Yeah, I'm thinking of pulling my engine and bringing it in to get rebuilt. Has 200K on it and recently blew the headgasket. Thought if I was going to go to all the trouble to replace the gasket I may as well just get the whole thing back in good shape rather than band-aiding it. There's a local shop in Glenwood (Valley Engine) but I haven't heard anything about themEDIT: Shop CLOSED. I am going to go in and talk to them and see what their Yota experience is like and how much it'll cost roughly. I'm trying to stay away from the front range shops, it's pretty far and I don't have a great way to transfer the engine. Anyone know a place in Grand Junction? That's as far as I'd like to go but anywhere within 2hours could work. I'd consider the front range for a good deal or someone with killer experience doing a rebuild.

What are good questions to ask a machine shop, other than "have you rebuilt this model engine"? I heard a CBN cutter is the best for decking/milling block and head. Is having a magnafluxer a given? Anything else separating the pros from the schmoes?

 

Doesn't sound like I'm going to find anyone even semi-local so if anybody's got a Denver-area recc I'll take that too.

 

I could not even find a Denver Area shop that I felt good about. I finally had to order a new engine from out of California...22repreformance. They build good stuff, but expect to wait a couple of months on it. No because there slow, but they build quality and one off stuff. It's worth the wait, trust me.

 

So I ended up finding a local builder. Reading 4Runner craigslists ads and a guy said he got his rebuilt so I emailed and got the info. Gerlach Performance and Machine, Eagle, CO. PM me for contact info.

The engine is due to start up tonight so I can't tell you if it was perfect yet. I can say he is very honest, provided me a quote before I even delivered the engine including best and worst case scenarios (ie, if needed new crankshaft). He came in exactly to quote which is always nice. He has built many 22R/3VZ engines before. Provided a warranty too. I'll repost once I've got some miles on this thing and have done compression and all that.

 

Just wanted to update with the good experience I had With Gerlach Performance and Machine. The night we first started the engine the oil pressure gauge in the dash was acting funky. I called Gerlach that night and told him what was happening. The next day he came to the house with a mechanical gauge and everything was fine (dash gauge was shot, I had even installed a new sender and it didn't work). He hung around and helped me do the cam break in and adjust the idle.

I've put about 200 miles on the engine so far with zero problems. I know that's not much, I just don't drive too often. PM me for his info if you're looking for a good builder on the west slope.