Engine Cleaning & Shifter Wobble Fix
08/28/2022
A buddy of mine stopped by to take a look at the 4Runner. Back in the day he worked as a Toyota mechanic, so naturally we ended up spending most of the afternoon crawling around the engine bay and underneath the truck.
When I bought the 4Runner, I was mostly focused on making sure it wasn't leaking from every gasket Toyota had installed in 1999. In the process, I completely overlooked just how dirty everything was.
The deeper we looked, the more obvious it became.
The first order of business was tightening up the throttle cables. There was quite a bit of slack in the accelerator linkage, which was probably contributing to the lazy throttle response. It was a simple adjustment, but even sitting in the driveway the pedal immediately felt more responsive.
With that out of the way, I turned my attention to the hood insulation.
There seems to be endless debate online about whether the factory insulation helps with noise, heat, or both. Whatever purpose it once served, mine had long since retired. It was falling apart, shedding material, and generally making a mess of things.
Into the trash it went.
With the insulation removed, I sprayed down the underside of the hood with Simple Green and started scrubbing. Once years of grime were removed, the paint underneath actually looked surprisingly good.
That success gave me a dangerous amount of confidence.
The engine bay was next.
Since the truck was over two decades old, I wanted to be careful. The negative battery cable came off, and I covered the alternator, fuse box, battery, mass air flow sensor, and cruise control components with plastic bags. After that, it was a simple process of soaking everything down, applying Simple Green, scrubbing, rinsing, and repeating.
Several rounds later, and a little engine shine, the transformation was hard to believe.
The same process worked well underneath the truck too. Years of road grime on the steering components, transmission, and surrounding areas slowly disappeared with enough scrubbing and determination.
Once everything was clean, I used compressed air to remove as much water as possible and finished things off with a light coat of engine shine. After removing the plastic covers and reconnecting the battery, the engine fired right up without complaint.
A good sign.
At that point I figured I might as well keep going.
The paint had plenty of swirls, light scratches, and signs of 23 years of use. After a thorough wash using the foam cannon, I broke out the buffer and started polishing.
The results honestly surprised me.
For original paint approaching a quarter century old, it cleaned up remarkably well. What had looked tired and neglected only a few hours earlier suddenly had depth and shine again. I also took the opportunity to clean the door hinges and lubricate them with WD-40 before finishing everything off with tire shine and trim restoration.
I was ready to call it a day.
Then the mail showed up.
My shifter bushings had arrived.
The job itself was straightforward and only took a few minutes. Since everything was already apart, I cleaned and re-lubricated the assembly before installing the new bushings. The old bushings were completely destroyed, with pieces scattered inside the rubber shift boot.
The difference was immediately noticeable.
If I were doing the repair again, I might experiment with nylon washers or a more durable material instead of the softer plastic bushings. Still, even in their current form, the improvement was worth the effort.
By the end of the day, the 4Runner wasn't any faster, but it was cleaner, tighter, and noticeably more refined.
Not bad for a Saturday spent chasing dirt and worn-out plastic.