vmax84

Where do I get the two dowels that go on top of the engine block, to keep the head gasket in place? Shop that tanked it doesn't know what happened to them.

Also, on the front of the engine block, there's a large hex head nut......what is that there for? I'll see if I can find a pic and of it.

Thanks.

vmax84

Guardian_Saint

I think the HEX bolt is for the coolant, the two thing you was talking about, you can get them from toyota.

vmax84

I can't figure out why that hex bolt is there.

vmax84

ewong

Only "large" hex head bolt I can think of (besides the crank bolt) is the botl that hold thes oil pump pressure spring in place...

Thats not actually ON the block tho....

DaveInDenver

Since he said two dowel pins to hold /the/ (as in singular) head gasket, I assume it's a 22R. Also I'm fairly certain vmax84 is rebuilding an engine. Anyway, he probably means this bolt. I think it's a water jacket plug. When they cast engine blocks they have to sometimes leave holes in the casting to get the sand out of the coolant and oil passages. So you'll see plugs sometimes that don't seem to do anything and most likely it's just how they had to do it when they made the original casting.

The dowels are available from Toyota. I dunno about the plug, but my first try would also be Toyota. Neither of these parts are special, but finding them is enough of a PITA that I would pay the dealer if he has them. The dowels seem to be 6.0mm and the mating hole in the head is 6.1mm. I don't know what the bore size of the hole in the block would be, probably 6.0mm. The hex plug, my block had it already, so I never had to find a replacement.

InternetRoadkill

There are actually 3 hex socket plugs on the 22R block: one in the front, one in the rear, and one underneath. They block the ends of the oil passages which run thru the block.

Be careful if you decide to remove them. Toyota offers no replacement for them and they are an unusual size making them very difficult to find. (LC engineering carries them.) They are very hard to get out without destroying them.

Also note that the crank also has 4 or 5 plugs in it for the same reason. It's not a bad idea to take em out when servicing the crank so that the oil passages can be cleaned. I used a gun barrel brush to clean the crud out of them. Be sure to stake them when replacing them.

DaveInDenver

I'm not sure that's true. For my engine (10/90 production),

The #1 taper plug (front and back): 90344-53008

The #2 taper plug (on the bottom by the oil pickup): 90344-52003

The head locating dowels: 90250-08120


All three are in the parts catalog (I figure LCE probably gets them directly from Toyota). From 1sttoyotaparts.com:

Part Number: 9034453008
PLUG, TAPER SCREW
$3.43 (list)

Part Number: 9034452003
PLUG, TAPER SCREW
$1.54 (list)

Part Number: 9025008120
PIN, STRAIGHT
$1.03 (list)

InternetRoadkill

The toyota dealer exploded view doesn't show them for the 88 version as being removable/replacable. It took me 3 weeks to find replacements when I had to drill them out to remove them.

DaveInDenver

Yeah, I dunno. I got lucky and found a good price on a complete factory short block and all the plugs were already in place. The EPC does show them for 8808-9704 JPP, so maybe the North American catalog does not show them separately. They might be different numbers for the low and high deck blocks, though. They have to have a part number somewhere, Toyota does not do anything without a part number. Whether or not the number is part of a larger assembly and only that larger assembly is available, only Toyota knows for sure. But like I say, at least some versions of the EPC show numbers for them and punching those numbers into the online parts houses comes up good and not superseeded. It's doubtful most dealers would stock them, but I'd bet they can be ordered still.

InternetRoadkill

Hmmm, those weren't on the dealer's computer at my local stealership. It would have saved a lot of headaches if they were. Too late now.

TNRabbit

If the shop lost them, they should pay for them.

InternetRoadkill

The shop didn't lose them, I drilled them out. If you've ever tried to remove those plugs, you know that they are really in there. The sealant on them is like epoxy. They are nearly impossible to remove without destroying them. Usually what happens is that the head strips out before they break free.

DaveInDenver

Why did you take them out? To clean the oil journals? Just curious. It makes sense that they would use pretty substantial sealant. Hot motor oil and vibration are probably pretty good at helping things come loose.

InternetRoadkill

It was to clean the passages. If you don't take them out and hot tank the block, the crud just piles up inside them and doesn't drain out. I took a brush from a gun cleaning kit and scrubbed them out. You'd be surprised at what comes out of there.

vmax84

Bingo. That looks exactly like where I'm at now with my engine. Finally got just a smidge of time to work on it. I did look at that hex bolt, and it does appear the machine shop had it out, and then reinstalled it with some type of sealant. I put a little pressure to break the bolt loose, but it is in there real tight, so I'm not going to mess with it.

Another question: My wife is out of town with the digital camera, so I can't take pics of where I'm at with the rebuild (all new top end from engnbldr and machine shop short block), but the driver's side top of the timing chain guide does not have that "guide" like yours does. The passenger side top of the plastic timing chain guide does have the "guide", but my drivers side does not. Is this going to be a problem? Thanks.

vmax84

DaveInDenver

If you used the Engnbldr kit you probably got a metal backed driver's side guide. I used OEM guides on both sides, so they are both plastic. Mine are what yours looked like from the factory. Does your driver's side look more like these? If you are asking about that shoulder at the top, I dunno. I would think it's there for a reason. But how important it is, I'm not sure. I do think it's exaggerated in the factory parts to help in assembly, it holds the cam gear pretty well as you put the head and timing stuff together.

vmax84

Yeah, I got the kit from engnbldr, and they do look like your photo there. They must be ok since the "shoulder" is pretty flimsy and wouldn't take too much grief. Thanks.

vmax84