22RE replacement

[MacGyver1979]

My 87 has over 410,000 miles on the original motor.
On 33's It will do 0 to 50 on about 4 minutes
0 to 60 not without a hill to roll down.
My motor is wore out.
Iv found a shop that sales rebuilt 22RE's for $900. they say everything is machined and new top end. And they will install using my parts for $800 labor.

here is the add.
https://raleigh.craigslist.org/pts/5369629711.html

Is this a fair price? should I expect a big improvement?

 

[Bad_Vision]

Seems like to good of a deal. And that tells me it's no good.

And you will not get much of a improvement, the 22re is not a power house and you can't make it one.

If you need power and you want the best bang for you buck, you should seriously consider a engine swap. 3.4L for power or TDI for fuel economy.

If that is out of budget then you should look into re gearing and a new motor.

 

[mikesmith140]

You might notice a difference, but with 33's on it you'd need to change the gearing to get a big difference. I lowered my gearing from stock 4.11 to 4.88 (I have 31's and 16" wheels) and it really changed the power. My son has a stock '87 T4R with stock tires and wheels, my truck now gives me the same uphill performance and acceleration as his truck on stock wheels & tires. Most of the advice I've read, and my personal experience, would advise you to go with 4.88 if your truck is a daily driver and 5.29 if you're mostly an off road guy.

If you're compression is in the normal range and all else is performing well with the 22RE, I don't think you'll see any difference in performance after the overhaul. Best to save the overhaul for a time when you blow the head gasket or have some other major issue with the motor. But then my philosophy is "don't fix it if it ain't broke".

Good Luck : )
Mike

 

[levi.watson]

If you end up going with a replacement 22RE, I got mine from Oregon Engine Rebuilders, they were easy to work with, I bought a rebuilt one from them, had them ship it to me and then installed it myself. However, I'm running 30" on stock gearing (4.10), and I'm definitely wanting to re-gear and get a little more power. If I was going to do it again, I would probably find a more powerful engine to put in.

 

[MacGyver1979]

Im comparing it with my 89 3.0 that people call a 3.slow and its like driving a sports car. They are nearly the same setup other than motor, and the 89's tires are slightly smaller. and its an auto.
my 87 already has cold air intake and stainless headers new 5 speed trans and clutch.
the black one is the 22RE 87

 

[t4rghost]

I've been thinking about doing a 3rz 2.7L swap on my 22re 4Runner. 50% better performance, and better gas mileage than 22re. There are plenty of posts online about this swap. The 3rz also bolts up to the w56 tranny

 

[PRdubi]

I had no power on 32s...geared to 4:56....and it got better.

 

[KidVermicious]

My 87 has over 410,000 miles on the original motor.
On 33's It will do 0 to 50 on about 4 minutes
0 to 60 not without a hill to roll down.
My motor is wore out.
Iv found a shop that sales rebuilt 22RE's for $900. they say everything is machined and new top end. And they will install using my parts for $800 labor.

here is the add.
https://raleigh.craigslist.org/pts/5369629711.html

Is this a fair price? should I expect a big improvement?

Check compression on your motor before you decide it's done. You might be surprised. And "slightly smaller" tires make a huge difference, are you on stock gearing?

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Hell, for 900 bucks, I'd spend that on getting new gears and do a complete tune-up on the original engine.

But, before you go there, why not see just where that engine of yours is really at? Yeah, it has 400 something thousand miles on it, and its probably been beat on most of its life (at the very least, as long as you've had those tires on there), but 22RE's are a very stout engine and can do that mileage without any major issues if you've changed the oil religiously!

Like others have said, compression test is critical. See if the numbers are good. if they are, do a leakdown test, that will tell you how those rings are.

If they're good, and the top half is still relatively quiet, you could just do a full tune-up on it, change the gears out (sets are about 200 bucks, 4.88's or 5.29's, follow the advice from the poster above) and have the injectors cleaned professionally.

You'd still be under 900 bucks if you did the work yourself, and your truck would be running like a champ!

 

[youngr]

I see them on CL too a lot since im in the Charlotte area. I keep an eye for options "just in case" something was to happen to my 88. Ive done some google research and for what its worth havent found anything bad on them other than a honda guy saying it took them 2 years to build his motor and he could have done it himself cheaper lol. Id imagine most know that crowd so take that bad review how you want. and theyve been around 30ish years. id take all the others advice and thoroughly asses what youve got first and if not atleast talk to
Them and get a feel before you commit. If i had hit the recent powerball id be calling 22reperformance or LCE.

 

[MacGyver1979]

I know my motor is sludged, from when I pulled the valve cover, it had crusty stuff a scraper wouldn't take off easily and gelatinous goo that was just nasty.
I spent a day with harsh chemicals scrapers and brushes to clean the inside of the valve cover, even put it in the dish washer ( almost divorced) still didn't get it as clean as I wanted.
The cam had ugly spots on it and varnish spots on the lobes. I should have adjusted the valves but didnt. its got valve knock.
380k miles of it wasn't mine so I don't know how it was cared for.
It uses/ leaks about 2 quarts a week of oil.
I seafoam and change the oil often.
I can spend under 500 on upgraded new parts, water pump, 4 hole injectors and things of that nature.
maybe a motor and a regear
I plan to keep it till it will no longer roll.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Well, having that info on the engine's status sorta changes things. Valvetrain noise and visible wear/damage tells me that oil wasn't changed regularly, which means the rest of the engine wasn't maintained too well either.

As for 2 quarts of oil a week, that's a LOT of oil!!! Is it leaking all of that or burning it? Sounds more like a complete teardown and rebuild will be in your future, so a 900 dollar engine is sounding more like a better route to go--at least for now.

You will still need gears for that size of tires, nothing will allow you to regain the power lost by those tires other than a gearset or a bigger engine swap!

I'd say go with an engine swap, but that will cost a lot more than 900 bucks. If you are interested in doing one though, realistically, you'll be around 3 to 5 grand to do it right, and that will require you to do most of the work.

 

[MacGyver1979]

Well its my DD, Iv decided to do the swap with as many new and upgraded parts as I can, and to regear. I want to do the swap first to see the power difference and then regear.
I think most of the oil is burning, It leaks from every orface but not a big puddle. I did the rear main when I did the clutch, it was bad. And I did the valve cover gasket, it was hard as concrete and brittle as wood.
Iv got to get my back up money pit, 88 Land cruiser road worthy before I can be without my 4runner long enough for the swap

 

[Ammomac]

I plan to keep it till it will no longer roll.

sounds like you're almost there

once you get the motor sorted out regearing to match your tire size is going to make the best bang for the buck - less stress on the drive train, etc

 

[youngr]

FYI one of the other people i have came across for rebuilds in our area is a company called Carolina Machine Engines

Rebuilt Engines and Rebuilt Motors from CME

They are similar in price but the thing that interested me in them from a internet search only standpoint is its a owner operated shop that has several NHRA championship wins/national titles etc. so aside from just being a engine builder they are also involved in the performance world themselves.

No affiliation or recommendation just giving you some info i have come across