Well I have rolled over to 108,000 miles. Since my last post I have had the dealer do the steering rack recall, and an alignment. I replaced the upper and lower ball joints. I scored a factory Toyota radio at a garage sale for 4 bucks. It was out of a 1999 something but it plugged right in and works great. Now I finally have a volume knobUp next is to replace the leaky valve cover gasket. Then it is finally going to get a color change.

 

Well I blew the head gasket today. I am going to tackle this job by myself. I am pretty handy but have never done anything like this before. I think I can do it with the help of yotatech and a FSM.

A few questions. Will the FSM that is stickied on this site work for me? Also can anyone recommend a gasket set I don't want to buy a cheap set. Should I replace the timing chain guides while I'm in there? Is there anything else I should replace that I haven't mentioned? If anyone is still following this thread I could use the advice.

Thanks

 

Doing a head gasket on a 22re is nothing to be worried about. I would have the head serviced. Depending on what all could be wrong with the head, it may be cheaper to replace the head. Machine work can add up.

Several say to use the Toyota head gasket. I get my kit from Joplin Machine shop and never had a problem with it. It is a complete gasket kit. Since you are going to have the head off, I would replace the Timing Kit as well. It will come with rails, chain, sprocket and tentioner. First time I did one I just used a Haynes Manual. Break the Crankshaft bolt loose first. It is tight. I use the starter method.

I dont always change the water pump, but would suggest changing the oil pump.

For some reason, not many post in the build section anymore when reading a thread. They get lots of looks but not many answers. Not sure why but from my own view, I post on threads that respond to mine. Might try getting involved in others threads. I also have a few I can make a call or PM to if I get in a pinch. Several look at your thread but may not always no the answer as well.

Not sure how well you are set up for tools and shop. You may want to leave the motor in the truck, but from my experience, anymore when doing a head gasket, I just pull the motor. Your back will thank you for it. It can be done in the truck and have done a few that way but on my own I pull the motor and usually am not in any hurry to get it done as I have a couple of other trucks to drive if I need to.

 

I was hoping you would chime in Terry. I have been reading your builds and you know your stuff. I will be leaving the engine in the truck. I have everything I need to pull it out, but I don't want to dig that deep right now. If the head needs surfacing I have those capabilities as well. As I assume that would be the only thing it would need if it is warped. I will do the timing kit while I am in there.

I am only about an hour from Joplin. Is that kit something I could order from them or do I need to go pick it up? also is there a kit on eBay that I could buy that would work just as well?

I am going to replace the radiator at the same time but I still have to research that. It seems that no one has a good answer on which one to buy.

What is this starter method to loosen the crank bolt? I will search for the answer in the meantime.

Once again thanks for the replies. I have been trying to add to other people's threads but I am just not that knowledgeable with the toyotas.....yet.

 

Thanks, I still get hung up on these trucks still. I think you have to pick it up. It is 4 States Machine shop. Give them a call and he might could have it sent to you. If I recall it is $48 or $68 for the kit. It is the one I use on every motor I have done except for my 85 as I had to order other things and it was cheaper to get everything from Engbuilder.

I seen a thread about the new plastic radiators. I see pros and cons on those. I have all of mine cleaned and repaired at my local radiator shop. 66 truck and salvage has a camper in its yard and campers are the ones I like to get parts off of. It was a low mileage camper. I have another radiator but if I needed one, that is the one I would get. It is inside the camper. I priced it and they want $50 for it. Normal price in our area.

Here is how I do the crankshaft bolt....
I just took off the dreaded Crankshaft bolt. It was the easiest thing I have ever done. I borrowed a friends pry bar and it is a set up I am going to get. It is a 3/4 in pry bar with a 3/4 in. to 1/2 adapter to 1/2 in. 19mm impact socket


At first I bumped the starter to set it agaist the frame and heard it tap as it hit the frame. Then I hit the starter for about 2 seconds and heard the starter spinning. I thought that something was wrong. Looked at it and could tell the bolt was coming out. I have used 5 foot of cheater bars and seen impact wrenches struggle to get one of these bolts out. One time even had to take to a diesel mechanic as he had a high power impact wrench. I have a dental appointment, maybe I can get back in time to start tearing this down today but will have tomorrow to get it done



One other thing I wanted to mention if you go this route is the day before I charged the battery to maximum capacity and pulled the spark plugs to help reduce resistance.

 

Thanks for the tip Terry. I will see if I can break it loose with a impact then improvise from there.


I just went ahead and ordered the gasket set from engbuilder. Also got a timing kit, water pump, oil pump, and timing cover. I will surface the head myself if it needs it. Most people are saying it most likely will. If all goes well I will have a smooth running truck again.

 

Terry is right...the head gasket is not that bad of a job. I did it myself and I had never done any major engine work before. Just do your research and take your time and it's not bad at all. Even complete walk through online.

Check out this video:


Good luck and nice truck. I have a 3rd gen ext cab too with 98k on it. Great trucks.

 

I work in Joplin, if you get in a bind an you are an hour from Joplin, I could help you if need be. Cleaning everything up is the time killer. Sensors, vaccum lines, hoses most likely will have alot of carbon everywhere. 92 trucks have more vaccum lines then what I am used to dealing with as I primarily work on the older one. Really pay attention to your lines and how they are routed.

 

I am starting to tear it down right now. There are a lot of vaccum hoses but I am just taking my time and marking each one with different color zip ties. I should get a lot done today then I will be waiting on parts. Do I have to drain the engine oil right away?

 

You dont need to drain it right away but you are going to get antifreeze into the oil pan. Just pockets of water in areas that I some how manage to get in the engine. It wont hurt anything for short term.

 

Help! I'm stuck I am trying to take off the lower intake manifold but their are wires running thru the middle of it so it is trapped. Is this normal it looks like the wire I need goes to the O2 sensor but I didn't think I had to pull that all the out thru the engine compartment

 

You need to disconnect the wires from your tranny, tcase, injectors, oil sensor, knock sensor, starter, and maybe something else I forget. The harness runs THRU the center of the lower intake. Some make the mistake of running it over the intake and that makes it to short to reach back to the transmission area. What you are seeing is normal.

I have never done it but have seen some cut that little section out on the lower intake just to make it a little easier to install or remove when doing maintainace.

Near the thermsostat housing is a allen bolt. It is kind of hidden. It is going to strip on you if you use an allen wrench. Get a good firm grip with some vise grips but not so hard as to mess up the head of the bolt. I use the allen wrench and vise grips at the same time to break it loose. Allen wrench alone is going to strip it out.

 

Terry, thanks for the heads up on the allen head bolt. I already had it off before you posted that. It came off pretty easy. So far the only bolts that have given me problems are the 3 bolts on the bottom end of the exhaust manifold and the timing gear bolt.


I went ahead and took the head to a machine shop to get done. I am going to spend my time cleaning everything up. I should have it back in a few days. I dropped the radiator off this morning to get reworked and I should get it back this afternoon. All in all it has been going pretty easy. I will just have to see if I run into any problems with everything going back together.

 

Well so far so good. I have one broken bolt that I need to extract, and a little more cleaning. Other than that I am waiting on my head to be done. The crankshaft bolt was a little stubborn. I just double wrapped the pulley with a ratchet strap tied to the frame. I used a 1/2" ratchet and a cheater pipe and it broke free. It took about 5 minutes. I am a little worried about my new timing cover, oil pump, and water pump because it went together so easy. It just seems to simple, so I probably messed up somewhere.


On another note. Does anyone have any seatbelt buckles out of a parts truck. I need the 2 front buckles that bolt into the floor. Mine were missing when I bought it.

 

Well I found another Toyota. I was going to buy it but offered it to my brother in law who jumped at the opportunity. We scored this truck for $700 I think this was a steal. It runs and drives but needs a new transmission, which we already have. This truck is virtually rust free. The only rust is on the bed which is very common. If he doesn't do a build thread I will update the status of this truck on my thread. I am kinda regretting letting it go to him, but I am happy he got the truck that he has been looking for, and I already have one. It will be fun too have another yota nut in the family.

In other news I got my head back from the shop and will finish my truck this weekend if all goes well.

 

That is a great looking truck and seems to be in great shape. Nice find on that one.

 

What size tap do I need for the exhaust manifold studs?

 

I took one of my locking hubs off following some instructions on here. I think there is supposed to be a snap ring behind or in front of the gold bolt. I do not have that. Also the splined shaft is loose after everything is off. Is this normal or is a bearing bad or something.


And I still need to know what size tap I need for the exhaust manifold studs. I stripped one out and I need to either go up in size or retap and see if it holds. Or I could maybe use a helicoil but what size.

 

I finished the rebuild but now my temp gauge isn't working. I didn't replace the thermostat yet. It was working fine before. Could the sensor go bad from the head gasket blowing?

Also the 87 truck that my brother in law has is back on the road. We put in the new tranny and it is now painted white

 

I am not sure on the tap size. I know from the past just for one helicoil they want to sell you the whole kit. I need to fix one of my exhaust studs as well. When I see a friend that knows I will ask him.

Is the sending unit bad on the motor, hooked up correctly? Reseat the connector on the cluster guage and see if that causes any changes.

It has been a while since I have done the hub. Not sure on that. I believe it is a c clip though.