gafirefighter

Newbie here and I have a few questions for you all. First off let me tell you a little about what is going on. I am selling my 2002 2500HD 4x4 because gas is about to kill me. I got rid of a 2002 Toyota double cab prerunner to buy it. Great move, right?. My wife has a 1997 camry and we are about to sell it and get here a new 08 Camry. I really want her to have the nice, safe car and these new ones look and drive awsome. So that leaves me to buy a vehicle for myself. I want something that is paid off that I can use as both a daily driver and a partial trail rig. I have been looking at both the 85-88 4runner and the 88-93 Pickup. I am planning on getting one with a 22re and a 5 speed. I do not have alot of experience with this engine and have only driven them a coupld of times.

I have done quite a bit of research lately and have seen alot of positives about the 22r. I would really like to find on that is on the way out so that I would have an excuse to bore it about .30 over, rework the head, performance cam, and a few other mods to really make it get up and go.

Just wondering what I can expect as far as power from the stock motor? Does this motor in stock form have any problems pulling up hills? What kind of gas milage are you alll getting? Any other good or bad points to consider?

I have always been a big fan of the V8, but gas prices just will not let me live that life any longer. I hope that oneday maybe I can buy an old Fox body 5.0 and build it up just to drive when I want that V8 rumble again. For now though, I want a project that will just give me something to wrench on but be reliable when I need it.

Thanks in advance,

Adam

MMA_Alex

it wont drive like a v8 pickup, but it still drives fine with no issues getting up hills.

from what i've read people think the 22re is underpowered for the 4runner though.

are you looking at a reg cab, or extended cab pickup? i'm assuming extended cab, which you'll have a hard time finding with a 22re.

your best bet would probably be to jump up to 95+, and look at 4 runners/tacomas where the v6 headgasket setup is better.

fastkevman

I would go with a Tacoma with the 2.7L 4cyl. and 5spd if you can find one and afford to buy it within your budget.

TORTIS

iTrader: (1)

i have the 22re. great engine for what it is, but if you can go with the 2.7 go with it. when it comes to working on them, someone on here can help you out.

welcome to Y/T.

idanity

i have a 22r on a 86 extra cab.
pulls up hill nicely at 70, if its a very steep hill, it slows to 60, but stays at that.

stock motor, all the way around.

however, if i were to dump the clutch on any incline, it can leave 4 black tracks uphill, and its light weight keep it from getting stuck anywhere.

i must admit though, its a pretty wimpy engine, but it has over 250,000 miles on it. (wont find that in any v8)
if you plan on doing any towing, i would recomend aboves 2.7 or a v6.
i think the 3.0 gets better mileage than a 22r.

MMA_Alex

3.0 deff gets worse mileage than a 22re. a lot of people on here are getting like 15mpg city out of em. for a 4 cyl the 22re isnt all that gas saving. the 2.7 is about the same on gas, but with a fair amount more power

notanymore

if you do go for the pickup get the extra cab. and get the 22re over the 22r. the fuel injection gives it better gas mileage, more power(slightly), and no stalling on odd angles.

SEAIRESCUE

You are not going to like the 22re because you are accustomed to lots of power. I suggest you look for a 95 up Tacoma with the 2.7 motor. Better power and possibly better mileage by design. I think that motor is 16 valve which will do well for you. The second generation trucks are getting old, parts are drying up, so go for the Tacoma.

Flash319

22re is what it is. Very reliable, will run on 2 cylinders and will get you home. Don't expect to get much power out of it though. I love mine (89 extra cab) 22re. I have 2 Trucks and a 4runner in the driveway all with 22re's in them and would not buy anything else. Easy to work on and cheap to operate and fix. 3.0 is a different story although I would never buy one as you can't see the ground through the engine bay it is so packed under the hood. The 22RE's can take a lot as well. You can't pass people up a hill with a full load, AC full, and a 25 foot boat in tow like everyone seams to want to do (f350 dually diesel and crap) but you seam to have come to your senses ($$$$$$). You can load the thing up and it will drive all day long anywhere you want to go. That is TOYOTA.

I would stick with 89 and up now. As was said, the older ones are getting hard to find and same with parts although they all share a lot. Once you go past 95 you are into a whole different vehical and they are all different (trucks and 4runners) and they changed a lot. Not a bad thing but parts and stuff are not interchangable like pre 95.

My 2 cents for what its worth..............

DanStew

Oh man I am in the same situation. I am sellnig my 2001 Chevy 2500HD with the 8.1L V8 and i got a 89 4runner to be my daily driver. I love the yota. I will miss the truck because it is my tow rig but I need to get rid of a truck payment. I had an 89 pickup and loved it. THe 4runner it worknig out great

gafirefighter

Thanks alot for all of your responses so far. The tacoma that I had before had the 3400 in it and it was a great engine. It was a little bit of a gas hog though. I am not looking for something that will tear up and down the road. I am just looking for something to get me to and from work and the deer camp. Like I said, soon I will be buying my wife her first new car and that is what we will be taking any long halls in. I had thought about getting the regular cab and putting a box in it. Then I decided that I would like to have a little more room to go around. I was looking at a buddies 87 4runner the other day and I really liked what I saw. I like the older style 4runners because of the removable top. It is like having the best of both worlds.

That is why I was looking for one that I could do a little work on the engine. I have be through the rebuild process on quite a few engines and always love it. I was hoping to find one that drives and as I build up money build myself a new engine. I am sure that if I started with a 22re and bored it .30 over, put in a slightly higher compression pistons, reworked the heads, put in a cam such as the TRD stage 1, larger throttle body, intake kit, header, high flow cat, and new exhaust, I could pull a little bit more power out of it. I know that it would not get up and scream but I bet it could still be a great engine.

I do like the 2.7, but the parts seems so easy to find for the 22re and are better priced. Also once you bore out the 2.4 it would not be far off from the 2.7 displacement. I would love to make it comfortable, but capable. Like I said I want something that I can drive everyday and depend on. Anything is better the the 12 MPG that I am getting now.

Adam

Georgiadave

You can get a 22RE up until the early 1995 models. My 4WD standard cab 5 speed gets 20.+ MPG. It will cruise at 80, no problem, hauls 1000 pounds of gravel (but you can feel it), and merges on the interstate with no problem. It also drives like a little sports car, very tight and short coupled. If you are over 6 feet tall, you are going to be cramped.

The main problem with the truck 22 RE engine is the timing chain. It is a single row chain and as it stretches, rubs against the timing chain cover. and also can break. If it breaks, the valves are interference types, and you will probably bend a few. Replacement intervals vary, but 100k is a good rule of thumb. Most of these trucks have a lot of miles on them, after all, they are at least 12 years old. For engine rebuild parts, use enginebldr. For clutch parts use Marlin, a rebuilt engine source is Oregon Engine.

I see you are from Georgia. Finding a machine shop to do a 22RE may be a problem.

Jay351

Problem is, by doing big mods like boring it out, cams etc, you are going to use more fuel, pretty much that is the reason for getting the 22re. Go with a 5vfze if you can, you will get the same amount of mpg as the 22re but with a hefty amount of added power.

gafirefighter

The 3.4 is what I had in my last truck and I was only getting around 17 city and maybe 20 in the highway. I do care about fuel economy, but not to an extreme. If I can get 16-17 around town I would be pretty happy.

It is not so much about alot of power as long as I can get from point A to point B without getting run over. For some reason I have found that I have alot of interest in the 22re and the possibilities that it has. I would love to have an engine that I could build up and get 75 to 100 thousand miles out of with minal maintainace. I have also given up on pretty much all new domestic vehicles. When I bought my truck I paid the extra $1400 for the extended warrant. Good thing I did since to date they have put over 7k in it. It seems that these days you can not find a car or truck that does not have some problems almost right off the lot. That is why I am going with another Camry for my wife.

I see that engbldr offers kits for block bored out to .40 and also a pretty nice performance head. You can also have them go ahead and install the 268 cam for $88.

I am not sure what I am going to do yet. I know what my budget is and anything past that will have to be saved for. I just can not wait to get rid of this domestic crap and get started.

Adam

Georgiadave

In their own way, I think the others on this thread are giving you a consistent message, which is if you want more power, you need more cubes, which you are not going to get out of a 22R. Engnbldr can probably get you another 15-20 HP out of a 22R, but then you run into fuel injection flow limitations. The stock 22RE is putting out a nominal 116 HP from 132 cubiic inches, so it is already a pretty high performance engine at .87 HP per cube. As other have said, it is what it is, and it is pretty good for an obsolescent engine. This engine is not a good candidate for big performance gains. Any higher perfomance than stock is going to come at a price, and there is not much more to be had.

Good luck with your search for a tuck.

MMA_Alex

its 144 cubic inches. 132 is 2.2L, but yeah you wont see much performance gain without sinking a ton of money into it. .040 over adds an extra 3 cubic inches from my rough calculations.

go take a test drive, and see if its acceptable to you or not!

gafirefighter

Thanks again for all of your help. I guess as soon as my truck goes I will find something that I like. Why is it that the 4runners such as the 95 and up, do not hold their value like the Tacoma. I have seen quite a few 95 4runners with around 140,000 miles for thousands less than the Tacoma.

Maybe I will just pick one of them up with a 3.0 and do the 3.4 swap.

Adam

82yota

I have heard some good things about the 2.7 4banger but have no experience with them. I do know though that the 22R is a great motor and very easy to work on and will put out good mileage if driven nicely. But if you put a load on them and push them hard they drink too. The 3.0 V6 isn't that bad of an engine as lots of people say. If they are taken care of and driving decently they will give not bad mileage and a bit more power over the 2.4 but they are definately not fun to work on at all. Now another option for doing a motor swap is putting a diesel in like I did. I've got the power and mileage and reliability and its a 4 banger so room to work on stuff as well but it was pricey to do the swap. I have no experience with the 3.4 so I wont comment on it other than I have heard it is a good motor as well. Most any Toyota will be better on fuel than that big Chevy. But they all will be slower as well.

ssupercoolss

i was in the same boat about a year ago. i bought a 93 4x4 p/u of ebay, and it has honestly been the best vehicle i have ever owned. i parked my fullsize bronco in favor of the toyota. the 22re is easy to work on, there is tons of info on this site. you wont be squeelling the tires at the stop lights, and she will slow down a little towing on the hills, but the mpg's make up for it.

gafirefighter

Again, Just wondering why the 4runners seem to sell for so much less then the trucks do?

Adam