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Hey all, long time lurker, first time poster, yadda yadda.
So my poor 91 X-Cab has the death rattle, and sadly I have no time to pull the thing apart to patch her up myself. That means on monday, I'm bitting the bullet and dishing out $1350 to my mechanic to replace the chain, guide, oil pump, valve adjustment, etc. Problem is, my mechanic only has OEM kits, and to avoid having to pay another grand or so in the next 200k miles, I'd like to get a metal backed guide instead of the plastic. Now, I know the usual go to for these is engnbldr.com, but his business doesn't seem to be in the full swing of things at the moment. I also know people frequently suggest a kit from lcperformance.com, but I doubt I can get a guide shipped to me by Monday morning. My question is if anyofthese guides are any good? The low prices scare me a bit, and if they're crap then I'm probably better off letting my mechanic go full OEM and getting a metal kit for next time, no?
Also, while my mechanic has the head off, anything else I should have him look at?
Lastly, the rattle's been going on for about a month now, or roughly 500 miles. I JUST found out last night what's been causing it (I know, I know). I'm out of town currently, and have a 90 mile drive to get back home on Sunday. Fingers crossed it makes it that last stretch without breaching the coolant. Any tips on how to drive with a primed grenade under my hood?
Last edited by darth_bronchioles; 08-03-2018 at 04:45 PM.
Shift earlier than usual and drive a little slower, that should keep the rattle down. Unless you plan on overheating often, the oem plastic guides really are fine. 22reperformance will tell you that same thing over the phone, even though they sell aftermarket metal guides (it's a popular mod).
You can find photo evidence of those cheap metal guides wearing away fast and then you've got the chain buzzing against steel, which isn't good for the chain but can also cause more metal particles in the oil than the filter was designed to deal with. DOA, LCE and 22reperformance all make steel backed guides I'd trust. If you can't get one of those, stick with oem plastic, it's made to last as long as the tensioner is installed correctly.
I hope your mechanic is very familiar with 22re's and does the job right cause that quote is on the high end. For the price, I'd expect the oil pan to be pulled and cleaned out, a new set of head bolts installed and a year or two warranty on the work against leaks or mechanical failure of any kind.
Does the rattle not cease once you have oil pressure? Mine had the rattle during startup, but at steady cruising rpm, no. Had been doing it for quite a while before I got the vehicle. At 150,000 miles, threre were two grooves--like keyways--in the driver side of the cover.
One month? Drive it normally...and don't worry.
When I did mine, I used aftermarket kit, and did the job w/o removing the pan or head. Only thing I'd do different now would be use all Toyota parts. Reasoning is that Perhaps Toyota has inproved their plastic chain guides since 1989, to make them more durable. And, I believe that the tensioner and it's install are rather critical items.
You can find photo evidence of those cheap metal guides wearing away fast and then you've got the chain buzzing against steel, which isn't good for the chain but can also cause more metal particles in the oil than the filter was designed to deal with.
That's all I needed to hear. Basically I was hoping that the guides sold by themselves are of higher quality than the ones you can get in the kits at the big brand box stores. Guess not, so OEM it is for me!
Originally Posted by gsp4life
I hope your mechanic is very familiar with 22re's and does the job right cause that quote is on the high end. For the price, I'd expect the oil pan to be pulled and cleaned out, a new set of head bolts installed and a year or two warranty on the work against leaks or mechanical failure of any kind.
He is! which is why I'm willing to go that high. Over the phone he talked me through the entire procedure from memory. He even mentioned the "fast and easy DIY way" that I've seen posted on here, and why he thinks its a bad idea. I wouldn't even be surprised if he's reading this thread right now, lol. For what I'm paying they're sending the head their machine shop to get cleaned, new valves, and new bolts. I'll definitely ask about a warranty though.
Originally Posted by JJ'89
Does the rattle not cease once you have oil pressure? Mine had the rattle during startup, but at steady cruising rpm, no. Had been doing it for quite a while before I got the vehicle. At 150,000 miles, threre were two grooves--like keyways--in the driver side of the cover.
It's definitely still there with high pressure. I have an oil leak somewhere, so when levels get low, it's far more noticeable (and actually a pretty good indicator that I should check my oil, lol), but it's definitely still there when levels are high and I have good pressure, especially after a gear shift.
In the middle of replacing my chain & guides with an OSK kit. Drivers side guide was broken at the top and pieces of it in the pan, truck has 120K. I doubt the shop will drop the pan if your guide is broken. I probably could've left the pan alone since the pickup screen was fine and plastic pieces were just sitting at bottom of pan.
I hope the shop cleans the pan out. Here's what would've been in all my oil changes for the next 105k miles had someone decided to take that shortcut with my engine. Top guide broke, but the tensioner also completely failed and some of the cover broke apart. Glad the mechanic knows what to do, sounds like they want to do the job right.
Same line of reasoning let's me sink good money into my '85. If I keep driving defensively and no one steals it (again), it might even be around after I'm gone.
Ah, that's more like it! (the average miles/year/driver in the US is about 14,000).
My truck is only 24 years old, but I don't REALLY expect that I'll still be driving it in 2035. (Shouldn't we have flying cars by then??) Still, the only way any of us will have that chance is if we, like you, take really good care of our vehicles.
Ah, that's more like it! (the average miles/year/driver in the US is about 14,000).
My truck is only 24 years old, but I don't REALLY expect that I'll still be driving it in 2035. (Shouldn't we have flying cars by then??) Still, the only way any of us will have that chance is if we, like you, take really good care of our vehicles.
Scope, time will sneak up on you. You never know....
[In movie narrator voice] The year is 2037.... the antique Toyota Truck driven by Scope has surpassed 2,000,000 miles...... and is the last vehicle in San Francisco that has not been taken over by computer hackers......
Hey, I plan on keeping my truck on the road as long as it is still legal to drive your own car.
I have a looooong way to go until I reach 200,000 miles. I probably have another year until I reach 100,000 miles.....
Just got the truck back from the mechanic. Seems like the noise isn't actually coming from the timing chain, but from a water pipe directly below the exhaust manifold. Mechanic figures something got in there somehow and isn't too concerned about it. I:m still skeptical, so I'm going to try and make the time to teach myself how to pop off the valve cover so I can have a look and poke around.
If the mech is right, any idea what could have gotten in there?
Very easy to remove valve cover especially with a cold engine - disconnect the run of electrical harness over the top, pull some vac hoses and sensors/egr vacuum advance module (label stuff 1st if you're not familiar with where it all goes), unscrew the 4 acorn nuts and remove cover. It can be done in a few minutes once you know how.
Push inward on the driver's side guide with a long screwdriver. It can look intact, but they crack near the top before breaking off.
As for the rattling in the hose - not on my truck! I'd get a 2nd and 3rd opinion. Before I rebuilt my 22re, I had mechanics in different states take my money and not fix the engine. I even told a couple of them I'd be happy to pay for engine replacement if needed, but after diagnosis (which always takes several weeks) they'd replace some benign part and tell me everything was good now.
One guy claimed to know everything about the 22re told me it's valve chatter, but I should learn to live with it since the shim packs are expensive and it's a 10 hour job. Of course our engines don't have valve shims; adjusting the valves is done with a wrench, screwdriver and feeler gauge. It's a 15 minute job.
08-03-2018, 04:27 PM
