I recently acquired an 85 SR5 4x4 xtracab with 22RE at 170K miles. I am the 4th owner of the truck and the previous owner told me that the only major service that he completed within the past 2 years of owning was changing the timing chain.

This is not my daily driver and is actually my 3rd car so it will not see much mileage going forward. So far have noticed one issue where the engine cuts off when idling especially on a hard turn like if I was making a left at a signal. But this doesnt happen all the time. Additionally, the Cruise Control doesnt actuate, the AC doesnt blow cold, the fuel gauge jumps, the exhaust has a leak, the shocks need to be replaced, and possibly leaf springs but not sure. Aside from those issues, it runs solid for my no more than average 5 miles per week with the occasional extra mileage. Also, the truck recently passed CA smog.

With that said, I am trying to determine what type of rebuild to perform. I have seen the different kits from engrbldr for $300 vs. others selling a whole rebuilt engine block for $1K. So what would be the best recommended service given the little information I have about its history and trying to stay within a reasonable budget of less than $500?

 

I just went whole hog. Do it when the budget allows. I do recommend to have ARP rod bolts put in, and the big end resized. Most rod tossing events are from high mileage rod bolt failure.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I visited ARP and found their rod bolt kits page for Toyota. They have one for 22R but not 22RE, is it the same thing? Also, what did you mean by the "big end resized"?

http://arp-bolts.com/kits/Make.php?_...&_EngModelID=*

 

They are the same, just the intake systems are different.

Here is a video on the process.

 

Why are you looking at rebuilding? 170k is a baby. R's are a 300k engine.

The cutting out is a fuel or electrical issue most likely.

 

I am new to Toyota trucks and just learning everything I can. I was concerned with the possible lack of maintenance from the newly acquired truck. So I was trying to be preventative as much as possible to avoid any surprises. But so far the truck is running good except for that one issue with the engine cutting that I need to investigate. I might just give it a simple tune up and deal with the rebuild later which I have some good knowledge now. Thanks for all the help.

 

Mine popped a rod out the side of the block at 338,338 miles due to a rod bolt failure while engine braking downhill. Its fine unless you have issues with it blowing smoke & burning oil excessively. If its losing compression it might be burned exhaust valves, which is not uncommon, but unlikely.

 

In response to your truck dying on an idle turn...

Does the truck have power steering? If so, check the vacuum line coming from the power steering pump to the power steering idle up valve.

There is a valve that is supposed to speed up the idle when the PS pump gets used at low speed, either the valve needs attention or the hose is leaking.

There is a good explanation of this on this site: read about halfway down the page "What the HECK does that spaghetti monster in my intake do?"

http://www.22reperformance.com/22RE_...ce_-_FAQs.html

 

just treat it like any other used engine; run a compression check, a leakdown test, and put a vacuum gauge on it.

harbor freight sells a cheap vacuum gauge, i just added some plastic hose from the hardware store to it, and now i can watch the engine vacuum from inside the cab, while i'm driving.

engine vacuum can tell you things about a motor that might be otherwise be difficult to troubleshoot.

 

Thanks TheeMikeB.

I do have power steering and AC (although AC doesnt blow cold). I inspected the hosing and general area and didnt find anything abnormal. I played around with the screw a little and not much difference. The challenging part is that this issue isnt always happening, just appears to happen randomly. I try to recreate it and have no luck. I will continue to investiage.

 

Thanks OSV.

Would you happen to have a how to guide or a link to conduct the tests?

 

the compression check is pretty straightforward, just google it... i think that you are supposed to prop the throttle body open while you do it, but i haven't seen that make a huge difference.

leakdown will require air pressure, so you may have to take it to a shop.

link for vacuum gauge info: http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/186.cfm

also important is to establish how much oil the engine is using per thousand miles.

 

I finally completed the compression test and getting the numbers listed below. I just realized at the time of this writing that I forgot to hold down the throttle so this is at idle. Also, I had the engine warmed up somewhat. I say that because after I drove the truck around, I discovered I didnt have the right socket size for the spark plugs so ran to the store quickly resulting in the car cooling down while I was shopping.

#1: 160
#2: 157
#3: 170
#4: 160

I believe these numbers are good but doesnt address my question of the car dying when hitting the clutch. I will start a separate thread for that topic.