Apache engine swap.

 

I voted for the mild RV and .020 over pistons.I have that set-up and some more on my rebuilt engine.I run mostly Engnbldr (RV head,270 cam & complete overhaul kit) and some LCE parts(headers,cam sprocket,valve cover).Machine work on the block was done by Teds machine shop in Honolulu.I put everything back together by myself and did a lot of reading on my 22re engine.

 

I just did the same thing. My truck had a BHG at about 175k before I bought it. Whomever did the head work really did a shoddy job. It was runnable but it wasn't right. I think it was run with coolant in the oil. Had a REAL bad start up rattle. Could have thrown a set of bearings in it and got it another 50-80k but I didn't want to have to mess with it for 150k. I plan to start doing a couple cross country exploration trips a year with the truck.

First thing to understand is Toyota does a pretty good job of wringing out maximum power in stock form. There are not many gains to be found for the 22RE especially if you have to deal with smog checks.

I have the mild Engine builder cam and like it. I have to smog where I am so I was conservative on what I did. It has a very slight lope at idle but still passed smog no problem.

The 22RE is a higher compression motor to begin with. Unless you want to pump Super all the time its best to stay with a stock style piston. The .020 has more to do with how much you have to bore to correct for cylinder wear then performance. Yeah its a little more displacement but in a 22re the gains would not be noticeable.

The Tri Y header is the best bang for the buck most people will tell you. You have to match the exhaust to it. The problem that a lot of people seem to have with headers is where it moves the O2 sensor to sometimes causes issues. It sometimes necessitates going to a heated o2. Again, since I have to smog, I just went back with the stock set up. Stock is not all that bad unless its a Cal model. The stock manifold IS a TriY. Just a short tube TriY.

Due to a little mis communications with the guy I had do the machine work on my motor I really kind of screwed myself. My head was good but the valves were not. The Guy I used is well known for the quality of his work and standing behind his work. He has as much work as he can handle and he charges a premium as a result but you do get excellent work out of him.

I honestly could have got the job done a few hundred cheaper if I had drove out to another reputable shop a couple towns up. What I paid for the head work back to stock was not much less then what I could have bought stock assembled head from Engine Builder. Add another $100 and I could have got the OS head. http://www.engnbldr.com/toyotaheads.htm Make sure you get a quote in writing for the total cost to have your head worked to fit the OS valves if you go that route. It may make more sense just to buy it ready to go.

I paid to have the motor balanced. Some will tell you its a waste on the 22R. Again the guy I used influenced me to do it. After its all said and done I think it was worth it. After the machine work the guys warranty is "As long as I am alive if there is a problem with that motor that isn't just shear miles I will take care of it, if I assemble it". He's known for that warranty. $400 for complete assembly but he requires it be balanced. That got a little bit of port matching on the intake as well and cleaned up the runners.


I am still breaking it in. Just has got 2k on it. Its is SMOOTH as can be at 3k (ballanced). It gets 19 city and 23 hwy. It took forever to seat the rings. It was using about a quart every 700 miles. I was getting worried it took so long. I called the shop and he asked how I drive it (work is 3 miles from home so really didn't have a lot of what it needed to seat the rings). His Comment was "well ÅÅÅÅ grim get the thing on the hwy or start towing a trailer and run it hard for a while!. Them rings are never going to seat the way you have been driving it!." So we took it to FL a couple weeks ago and put 850 miles on it in a long weekend. Oil consumption dropped off to about a quart every 2k now.

So yes at this point I now feel it was worth it and I feel that it will go another 200k. However I could have picked up a low mile 2.7 that makes more power and done the swap for what I have in this motor. Just the fab hassle was the hold up. It is my DD and I wanted to keep it on the road as long as possible since gas was pushing $3 and my other available vehicle was a 454 Sub. I found a motor to use as a core so my total down time for the engine swap was 3 days.

 

Grim,

Thanks for all the info, sounds like you did what I am planning to do. I too have heard that boring a RE is not for power... I am actually hoping to use the stock size pistons...

 

Pistons are cheap for the 22re. You have to let the wear on the motor dictate if they need to be replaced.

When you get that head off if you can feel any lip at the top of the cylinder at all you will have to go to a larger piston when the cylinder is machined back to true. Even if you can't feel any lip you need to run a bore gage down the cylinder and make sure its within spec.
As an engine wears the cylinders get a little fat in the middle where the rod arm is at its highest angle. The piston will cock sideways just a little as the miles increase and it starts to get that wear it will accelerate and the piston will cock a little more. Thats why even where there is not a lip and a back yard rebuild is done where a hone is run through the cylinder you rarely get more then a 100k more out of one before they start to have oil ring problems.

My advice is if you don't have a bore gage run the block down to the machine shop and have them check it and see if its out of spec. Most shops will take the 5-10 minutes to do that for you while its in the back of the truck in the parking lot.

Talk to them and see what they think and get a quote. The basic machine work for a dressing the block deck to get a good seal on the HG, truing the cylinders up and checking the crank alignment is really not that bad. Its the difference between getting 50-100k or getting 150-200k for a few hundred more bucks and like most things...If it last twice as along its usually cheaper then doing it twice.

 

Grim,

I am going to tear the block down as I remove it, this way I can see just what went wrong with the HG.

I am going to have a machine shop rebuild the entire long-block, with whatever it needs. If i need to bore I will, but I would rather not. I am going to give him a pile of parts I want installed, but let them put it together. I am capible, but they have all the propper tools and a warranty \

I will have about 3 weeks off work when I get home in the spring so I will have the time to do it then..

 

Come on man join the stroker club, or atleast bolt on a 35lb flywheel. You said it's not not your hwy rig so build a badass supercharged stroker and blow everyones mind with some dyno sheets.
Also Grim nice to see you on this side of the tracks, do those boys on the boat Know you're here? Just kidding this guy has some awesome advice.

 

I already have the 30lb flywheel....and I have been told by a LC reccommended engine builder that you dont want a heavy flywheel and a stroker motor...

Not even close it being interested in a stroker... I have no desire to run anything but the OEM ECU. And blowing someone away with 22RE dyno sheets, thats what 150hp realisitically... no thank, thats not enough of an improvment for the $$.

 

Why can't you run a stroker with the stock ECU? I have a stroked 22RE and it runs great after I got the TPS figured out. Stock ECU, stock injectors, stock distributor (thinking of D.U.I), and no AFM mod yet. With the 35lb flywheel you have to use a 91/4" clutch but if yo have 30lb you probably wouldn't notice much more torque. I think a supercharged (you brought it up) stroker would be ALOT more then 150HP and the torque would be awesome. Power cost money but it would be unique.

 

Going off of LC's stroker motor it wants stand alone fuel injection. And if your just stroking it and not doing and major top end mods you really wont see that much more power. And with all the mods the stock ECU has a hard time being as efficant, it wasnt desgned or maped for that.

I was more curious the results of supering a stock motor, but LC doesnt even sell the EFI blower anymore, too many issues. They claim when it comes out again the low psi version will be stock ECU compatible, but not if you do any other mods to it.

 

so what did you end up doing with this?

 

I just got back from Afghanistan on Saturday. So nothing yet. I will be pulling the head this week thou. I have decided to sell this truck so instead of rebuild the motor I am just going to do a HG and repair anything else that is broken. The motor is still in great shape so it doesnt require a rebuild, but I would have just done it if I were keeping the truck.