Total noob question here. I've done a fair amount of upper engine work, but never been into the bottom end beyond an oil pan gasket, so I don't really know what I'm talking about. Please don't hurt yourself smacking your forehead, and go easy on me if I'm being stupid.

Given how easy it is to get into the low end of a 22RE in a Toyota truck, it has occured to me that it would be possible to do piston rings from underneath. Obviously, you wouldn't be honing the cylinders with the head still on, so it would be suboptimal. But a complete rebuild is expensive. If the choice is between "do just the rings" and "don't do anything" wouldn't it be worthwhile?

All of this is idle speculation, but a friend of mine recently picked up a Dolphin camper with a 22RE that burns a pint of oil every tank of gas. So suddenly I'm wondering how well this would work.... What do y'all think?

 

I'm pretty sure you have to pull the pistons out the top of the block to get to the rings. I haven't done it on a 22re yet, but every honda motor I worked on was that way. The pistons wont come out the bottom.

 

You would invent a whole new language cursing the day you tried this.

First off there is this little thing called a ring compressor that allows the rings to be compressed till the pistons are tapped into the block from the top.

Then you would have to remove the crank which means the transmission needs to come out

then pull off all the timing goodies.

No it really can`t be done!!!****

You can if need be change the bearings it is a pain but can be done

 

Ahhh, thanks for the detailed explanation, Wyo, that makes a lot more sense now. Oh, well, at least I had the good sense to ask before I tried it....

 

It does not hurt to think things sometimes one gets lucky.

At least your thinking and that is what counts.

 

It absolutely can be done in the truck, but they have to come out the top. Head has to come off. But it's been done, a buddy and I put a complete engnbldr kit (new pistons, main and rod bearings, timing set and all gaskets) in his '87 4runner without ever pulling the block. I still see that truck running around (that was about 4 years ago).


You probably could pull the transmission back a bit, and drop the crank out of the block and get the pistons out the bottom, but I doubt you could get a ring compressor in there to get the new ones in properly.

 

I had thought I will one day need to do the rings on my truck and, having recently done a head gasket, I was hoping to avoid redoing all that work.

Since that's not possible, I guess my favorite idea, when the rings get bad, is to buy a 22RE out of a wrecked truck, rebuild it at my leisure, and then swap the refreshed engine in when it's done and sell the old one. That way, it won't matter if it takes me 2 months, my truck is still on the road while I putter away.

My friend who is facing this situation right now is not a mechanic, and will probably just have to pay for an engine rebuild or replacement. Tough....

 

There is an "old school" way to test the rings; do a compression test, then squirt 15ml or so of oil in the cylinder and repeat. Supposedly, much better compression with oil in the cylinder points to the rings.

Just because a) "burns" a pint per tank and b) recently did the head gasket, doesn't necessarily mean rings. There are lots of places oil can go, including valve seals, and right past a new (but improperly installed) head gasket.

 

Thanks, I'll pass the compression test idea along to him.

Just to make sure I'm understanding, oil sneaking past the valve seals would burn up and exits via the tail pipe, right?

 

Yes.

The "usual" indication of leaky valve seals is blue smoke on startup, that goes away in a few seconds. There is very little oil pressure under the valve cover, so it isn't forcing oil in during running. Instead, the oil pools on top of the valves and drips into the cylinder overnight. When you start up, that dripped oil burns up and is gone.

But what do I know?

 

The 22re can be pulled in about 4 hours. I would rather pull a motor and work with it on a stand and do it right than try and fight it by doing it in the truck.

I have been known to pull the motor to do a timing chain/head gasket...but that's just me.

If I was you, I would pull the motor, do everything right and put it back in...

 

make sure you put the rings in proper order and clock them to the correct place when installing the piston into the block. see fsm for info

 

Yes, this is very do-able. very easy to do. I have done it many times. In fact I have done it out on the trail. You just cant replace crank shaft/bearings. Be very easy on the rods&bearings when you push them up. Use a wooden dowel to do the pushin and stay off the rod bearing race. slowly tap the pistons out. also be sure to cover crankshaft from inside the piston jugs, when honing. then clean out the cylinders with spray brake cleaner.from the top and the bottom. be sure to keep the crap out of and off of the crank as much as you can. The cleaner you keep things the better off you will be. Dont forget to use some lube on re-assembly. Also be extra careful not to nick rod bearing journals with the rod end cap bolts when tapping pistons back in place. This is NOT hard or time consuming. It can be done in a day easy. I have done it in an long afternoon with lots of beer. good luck