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1990 with 115k miles

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Old 02-27-2019, 08:14 PM
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1990 with 115k miles












Just throwing some info on this post and asking for your advice and thoughts, mainly on the condition of the bottom end(doing a top end rebuild currently).

The edges of the pistons are very clean. Does this mean worn piston rings ? Or is it nothing to worry about? Pics of pistons are in order 3-1-2-4 (just how they uploaded, sorry)

#1 has slightly clean piston edges and they get cleaner as you move back on each piston, #4 having the cleanest piston edges.
Pics of plugs for each cylinder included.

It’s extemely dirty under the valve cover for a low mileage engine.

Compression was 120-127 across the board dry, and only a few pounds higher on wet readings. (Guessing from valve seals and valve seats???)

Should i I be okay with just doing the top end rebuild? Would just hate to skip the bottom end now and have to pull it apart again. But don’t want to mess with it if it’s not worth doing so.

Low miles but the clean piston edges make me wonder why? I’m a newbie so am just starting to learn about engines and the 22re.

Thanks for for your time. Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Last edited by MasterOfNone; 02-27-2019 at 08:15 PM.
Old 02-28-2019, 07:14 PM
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The tops of pistons get "clean" when your engine burns coolant. Think of it as a really messed up steam cleaning. I see that at work all the time when I do head gaskets. Here's a pic of my old Nissan, sorry I know it's not a Toyota, but you can see what I'm talking about. Notice how one is dirty compared to the rest. Worst case scenario you might burn some oil if you use that block since the reading did go up with the wet test. If it's only a few pounds with a wet test I wouldn't be that concerned, just run thicker oil.

Last edited by Tech92420; 02-28-2019 at 07:19 PM. Reason: Derp
Old 02-28-2019, 09:32 PM
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Thanks, I’m wondering why it was burning coolant, more so on the 4th cyl than the others if that is in fact why most of the pistons have clean edges like this.
I have ran some seafoam through the intake recently and wondering if maybe the intake directed it into the 4th cyl more than and before the other 3. I don’t see any leaks on the head gasket but the exaust did kind of smell sweet(but I’m no exaust scent expert).
I sid notice some smoke after start up that went away after warming up. It may have been sort of blue but hard to say the color for sure.

Ill have the head checked for cracks or any other issues.
May just rebuild the bottom end to be safe, but would hate to do it unnecessarily.
If I drop the fully assembled block off to the machine shop, would they be able to tell me it’s shape without dismantling it?

If this were your engine, what would be your choice of direction to go?
Old 02-28-2019, 09:33 PM
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Hoping to get several replies so I can have a broad array of opinions on this to see if several people suggest the same thing.
Old 03-01-2019, 12:34 PM
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If you had blue smoke, burning oil, I would at least put on new piston rings and hone out the cylinders. A 22re should run at a minimum of 142 psi for compression with a difference of less than 14psi between the cylinders, so you did have low compression. The question is why? Unfortunately I wasn't there to see how she ran and to test the compression, I'm just giving you advice based on what you told me. Make sure you get the cylinder head machined and all the valves checked. It's just kinda hard to believe a 22re block with 115k has worn out rings. But to me it's worth rebuilding the bottom end if you're that far along because, where I am from a good truck with a 22re is worth a lot of money.
Old 03-01-2019, 12:43 PM
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You could also just get away with doing just the head and run thicker oil if you wanted to cheap out
Old 03-01-2019, 05:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Tech92420
If you had blue smoke, burning oil, I would at least put on new piston rings and hone out the cylinders. A 22re should run at a minimum of 142 psi for compression with a difference of less than 14psi between the cylinders, so you did have low compression. The question is why? Unfortunately I wasn't there to see how she ran and to test the compression, I'm just giving you advice based on what you told me. Make sure you get the cylinder head machined and all the valves checked. It's just kinda hard to believe a 22re block with 115k has worn out rings. But to me it's worth rebuilding the bottom end if you're that far along because, where I am from a good truck with a 22re is worth a lot of money.
Thanks for the reply. My phone wouldn’t let me upload the video of the cylinders I just took, but there are some slight scuffs going down the intake side of the cyl walls. It’s strange.
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