I finnally land an 86 yota in good shape, a year and a half ago. I always wanted one. I'm not so sure anymore...

So, i thought that these yota trucks were supposed to have the best, most reliable motors in them. But I hear about too many head gaskets...

I replaced the radiator this fall with a proper flush and new fluid. The rad level kept going down. I thought it was just some air in the heater core. Finally topped off I think but fluid going down. Now i have some pressure in the coolant system when stone cold. My oil level is rising and the radiator fluid is going (you guessed it) where it does not belong!! I have not confirmed its in the oil pan yet but there is some moisture (chocolate crud) under the oil cap.

It apperas this motor already had a new head on it by PO. So what gives?! Whats with the #[%^[+ head gaskets?!

How often do these motors have to be rebuilt? Even a new head gasket is not what i need to be doing w/ a newborn and no shop or extra vehicle. I need to get to work...

Just bummed

 

Sorry about the rant.

I guess i was mislead about these being uber reliable???

 

They are very relaible. Previous owner probably didnt use oem headgasket.
Its time for your 22re right of passage.

 

So your upset that a 23 year old truck needs some work?? And your surprised that somebody else did a bad job at fixing something cheaply?? Im not trying to bash you just give you some reality..... These motors get 300,000 plus miles but it depends how hard a life they have had.

 

If so reliable then why does the head gasket go? My truck has only 95k on it. So when did the PO head gasket go, for him to then replace it with non OEM. Certainly less than 95k, right?

I hear the '96 nissan trucks go for over 200k no probs w/ motor

 

This is true. There is far too much faulty half-assed work done around here anymore. Perhaps the truck had a hard first 90k

Thanks

 

So what is the best approach?

The way i feel if i replace the head gasket, i may as well do the oil pump, timing chain, water pump and whatever else. Maybe just rebuild or swap the motor with new. That way i know what i got. Also would it be faster to swap out whole motor than to piece together in the engine bay?

Does engine builder sell a new motor? I don't see one on their website.

 

If i take something off to get to the HG, im going to take a hard look at everything and just replace. But how is my foundation? Block, main??

I could start with a compression test...

I wonder how much time i have...

 

Go with engnbldr stuff very quality. The fact is many people know the bulletproof reliability legend of the 22re, so they feel they dont have to maintain them. They simply ignore the whole truck. make the truck your own and build it how you want within a budget you can afford. mild to wild, all yotas are fun

 

Perhaps you are a victim of statistics. Sith happens with mechanical things.

 

if a guide wore out,your timing chain may have eaten through your water pump housing...

 

A 22RE is only as reliable as the person who rebuilt it/maintained it....

go to eBay and search ENGNBLDR or go to ENGNBLDR.com and call them.

Get an OEM HG, and get the Front End Kit (timing chain, cover, water & oil pump and gaskets...for like $150). The HG is less than $50 OEM online....toyotapartszone.

do it right. Then complain when it breaks

Tons of guides online....check out user 92 TOY's write up in his signature.

 

You have no idea what could have caused the head gasket failure.

As an example I had a heater hose fail yes it did get a little hot till I could get it off the road. And repair about 2 weeks later I had a head gasket failure.

Then the fact that most people don`t know the little error Toyota had with under torquing the head bolts so a failure down the road is a real good possibility

 

how many people have owned the truck ahead of you? How many actually did any up keep?
abuse a truck for 20+ years and it is gonna have issues unless you know the entire history of the truck.

I have had my '81 for 6 years..before that it had 20 owners...you should see some of the crap I have been fixing over the years.
Bullet Proof and uber Reliable reputations are directly related to proper maintenance...

 

Every vehicle built has issues. These Toyotas with iron blocks and aluminum heads are prone to HG failure with 2 kinds of metal working against each other. My 86 is my hobby in addition to my daily driver. If i didn't enjoy wrenching on it I'd buy something alot newer.

 

Thanks for all the ideas, support and a good dose of reality.

Sorry about the complaining, it's just at a bad time. I was overreacting.



I really do love my yota

 

I'll check it out. I plan on replacing everything on the front when in there.

Thanks for the tips, i have been planning on using enginebuilder. Im glad to hear they're good.

I'll check out 92 TOY'S write up.

 

Yep, i just replaced a leaking radiator. It was hard to get all the air out of the system. So it got a little warm, i guess? I saw the stock temp gauge go up once, but not in tthe red. I pulled over right away and found the air had worked its way to the rad. Topped off with fluid.

I don't know the torque of head bolts applies here, as i have an aftermarket head from PO. They forgot the EGR and messed up the exhaust pipe gasket. Seems a little sloppy to me. So i am skeptical of the quality of replacement head. What are the proper torque specs then? I'm sure i'll need them.

This thread i started tells some about my head:https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...e-head-244436/
i definately don't know who had this truck. It helps to hear im not the only one finding this "crap". I plan on proper maintenance and read here when i have questions.

Good point, an aluminum head is prone to heat issues. I might get the good one at enginebuilder 'cause i don't know what this one is. How can i tell if it's stock or aftermarket?

I don't want to afford another vehicle, so it's time to wrench this one right. I enjoy it too. Just have to make some time for it.

 

About half of my repairs have uncovered bone-head mistakes on my truck too. I'm no master mechanic but when you see your cam brackets numbered 1-4-2-3 (didn't pass kindergarten I guess?) in the engine and a sensor that had been ripped in half and then put back to disguise the mistake, I get a little upset.

Some of the smaller mistakes I've seen have been when I had the truck put in to the shop right after I bought it for some routine maintenance. It's not just the owners that mess up sometimes mechanics forget things or make mistakes too. Not bashing mechanics, there are plenty of good shops out there with very good mechanics (there's one that I trust who does a great job, former Toyota mechanic who has the same truck I do).

 

I won't reiterate what the others above me said about previous owners work, blowing coolant hoses, etc... the possibilities are endless!

That being said, I bought my '94 Pickup seven years ago with exactly 100k miles on it. It now has 200k on it as of yesterday. I replaced the head gasket five years ago. Previous owner said he'd overheated it one time, it lasted two years into my ownership before the HG leaked enough to replace. Of course, when I did pop, I was 240 miles from home in a blizzard. I drove that 240 miles in the blizzard for hours, constantly filling my radiator on the way at rest stations. I was one of the only people on the road, with 6" of snow on I90 East, and I87 South.

I made it home, and parked in my driveway with about 8" of snow. I shut the truck off for the first time in hours. When I tried to restart it to move it a bit, I could hear coolant slosh out of the exhaust. I didn't try again.

I put a new HG in that week every day after work until dark (which comes early in late December/ early January. Once I got the job done, I flushed the whole system, ran two oil changes through it, one after the first ten minutes, the second after 100 miles. The truck has run like a top ever since with just basic preventative maintenance. I've been wanting to swap in my 7MGTE, but the 22re JUST. WON'T. DIE. It just keeps going.

Blame your misfortunes on the previous owners. It's certainly not the truck's fault.