Hey guys, I have searched up and down and read all about this head swap, but have not come up with the exact info I am looking for. From my understanding, the easiest way to do this head swap is to use a pre 85 22r correct? I am being given an 86 4runner that was rolled and the engine has 20,000 miles on a 22r. I have a 20r in my rig at the moment, and I also have a spare head/intake for a 20r laying around. I figured I'd pull the 22r out of the rolled rig and make a winter project out of it. What exactly do I need to do different from the pre 85 blocks to get a 20r head on this 86 block? New pistons? Shave the head? Any advice would be awesome. Thx.

 

block deck heights and head heights are completly different between these years ..


NOT that it's not possable , but it's alot of work and expence ! to put a 20r head on a -- > /85 block . got a few grand to spend ?

 

Ya I've been coming to the conclusion that I should just build the 22r block and head into a bad mofo instead.

 

Once again, a lot of expense to build a "bad mofo" out of a 22R. You need to be realistic about the fact that these are a low power truck motor. They work very well and are reliable as hell, but are not much of a hot rod motor in a truck this heavy. Mine with a cam, exhaust and weber is fast enough to drive, but I'm not going to win any drag races here. I still dream of the day when I can afford a bigger motor.

 

Well I don't mean to make a dragster, I am realistically thinking of squeezing what I can out of a 22r without spending thousands of dollars for a couple hp. Fun indoors winter project that I can be proud of in the spring.

 

Get the weber tuned right, maybe bigger valves, a cam for sure and an exhaust/header and you'll see gains without big money.

 

Ya, I believe my weber to be tuned up good, I have headers on. I would like bigger valves, and a nice cam in the 22r I will be working on though. I just don't want to dump any of the $ into the 20r being I am getting a free 22r with low miles.

 

http://www.toysport.com/Technical%20...tech_notes.htm
"In 1985- the 22RE had a major change. The block was taller and the head shorter, compared to the earlier models. The engines' blocks and heads are not interchangeable (for practical and cost purpose). "
This also applies to the 22R.
So a 85+ 22R/RE block cannot use a 20R head....
[strictly speaking... some have alluded to using a dual-row chain conversion for the late block to mate with the 20R head after having the both the head and block cut.]
but the rest of the webpage is an interesting read.

 

I had a buddy who did it and it worked. The only thing was the timing chain was to long or to short, don't remember but it ran like a dream. I was thinking about doing this to my motor

 

I just put a 20r head on a pre 85 22r block, I ordered a kit from ebay from engnbldr i think. came with a 270 cam for about $300. the only problem I ran into was the timing chain, The timing chain I am running has been cut and lengthend, If you try to do this, put the motor thgether with a head gasket, but not the timing cover. Remove the chain tensioner and take a 1984 timing chain and cut it, wrap ariund your timing gears and find out the length you need and put it back together. Sounds simple right? Sorry, it isnt, and next time I'll build a complete 22r. Good luck