HeadGasket... Any Experience with CNS Motors?
 

BACKGROUND:
I've got a 1989 4x4 pickup with a 22re. The truck has 265K on it, the motor supposedly had 180K on it last year when I bought it and I later found the motor was from a 1990.

The truck has a showroom perfect body and frame but I've discovered and compiled a long list of mechanical issues since I bought it, nothing major but lots of annoying BS. I bought it so I'd have a 4x4 for the winter months, and so I'd have something to drive and haul parts while I was working on my other car (Nissan 240sx) I drove it all last winter without any real issues, save for the Alt dying on me...

So last week I decided to take the truck to work, I got about a mile from home and the the idle was running high and surging more than usual. It usually does this for about 5 minutes before running normally (one of it's many issues). I notice the engine temp is surging slightly with the idle. so I pulled into a gas station and the engine temp seems to be rising slowly. I turn around to go home and it's creeping near the red line so I popped on the heat, it knocked it back down to normal but started creeping up again. it was almost at the red line again when I pulled into my driveway and parked it. I haven't driven it since, later I topped off the coolant and it was down 1/2 gallon.

Over the winter it seemed to consume coolant and would often have excessive white smoke for the first few minutes (more than normal for a car in the winter)... but it never overheated so it was just another annoying issue.

WHERE I AM NOW:
So now I'm thinking the head gasket has caught up with me. and I'll need to replace it. due to the number of issues I've got with this thing I'd like to put a whole new motor in, but I'm assuming most of the issues are likely with the bits and bobs external to the motor and not the motor itself.

Anywho, I figure at very least I need to replace the head gasket, and I should do the timing chain and water pump while I'm at it.

I found this company CNS motors that have phenomenal eBay feedback and what look like some really nice and reasonably priced kits for the 22RE.

Namely I was looking at a brand new assembled Cylinder head and gasket set for $300 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/85-95...Q5fAccessories

At that price i feel it'd be worth buying just so I don't have to worry about my existing head being warped at all. I also wouldn't have to worry about breaking bolts on the intake and exhaust manifold (which seems to be a problem a lot of people have when doing head gaskets)

They also have a timing chain kit:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/85-95...Q5fAccessories

Does anyone have any experience with them? or recommend an alternative brand for headgasket/timing chain kits?


Other Questions:
What else should I be replacing?
-head bolts?
-Oil Pump?
-Timing Chain cover (I've heard if the guides are broken it could have grooves)

Is it worth upgrading the cam while I'm in there? the LC Engineering "Pro Cam" looks decent.
http://www.toyotacatalog.net/M1WebGe...9-71F773B35A7B

------------
Sorry for the long post, I'm no stranger to the wrench (I swapped a V8 into that 240sx of mine) but I've never done internal engine work of any kind before so I've got lots of questions swimming through my head.

Thanks in advance! :)

Read through this one ....

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...thread-188472/

and this is a spin off....

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...cement-212688/


Then this next one has some great pics around Pg22 23

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...ctures-181237/



if those don't answer every question you asked and perhaps a few you hadn't thought of I'd be shocked:deal

Repo

Ted @ engnbldr or OEM.

The reason all those 22REs are still around is they were put together with high quality parts. No clue about that guy on EBay but how long has his stuff lasted? I'm not a fan of "cheap" being the driving factor on building anything. Do it right, save your money.

:wabbit2:

I guess "cheap" is relative, looking at engnbldr's website their prices are comparable to the CNS Motor ebay listing I linked.

I have no idea how long CNS Motor's engines last... thats why I asked :laugh:

if engnbldr has a good reputation though, I see no reason not to go with them.

so after reading through hilandfrog's links and checking out engnbldr I've decided to buy a StreetRV head with Torkr cam

so I'm ordering the head as well as a timing set from engnbldr

I've also ordered
-a complete engine gasket set
-a new timing cover
-head bolts
-water pump
-new accessory belts
-new thermostat

is there anything else I'll need, or anything else I should replace "while I'm in there"?

I think I will not be alone in saying you made a wise choice.

Ted is very helpful and easy to deal w/.

Enjoy the rebuild, don't cheap out on the important parts:deal

The OEM head gasket is $68

Best of luck

Repo

The gaset set I ordered is FelPro it includes, what looks like, every gasket in the engine, from the valve cover, to the head gasket, to the oil pan gasket, manifolds, sensors, front and rear seals, etc.

I've heard good things about FelPro... is the OEM Head Gasket still worth buying instead of using the FelPro one included in the set.?

Totally a personal call.

There are one or two professional engine builders I have seen posting about what they use.

One IIRC stated he had gone YEARS using ROCK w/o any significant problems then he had a number of ROCK HG fail all in a row????

Another swore by felpro for everything BUT the HG???

Most on here run scared and go w/ OEM, I myself kept w/ felpro and am just getting to the scary millage 14-25K, which is where it seems many HG blow if they didn't in the first 3-5K.

enjoy

Repo

The best way to go is felpro full gasket kit from Auto Zone for 96 bucks and then get the head gasket from Toyota dealership for $39.39 with tax, I had the counter guy price the gaskets one by one at Auto Zone and the exhaust and both intake gaskets and valve cover priced separate those gaskets at auto zone was around 70 and with the full kit you get everything and the full kit is way cheaper. I'm going that route, bought kit in first place to get valve seats to get installed in recondition head, but head is junk and since it's opened, it says it can't be returned, so good or bad my fate is sealed ;}LOL

Ok so before tearing the motor apart I figured I should do some tests... I hadn't had time until today. Compression tested 166, 170, 180, 180. Oil was full and dark. All the plugs looked like they should. Some slight Browning. None of them were wet or washed out.

What can I test now to confirm or rule out the head gasket?

Doesn't sound like a headgasket, hoss. Id bet that you have a coolant leak, and the "overheating" was just where you were low on coolant and there was air in the system.

I hat a coolant leak in one of the lower radiator hoses about a month prior so I bought all new hoses.

no signs of a leak anywhere, I even checked the floor in the cab to see if the heater core was possibly leaking, that was dry too.

only thing I can think of is maybe there was an air pocket that took a month to rear it's head? doesn't really seem likely though.

you said the chain guide is broken? did it wear through the cover and spilling into oil? i have had several felpro HG failures usually within 10k, I gave up and just use OE HG's

I believe the oil would show up differently

I'm at 14K on a felpro right now and I'm scared till at least 25K :D

Repo

A friend of mine is letting me borrow a head gasket leak tester which can confirm without a doubt if there us a leak between the cylinder and the coolant chamber. I just need to get some fluid for the tester.