GorgeRunner

My friend has a 1986 4WD pickup with the gas turbo engine. The engine is a 22RET with a 5 speed manual transmission.
A couple years ago, the head gasket blew and it's been sitting in his yard. We are trying to figure out if it is worth it to put a new engine and fix all the other things a 27 year old truck needs fixing. I figure new/rebuilt engine, clutch, battery and hoses, minimum. I'm worried that something like the wiring harness may be damaged and very hard to come by.
What I'd like to find out is if this truck has any extraordinary value because it is the first year the turbo was made and it was only produced in limited quantities. I'm not necessarily asking what the truck might be worth(although I would welcome any opinions), I would like to find out if it's worth fixing up.

bob_351c

i would say its worth fixing! i have never seen a 22ret around here so im not sure on price but any toyota truck here is worth pretty good money. I know the turbo charged 22re is fairly desirable so i would say go for it

jbeezy22

Those trucks are hard to come across so consider yourself lucky to have one! Here in AZ, there is one on CL for 6,500. Priced to sell because it has a totally rebuilt engine, 4" lift, 33" tides, newer paint, great interior with in dash touch screen and other goodies. And it has less than 200k. Just to give you an idea. I would fix it and keep it!

strykersd

Factory 22ret and manual transmission are very rare! They came with the stout r151f transmission! Definitely worth restoring!

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

It all depends just how much work and time you have to put into the project.

while these engines have a little more horse power than the non turbo if your looking for horsepower the stock 3.4 has much more.

If this has been sitting for a few years no telling what damage has been done to the cylinder walls from the coolant and if they can be cleaned up by boring

I have 2 of these trucks and one is almost done enough to be street legal just no time to get it done.

swampfox

It would be a good idea to check the turbo housings for cracks. If the housing is cracked it will be expensive to repair or replace, unless they have gotten cheaper in past few years.

bruno4turbo

fix it! i have the automatic version of that truck and they are troopers, keep that turbo! mine was lost some where in the woodworks of its life after a rebuild. they are rare, especially the manuals. usually the had the 4spd auto (a340h) or the 5spd auto (r151) rarely did they have the 5spd manual. more often than not they get swapped for manuals. a buddy of mine is letting his just sit and its killing me! save your rare jewel of a truck

GorgeRunner

My friend is the original owner so there is some sentimental value there for sure, but I don't think he has the time or money to fix it up. Some of the parts are probably going to be hard to find. Usually, Toyota parts are everywhere but this model truck seems to have been a very limited run. I don't think I've ever seen another one.
I always asked him why anybody would need a turbo pickup truck anyway? I think I had an FJ40 at the time.

bruno4turbo

technically take the turbo off and its just another yota, with just retarded timing, parts are the same. just the turbo and timing are different on the trucks. and usually the turbo's where automatic (which trust me, you need the turbo..lol) that rare jewel is worth it to save.

If i had the money i would take if off your buddies hands for parts on my truck but i'm broke lol

GorgeRunner

Generally, that's true, but there are a lot of small parts differences in the cooling and electrical systems that set this truck apart from a normal Toyota pickup.

nothingbetter

it also has a lower compression ratio compared to NA engines. How they lowered the compression and kept the same displacement, I'm not sure. So theres a difference in engine design somewhere.

bruno4turbo

not much for the wiring, just a few that got to the turbo component sensors, and as for cooling, i think the radiator is a little bigger, but otherwise not that different... and never heard that the compression is less, just the timing is retarded. maybe the pistons are different, i've never compared them side by side tho.

Orion22rte

You guys are correct, the compression was lowered in the turbo trucks, to a little less than 7.5:1 as compared to the 22re's 9.5:1 compression. The pistons are dished and the the head is also a little different in the way that the chamber is machined.
Due to the lower compression they gave the r151 trannies a lower first gear so it wasn't a dog before the boost picked up.

@bruno, do you ever plan on getting back to the turbo? Or leave it na? I bet the right turbo setup woul REALLY help with that auto trans

And for the op, I have a turbo truck that I'm working on ATM, and I gotta say, to do things right it is pretty expensive. But if your just keeping everything original than it won't be too horrible, but it's wise to do a few things to it, just to make things happy. First is head studs, 2 don't mess with the stock boost (If keepin it in stock form), 3 use some flex hose on your downpipe to keep torsional pressure from cracking your turbo and/or exhaust manifold

As far as "is it worth it?"..... Imo, it's preference. I bought it because it was rare and the only one that I've seen, and I got burned on that because I had to rebuild the engine. But once I get it the way I want I would much rather have it than a standard 22re. It's different, more power, and it's fun as hell to drive with pretty much the same toyota r reliability. I'd say go for it if its something you want to do.

GorgeRunner

Here's a photo of the truck when it was pretty new:



It would be a good project vehicle; a rare Toyota, not many of them but I think for the effort and expense, it's for a hardcore Toyota truck fan who has some time and a few spare bucks.

Turd Furgeson

They can be problematic with headgasket issues and turbo issues. I swapped the stock turbo for a ct26 out of a late 80's supra. I also bought a engnbldr head that bumps the comp ratio to about 8:5:1 that is good around stock boost. I haven't had the truck on the road yet but up the little stretch on my street (on a hill) it seems to kick ass. In 1st gear rolling into the throttle about 1/2 to 3/4 up a hill it starts spinning the tire maxing out 1st gear rolling into it at a rolling start. I also have an engnbldr 270 cam with 2 1/2'' downpipe and exhaust,oem toyota headgasket,arp headstuds and clicked the afm 2 clicks richer to stay on the safe side til I get it on the road with a wideband a/f ratio gauge to see where I'm at. Also have a v6 radiator (taller and 1 extra row of tubes for better cooling with turbo water cooling nipple soldered into top tank).

ajstoy

GUYS..im new to this, just joined here yesterday, and brought home my 86 pu lastnight..the truck is 5 speed, 4x4. its got a 22r engine in it, the original owner swapped out with the original one..the truck has all the turbo badges, and even on the instrument cluster there is a light, but I don't think the engine is the 33ret(turbo) im guessing..is there anything different in the transmission with these compared to the non turbo?

mike_smith

i have the head off mine at the moment looking and for a new head but have a new t3/t4 turbo and intercooler for it picking up a set of studs for her too

Greg_Canada

Is there a turbo on the exhaust manifold?
And you mean 22rte...

ajstoy

no sir. the previous owner had the exhaust cut just beneath the cab

Greg_Canada

The turbo would literally be right beside the motor... it would look like this: