So with the heads off and 240,000 miles under her belt the cylinder walls look great! However the Pistons and valves have huge amounts of excessive carbon built up. The valves are not a big deal since the machine shop will take care of them. However the Pistons are another issue. I had a crazy idea to just pull the Pistons and have them cleaned and re ringed and just run the stock bearings since they have held up well and the bottom end seems to be sound. The bottom end is still in the vehicle but I have easy access to the oil pan and could remove the rod bolts with no issues. My main concerns are the carbon and unknown condition of the rings.

 

I'd probably re-ring it if it was mine, maybe new standard pistons too.

NPR piston and ring sets are fairly inexpensive, and are high quality parts.

You gotta hone the cylinders a bit to break the glaze, so the new rings will seat.

A little tricky to keep the honing grit from the crank, but I have honed several different

engines in frame, with the crank in place and had good results.

Same for the con rod bearings, new ones are cheap, and you will already have the rods

apart. Might as well put em in.

Heres the whole shootin match for a little over $150:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/88-95-Toyota...Vvo65w&vxp=mtr

 

Yeah I know it's less then perfect but I think a soft hone and new rings will keep her running for a long time. If I pull the bottom end then I might as well deck the block and re surface the crank. At that point I am throwing another $300-$400 of parts and $400-$500 in machine shop labor at her and that's probably about half of what the rig is worth.

 

i have a $10,000 engine in my $500.00 truck !!!

It all comes down to what the worth is to you .

I could have sold my Tacoma back to Toyota and come out ahead about $7,500.00 I said no.

If it is not worth the time and money I am sure someone would take it off your hands

 

I guess I am on the fence
about how far I want to go into her.

With only the bell housing and motor mount bolts holding her in I keep going back and forth.

Option one is to just bolt the refinished heads back on and call it a day.

Option two is to pull the bottom end and so a budget overhaul with new bearings, rings, surfaced crank, and honed cylinders. Probably should have the blocked decked to since it would be out.

 

If you have the time & money, I would just go all the way and rebuild/X-Ray the short block. You might get away with just rebuilding the heads, however when your Ring(s) start to go, you will have to pull the whole engine apart again.

It all depends on how much it is worth to you.