99lspwr

Hey guys... Well, my 89 4 runner officially goes under the knife on monday and a had a couple questions,,...First off I want to do a cam upgrade while we have the motor apart and was wondering 2 things,..First off with a "mild" cam upgrade should I use a new valve spring set???(motor has 160k on it), and second I want to buy a cam from engnbldr.com and want to find a little insight on what one to buy...I dont need anything to radical, and dont mind a slightly choppy idle...Just something to increase low/midrange power some...Any help from you novice 22re guys will be appriciated..., thanks

superjoe83

my springs with 230k on them were fine to reuse, the machine shop will inspect each spring for free height and see if they all have the same resistance at a certain compressed height, i had a custom low end cam ground for my 22r when i rebuilt it, here are the specs:




the idle didn't change, and i got a lot more low to midrange torque, so any cam thats close to these specs will work good for you, i also went with engnbldr's stainless valves too.

kyle_22r

that spec sheet looks almost like engnbldr's 268C cam. his has .430 total lift though, iirc.

i've got a 268C in my project truck and it's a great all-around cam. he also makes a 261C(low end power, runs out of breath around 3500RPM) and a 270(good choice if you're always on the freeway)

99lspwr

So this particular one seems as if it will work well for me w/o having to do upgraded valve springs or machine work to the head...correct??

99lspwr

Thanks for the spec sheet....

kyle_22r

all the cams EB sells will work with the stock valvetrain just fine. for the most part, i've heard that the stock springs can handle nearly .600 lift, but i don't even think anyone makes a cam that radical for these engines

99lspwr

So generally speaking would it be worth it to relace the valve springs as a rule of thumb or good practice on my 160k mile 22re motor??

InternetRoadkill

I would. They are not expensive and they do loose their spring over time. At the very least, I would have the old springs inspected for height and spring rate if you really want to reuse them.

FYI: I'm also rebuilding my 22RE and chose an Erson Cam with 268/268 duration. It's specs are similar to the EB 268 cam. I won't be able to fire it up for another month or so (the engine build is part of a larger restoration effort), but I'm looking foward to see how it works. You may want to upgrade your exhaust system to take full advantage of the cam's breathing ability.

kyle_22r

EB sells a full rebuild kit for our heads, i think it cost me about $100 or so. came with springs, locks, shims, valve seals, and a full set of really nice bronze valve guides(optional to install but a nice feature).

i've never had a valvespring break, but it's not a bad idea. our engines have such a light valvetrain that they don't need a whole lot of spring tension.