I brought home my brother's old 1992 pickup with a 22R-E. He killed two or three engines and this truck has set immobile for over six years in the desert of New Mexico. Pack rats made up residence on the engine, under the seat, and behind the dash. The engine has a bad rod knock. A CV axle is broken. It needs some love and this thread is to document its progress back to life.

Loaded up and headed to Moab, UT.


Of course, taking a borrowed trailer over 1000 miles round trip has its consequences. Shed the tread on two ten year old tires and blasted a fender off. Made it home though.


I didn't take any photos before I ripped the entire interior out and started the wire repair but here's the start of the splicing.


I finished splicing the wires yesterday and checked to see if the engine would turn over and it did. No pressure from the fuel pump though. The pump is getting voltage so I imagine the 6-year-old gas froze the pump.

Purchased a battery, fuel pump and screen, muffler, and CV axle today.

 

Truck as it sits now (May 2021).


List of repairs:
Overhauled engine
New muffler
New fuel tank
New fuel pump
New clutch
New flywheel
New oxygen sensor P/N: 234-4052
Repaired wires chewed by mice
New knock sensor
New tailgate handle
New fuel tank cap
New radiator cap
New radiator
New radiator shroud
New ignition lock cylinder
New left side mirror glass
Repaired manual locking hubs
Tightened transfer case rear companion flange
Welded lots of holes in the bed
New ball joints
New outer tie rod ends
New idler arm
DIY front end alignment
New shift bushing from LCE
New shifter boot
A couple new lug studs


Modifications:
Installed POWER STEERING!!!
Used 16" Mickie Thompson alloy rims
General Grabber A/TX 185/17-16
Installed TM-710G dual band APRS radio (Ham radio)
Drilled hole in roof for dual band antenna NMO mount
Re-geared front and rear diffs to 4.88
Rear ARB air locker
Front spartan locker
Auxiliary power distribution fuse box
Viair compressor
Fire extinguisher air tank
Softopper

 

Apparently there is a "Build-up" subforum for this forum and I missed it. If a mod comes by, can you please move this thread into the sub-forum? Thanks.

Joshua

 

Tried getting the bed off of the truck Saturday to address my fuel pump but old rusty bolts and no impact wrench meant I needed another method. I decided to drop the fuel tank instead. Some PB Blaster helped all but two bolts come out easily.



Unfortunately once I pulled the pump hangar, I realized there was more to the situation than just a dead pump.



The inside of the tank is covered in rust, the fuel level sender is sticky with rust and the rubber from the pump and dampers were pretty much melted away. I am not sure if I should try cleaning the tank or just replace the whole thing.

 

Getting this back on the move. Ordered a fuel pump hangar, fuel tank, and shifter boot yesterday. I was looking at OEM shift knobs; WOW! Around $90 for the original shift knob. I guess I will have to go for something different.

Once I get this worn out engine fired up (just to make sure everything on the chassis will support a running engine), I will take it out and get the machine work done in Colorado at a place I've used before. The guy has a lot of 22R parts already reworked so some of it will be swap-out. I guess I should get my injectors cleaned while I have the engine out. We have an ultrasonic bath at work for injectors but no device to check flow.

 

I salvaged the fuel pump hangar. After I removed the old fuel pump from the hangar and started scraping the rust from the hangar, it actually cleaned up nicely. I removed all the rust and gunk from the hangar leaving shiny metal behind. I wonder if the hangar was acting as an anode and the tank as a cathode. It doesn't really matter though. I installed the new fuel pump and screen, old hangar, and new fuel tank. I cranked the engine and got fuel out of the hose. I then loosened the fuel line at the fuel filter and it sprayed out fuel also.

After tightening all the fuel lines and a little shot of starting fluid, the engine fired, ran for three seconds, then died. This continued, I checked for fuel at the fifth injector, plenty of fuel. After a little searching, it appears as though this is a well documented issue. Start -> run 3 seconds -> die. Rinse and repeat.

So I started down a short list. I don't have internet at my house so I have to drive out to where I get cell reception and do my research there. With a few ideas, I went back home.

1. Jumper FP to Bat on diagnostic plug. Fuel pump runs, truck still dies.
2. Check diagnostic codes. 13 (rpm signal) and 43(starter signal). A short time later, they disappeared and have not shown up in subsequent diagnostic tests.
3. Check VAFM. I moved the meter plate and the fuel pump ran. I have not checked resistances yet.
4. Distributor cap. This thing is DEAD. There is heavy burning on both the coil contact inside the cap and on the rotor. I just purchased a new cap and rotor and will install them today though I am not hopeful this will solve my issue.

I am not yet sure if my injectors are turning off or the ignition but I suspect it's the injectors since the dying happens slowly.
If anyone else has some good ideas, I'll gladly check them. I am electrically adept and even have an oscilloscope to check things like injector pulse width.

Lastly, I cleaned out all the mouse evidence from my heater and A/C systems, reassembled the dash, and check the fan function. Speeds 1,2, and 4 work. 3 is dead so a new resistor pack will be required.

 

Checked VAFM resistances... it's good. Replaced the distributor cap and rotor. Checked the EFI relay and fuse. Changed the fuel filter (one was hanging from the fuel lines and another was still bolted to the engine. I removed both and bolted on the new one.) Pulled out the start injector and it has a beautiful onion spray pattern. As soon as the injector shut off, the engine would die.

I decided to probe the ECU pins as the service manual outlines but had no luck as the ECU pinout in the manual here did not match mine. I have since found the correct pinout but I'm not at home right now so I haven't probed the ECU yet. However, when I pulled the ECU off the frame, I found a few more chewed wires that needed addressed.


I repaired them and then... nothing changed. Bummer.

I pulled out my scope and checked the other injector signals. They were getting a nice PWM signal. So my last thought was, "Maybe my injectors are gummed up from old fuel." The following morning before I left to work for a few days, I pulled off the intake plenum and injectors. One injector would click with 12v on the pins; three injectors would not. Sure enough, the injectors were gummed up/clogged. I took them to work and put them in our ultrasonic cleaner for 45 minutes with degreaser. Took them out, applied 12 volts, and blew in the fuel inlet side. Success! They are now all flowing. I had already ordered 4 new injectors ($25 each) but they won't be here until next week so I'm going to install these tonight and check if the engine runs. If this solves the running issue, I will be confirming the engine has a rod knock before pulling it out and repairing it. I'll install the new injectors after the engine is repaired.

It's good to make some progress.

I posted in the classifieds but if anyone has a power steering pump, reservoir, brackets, hoses, and steering box, I'm interested. Wheeling on 33" tires with manual steering is painful; plus, I can't drive through town and drink coffee at the same time.

 

I'm glad you figgered it out!
Are the new injectors OEM, or third party? From what I understand, aftermarket injectors don't always have the same resistance as the OEM ones, and it can cause some problems. Just something t be aware of.

Finally, don't forget that the o-rings for the injectors, as well as the gaskets for the upper and lower intake manifold sections, are definately NOT reusable. Never, never, never.
Don't forget to get them good and lubed up with with clean fuel before you install them. It matters!

Good luck to ya!
Pat☺

 

Thanks, Pat. They are advertised as OEM Bosch injectors but we will see what shows up. I re-used the plenum gasket because I knew I would be taking it right back off.

The injectors WERE the problem. Installed the cleaned injectors and the truck fired right up. There wasn't any rod knock but when revving the engine in neutral, it would rattle just a little at one small RPM range. Sounded like something loose in the clutch. I drove it a few miles that night and on the way back to the house, the wife was driving and the knock reared its head quite suddenly.

Now I have a hole in the side of my block and the rod is definitely not connected to the crank anymore. At least the problem is definitive. I will be disassembling the engine this week, salvaging what is available, and visiting my machinist this coming weekend.

 

Everyone likes pictures of engine carnage so here it is.



Piston slap on the head:


My brother had purchased this engine from a junk yard and later, replaced something in the timing system without removing the head. Needless to say, he's not a mechanic:


And... the rod and piston:


Both nuts had come off the bolts on the rod cap. I am nut sure if they stripped due to the slamming of the rod around the crankshaft or if they came partly unthreaded first. The cam chain tensioner was loose when I opened the engine too. There were plenty of other loose bolts, but naming all of them is pointless. This engine needed overhauled regardless of the rod.

I took the head and valve chain cover to my machinist. He said that's all he wants from me; he has several cores that he can reman since I don't have a good block, crank, or possibly even rods. My cam, valves, head, and timing chain cover were all OEM Toyota so they are good core parts. I hope to pick pick up the reman engine parts in a week then I can get back to reassembly. I also have a power steering system headed my way.

 

This thread stalled for a while as summer was upon me. Work has been busy as we have fewer employees so I've been working more, staying away from home 2-3 nights/week, took a promotion, been homesteading, and have other extracurricular activities that take a much higher priority than this truck. But.. I have moved forward.

I took my head and several other parts to my machinist then picked it back up three weeks later. He had quite a few cores he picked up cheap so I just purchased the block, crank, rods, etc. from him. It took me another couple months to assemble my engine when I could find time to pull away from work. It was handy to have a hangar to work in so things didn't get quite as much dust on them.






I brought my engine home, borrowed a hoist, and set the engine in the truck. Then there it sat, mated to my transmission with three bolts installed for another two-ish months. Work drug on, the days were hot, and I didn't finish it for a while. Then yesterday... I installed a heli-coil in one of the starter bolt holes, secured the rest of the transmission->engine bolts, ran my wires, installed hoses, added oil and coolant, then cranked the engine until I got oil pressure (took forever.) Then... it started! I set the idle, checked oil and coolant, and checked for leaks. Turned out I had a coolant leak where a small line bolts to the back of the timing chain cover. The gasket was fine so I figure the flange on the coolant line was bent. I got out the trusty high temp silicone and put a small layer on there. After letting it set overnight, I started the truck again today. No more leak!

Also installed a muffler so it doesn't pump out 105db all the time:


Now I need to address the remaining things on this truck.

• The dash plastic is terrible.
• Shift boot needs secured.
• Needs seatbelts.
• Needs power steering installed.
• Needs new AC compressor.
• Needs front left fender and door repaired/replaced.
• Some wires are still bare from mice.
• Battery isn't the right size (too big).
• Steering wheel shaft coupler is rotten (rubber disc).
• Doors, fuel cap, and ignition need keyed alike.
• Right mirror is missing.
• Coolant gauge not working.
• Broken sensor pins on transmission.
• Broken wires on speed sensor.
• E-brake not operational.
• New muffler needs secured better.

It's a long list but now that it runs, those things don't seem as daunting. There's one more bigger issue though. The truck is gutless. If I hit the pedal quick, it stumbles. When I go up a small hill (in 1st) it almost doesn't make it up. I've driven this truck before as well as another with a 22R-E I rebuilt and this one is really lacking. I checked my MAF (or whatever it is called on this truck), as well as timing (shorted TE1 and E1), and checked the coolant temp sensor near the intake plenum. They are all working. My problem may be the O2 sensor, cam timing, or something else I missed. Anyway, I have a running engine and the truck rolls under its own power.

Any suggestions on troubleshooting the low power issue? I'm all ears.

More photos to come.

 

I wrote down my DTCs, reset the ECU and drove it again. The DTCs I cleared were all from my troubleshooting. After driving (and still having low power) no codes showed up. Re-checked ignition timing. It is about 7 degrees advanced instead of 5 degrees which is not bad enough to trouble me. During my drive I noticed if I am very light on the throttle, it feels like it has more power. If I put my foot in it, it just bogs down. In first, after the revs get up quite a bit, it feels a little better. So I checked my throttle position sensor. It has no problems. All pins are within spec.

There are two plugs which are not connected to anything near the intake. A two-pin plug has never been connected (even before rebuilt) so it still isn't. The other plug is a single pin spade. I don't know where it is supposed to go or if it was ever plugged into anything.

 

This is likely the ECU retarding the timing due to it detecting predetonation (ping). You might have an oil pressure issue with the timing chain which effects the cam timing, a hot spot in the combustion chamber.

You can verify this by hooking into the knock sensor, or rigging up a timing light and camera (zip ties are awesome) under the hood and watching the timing mark. The alternative is a few hundred dollars of logging oscilloscope and figureing out how that works.

..
Unknown connectors on the engine harness.

Set your multimeter to continuity mode, this is where it sounds a tone if you touch the probes together, clip one to the unknown connector now strobe (touch the backside of the ECU plug terminals) in order untill you get the tone. You can now look at the wording diagram of the ECU or body harness and know with certainty what it's supposed to connect to.

 

Timing being pulled is exactly what it feels like. I had a 2002 WRX for almost 200,000 miles and when I would get some detonation or have another issue (evap stuff), it would go into a failsafe mode and I'd get the same symptoms. Some acceleration at minimal pedal (closed loop fueling?) and then it would fall on its face if I added anything more. I have a four channel bench top oscilloscope but I'm not sure I'm going to haul it around in the truck. Haha. I may try the camera method.

I'd like to be able to trace the wires back to the ECU (and I can) but I don't know what the pinout is for my ECU. The pinouts in the manual don't match my ECU. Mine is 10pin - 18pin - 14pin. I have a 4x4 MT. The manual says I should have a lot more pins on my ECU. edit: 1991 and 1992 had a different ECU than the manual on this site shows.


Last night I checked my cam timing since I could.




Rookie mistake! And that's why I checked. So after moving it a tooth, resetting my ignition timing, and resetting the ECU, I went for a drive. Still only marginally better. No stumble off idle but still lacking power.

Found a broken wire at the oxygen sensor. I don't know which wire it is (heater or O2 sense) but I'll be repairing that this morning. Weird that it isn't giving me a DTC though.

 

If your not getting a code, either the reciever isnt working or youre still in the ecus acceptable margin.

Search around for a manual or electrical diagram manual. You can probably get one for your truck for under 100 on ebay. Seems like thats your roadblock at the moment.

great work on the truck so far!

 

Eek! $200+ for the factory service manuals, about $85 for the electrical manual. Rough.

Repaired O2 sensor wire. It was a heater wire.
Checked my coolant temp sender to the ECU. Resistance is correct for the temperature.
Checked my oxygen sensor per the '93 manual. The voltage never fluctuates. Steady 0.091 volts. Troubleshooting chart says replace the O2 sensor. I'll order one now.
Pulled out the oscilloscope. Probed the distributor and IGt pins at the ECU. I can see it continue to advance as I hit the throttle but I can see the same when revving with a timing light. I don't have an inverter hooked up so I can't take it driving and don't know what it is doing under load.

The stray connector in the photo doesn't go to the ECU. I found it at a white plug near the ECU but it disappears behind the dash somewhere. Still can't find where it goes.

 

Found a factory service manual set for $136 with tax. I hope it has a wiring diagram too otherwise I'll be buying another manual.

 

It will have a section of electrical diagrams. The whole electrical book must be more thorough. If the prices were cheaper, Id have one.
i bet you can search around online for a pdf as well, free.

 

I searched online for two hours. Can't find anything worth while. I'm getting close though. I can smell it!

 

This is a screenshot from a google image search for: 1992 toyota pickup wiring diagram. Hope it helps