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Thread: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key

  1. #21
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    So I have been anxiously waiting for the van to be finished and mechanic called and said it will be done no later than next friday! . He said he has been enjoying working on the little van so maybe he would be happy to work on others. . While I cant yet speak to the end result. He has been great to work with.
    Last edited by Ian R.; 07-03-2016 at 09:51 AM.

  2. #22
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    That's great. Thanks Ian! I'm not too far off from there. I think I may pop in there this coming week. My lack of knowledge has me on fence deciding on how much work I want to attempt to do myself and when to throw in towel and let a professional do certain work. Learning as you go for an inexperienced like me can be expensive, time consuming and frustrating BUT so rewarding knowing I've done all the work myself so far on my van. Sometime this year I'm considering some major maintenance... When you've got some time, I'm wondering what exactly telling shop to do an "engine rebuild" includes?

  3. #23
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    Ratatouille,

    My wife and I sat down and discussed our options. We love our van and have had it during memorable and even monumental events. It will be our home very shortly as well.

    I think I can safely say that most people on this forum share a similar connection to theirs vans. The reason I saying these things because the bottom line is a rebuild costs a significant amount of money.

    Not every engine is going to require the same amount of work . The work I am having done is very similar to Tim's in depth blog on rebuilding a van motor. There a couple of differences however. I needed a new crankshaft and asked to have it rebuilt with Toyota parts.

    When I dropped of the van I asked the mechanic to rebuild the engine. This requires taking the engine out, completely disassembling it, having the head machined and the engine block honed or machined (the head and black are usually sent to a machine shop buy the mechanic because it requires special machining tools) . I had to ask friends and call round to find a mechanic that would spend the time to do this. -Most will just want to drop in a remanufactured motor in to save time and hassle. These motors have a reputation of crapping out and are nearly impossible to be replaced under the supposed warranties.

    All in all the complete rebuild, along with a new crank, full injectors, clutch/flywheel, miscellaneous parts, and labor it comes out to 3500.00. I bought the 4x4 5 spd for 3600.

    My wife and I decided to move forward with the build because we have no intention of selling our little van Hansel.

  4. #24
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    I officially am having separation anxiety. I miss my van. It was suppose to be done last week, but the mechanic said he has to put in some overtime to have it done on Wednesday. He said there was still a lot of steps to be done. Don't want to rush him, but this past 5 weeks has gone by very slow.

  5. #25
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    It is alive and back on the road!

  6. #26
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    How about some pics of your engine compartment? I could use a dose of shiny 4y engine porn.

  7. #27
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    Will do. My engine bay is not the prettiest. It is a dusty mother. haha! I'll shine it up before snapping some pictures, so every one will get the full affect.

    Before I had the engine rebuilt I recored the rad replaced the t-stat, and water pump. I thought it ran cool then. Now that the motor is rebuilt it runs even cooler. I sat in traffic on a 90' day driving home from the mechanic and it stayed at 1/4 of the temp gauge.

    Can't comment on the power yet. The mechanic did the initial break-in, but i will be taking it easy for the next 1000 miles.

    Ill be on my way to Alaska from LA in a few weeks so it be nice to have a little extra power.

  8. #28
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    Other than changing the oil after the 1st 100 miles, I never worried about "breaking in" an engine. I've always driven them hard from day one. Nobody has ever been able to explain to me (in a way that makes sense) what benefit there is to babying a new engine. I've always had good results with my abusive break-ins . Gotta let the engine know right from the beginning who's the boss.

  9. #29
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    Quote Originally Posted by timsrv View Post
    Other than changing the oil after the 1st 100 miles, I never worried about "breaking in" an engine. I've always driven them hard from day one. Nobody has ever been able to explain to me (in a way that makes sense) what benefit there is to babying a new engine. I've always had good results with my abusive break-ins . Gotta let the engine know right from the beginning who's the boss.
    From what I've read elsewhere, modern engines don't have any need for 'break-in', since they're designed properly from the start. I was never terribly gentle with the 2.0 in my old Mazda3, and it was still going fine 125k later when I sold it.

  10. #30
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    Good to know! I am always overly cautious with things that I spend a lot of $$$ on . The mechanic gave me a 3 year warranty for the engine and labor and stressed that I 'take it easy for the first 500 miles'. So, i will take it easy for now. -Then ill take it to the limit! J/K. I am always easy on the van!

  11. 06-23-2016, 01:18 PM


  12. #31
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    Lol, when towing my trailer (depending on load) I go long stretches with WOT (Wide Open Throttle)........for miles at a time. Speed limit is 70 mph and we regularly work 20+ miles from home. North on I-5 from Portland is mostly uphill I will often plant my right foot firmly on the floor and keep it there. There are a few short down-hill slopes where I let off, but for the most part it's WOT. On the hot days (like the day before yesterday) my AC is blasting too. The van is able to maintain between 65 - 75 depending on the load & grade. Needless to say, I get some pretty crappy mpg in those situations. . Van puts up with it wonderfully. Of course I keep everything in tip-top condition. Engine has ~200k on it with new rings and bearings ~30k miles ago. Tim

  13. 06-27-2016, 02:23 PM

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  14. #32
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    Awesome! We are leaving July 6th from Ventura, CA and plan on being in Alaska early September. We are prolly going to driving 100 mile segments. -So we will be stopping frequently up the coast (gunna try and hit as many surfable waves up in the PNW).

    Van Update: 500 miles w/o a problem so far! I pulled a steep grade on the 101 between Cabrillo and Thousand Oaks. Normally I have to drop it into 3rd. Today, I cruised the whole thing in 4th going 50mph and did not even have the gas on the floor! I am averaging 22 mpg too!

  15. 06-28-2016, 09:42 PM

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  16. #33
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    I no longer can recommend this shop (Horacio's Auto). I was charged for injectors that were never replaced. The mechanic gave me the money back for the cost of the injectors. I said if I found anything else I would call the authorities.

  17. #34
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    That's a shame! How did you find out about the injectors?
    LG.
    "perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." A. de St Exupery.

  18. 07-16-2016, 09:30 PM

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  19. #35
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    Quote Originally Posted by Ian R. View Post
    Ratatouille,

    My wife and I sat down and discussed our options......
    Ian,
    Thanks for the input. I was just about to drop into the shop when I saw you may have had some issues with them. Hope you guys are cruising well on the trip.

  20. #36
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    I just tore down the motor out of my 86 van for a partial rebuild and found the woodruff key sheared, the pulley trashed inside, the crankshaft scarred, and the keyway badly damaged. Am waiting to hear what my mechanic says but it sounds like I'll be buying some JB Weld. I would appreciate an opinion. This motor only has about 92 K miles. I have another motor with about 180 K miles. Should I : 1.do the JB Weld? 2. replace the crank with the one with 180 K? 3. replace the block with the one with 180K? or 4. just do a partial rebuild on the 180K instead? Both motors have very bad compression on one cylinder.

  21. #37
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    Another question on the crankshaft keyway : could another keyway be cut opposite side of the old one? and could I possibly do that myself with a Dremmel type tool? JB Weld then to fill the scarring.

  22. #38
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    There's always something you can do, but it's up to you to consider the risk and consequential problems later on. You could drill a hole from the front between the pulley and the crank, then thread it and install a machine screw. I've even seen people weld the pulley to the crank (from the inside of the pulley to the end of the crank), but to me that's really limiting your options for future repairs and potentially creating a bigger PITA later down the road. Tim

  23. #39
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    Thanks Tim. I will post on how it turns out.

  24. #40
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    Re: Sheared crankshaft woodruff key: my first epic

    The thread ain't dead!

    If the motor is out and you already were planning a partial rebuilt, I would replace the crank. It will be one less thing to think about because it will have been done right. At least that was my rational. 30,000 miles later my van is running strong with great gas milage and minimal oil loss.


    Carbonized, I noticed that the injectors were still ticking. I looked at the plastic part of the injector and it looked like the old ones. I brought it back to the shop and showed the mechanic. He gave an excuse and my money back.

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