system to "HC-12a" Now you can't get HC-12a in the states because it's flammable/dangerous, but now almost every refrigerant is flammable. HC-12a is about 90/10 Propane/Butane, so I used normal propane gas and "Coleman" gas which is 80/20 butane propane. Called a AC guy to recover the R-12. Then held good vaccum for about an hour to get the any water or gas out. Weighted them going in with a kitchen scale to get the right ratio. You only full the system to 40% of the R-12 weight, and never exceed 80 psi on the lo pressure. The sight glass will be cloudy. I used a adapter from 1LB tank to 1/4 NPT and a 1/2 acme to 1/4 NPT off a old 134A adapter to hook the bottles to the system. Could fill a few cars off one set. While a leak is dangerous due to flames/explosions, it's way way better for the environment. Realistically if you ever needed to work on the system you could just slowly vent it and burn the gas off. Would be perfectly safe and ok for the ozone. Also legal.

It should be higher than that at idle. I would say you need an oil pump oring or thicker oil because the pump is worn out. You aren't getting enough oil to the lifters to get them pumped up. The oil pump o-ring "mickey mouse seal" is a super common weak point on these engines. It isn't hard to change if you can do a timing belt job.

That sounds like a lifter. Rod knock gets worst under load. Lifters are loud when cold, stays the same with rpm/load, and can go way when warm. Try doing an oil change. If you're using -30, try upping to a -40 oil. I run Rotella T6 15W-40, but thats hard to get right now.

So every time it drops into the low 60s/50s my brake fluid light comes on. The level is fine, and it goes out after driving for a bit. Bad float/sensor maybe?

So I ended up finding some 4cylinder, 2wd, no ac 4running springs. They are perfect. I'm almost level front and rear, and have good travel. The combo of the new struts/springs front and rear is 2.5 inch's of lift with no spacers. Only issue is the rear springs a still a little stiff. The rear hopefully will settle a bit as it's about half inch higher than the front. Also if I lift a rear up, the front will pick a tire about an inch from the bump stop, so they are still a tiny bit too stiff. I am using the 4runner springs on pro comp 4runner struts. I had to drill out the stock upper spring mount to fit the new strut, and flip it upside down for the new spring. All of the spring Mount needed was a little notch to fit the upper strut mount. This is actually a good improvement because It gives you about two extra inches of spring length.

Did you make sure you don't have any precat exhaust leaks? Pull the plugs again and see if they all look the same color/wear.

Just plug both lines going to the AAV to remove the vaccum leak. I just cut threads off bolts and shoved it in with a screwdriver. Then hooked the lines back up. Car had no problem meeting Colorado emissions like that. All it dose is leak vaccum when engine braking to prevent rich conditions. It's possible they would show up on CA testing, but worth a try. The biggest thing for emissions I did, besides fix all the vaccum leaks, was adjust the idle mixture. Get the warm idle down to a bit over 750, theb dial back the idle mixture until it starts to loose rpm.

CTS is easy to check, just unplug it and check resistance cold, then at temp.

Pulling the cluster than about 15 minutes when you get the hang of it. Takes me longer to stand up straight after climbing under the dash! I just had to replace the relays. Second time doing it, so I just pulled the pins out of the connectors and stuck them in a normal Bosch relay. Hopefully will never have to do that again!

The belts going haywire can be the switch inside the door latch, or the wiring for it. Mine was wonky for a while, and I messed with the door switch on the pillar thinking that would fix it considering it dose the door open light on the dash and the dome light. Nope the seat belts have a separate switch in the door latch that has 3 wires. You can test this by opening the door, then pulling the door latch closed, the belts will move. Dirt and grease builds up and can mess with the switch contacts. I used some wd40 and rinsed it all out. Switch freed up and I give it just a dab of white lithium grease.

Yeah they only keep the outer part of the tanks. They get a core blank the right tube width, then trim it to length. The blanks come with the tubes soldered to the sheet. So they cut the sheet to size, bend a lip into it, then solder it to the tanks.

I would check the CTS and TPS to make sure they are working correctly. Next up would be a sticky IAC.

So you have a plastic aluminum radiator or a copper? If it's copper it's worth the money to have to recored. If it's aluminum/plastic then just get a new one. I pulled a 2 core out of a wreckes car and had it recored. Rad was free and recore was $100.

What do your plug wires look like? I had a similar problem and it ended up being a broken plug wire in the middle It wasn't making any noise like a normal bad wire but it was enough to cause the vehicle to run bad. It would work great for a few days and then run shitty and eventually I would move the bad plug wire back and it would get connection. Broken inside the boot. Clean the wires off and they were factory dated.

Which coolant sensor are you checking? There is 2 wire for the ECU and a 1 wire for the gauge. Make sure you're checking the 2 wire sensor.

Could be a stuck IAC or bad TPS.

Yeah pitting from rust has never seemed to hurt CVs. Lines and grooves are from sand/metal, and definitely can make noise. If the CVs are tight, even grooved ones can work fine. These are 500hp, 150mph race cars, so some slightly worn out CVs work fine.

Also what brand thermostat did you get? The knock offs are horrible. I've tested them on a hot plate and they open and don't close, or open way late all at once. Subaru ones work like clocks.

Also make sure you aren't yanking on the diff at full droop. The CVs only have so much plunge. If you run out of extension from lifting, it will destory the diff bearings. Lift the front wheels of the ground and give the axles a shake. If they are tight, then you need to drop the engine more.