A 1989 Vanwagon for your amusement

[bartismo]

Hi My screen name is bartismo I have parted 4 of these and currently use 2 daily The timing belt can be done in the van not a big deal You will want to use a balance shaft elimination kit and don't forget to change the water pump and oil pump also a new tensioner for the timing belt .If You go electric I would be interested in the trans one of mine is getting tired go figure 223K .I will try to answer any questions I also have a fair supply of used parts

[teamtestbot]

Hello Bartismo,

Thanks for the info. Do you have any recommendations or tips for someone changing the timing belt without dropping the engine? For instance, I'm trying to see if removing the AC condenser in front of the main engine radiator is warranted.

My timing belt service kit comes with the tensioner rollers, which I do intend to replace (based on the look of my current belt, the tensioner roller is seized). Is there any particular reason a balance shaft elimination is necessary at this point?

I do intend to part the powertrain out no matter what, at some point. I'm doing these repairs for my own education slash amusement. The van has 160K miles on it so my transmission may not be much better. The vehicle was also clearly not serviced regularly by its PO, and I have yet to get it fast enough to get into even 2nd gear. I'll keep it in mind however.

[Yokohama]

Hi My screen name is bartismo I have parted 4 of these and currently use 2 daily The timing belt can be done in the van not a big deal You will want to use a balance shaft elimination kit and don't forget to change the water pump and oil pump also a new tensioner for the timing belt .If You go electric I would be interested in the trans one of mine is getting tired go figure 223K .I will try to answer any questions I also have a fair supply of used parts

As for the Balance Shaft Elimination (BSE), I would avoid disabling them. The 4G64 does not use a balanced rotating assembly, and the engine will feel very unbalanced if BSE is used. Yes, some people say things like you get spun bearings if you don't eliminate them, but I have not actually met anyone who had this happen. Also, as long as the BOTH belts are changed, and not just the main timing belt, both belts will last as long as they are supposed to (60K miles).

Based on my investigations, it looks like I might need to remove the AC condenser in addition to the radiator. It's a second radiator that's in front of the primary one. Yokohama, do you have a take on this? If removing the condenser is necessary to get to the belts, is it reasonable for me to do on my own or should I get it professionally drained?

I'm under the impression that just opening a tube would release a small cloud of R-12 which is probably not good for anyone.

No, you should not have to remove the AC condenser. I did not remove mine, but if you want to remove it (if your AC is discharged anyway), then it would make it easier. It is not really that bad once you have the radiator removed in terms of space to work.

Do you have any recommendations or tips for someone changing the timing belt without dropping the engine? For instance, I'm trying to see if removing the AC condenser in front of the main engine radiator is warranted.

My timing belt service kit comes with the tensioner rollers, which I do intend to replace (based on the look of my current belt, the tensioner roller is seized). Is there any particular reason a balance shaft elimination is necessary at this point?

I do intend to part the powertrain out no matter what, at some point. I'm doing these repairs for my own education slash amusement. The van has 160K miles on it so my transmission may not be much better. The vehicle was also clearly not serviced regularly by its PO, and I have yet to get it fast enough to get into even 2nd gear. I'll keep it in mind however.

The engine does not need to be removed to do the belts. As for the balance shaft elimination, see my reply in this post. There is a myth that doing BSE improves power, but this is false. It may increase response, but it would be very small and would not be worth dealing with the increased engine vibration.

You will want to get/construct a device to keep the crank timing cog/damper assembly from moving when tightening the bolt/torque to spec. I will post a photo of my self-made device if you want, and how I used it.

As for the transmission; I would examine the fluid and see what condition it is in. The transmission, as mentioned, is the same as the same generation Montero. If it is not slipping, I would not worry about it. You will probably want to drop the pan and replace the filter and use new fluid. I would avoid doing any flushes at any place as they can cause problems. I have also not heard of anyone having a transmission failure after doing a change (like I am sure you have heard about for other cars).

As you may know, when you change the fluid in a automatic, you only really change half of the fluid, as the rest is up in the transmission internals. Just be aware the the workshop manual should give you an overall total capacity and a change capacity that will be less.

Also, change the differential fluid. Examine, and change if necessary, the front wheel bearings. It least they may need to regreased and torqued to spec.

[teamtestbot]

Somewhat "off topic", but here's a picture of my rear bumper:



The right side is basically rusted out and the left isn't much better. Replacement reman OEM metal seems to be $600+. I'm seeking a new bumper pre-emptively.

Anyone happen to have a parts vehicle with a bumper in good condition? Or can something from an 80s Montero once again be pressed into service...

[Yokohama]

As for the bumper; I would call some import salvage yards and see if you get lucky, but I doubt it. Ebay is also another place to check; you do see people parting them out there, and you could ask them if they will sell you the bumper.

Of course, you could see if a Canadian forum user here will ship a bumper. You will need to have them get someone to go down to Point Roberts or some other place that 'counts' as the USA so you don't have to pay the extreme shipping charges to get anything into or out of Canada.
You may want to have the use Greyhound Package Express (GPX) to ship it as it will be cheaper for an item like that than Fedex or UPS.

Again, let me know if you need any copies of the manuals, etc.

[teamtestbot]

Great news from the battlefront. On Saturday, I and two buddies spent most of the afternoon replacing the timing belts to great success. The van is now running! And it is actually running pretty great since I already replaced or checked all the 'easy stuff'.



That's an in process picture after the radiator, accessory drives, and lower belt cover were removed.



Timing belt tensioner was completely destroyed. In fact, when we took the cover off, a bunch of ball bearings fell out...



New timing belt, balance belt, and all tensioners. I got the Gatorback kit from Rock Auto which came with everything.

I'm fairly certain there's supposed to be a big torsion spring pushing on the tensioner, but someone's clearly messed with this in the past and it is no longer there. I set the timing belt tension to the tight end of the service manual recommendation anticipating it to break in a little at first.

On the reassembly path, I replaced the distributor cap and rotor with new ones.

Here's a test fire video. This was actually the second test; the first one we were all surprised by when it started basically instantly.



And all buttoned up again:



Today was spent gratuitously driving everywhere (places I would normally just walk or bike!) just to put some miles and some cycles on everything. There was a coolant leak due to a misplaced hose clamp on reassembly, but that's resolved. No abnormal noises are coming from the engine. In fact, it sounds much smoother than in that test video, presumably now that fresh oil has had time to get into everything. There is not obvious oil burning - the exhaust is consistently clear.

There are a few small dots of oil that appear under the engine after it has been parked for a while, so there's a small but consistent leak somewhere. I intend to fully clean the undercarriage once I have a chance to get it on a lift, then see where it might be coming from.

One thing which I've noticed is that the rumble is pretty significant at speed (40-45mph). I intend on checking the state of the front wheel bearings soon. Presumably if the vehicle has not been properly maintained in the past, they're on the way out. When we had it up on stands, I didn't notice any significant play or looseness in the wheels, so it may be my imagination and a consequence of sitting right over the axle.

[Yokohama]

I have seen the tensioner bearings go out like that on these engines, so when doing the timing belt it is just a good idea to do the tensioners.

Yes, there is supposed to be a spring on the tensioner; it fits on the outside shaft that holds the tensioner.
I would think that putting the spring back on maybe a good idea to do if possible. I suppose that, theoretically, if the bolt loosened, it could keep the belt tensioned enough to not skip timing, maybe.

Yes, you should check the front bearings as sometimes it is hard to tell the condition of the bearings without taking them off and greasing them.

Here is a photo of the front timing components with the spring visible (note that this engine has the BSE installed, so the 2nd Silent Shaft is blocked off):

[teamtestbot]

Been putting some miles on the van to try and scare out more bugs and issues. I reset the odometer when we got the engine running last weekend, and since then I've accrued 150 miles in combined highway and in-city driving. It's been running so well that I'm debating holding off on an EV conversion until I get it in good mechanical and cosmetic shape.

Here's the van on our shop auto lift for a underside/mechanical inspection.



I now know the front right side wheel bearings are indeed in need of replacement. Given that these have probably never been replaced or looked at in 150K miles, I'll probably replace all 4 sets of bearings in one shot soon.

One other thing I'd like to take care of soon is the front heater/AC blower motor, which has been confirmed to be totally dead. It's probably just worn out. Based on the shop book it's an extensive dashboard teardown to reach. Anyone done this through some circuitous route before that doesn't require dashboard disassembly?

Here's another picture after a wash to remove most of the tree stains and dirt on the bodywork.

[Yokohama]

I presume by "all 4" you mean front and rear bearings. I would get Timken bearings; be sure to avoid anything made in China. You will need to look on the boxes/bearings to see where they are made, the parts guys can't tell unless they pull the parts.

Acceptable countries are: USA, Canada, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Most of the EU is also OK.

My upper ball joints that I got from rockauto.com were Beck Arnley made in Korea.

As for the blower motor, you should be able to remove it out the side of the heater core housing (notice it is located above the core. It is accessible from the left side on USA spec L300). It only held on by three bolts; you may have to loosen or otherwise set aside some things that may obstruct removal. Be sure to withdraw it straight out, as you don't want to put stress on the blade portion. Clean it off when you have it out.

[teamtestbot]

I ordered new sets of *front* wheel bearings yesterday, they are indeed Timkens. I've used Timken bearings in other engineering projects so it was kind of the first name I looked for. Rock Auto is basically my new favorite website...

I'm holding off on doing the rears too since that assembly looks a little more ominous according to the shop manual.

Was messing around next to the heater box and it certainly looks accessible from the side. I can reach in and grab the motor. Using another random motor I had as a test, it looks like low fan speed is also out, so in the same order I got a new resistor block.

I just got the van registered today, so it's time to start shopping around auto body places to see what they're going to charge for a repaint and rust repair. I think I can wing the rust patching myself, but just performing a make-or-buy...

edit: On the same order I also am getting a new blower motor. Running straight 12v to the one installed gave me nothing, so I assume it's either dead or really on the way out anyway

[teamtestbot]

Replaced the front right wheel bearings yesterday. I ran out of time in the day to also replace the other wheel, but I'll do so this weekend.

The outer bearing was completely destroyed!

[teamtestbot]

This weekend has been pretty productive in wrapping up some other attendant repairs.

First, I managed an in-place repair of the front heat/AC blower. I managed to contort into the proper shape to replace only the brush assembly from the rear of the motor with a new one pulled from the replacement motor I bought. There was no way to get the motor out entirely.



The motor is the little nub in the lower-center of the image. To assume the position, I actually had to be lying sideways sticking out of the door, facing the driver seat. No visuals - the entire repair was done by feel pretty much.



Destroyed original motor brushes

I machined a brush holding spacer so I could slip the new brush cap directly into place. Without this, the brushes would just fly out since they're spring loaded.



Going down the list of items, I repaired the slide axis on the two center row seats. The mechanism was stuck loose and I've just been holding the seats from moving with toolboxes. Not exactly sure what was wrong with them to begin with - I dismounted and remounted the seat and it popped back into place, both times. I regreased the slide and mechanism, so hopefully it will not happen again.

I'm just about out of problems to fix - soon I'll need to start attacking the rust in the bodywork!

[Yokohama]

An in place repair for the motor; sometimes you can do that. There are ways to get it out, but you would have to remove more stuff.

Brush repair is a good option that most people don't think about, unless you understand electric motor repair.

Your van is not the first one I have seen that needs body work on the driver's side (left); I think it has something to do with people not thinking about how different driving this type of van is and getting too close to things.

Of course, damage also happens when people use lifts on the rocker panels that are not designed for it. Do you have that type of damage?

Right now, I am after the 3.545 rear differential from certain Mighty Max/D50 trucks (8 inch diff fits pickups up to 96 and the L300 van). It is a hard gear ratio to find. I do lots of highway driving, so I want to max out my MPG. I can hit 24 highway now, but I really am looking into ways to max it; I though about drop down lower aero skirts like you see now on truck trailers, but I do not know how effective it would be.

[teamtestbot]

Sounds plausible. It looks like it scraped against a darker car's bumper at low speed, probably cutting too close in a parking lot. I don't see any damage on the rocker panels, but there is the pretty substantial rust-throughs in the step area. That's the tricky part, I think - the other holes are almost straight sheet metal patch welds. Most auto folks I know recommend shaping a steel patch in-place, doing multiple metal layers, and only building up the very last layer in body filler just for appearance. We'll see how that goes.

I've been thinking that one of the first drivetrain mods I want to make is a limited-slip or locking diff.

[Yokohama]

Are you going to use a plasma cutter or cutoff wheel, etc. to cut out the rust? Do you have a MIG welder?

You should also use some kind of anti-rust/neutralizer coating to spray into the repair areas. It should be possible to use some type of spray tools to access the inside of the panels when things like interior panels are removed. As you know, it is not just the rust you see.

I have thought about using a LSD from something like a Montero and the 3.545 gearing from the truck together. It is just that I do not believe that there is anything that came stock with a 3.545 LSD 8 inch. For the type of driving I do, the LSD would probably be more use than a locker.