kyle_22r

well, the saga started back in september when i got a new job. it was time to begin the '79 project that's been desperately in need of a new drivetrain, with 316,000 miles on the original motor and burning a quart of oil every 500 miles(come to think of it i'm probably running 2 quarts in the motor right now).

i saved up $250, and bought a L52 5 speed transmission with a top shift t-case(which brings my t-case pile count to 3). next week i bought an '82 celica engine complete from carb to oil pan for $175. main problem was that it had a flexplate instead of a flywheel so i had to spend $50 for a new(remanufactured) one. no biggie, since i had a siezed 20R in the backyard with a good core on it. got an ebay OEM clutch for $70, and probably $200 worth of little doodads. time to rock and roll.

i go to town trying to take the flexplate off. break out the wrench and a socket...it spins! dammit, no compression! i can turn the engine over with spark plugs in it with one hand. time for a rebuild

took off the head, and found this:

yuck! i tore the rest of the engine apart and confirmed that the rings were toast...the gap was at least 1/4" with them compressed! valves on the head looked really good. main thing that concerned me was a deep-looking scratch in the #1 cylinder wall...not good!

i found a local place to do the machine work for me(johnson machine in tumwater, WA), got a good price quote. cleaning, .030 overbore, had the block milled a tad because of corrosion, rods rebushed, valve seals replaced, and ordered the master kit for me for about $600 total. scratch came out of the bore, phew!

now, for more troubles! i noticed my timing cover had a broken boss where the water pump mounts. no biggie i figured, talked to engnbldr and he said my style timing cover('81-84) was $86 because of "no demand"(or so his supplier says), and i couldn't get a set of head bolts for $30 like a late engine, so i'd have to go through the dealer or buy ARP. i decided to go the extra mile for the ARP studs, probably about the same as buying the inferior(imho) bolts from the dealer. i bought a set of main studs as well.

now, everything's arrived, time for assembly!

i know, my truck's a '79 and the motor's an '82, but nevertheless the '80 manual is pretty relevant for both as the 20R and 22R are pretty much the same engine anyway

got the block ready for main bearings:


...uh oh, i've got the wrong main bearings! mine have offset tangs one way except for the #3 main which has an opposite offset, with the bearings i have, the upper halves are all offset one way, the lower halves are have a centered tang! took the bearings back to the machine shop, waited 2 days for new ones...


ahh, that's better! you can also see my lovely ARP main studs...

slathered those bearings with assembly lube, got the crank and the thrust washers in, and torqued the main caps to 85ft lbs. nice and smooth! now, time for pistons and rings. learning how to use my ring compressor sure was a pain, but i got it down. the first set of rings i put on a piston took me a while, especially that blasted 3 piece oil ring! nevertheless, i got all 4 pistons in there(accidentally putting the #4 piston in the #2 cylinder and catching myself afterwards and fixing it), and torqued the caps down to 46ft lbs. still rotating smooth, i wiped down the cylinders with oil so they'd slide nice!

she's getting along nicely!


so, the shortblock's pretty much finished, still gotta put the main seal on the back of it, it'll seal good now since i sleeved the crank!

mmm...bottom end...


my future 5 speed transmission, will be the first vehicle i've owned equipped with one! just gotta bring home the hot water washer from work and get it spiffed up, along with the motor mounts, my engine bay, and some other parts


ain't i the king of organizational skills?


well, for the next installment, i'll be putting the head on, rigging up the timing chain, oil pump and all that jazz, then it'll be time to make the 22R carb work without emissions! stay tuned, kiddies...

Yamaha+Toyota=Fun

Thats awesome!! Are you planning to do any head work or anything like that?

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Looking at those pictures makes my brain hurt, but I'm glad it is YOU doing all that and not ME! At least I hope that isn't me in a couple weeks when I start to put some attention to the engine...

kyle_22r

actually, the assembly is the EASY part! nothing to it if you can read the manual...it's gathering all the parts up that's a pain...i did all that assembly work in a couple hours last night!

not really planning on messing with the head this time around, i figure anything is better than the 70HP my current engine is probably making

neil_P_smith

I am doing about the same thing with mine but all my things came from LCE. Your right about the assembly being the easy part after trying to gather parts. I found an easy way of putting the pistons in the block. In one hand use a piece of string wrapped once around the ring and with your other hand push with your fingers to center the ring while pushing down on the piston with your palm. When you get every thing lined up it will slide down to the next ring. Good luck and hope all works well. NS

SloPoke

Sweet write up so far Kyle!!! Keep the pics and commentary comin'. I'm just about to start collecting parts to do this to my 84. If you won't mind, I'll probably pick your brain a time or two during my build as I've never been in to an engine yet.

kyle_22r

#1 thing i've learned so far: keep tabs on every bolt you take off! i'm missing the bolt for the alternator bracket(and the bracket for some reason) and it's causing some setbacks. i had the timing set installed when i remembered i have to file down the timing cover to be flush with the block since i had it decked(not very much, but the timing cover IS above the height of the block and could cause a nasty head gasket failure)

the long block itself is incredibly simple, the toughest thing i've ran into so far is finding all my bolts for the timing cover!

heading out to pick a part today to get my missing bracket and some timing cover bolts...to be continued!

Bigblock

every bolt in a yoty engine is diff, V6 is worse.cool pics i have some similar on a 496ci dodge big block.

mikedog

Kyle,

Keep the pics and the commentary coming. I'm going to need this info when I rebuild my 400K+ mile 22r.

Where you running 20W-50 with the quart at every 500 miles consumption?

Why didn't you decide to rebuild the original 20R (with a .030 overbore) in your '79? Too many miles on it or something? Just wondering.

This would make an excellent tech article after you get done with the documentation of your 22R rebuild. IMO, we desperately need more 22r tech on this site.

Oh yeah, are you going to be "rebuilding" the 5-spd tranny as well?

kyle_22r

i'm running 10w40 oil right now...probably start the new engine off with 5w30 dino and move on to 5w40 synthetic after a few thousand miles.

i was tempted to rebuild the 20R(as it's about as bulletproof as a toyota motor gets, and doesn't have much less power than a 22R), but originally i was going to start off with a "weekend" 22R/5 speed swap, since i found a good deal on a 22R. if i had found a 20R for the same price in good shape, i probably would've bought it...i don't think i could've afforded the downtime of pulling my engine and rebuilding it at the time, as my dad hadn't bought a new truck yet, my pickup is the only vehicle i have currently.

also, the head on my 20R is pretty messed up, as the stud holes for the exhaust are tapped out to M12 and are even stripped then...don't think much could repair those. i'm expecting to see a good amount of corrosion in the water jackets when i do an autopsy on the engine in the future

i don't have any intention of rebuilding the transmission right now although i wish i could say i did. it seems pretty tight, shifts wells, bearings don't _seem_ to be worn out. i was planning on sending it to marlin to have it rebuilt as an L52-HD but patience and cash flow got the best of me(slow winter season, i'm making dismal paychecks). if/when it blows, i'll save my money for something like a W56 and do dual cases in a single blow, being that i'd have to have my drivelines resized anyway

Yamaha+Toyota=Fun

I love working on motors, you must be having a blast.

kyle_22r

i would be if i wasn't stuck on the stupid bracket/bolt problem! i hate delays...it's a lot of fun when i can actually do work on the thing!

i'm considering firing up the truck one last time after work tomorrow, parking it in front of the garage and start tearing out the motor. that way i can scavenge any little pieces i might need from the old motor