i guess i haven't run into problems removing the manifold or plenums. i unbolt the necessary items, and just move both away from the head enough to clear the studs so the head will come up. i don't remove/open the fuel lines or injector piping; that all stays pressurized. sliding the exhaust manifold to the side, away from the head means i don't have to frig with the downpipe gaskets, since the manifold remains attached to the head pipe.

i 100% agree with doing the head gasket when doing the timing chain, and vice versa. the time added to changing the head gasket when replacing the timing chain is minimal, so it's a no-brainer to do it.

the pics i have above show this method of replacing the head gasket and timing chain. did not need to disconnect nearly as many items as the FSM stipulates; that's where the time savings is.

 

Thanks for the insight Jim and Wally. Thankfully, i don’t have one pending at the moment but if i did, i’d pull the head with the manifolds attached, separate them on the bench, probably at least check the valves’ seats with a solvent and lap them if necessary while the head was off.

Having pulled oil pans on both my 4runners, i forgot what a fun time that is.🤬 But then, with the head and oil pan off, i’d probably pull piston #4 and determine why compression in that hole has always been lower, then maybe hone and rering all 4. Mission creep…i may as well pull the engine. 🙄

 

https://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTr...ingChain.shtml '89 2wd pickup 22RE. 155,000 miles, Vehicle new to me, and me new to Toyotas. Rattling noise from the front of the engine. Signed up to YOTATECH and found this procedure. Previous forays into automobile engines...'59 Fiat 600 (cc), '65 Chevy 327, '76 Toyota Land Cruiser 6cyl, back in the 60's/70's. Decided to see waht I could see...Yup, chain guides busted, pieces missing, case grooved heavily, head starting to groove. Got to remove the case step, and head/pan gasket looked OK, so put it back together with new parts without disturbing the head and pan. I suppose the chain guide pieces are down there in the sump. Haven't lost oil pressure yet. Now 202,000 miles plus and runs like champ with an oil leak. That's from the back of the engine though. No problem,I keep a drip pan in the garage and one on the front driveway where it gets parked sometimes.

My reasoning for not removing the head and pan follows: I'm lazy and cheap. I cant understand why the 22RE has a headgasket problem that would make it like a time change item. I've had a lot of different cars and motorcycles in the last 60 or so years and never had a headgasket failure, but I've never had an overheat on an engine with an iron block and aluminum head, and very rarely open the throttle wideopen. I figured that the factory gaskets installed at the factory are as good as it can be, so prefered not to disturb them. Anecdotal information; your experience may differ...

 

I don’t truly believe the 22re has a head gasket problem. In my experience, the ones i changed back in the 80’s and early 90’s including Corollas and Tercels had all been overheated. It was the thermostats that only made it about 125k miles.

With regard to the plastic in the oil pan, i think the filter screen on the pickup is good enough to prevent the pieces being sucked up. Pretty common to find plastic from the chain guides in there.

 

First, thank you to all posters above, and especially for the excellent pictures. I too am planning on the OSK kit from 22RE engineering, but will pay a mechanic. I'm old and hands are not what they used to be. 88 pickup has only 116K miles (documented) and no signs of head gasket trouble. Good, even compression. But that timing chain is starting to sing its song. I have a shop that I like, that's telling me $1000 out the door. Based on what I read above, that's just what it's gonna cost these days. I'll be driving this truck the rest of my life, so with any luck that'll be money well spent.