artemyk

Impressive with the Subaru! ;-) Though I've read on here that doing a bottom-end rebuild on a 22re from the oil pan side is near impossible.

I know a guy who sells $200 rebuild 22re heads, already put one on a different engine and seems to run fine. So might just go for that... if the pistons look ok.

millball

Not hard at all, at least on IFS machines.

I'm in the middle of an in-frame overhaul of a 22RE in the '88 Runner I recently got.

You have to drop, or better yet, remove the front diff, but then everything underneath is in the clear. No sweat!

I've got the bores honed, and I'll likely get the new main bearings rolled in tomorrow; maybe get the new pistons dropped in too, but no hurry.

I'm not on the clock and all my other machines are in good fettle. It's in the garage under cover and I can take all the time I want.

osv

not everyone puts metal guides in when they do a timing chain... the used rebuilt engine that i got off of craigslist has plastic guides, the guy did it on purpose, he said that he was worried about metal shavings.

so afaik having plastic guides doesn't necessarily mean that it's the original engine.

what you need to know at this point is what kind of condition the short block is in... if you had done a compression check, you'd have a much better idea of where you are at.

if it's truly an original 320k or whatever engine, going thru the hassle and expense of just a valve job/timing chain isn't worth it, you need a full rebuild.

artemyk

@osv I did do a compression check when buying. Are you saying to replace the timing chain, throw the head back on there, and do another compression test, to see the state of the valves?

osv

ah, i see that now, 120psi across the board? the question you raised with the plastic guides was whether or not the engine actually had 320k on it, after the seller claimed that it was rebuilt at some point.

120psi could be below the minimum factory spec(142psi?), even for that mileage: http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=89860.0

what i'm saying is that if the engine is worn out, like 120psi suggests, spending money on a valve job/timing chain could be throwing good money after bad.

artemyk

It's painful, but yeah, I'm thinking about paying someone to put a rebuilt 22re in there :-/

osv

i like the idea that it appears to be pretty rust-free, if you plan on keeping it, throwing $$$ at it now will pay off in the long run... paying people to work on it will get really expensive tho

how about used 22re engines off of craigslist or one of the forums? i've done that twice now, i got good motors... one of 'em was a full rebuild, with a new head, that had been sitting for a couple of years, never started, $1200(?)

artemyk

I found a guy a guy on craigslist who has an entire 22re shop ... with the core charge, I think I can talk him down to ~1600, fully rebuilt and installed.

Charchee

I hate that that happened to you. Wyoming was right in everything he said. That truck may have been worth $1000 to $1500 where I'm at. The big tires and high miles would have been a deal breaker for me. When a seller tells you stories about rebuilds but has no documentation on them, just assume that it is all BS when you make your decisions. The best way to get into a nice truck of that age is to find one with a straight body and low miles that has some kind of major engine problem. Factor a new engine into your offer, load it up on a trailer and either take it home to do the work or take it straight to the shop of your choice. About 50% of the time what you find is an engine with some kind of electrical bug that the guys cousin told him was a death sentence and that can be fixed in an afternoon for $50.

Best of luck on your project. By the way, have you thought about dropping a 3.4L engine in it. It can be done and arguably for less money than a rebuilt 22RE. I've got one in my shop right now waiting to go in my 89 4Runner and I paid little of nothing for it.

artemyk

Yes, lesson learned the very hard way. I don't think the seller was trying to mislead, he admitted right off the bat that he didn't know what was done, couldn't say for sure the timing chain was replaced but assumed it was. Interestingly, from a quick glance under the valve cover, the head looks pretty tip-top, I wouldn't be surprised if its new --- though why wouldn't they replace the timing chain at the same time?!

Anyway, I hope this thread is a data point to others in a similar situation.

Thanks for the advice @Charchee. I've been looking specifically for a 22re rather than the 3.4L -- I've heard the 22re is more dependable headgasket wise, gets better gas mileage, and I already have some experience with it. But maybe I've been unfair to the 3.4L...?

Charchee

I think you may be thinking of the 3.0L as far as reliability. The 3.4 is the V6 in 96-2004 model trucks and 4runners. Pretty bullet proof motor with good fuel economy. 22RE is arguably the flagship of Toyota in last 30 years. Just I thought I'd throw the option out there. Search 3.4 swap on this forum if you're not familiar with this popular upgrade. I haven't pulled the trigger on my swap yet since my old 3.0 is still running so good but I've been planning it for the last couple years. I bought a wrecked 2000 4runner a couple months ago with 150K miles on it for $225. Good powertrain and lots of parts for my 2002 Runner as well. Good deals are out there if you have what you want in mind and a little cash in your pocket. I have $4800 tied up in all four of these. Bought the 89 for $300 and put another $300 in it. Bought the white 88 for $150 for parts. Sold the rear end and paid for it. Got the white 02 for $4000 and the gray one for $225 for parts. Sold the seats and some interior trim and paid for it. The blue and white one are now in great condition and I have a TON of great parts to use or sell.