I have to say thanks to everyone who contributes to these forums. They contain a wealth of information and I’ve learned a lot about the 22RE over the last couple of years from posts here. When I found this sub-forum, I thought I would document the engine rebuild I just completed and everything else I do to my ‘89 4WD truck. But first, a little background.

I began thinking about a project vehicle right after I finished building my dream garage and shop for my upcoming retirement. I decided against a muscle car from my youth because a rear wheel drive vehicle can’t reliably make it up the road to our house when it is snow packed five months of the year. Then I remembered these:





So that I could afford gas, rent, and tuition in the late 70s, I swapped my 67 Camaro for a 72 Celica and that was my introduction to the Toyota 4-cylinder engine. These pictures are examples of the 72, 75, and 80 Celicas I once owned. I did a lot of wrenching on those 18R and 20R engines and those memories helped narrow my search to a 4WD Toyota truck. When I learned more about the 22RE I was hooked.

The pictures below are from the eBay auction I won a couple of years ago and became the proud owner of this 1989 4WD that lived most of its life in AZ, southern CA, and Las Vegas.








After several options to transport the truck home fell through (a long story), I got a one-way rental car, loaded it with tools, fluids, and anything else I thought I might need, drove to Las Vegas and set out on the 700 mile return trip to Wyoming driving the Toyota. What could go wrong?

Luckily, little went wrong. It was a rough ride home because all four shocks were bad (I should have changed the shocks in an auto parts store lot), the truck had difficulty with the many uphill grades along the way, and it was difficult to start when hot. But the neglected 22RE with 212K miles made it back to Wyoming!

My goal is to restore and keep everything as stock as possible. When I replace the current 31x10.5 R15LT tires I’ll go back to the stock P225/75R15s. In future posts I will slowly begin documenting all of the issues I fixed then show the engine rebuild.

 

After I won the bid for the truck I immediately found a set of factory service manuals on eBay. They arrived before I picked up the truck:



After I got the truck home I did all of the following within the first few weeks:

• Oil and filter change.
• Replaced all four shocks (OESpectrum 37030 front and 37032 rear).
• Fixed the cable from the heater temperature control to the air mix damper so the truck now has heat.
• Replaced blower motor resistor (WVE #3A1207) so all four blower speeds now work.
• Replaced windshield washer pump (ACI #172872).
• Cleaned the corrosion on the dome light switch so it now works in both On and Door positions.
• Replaced leaking O-ring in suction port union at the top of the power steering pump. Installed new 5/8” return hose from pump to reservoir. Flushed fluid and replaced with Dexron III ATP.
• Replaced stabilizer bar links.
• Replaced fuel filter with MicroGard #33497 that came with the truck.
• Installed block heater (Kats #11401).
• Replaced spark plugs (NGK BPR5EGP), wires (Denso 671-4138), distributor cap, and rotor.
• Replaced power steering idler pulley bearing, power steering 3/8” cooler hoses.
• Replaced power steering pump with a rebuilt unit. Installed inline filter on suction line between reservoir and pump.
• Replaced PCV valve, grommet, and hose.
• Replaced headlights and grille clips (Toyota #90467-12040).

The temperature gauge did not climb much so I got a new sender and tested both the new and old sender following the FSM procedure and got these results:

So the problem wasn't the old sender. After running the engine for a half hour to try to get up to temperature the new sender only measured 195 ohms so that suggested a problem with the thermostat. I ordered a new 195 degree thermostat and when I replaced the old one I found it was 160 degree and stuck open.

Next, I did a compression test and the results for 1 to 4 were Dry: 143, 139, 145, 141 and Wet: 165, 159, 165, 161. Not too bad and I guess expected for an engine with over 200K miles. I adjusted valve clearance. When I attempted to check timing, jumping Te1 and E1 in the check connector there was no change on engine idle. Tested TPS and there was infinite ohms between IDL and E2 with a 0.57mm feeler gauge between throttle stop screw and lever. Adjusted throttle stop screw per FSM (just touching lever then ¼ turn). Adjusted TPS by rotating while measuring resistance between IDL to E2 with a 0.85mm feeler gauge between throttle stop screw and lever. All remaining resistances were then within spec.

The engine was now running pretty good. The last problem I needed to solve was difficulty starting when the engine was hot. It took a lot of cranking. I went through all the lists of things to test that I found in these forums and everything checked out. Finally, I bought a fuel pressure gauge and installed it on the cold start injector line then tested fuel pressure following the FSM which showed no pressure immediately after shutting off the engine. Replacing the fuel pressure regulator (part# 23280-35030) solved the problem.

 

I have done little to the exterior of the truck since it is in such good shape. The first thing I did was remove the nerf bars:



I know they are not original and I really don't understand the purpose. I like to roll under my trucks on a creeper without having to jack them up. This nerf bar is just in the way and it doesn't help getting into the truck. I get into the driver's side with my right foot first. If I stand with my left foot on the nerf bar it's now a long way down to the seat. I also removed the ones that came on my Ram pickup, which actually helped getting into the cab but they were too low to the ground to slide under and were a hazard for off road driving. Why lower the clearance of a high-clearance vehicle with nerf bars? I don't get it. They are now gone. I added a tonneau cover and here is the truck today:

 

The aftermarket stereo someone installed did not work. And since my goal is to keep the truck as close to stock and original as possible I began looking for an original radio. I found one on eBay and while that was on its way I found another already removed and sitting on the seat in the junkyard. Not knowing if it worked I grabbed it thinking I could make at least one work from the two. I also grabbed this part of the harness so I could test the radios on my bench:



Both radios worked but the back light on the LCD screen on both did not work:



So I opened the radio with the best looking face and disassembled until I found the back light. It was a clear bulb with a green vinyl cap at the back of the funnel shaped plastic behind the LCD screen you can see in the picture below. With power to the radio's lights on I tested 7.3V at the bulb. I replaced the bulb with a green LED and a 270 ohm resistor.



Next, the A/C switch was not illuminated with the lights on. I found 12V on the switch's pins for the bulb so I disassembled the switch and replaced the original clear bulb with a blue (for cold) LED and a 510 ohm resistor. This was tricky work because there was very little room for the resistor. You can see the LED and resistor in the red circle in one of the below pictures. I added the black vinyl tape to help more of the LED's light shine on the switch face.





The heater controls were also not illuminated with the lights on. So I replaced the heater control #74 bulb with NAPA part# LMP 74-N. I also purchased LMP 194-N bulbs for dash spares but I know others have gone with brighter LED bulbs so that's something I may tackle in the future. Now the radio, heater controls, and A/C switch are all properly illuminated:

 

Good stuff, really getting all the fine details worked out on this truck.

 

I love your level of detail. I hope you continue to post. I'm really wanting a 1st Gen Celica.

 

Thanks. It really has been fun fixing many of these issues. Much more to come.

 

Thanks. I appreciate the encouragement. I have much more coming including the entire engine rebuild. I really enjoyed all three of the Celicas so I hope you find one. They were fun to work on and fun to drive.

 

With all of the engine problems I solved, the truck has been running great for about a year. It can’t maintain 65 mph on some highway inclines but that I attribute to the tired engine and the heavier tires. On one errand when I was about 10 minutes from home the engine sputtered and I figured one cylinder was misfiring. When I got home, I first verified there was spark at each cylinder. Next, I used my auto stethoscope to listen to each injector and found no clicking on cylinder four’s injector.

Since this is the first fuel-injected vehicle I’ve done any wrenching on, I searched these forums for more info. I learned the problem was either the injector itself or no electrical current firing the injector. I quickly created this injector test light by soldering lengths of solid 18 AWG wire to a section of 12V LED strip:




I connected the test light to cylinder four’s injector connector, started the engine and saw the LEDs flickering so I knew the wiring was OK and I had a bad injector. Since I had never actually worked with injectors before I thought it made sense to replace all four while I was doing the job. But OEM injectors were very expensive so I found these Bosch replacements for $65 each:


When I pulled the injectors, I first tested the resistance of each. The first three tested within the 13.4 to 14.2 ohm spec. Here’s injector four testing out of spec:




Next, I used a 9V battery to test the solenoid of each injector. Again, I could hear the solenoid activate on the first three injectors but nothing with injector four. It was bad.

After I installed the Bosch injectors the truck ran fine again … for several months. On another drive, this time far from home, the engine began to misfire. I stopped, opened the hood, listened, and could tell one cylinder was not firing. Thinking maybe one of the injector connectors wasn’t seated properly, I pushed on each and when I got to cylinder four, the misfiring stopped as soon as I touched its wire harness. I pushed on the connector and jiggled the wire and the engine ran fine. This same problem would reoccur many times over the next few months. I figured it was either the connector or the notorious corrosion problem in the harness at the injector wire splices I read about here. With the engine rebuild coming soon, I lived with the problem knowing I would pull the entire engine harness with the engine and I would check the splices and replace the connectors to solve this problem.

 

not a big fan of bosch parts for the toyotas. but, if they work, keep running them. surprised there weren't any replacement denso/nippondenso injectors out there for less than $65 apiece.

don't use a bosch 02 sensor, it won't last very long, and it might not work very well. denso is your friend for those.

nice truck in solid condition. should give years of reliable service.


my "older" '87 4runner cannot maintain 65 on hills, especially now with 33s (but it couldn't with 30s, either). if i want 65, i downshift early into 4th, and sometimes down to 3rd. my "newer" '87 can hold 65 on hills; i rebuilt the engine less than 20k miles ago. if i run 32s, sometimes it won't, but 30s or 31s, it will pull 65 in 5th.


edit: i don't love the running boards on my "newer" '87, but they do allow me to remove the moonroof easily when i stand on them.

 

Thanks for the tip on Bosch parts. I'll admit that I didn't do an awful lot of research when the injector failed. I just found the first affordable set that I thought would do the job. The Bosch injectors worked and did not give me any trouble. Since then I have read a lot more about 22RE injectors in these forums and the consensus is to stick with OEM. That's what I did for my engine rebuild. I kept the original injectors, bought a single used one on eBay that tested ok, then sent all four and the cold start injector to Gordan at WitchHunter for service and flow testing. That's what I am running now in my rebuilt engine. The Bosch injectors are now just spares.

 

I think your dash needs a clock

Truck looks super clean already and getting it dialed in is the funnest part!!!

 

I miss not having a tachometer in this truck. I don’t want to install an aftermarket tach since I prefer to keep everything stock. What I really want is a diagnostic tach for use under the hood when setting the idle speed and for camshaft break-in for the rebuilt engine. For decades I used an old Craftsman engine analyzer but that died some time ago. I have one of those laser tachs that you aim at a reflective strip but that’s a challenge in this tight engine bay. I also have an automotive multimeter with an rpm function hat uses an inductive pickup clamp on a plug wire but that requires doing on-the-fly math for a 4-cylinder and I don’t like the constantly fluctuating digital readout. I just wanted a simple analog tach that I can use under the hood.

Before I bought an analog tach I wanted to make sure the IG- connector next to the diagnostic port worked. I read the following by Scope103 in Aftermarket tach install 93 pickup:

“A (12v incandescent) test light won't help much, but a plain-ole LED with a 1K ohm resistor in series is fast enough to flash on the IG- signal (at 850rpm idle speed, IG- pulls to ground about 29/second - a fast flash, but you should be able to see it.)”

I did the math to verify the above statement for a 4-cylinder 4-stroke engine:
Each cylinder fires every 2nd crankshaft revolution or every camshaft revolution
Each crankshaft revolution 2 cylinders fire
Every 2 crankshaft revolutions each cylinder fires once
Each minute at 850 crankshaft RPMs:

• Crankshaft rotates 850 times
• Each cylinder fires 425 times
• 4 cylinders * 425 = 1700 firings/minute = 28.333 firings/second

With the math checking out I attached the negative lead of my injector tester (see above) to the IG- connector and the positive lead to the battery positive and with the engine idling I could see the LEDs flashing. So I bought a simple analog tach, set it to 4-cylinder, and mounted it an electronics project box I had:



Now I have a nice under-the-hood diagnostic tach for the IG- connector:

 

I agree the truck needs a clock! I have seen 89-95 clocks on eBay. The clock connector is already there and the plastic filler pops out. I was initially reluctant because the clock would draw down the battery since the truck is not a daily driver and I may go a week or more between drives. I can't imagine the clock drawing more than a couple hundred milliamps but it was a concern. But not any more. The truck lives in a south-facing pole barn and I use a cheap solar battery tender to keep the battery charged:


So a clock won't be a problem and its on my list. That's a powerpole connector between truck and solar panel and it is hanging right next to the plug for the block heater.

 

I couldn’t imagine the clock takes much to keep the time, but it was my first and favorite cheap upgrade when I got my truck, I did have the pick of the litter though from a local yota yard, I have OCD so some of the clocks look like hell, I have seen some good ones pop up on eBay that aren’t scratched and tattered…

The only thing that bugs me is to get the center dash apart you have to take both sides out but at this point I’ve gotten pretty good at it

keep the thread going, I love detailed threads….they keep me occupied!!!

 

Before I even bought this truck, I knew I wanted to do an engine rebuild. It has been decades since I rebuilt an engine and now I have a shop, better tools, more time, and hopefully better skills to do the job. I really wanted to be able to take my time and do the job right. I thought building an engine would be a great winter project. But I did not want to lose the use of the truck during that time so I decided to find another 22RE to rebuild. When the rebuild was done, I’d swap it with the existing engine and that would leave an engine for parts.

I found a couple of 22REs on craigslist but one was asking too much and the other was too far away. But I persisted and eventually found one in Montana that I was told was from an 85 and had been previously rebuilt. It was a short block and a box of parts from two 22REs. We settled on a price and the seller agreed to meet me half way while he was traveling for business. Here’s the short block being transferred to my trailer then home on the stand:





The box of parts included oil pan and pickup tube, valve cover, intake and exhaust manifolds, starter, alternator, clutch fan, EGR valve, air suction pipes, one heater pipe, belts, hoses, etc. It wasn’t a complete engine but it would do. Missing were the EGR cooler plate, main seal retainer, injectors, fuel rail, heater pipe, and lots of bolts.

When I got the engine home I began with a little testing to maybe get an idea what shape this engine was in and why it was pulled. I checked valve clearance and while the intake valve clearance wasn’t too bad (.008”, .006”, .008”, .010”), all four exhaust valves had zero clearance. Next, I added a little oil to each cylinder, spun the crankshaft a few times, and did a leakdown test. Using 30psi the leakage gauge showed 30, 21, 2, and 4psi. I adjusted valve clearance and repeated the leakdown test and this time the leakage gauge showed 30, 26, 22, and 19psi. So it appeared cylinders three and four had some issues. Below are some pictures of the tear down. Looks to me like the head gasket was blown between cylinders three and four.








I also measured cylinder bore diameters of 3.641” to 3.642”, which is .020” oversize confirming the previous rebuild. I hate leaks, so the groove left by the rear main seal on the crankshaft (shown below) will need to be addressed. I spent some time with some 600 grit and WD40 polishing that part of the crankshaft but I'll see what the machine shop can do.

 

I may have been out of the loop for too long. There was a time back in the 80s and 90s when even in small town Wyoming there was an automotive machine shop. Not any more. When I went looking for one they no longer existed near me. The guys at the local Napa store identified the only shop in the region and it was two and a half hours away.

When I called the machine shop, the owner said they were swamped but as long as I wasn’t in a rush, he was the guy for the job. A week later, I dropped off the block, head, pistons and rods, and crankshaft and I included a page with my contact information and the following instructions:

• Clean and inspect block.
• Rebuild head. I’ve included the camshaft just so you can see it but I plan to replace it.
• Inspect and clean pistons and rods. Can/should they be reused?
• Finish surfaces: head, block, cylinders.
• Crankshaft: polish rear seal surface?
• Prime block. I will paint the block later but can you prime it?
• If you replace core plugs, omit the right front plug where I will install a block heater.

Along with the above instructions, I also listed the source of the engine, may plans to rebuild as stock as possible, and (my mistake) that the rebuild was my winter project. I met the owner, had a nice chat, and he estimated he’d get the job done in about two months. He does most of the work himself with one employee, which explains his backlog. He has the work for additional staff but he just can’t find anyone interested in learning the trade. He doubts he will find a successor for his business so when he is ready to retire he’ll likely just close shop and another machine shop will be gone.

 

Since I would be waiting at least two months for the machine shop to get to my block and head I turned my attention to all the parts I already had. I began by rebuilding the starter and alternator. I know rebuilt starters and alternators aren’t that expensive but I bench tested both and they worked. And I had the time and I like to restore and reuse whenever I can. I did not take pictures of the process. But I will probably do it again and document the process in a future post using the starter and alternator from the engine in the truck. It’s an old habit I guess but I like having a spare starter and alternator on the shelf.

I replaced the starter’s bearings, cleaned everything, and cleaned up the solenoid’s contacts. I also replaced the alternator’s bearings, brush holder and brushes, and the voltage regulator. I cleaned everything and painted the pulley then bench tested to assure it was charging properly. Here are a couple of pictures of the finished alternator:




Next, I cleaned the distributor and replaced the O-rings. Its bearing was in good shape. Instead of disconnecting the distributor’s connector, someone just snipped the wires when pulling the engine. I had a hard time finding a source for that connector. Finally, after paging through lots of google images from a ‘Toyota OEM connector’ search, I found this 2 pin 6.3mm auto waterproof wire electrical round housing plug connector 6180-2541 6189-0274:



I ordered a set of five male and female connectors for $7 plus $3 shipping. Here’s the finished distributor:

 

Awesome find on that distributor connector, and your alternator looks great.

 

I spent a lot of time at the parts washer and the wire wheel on the bench grinder cleaning parts. In my parts washer I use Simple Green Pro HD, which is safe on aluminum. I wanted the rebuilt engine to be as complete as possible when I pulled the existing engine so I didn’t have to remove and clean more parts at that time. So some of the missing parts I found used on eBay. Here are some of the cleaned parts:




Cleaning the parts can also save time and frustration later. Prior to cleaning, this heater pipe looked just fine. But after a little time on the wire wheel, a dark spot appeared and when I poked it with a pick, the pick went right through. This is the heater pipe that connects under the intake manifold, wraps around the back of the head bolted to the EGR cooler plate. I can’t imagine replacing that pipe with the engine installed.




I cleaned the throttle body and installed new shaft seals and idle speed screw from LC Engineering’s rebuild kit. I also added allen screws to the throttle position sensor to make adjusting on the engine easier and I adjusted it on the bench. Here are before and after pictures: