22R Rebuild Info/Advice

chris

cltdba
Moderator
Joined
Sep 28, 2009
Location
Concord, NC
Knew to the Toyota world. Just bought my first yota rig and I'm wanting tear it completely down and rebuild it. First thing I plan to start with is the engine as it has a bad miss and because I just want to.

I've rebuilt engines in the past, but it's been a long time so any pointers are welcome. I'll need info on local machine shops that are familiar with the 22R block and head, suggestions on crank shaft, cam shaft, valves & springs, rockers and assembly, new carb or rebuild kit, engine rebuild kits, etc. I want to do all of the work myself, except machining the block and head. My intentions are to build this to be better than stock while investing less than $800 in the rebuild.

Engine is from 1985 pickup.
 
800.00 is about the right price if you do all the labor besides the machine work. viking imports in winston-salem is where i buy all of my import parts. I've been doing business with them for about 10 years. Great people to deal with. Good Luck
 
enginebuilder.com (engnbldr on ebay) is a great place to get the rebuild kit... I also recommend getting a different cam...

Been looking at that site. I think that's the kit I'll be going with. Have any suggestions on cams? I saw a recommendation on getting cams from the same site. I think it was 268 RV cam?

higgins on hwy 29 in salisbury just did my 3.0 for cheap just give me a shout and ill tell ya how to get there

Just machine work or did they rebuild the whole thing?
 
pay attention to block specs, the machine shop will suggest decking the block to make a good surface for the head gasket, as the old gasket will have etched the deck. this is fine, as long as they do it correctly.

My block was decked on a belt sander style machine, had I known this before hand, I would have declined or used a different shop. the result was a 0.015 difference in deck height from front to back, #1 piston was 0.012 above the deck, #4 was even with deck. which made compression uneven front to rear. it ran, and ran pretty well, but it had a slight lope to it ( easy enough to pass of as a cam lope, but a 22RE AFM doesn't like a lopey idle)

Also, if decking the block, send the timing cover with and attached so it gets milled even with the deck, or it will sit proud of the deck and be pushed down when head is torqued, causes oil leak at crank seal over time, and a side load on oil pump ( driven off crank )

Check ALL main cap bolts and holes in block before you take to machine shop, clean threads, then put caps on and snug the bolts. Check them again BEFORE you pay for the machine work when you go to pick it up from the shop. They ran my mains in with an impact and cross threaded on bolt on #3 main. I was mad as hell, but couldn't prove they did it ( it never occurred to check them ) ended up piggy backing 2 heli-coils in the block and replacing the cap bolt. Engine is still running strong 8 years later, so I guess it's viable repair.

check the keyway on the crank snout, make sure it is square and true ( some times the balancer slaps back and forth and wallows out the keyway, makes timing it accurately a pain.)

replace the head bolts with head studs, more accurate and even torque, and it's just cool.

LC Engineering adjustable timing gear to dial in the cam, worth every penny. There may be another manufacturer of this part, I do not know. the ability to degree the cam is worth the cost of the gear, really brings out the best of the cam.

Engine Builder, DOA Racing, and LC Engineering have good cams, take your pick depending on what you want it to do. I've used the LC EFI pro cam and the Engn Builder "crawler" cam, both worked well for the intended application.

the 22R/RE is NOT a torque motor, and does not start really making power until 2000RPM, and falls off at about 5000 rpm. with the right gears and exhaust, you'll have a good combo .

LC Engineering, long tube header, Thorley has a short tube, either will work, 2.25" exhaust tube max, anything larger and you loose what bottom end you do have make a lot of noise in the process.

you are going to hear a hundred different opinions about what you should do what is good, cheap, better, makes the most power, blah blah blah, read all the info you can get a hold of, digest it and then make your decision.

what I did/used may not be what you want.
 
oh, and some more info....

DO replace the rocker arms since you are replacing the cam, LC Engineering has a few nice write ups on the whys and hows for doing this, they also have a write up for setting the rocker tower height to get the most out of your cam and rocker combo, it makes a differance, but is costs money to do.

I also suggest replacing the rocker shafts as well, they wear, and will cause a rattle in the engine when you free rev, doesn't hurt anything, but it's annoying.

as I remember stuff I'll post more. I've built a few 22RE's and did different things to each, just to play around.
 
Thanks! That's some very good info. I also read somethng earlier about pre 85 blocks being longer and that they should be shortened? The article wasn't real clear about what years and it made it sound like the 85 might also have the problem. Does that ring any bells?
 
82.4-84.7, 22R/22REC: (SBTO80L)
Bore: 92mm
Stroke: 89mm
Stock Piston: (PATO80)
Notes: Best Choice for Pistons (dome top).You can just deck
the block by 2mm and make this block identical to the
post-85 block.

84.8-95, 22R/RE/REC: (SBTO80LC)
Bore: 92mm
Stroke: 89mm
Stock Piston: (PATO80L)
Notes: Best Choice for Block. Piston is Flat-top. Block is
2mm shorter than previous 22R. This gives you a little
bit more compression, but you need an adjustable cam
gear to get cam timing right.

85-95, 22R/RE/REC: (CHVTO80LB)
Intake Valve: 45mm x 8mm x 113.4mm (IVTO80)
Exhaust Valve: 37mm x 8mm x 112.4mm (EVTO80)
Notes: Head is closed chamber. Domed piston won't work here.
If racing rules require flat top pistons, use this
head!

85-95, 22RTEC: (CHVTO80T)
Intake Valve: 45mm x 8mm x 114mm (IVTO80T)
Exhaust Valve: 37mm x 8mm x 113mm (EVTO80T)
Notes:

So according to this I really won't know which block I have until I pull the head and check the pistons. Domed = longer block, flat top = shorter block. If I have domed, which I doubt, then I'd have to deck the block 2mm and change the head to the CHVTO80T head? Am I reading that right?
 
If interested i have a TRD cam, buy a new head off ebay they are all new and you get a warranty. There is a Company in salisbury that sells a complete engine rebuild kit complete with pistons. hope that helps!!
 
Got any info on the TRD cam? Brand new to these engines so I know nothing about them. Do you know the name of the company?
 
Back
Top