my little mighty max story (some pics too)

found your cool forum here, thought i'd post a little of my experience with my mighty max. i bought this on sept 30th and brought it home on the 31st. i tried to start it but didnt really have high hopes of that. So.. it fired over a few turns on ether but that was all i got, walked away for the night. came out the next morning and took the engine out. took about an hour and a half (not much to unhook) and i was pleased about that. my girlfriend quickly found the problem when i took the oil pan off. she reached in the engine and said "whats this?"

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she had picked up the balance shaft bearing that the engine had discarded. i knew it would be something like that because the motor seemed very labored to turn over. i had acually more imagined crap in the oil pump but apparently this will starve an engine for oil just as good. the shaft had also beat around in there for a while as you can tell from the previous pic. now i had a dilemma..

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with the shaft flingin around in there it had cracked the block boss where the bearing would be held. i turned to the internet and found several threads / websites describing in detail how to eliminate the shafts. they indicated that there would be more vibes felt and that the motor would be ok. this was the most helpful: http://www.vfaq.com/mods/balance-shafts.html it was an easy decision to try w/o shafts vs. finding another engine.

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thought about it for little bit and being the super cheapskate that i am, decided that "ill just cut the end off that shaft and weld the oil hole shut" saved me money by not buying the mirage stubshaft. also i got the nice oil groove that some of the ebay kits dont have.

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so i waiting for the shaft plug seal and two oil pump mounting gaskets to come in from the dealer. i could smell the bad gas as soon as i undid the fuel line when pulling the motor. tried to just hook a hose to the fuel outlet on the firewall and use the FP test plug to trip the pump on. nothing happened, well go figure.. varnish city! got the tank clean enough for now and threw a celica pump in it till my ebay replacement came (today incendently) i just need to run some more gas out to make the tank lighter and i'll swap them out.

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gaskets arrived and i reassembled the engine. everything went smoothly. i took a little time with a drill and primed the oil pump before i put the t-belt back on.. i wanted to make sure that it pumped up now.

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next i put the engine back in its hole. i had the clutch align tool, used it. little bastard still fought me for about 45 minutes before the bell mated to the block. i dunno why it fought, just did. i even pulled it out of the bay for a peek at the clutch area just to make sure it didnt shift. on a side note i never had to take the hood off. just use a long stick put the hinges to maximum.

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got it all hooked up! it runs! one-two cylinders at first.. then about 30 secs later a third cylinder. well wheres my fourth? started unplugin wires and found it, the number 3 cyl. changed the plug and tada. so running good, er sorta..

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it had a mighty loud valve! guess i get to clean the lifters. was pissed about it at first because i dont have to do this crap on toyotas.. it was super easy. went to the gas station and got $2 worth of diesel. stuck a pick in the hole and just pumped the little guys till they all felt similar to each other. sorry i dont have a pic of them submerged in the diesel.

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so anyways.. there is a ton less ticking now but, still have a slight tick after its warm and idleing. debating about just changing all the lifters to new ones. if i have the radio goin it doesnt bother me too much though. my gf told me to leave it alone and that it wasnt that loud. of course its all i hear because im so critical. so pretty much done with it for now. just hopeing the flat spots leave the tires and they smooth out. i just drive it to work everyday. i dont feel great today or i would be sticking the door black trim piece back on. maybe tomorrow.

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so you may have noticed the milage on the odometer, maybe not? well i give ya a short back story there. i remember when my neighbors drove this pickup around when i was about 14. i remember when it broke down about ten years ago. i went over to help fix it. i told my ex-neighbor "i think it needs an oil pump" all the lifters were ticking and it sounded like crap. he refused to believe that it was the pump and there it sat. i went back like 5 years ago and offered $500 for it. they declined with plans of fixing it.. went back the other week. offered $300 now that it has sat longer and looks crappier than it did. they thought about it for two days and called me to come get it. i will probably rock it around for a couple years and sell it when i get bored of it.

Good job man. Thats a great lookin truck for $300

thanx for the compliment. i added up all the expenses and it ended up costing me a little under 500.. eh well so far :) still pretty cheap considering junk yards around here give like 350 for dead complete vehicles. i even told the ppl i bought it from that they would and i apologized for the low offer. i said that they it would be a little more hassle for them because they would have to tow it there. they knew that if they sold to me i just needed a title and i would handle the rest. i also think they liked the thought of it gettin back on the road.

300 purchase
18 tax
15 title (already had some plates to transfer)
50 battery
25 parts from dealer
50 parts from auto parts store
30 fluids (brake tras rearend)
not to mention about 8-10 hours of time.. i probably woulda just watched tv anyways :)

almost forgot to post my thoughts on the balance elimination. there is a felt and heard humming at about 1000-1500 rpm. it is most noticeable when warming up the truck because it is running at those speeds. it only lasts till it idles down and thats about it. i call saving this motor a success. when driving normally i dont feel there is tremendous difference between other pickups that i have had. the first gear is really short and i find that somewhat annoying.

Nice truck, especially for the price. And yea I hate the short first gears too, very annoying.

Wow what a coincidence I'm going to be doing this the next week but I'm going to go w a new oil pump & lifters

i have since changed the lifters out. it had a rogue ticker. its still there just a little quieter. i would've done a new oil pump too, but they are kinda spendy. good luck on your project man :)