Hi Scotty and everyone.
I had a harmonic balancer issue with my 01 Tacoma 2.4l. it was wiggling. So I called a mobile mechanic thinking I should not drive it like that. He puts a long bolt to tighten the crankshaft bolt and breaks the oil pump cover when he starts the car. He then ran away. I could not get him to pick my phone up.
I ordered all OEM parts from the local Toyota dealership and replaced the oil pump cover and put a new gasket, used the 3m weather strip adhesive waited 20 mins and put the cover back on. Then put the harmonic balancer and crankshaft bolt on torqued it to spec using an old belt trick, and put all the belts on. I started the car works fine but I have the oil light on and belts squeak. I am going to tighten the belts but oil light got me scared. I don't see any leaks, I am wondering if the oil pump lost its prime or what to do. Please advise any expert opinion helps.
Thank you all for reading through it.
Did you prime the oil pump? A popular method is to pack it with vaseline.
How can I prime it without vaseline? Or do I really have to take it all apart?
I'm not familiar with your engine so the suggestion was very generic.
On old-school American cars where the oil pump is driven by the distributor (I'm talking old) you could use the shaft from an old distributor to spin the pump with an electric drill and build pressure. I realize that method is not directly applicable to your vehicle but the idea is to use external means to run the pump to get the oil flowing before starting the engine.
Years ago a friend had his engine destroyed by a dealership "mechanic" who failed to prime the oil pump in his Ford V6 under similar circumstances. Bearings were wiped out and the engine started belching oil smoke on his ride home. So you should be cautious.
You can find a repair manual for your vehicle at the link below which may help:
https://charm.li/Toyota/2001/Tacoma%20Extra%20Cab%202WD%20L4-2.4L%20%282RZ-FE%29/
You might also consider taking the mobile "mechanic" whose negligence caused this problem to small claims court.
@chucktobias I just saw this. The manual is very helpful, thank you for posting it. I did some research and learned that for this Toyota, regular distributor type oil primers do not work, and no indication of vaseline. However, I found another person with the same problem at this forum: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/need-help-priming-my-1st-gens-oil-pump.845782/page-2#post-30605313 he claimes to have fixed the issue with a loaner tool. I called my local oreilly's but I they said they don't have one. I am thinking of retrofitting a garden sprayer and using a barbed fitting to screw the fitting into the oil pressure hole and pumping pressurized oil(5-10 psi max) to prime it. Do you think that works?
The vaseline trick is pretty old school, but should still work these days. I'd think that anything you can rig up to get oil flowing through the pump should work. Just make sure everything is scrupulously clean since you'll be putting unfiltered oil into the engine.
@chucktobias thank you I'll use the sprayer pump first and if it fails I'll pack it with Vaseline. Just so tired of taking things apart and go back to the beginning.
I have pumped oil through the outer ring of the oil filter, I have pumped oil through oil sensor hole using a threaded adapter, I have checked the oil levels. I could not get the oil light to turn off. Any advice? Help please?
@planner At this point I would use a mechanical gauge to check whether you actually have oil pressure. Just don't run the engine for more than a few seconds if pressure doesn't come up. You may need to get back into the pump and check your work.
I will be buying an oil pressure tester tomorrow and test that. Luckily I have not run the car more than a 5 second bursts and cranked the car without the efi fuse plugged when I tried to prime. I am going to accept defeat if the pressure gauge does not show any psi values and go back into the pump by opening the pump cover and check the work as you've suggested. Thank you for the advice.
I was able to get the oil pump primed using the vaseline method as of tonight. Thank you very much Chuck. I appreciate it.
Put all the belts and the radiator on and the car runs.
Only thing left is the idler pulley for the AC belt needs something to stop it from touching metal to metal on its back side. This pulley was removed by the mechanic, who ran away after breaking the pump cover. I assume he could have stolen that too, since I had to buy multiple bolts and screws after he touched my car. My wife told me he took parts and put them in his truck, such as screws, etc. I am not sure. Any advice on what part, washer etc I'd need to stop the back of the pulley touching the metal behind?
I was able to get the oil pump primed using the vaseline method as of tonight. Thank you very much Chuck. I appreciate it.
Hey, glad to know that ancient trick still works!
Any advice on what part, washer etc I'd need to stop the back of the pulley touching the metal behind?
Not being familiar with your engine it's tough to say. Probably the thing to do is get the factory parts back together, possibly with used parts.
@chucktobias Thank you, I have no junkyards with this vehicle around me to take apart one at a junkyard or maybe I could order the whole assembly of the tensioner pulley off the internet. I will try the latter most likely.
Some surprising stuff shows up on ebay.
@chucktobias I found this on Amazon https://a.co/d/48ZJho9 and it had all the pieces that I was missing. I had to take off the dust cover attachment since it was preventing it from spinning but it worked. I was able to drive the truck tonight around 9 pm. Thank you for all the advice.
Thank you for your reply, Chuck. No, I have not. I already put everything back on. How can I prime it without vaseline? Or do I really have to take it all apart?