BLKonBLK98

So I was thinking I was going to part out/sell my '92, but I guess I was mistaken. What I knew in the back of my head was a starter problem waiting to happen stopped waiting yesterday afternoon (in ~100* sun). After fumbling around for a little while a skilled and understanding wrecker driver loaded my pavement pounder on the flatbed and dropped it off at my warehouse 40 miles away (for $170).

So today, I head out at my usual time (10ish) to dig in. Now as much as I love doing custom work, and hate doing mechanic work, I am somewhat of a maintenance freak. If I could justify (and afford) paying someone else to do it I would, but I have the space, time, and tools so I feel obligated to DIY. The decision to take care of stuff like plugs, wires, rotors, caps, etc. while I'm in there was made effortlessly. I decide to take it slow and once I got a feel for it (I haven't dug in to the 1UZ at all yet) I set my goal at getting the upper intake manifold off.

Now keep in mind it's Texas. Hot, a little muggy, and, in turn, easy to lose your temper. In spite of that I'm actually kind of enjoying the work. Armed with my trusty Gatorade, I manage to break just about every connector I touch (despite the usage of a heat gun), crack whatever that baby blue sensor is on the front, and drop a nut that I was expecting to be a bolt into who knows where (I'm sure some other stuff went wrong but that's what stands out). No biggie, ~3 hours later it is all but removed and the heat is getting to me. Pics are taken for reference (and possible future help) and all nuts/bolts are returned to their position whenever possible.

As I am dissecting my car, my mind naturally wanders to what kinds of clean ups and customization I can do since I'm here already. I soon realize that I was going to have to take a pretty big hit just to get rid of the car before all this happened. By the time I'm done there's no way I'll be able to swallow the loss. Dreams and schemes keep my brain occupied while my fingers do the fiddling...

I know it seems like a story but theres are some questions here:

1) Has anyone done a full replacement of the harness/hoses? At 18 years it can't be a bad idea. It's pretty common practice on the first gen Qs (spent about $3K on parts alone doing it to mine). Anyone got an estimated parts cost? The harness is of particular interest since most of my connectors are broken.

2) What is the name of the blue sensor on the front with 2 vacuum lines?

3) Besides plugs, wires, caps, and rotors what should I definitely do while I'm there? What should I maybe do?

4) Would I be stretching a little too far if I used this as an excuse to do a 4.7L block?

Answers/comments/questions encouraged!

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

1, u want if u want to but its costly. yea the connectors get brittle over time and they break easy.

2, pic of said sensor? ECT?

3, if ur doing starter ur going to need a bunch of replacement gaskets.

4, lextreme forums

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

1-if you're going to replace the harnesses you may as well do a full bay tuck? on that note, now is a good time to polish out the upper intake an valve covers (or powdercoat/whatever you want)

2-which blue sensor? pic?

3-if you want, may as well do TB/wp at this point if you're getting close to the mileage (and all associated parts). and throw the upper intake/tb (after taking out the electronics) in a hot tank and get all the carbon out of them.

4- you need an excuse to swap to a 4.7l block? but not really worth it in my opinion unless you're swapping the rods for something that arent pencil thin.

trdtrung

1) you can replace just the connectors
2) more info would help
3) boost it

BLKonBLK98

any idea of the cost?



borrowed from someone else.

of course. forgot to mention those.

probably just have everything cleaned real well. got some refinish plans for other pieces (plastics).

i'm only about half way to the next recommended change (done ~90k at the dealer by p.o.).

cleaning the tb/manifolds is in the plans. there's a local shop offering ultrasonic cleaning that i may check out.

yeah, i need an excuse. it's a lot of grip for a car i was ready to get rid of. but if you're gonna build it might as well go all out right?

i would probably use the 1uz rods.

BLKonBLK98

1) replacing almost all the connectors vs. just changing the harness?
2) provided. figured it was a pretty obvious part.
3) no sir.

Thermactor

iTrader: (1)

1) boost it
2) boost it
3) boost it
4)

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

lmfao thermo.

Brandicus

iTrader: (6)

whats your current mileage BoB, and did they change out your water pump when they did the TB service?

do you get vibrations when it drive and stopped? time to change those stupid rubber tranny/engine mounts

at your height I would also double check all your susp components to make sure they're all nice and snug. I know it sounds obvious but i had a drive axle fall out on me awhile back, I guess the constant daily motion of the car going up and down (air susp) slowly unscrewed it over time lol. it didnt cause any damage it was just scary as hell to experience.


also do ITBs

benzo555

iTrader: (11)

Oh yeah the connectors will be a lot cheaper than the entire harness. Grab some new loom and a lot of electrical tape. You can rebuild it and make it look like new. Just take your time. I doubt your harness is any worse than from the heat of a TT Supra. I get all my stuff from Champion Toyota locally in Houston.

BLKonBLK98

i'm at 138k. water pump, timing belt, and fan bracket were all done at 90-100k IIRC.

the only vibration i get is at about 80MPH (on my super incorrect speedometer). i changed my tranny mount already.

i check my suspension fairly regularly. i probably need to repack the rear axles and make a little clearance but i'm good other than that.

power isn't a huge concern for me so i think i've decided not to do the 4.7l. i did find the nifty egr delete while looking around lextreme though so i'm going to do that. probably do a trd thermostat and some kind of intake as well (thinking rmm if it's still available). anything else fun?

BLKonBLK98

sounds good. i'm pretty nice with wiring and have a lot of techflex, heat shrink, etc. so maybe i can dress it up and maybe do a little tucking while i'm at it.

i've used champion before and they were a little sketchy, but i may give them another shot.

trdtrung

depends how many are broken and how they're broken. i would see if you can find a good condition harness for cheap first.

you can give this guy a shot
http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/1753005203.html

BLKonBLK98

thanks for the suggestion but if i'm spending money i want something new, be it connectors or an entire harness. i may holler at chase bays and see if they can build me a custom harness off my original. i called them when i was wanting to wire tuck my q and they were very helpful. i've seen some sick mil-spec harnesses from them.

BLKonBLK98

progress pics on my starter replacment and soon to be dressed up bay:







walk around before i dig in.









working on removing the egr and whatnot. most of this stuff will be deleted.





these go here.



i forget why i took this but i'm sure it will come in handy.







tb/upper off.



harness lifted and fuel delivery ready to be removed. i stopped at this point so the fuel would dry up and i could safely use a heat gun on the injector clips.