I was prepping the block for my new head and i noticed the dowels were missing, So i thought thy were stuck in the head but nope.

Were they never installed when it was rebuilt many years ago or does it not need them?

I want to do it right. Im in to deep the cheap out now.

 

The dowels should be in the block or at least they have always stayed in the block for me.

 

Nope not there not on the ground .. No where to be found.
I just double checked the block they are not in there.

Its possible they were stuck in the head when I took it to the care wash and pressure blasted the head they came out and I lost them.


Note:I was looking up replacement ones and saw this. "Tech Note: If head has been machined or block has been decked, you will need to verify proper Dowel Pin clearance to ensure Pin height is correct to allow head to fully seat on block." It was a rebuilt head i had and i bet they just did not replace them.

 

I think most any time machine work is done they never get replaced or it is up to the end user .

 

I have had heads decked and never thought of the dowels not being machined down. Doh!! Glad you mentioned that and is something I am going to look into the next time I do a head. I hope the head has enough space for the dowel to have plenty of room even after machine work.

 

A few sec on a grinder should fix that..

But should I buy some for my rebuild? or are they not needed.

 

Not sure how hard they would be to find. They would to center the head on the block on rebuild but if you cant find them you should be okay without them. I would try and install them if you find a set, if unable to find a set, I would still build the motor without them.

 

They are important. likely the lack of dowels contributed or caused the head gasket leak. Without them, the head is free to move about in whatever direction. Has least resistance during warm-up and cool-down. They keep things seated. I'm sure that you can find some somewhere. It's often that you can get a top end kit with dowels included, so I would think you could find them somewhere. I would not put an engine together missing any locator part.

 

I just got off the phone with the dealer they can have a set here tomorrow.
I got the part number for ya guys.
1986 Toyota SR5 EFI whit automatic trans , ac, power steering, extended cab manufactured Aug/85 22re Dowel pins Part # 90250-08120 $1.32 each.

 

Now that is some cheap peice of mind.