Rebuilding my 1989 22RE from the 4x4pickup, 90k miles (no its not a typo). Factory crank, rods, etc. Only pistons were bored 0.020" over to clean up some rust pits in #4 due to prolonged coolant leak-bad headgasket. Got a master overhaul kit from ENGNBLDR with STANDARD bearings but 0.020" over pistons. Bored it, cleaned up, and got it up on my engine stand. Crank was installed with the new STD bearings, turns smooth and crisp. Assembled new O/S pistons on factory rods. New piston pin bushings reamed to size, snug and good.

Today, slid the pistons in one at a time and snugged the rod caps down but not torqued yet. Shaft was still turning freely with a visegrip on the end as a handle. Upon torquing the rod cap bolts to final 51 ft-lbs in three passes, the shaft stopped turning and is bound tight. Slacking the rod cap nuts releives the pressure and it can spin again.

Pistons and cylinders have Assembly lube on them. I did put assembly lube on behind the rod cap bearings (against the rod/cap castings) and also on crank journals and face of the rod bearings. I Did NOT mark the rod and caps when I tore it down. THe pistons and rod/caps are facing forward per the indents or bosses in each peice.

Any thoughts on the order of rods and more importantly, any way to identify each cap to its factory rod? would the assembly lube behind the bearings cause this binding?

I want to believe the rod bearings supplied in the Engnbldr kit are good and its just a cap mix up before I go any further.

 

#1: You don't put anything behind the bearings.
#2: Rods and rod caps are matched, so are main caps. They have to go back to the original location. You can try matching the rods and caps without the bearings by eye, it should be perfectly lined up where they meet. You should also be using plastigage to check your bearing clearance. Hopefully you didn't crack a cap or damage the bearings.

 

The manual for the '93 says the bearing caps are numbered. Not true in 1989?

I understand that you DON'T put lube behind the bearings (while technically it won't cause a "spun" bearing, why risk it). If it were mine, I'd pull the bearings and wipe out the assembly lube. Then I'd plastigauge the journals http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-pg1/overview/ (in '93 the specified clearance is .0010 to .0022, so the green is what you want).

Last, the manual says: "HINT: If using a standard bearing, replace with one having the same number as marked on the cylinder block. There are three sizes of standard bearings, marked 3, 4, 5 accordingly." Are your bearings numbered?

 

Does Toyota have different bearings for each journal like Honda where you have to get the number for each journal & cap then order by color from a chart? I've only run into that on Hondas.

 

Hmmm. Maybe this is why I always start with the manual. I'm always curious what some completely different manufacturer might have done, but that doesn't help here.

This dealer says that the bearings for a 1989 22re are labelled "A, B, C" http://www.toyotapartsoverstock.com/...rimLevel=18292

EngnBldr has a good reputation here. I'd start by looking at the old bearings, then looking on the block for the bearing ID, then I'd call EngnBldr and get some advice.

 

OK, I see the chart for bearings in the FSM. Plastigage and micrometers unless you get a crank kit w/matching bearings.

 

Thanks for the insight thus far everyone. My 89 FSM says to "match the numbered rod with numbered cap". However I'm not seeing a matching numbers 1 thru 4 on any of the rods or caps that indicates this rod goes with this cap for example.

I'll give Engnbldr a call to ask their opinion and also plan to clean off the assembly lube from behind the bearings & give the parts a closer look.

 

I rebuilt an 86 model and don't recall finding any numbers or letters. I used an engraver and put light etch markings on the rods and caps. Since you didn't have the rods machined and possibly mix matched, would bet that is causing the binding. Been awhile since I have been in the bottom end of a motor and cant recall right off on identifying which cap goes where, but feel confident that Toyota did not number them.