Sad day for my "New" T4R... Help!!!

elcidsurfer

elcidsurfer

New member
So I just took the old girl in for an oil change and had the mechanic look at the knockin noise my engine was makin occasionally when she started up and... He said a rod in the engine was about to go and rough estimate quoted me at $4500 to fix it (seems way too high).... :mad:

Anyone else run into this problem? I'm gonna go get a second and possibly third oppinion, but the diagnostic doesn't sound all that far fetched. My next qestions are these:

Should I fork over the money and have it done professionally after I get a few more quotes?

Should I just do it myself (with some help from my mechanic friends that have rebuilt several engines before)?

Should I just look for a new or used motor (22RE) and swap it in (with the help of about said mechanic friends)?

Thanks fellas....

Man I feel like I just found out someone ran over my dog...
 
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1st off, $4500 is WAY too high. You should be able to rebuild it your self for less than $1500. Look at Engine Builder.com rebuild kits. EB has a very good rep on other sites. I rebuilt my 22re last winter using yotatech.com for info, one of the easiest rebuilds I have ever done. You should really check out the Yotatech forum.
 
I think for ~1/3 of that quote you can get a rebuilt long block and forego any of the home rebuilt time. I suppose it all depends on how confindent you are R&Ring your motor.
 
Sorry to hear about the engine. Definitely don't pay that price. You could find a different t4r for that price. Either rebuild or find a donor 22re. They have quite a few around yotatech or craigslist.
 
So I took the T4R to a friend of mine's mechanic buddy and he said that it is only a warn Rod Bearing not a Rod about to through out...

He said that since the knocking is only occuring every so often and only when I start the car after its sat all night/day and gotten cold it's no big deal. He said that what is happening is one of the Rod Bearings is warn and when the truck sits overnight gravity is taking over and the oil is collecting around the Rod Bearing filling the void around the Bearing due to wear. So when I go to start it up there is some oil "clogged' around the Rod Bearing causing the engine rotation to esentially be off until it warms up. He said that since the motor has 263,000 miles it's not uncommon for this to happen and that it's no big deal. As long as the engine isnt knocking during idle after it's warm or durring regular driving. Also the engine is not sluggish or running hard (Im still getting 23 mpg) so he said not to worry about it throwing a rod on the road....

What are y'alls thoughts? I may go get another oppinion to verify, cause I'd hate to be driving down the road and loose an engine. But I also hate to replace, or rebuild mine if it's ok.
 
So would everyone agree with this plan of action?

Tomorrow I'll go get a 3rd oppinion.

If they say dont worry about it (like the 2nd mechanic) I'll be in the same boat as cometobanks and for the rest of my little 22re's life it has a knock every 20 trys when starting cold...

Or they say it will throw a rod soon (like the 1st mechanic) and I'll either go find a donor engine, or rebuild mine, or get a remanufactured one. Either route costing me for anywhere from $200 to $2,000...

Either way it's not as bad as the initial $4,500 quote I got.
 
elcidsurfer said:
So would everyone agree with this plan of action?

Tomorrow I'll go get a 3rd oppinion.

If they say dont worry about it (like the 2nd mechanic) I'll be in the same boat as cometobanks and for the rest of my little 22re's life it has a knock every 20 trys when starting cold...

Or they say it will throw a rod soon (like the 1st mechanic) and I'll either go find a donor engine, or rebuild mine, or get a remanufactured one. Either route costing me for anywhere from $200 to $2,000...

Either way it's not as bad as the initial $4,500 quote I got.
Click to expand...
do the 3.4l swap if u have to find another engine. 1st gen weight + 3.4l v6= beast
 
t4r4life,

The 3.4 is what comes in the later 2nd and early 3rd Gens right? And do they bolt right to the 5-speed on my 22re? I dunno man, I love this little 22re, cheap parts, easy to work on, good gas mileage, etc...

I will say this though, some new light has been shed on my problem. I think I've found a donor 22re engine for a couple hundred + master rebuild kit for a couple hundred. So I think I'll get the donor, rebuilt it over the course of a month or so, pray that my engine doesnt crap out in that time and then swap it in. Then take mine old one rebuild it and sell it to make up some of the cost...

Thoughts?
 
The 3.4 was used in 3rd gen from '96-02 and is a very solid engine but the swap does require more work than dropping another 22re in there and it should be much cheaper but if you can afford a 3.4 swap then it is a pretty cool combo.
 
Got a third oppinion today and it was the same as the 2nd mechanic. He also said not to worry about it. It is probably a rod bearing but since it's only knockin when the truck starts and then stops once it's idling or driving. I just need to keep an ear on the knockin to make sure it doesnt start doing it while Im driving...

With that being said I still think Im gonna find a donor engine for like $200 and then get a master rebuilt kit for around $200-$300 and start workin on it. Once it's done I'll just swap it in on my own time and then I can probably sell my old one for $100-$200... or heck, rebuild that one too and sell it for more.

Thanks for all the input and help fellas!!!
 
elcidsurfer said:
Why go with the R and not the RE? Isnt the R the carborated engine?
Click to expand...

As far as I know, 22R & 22RE is the same block.


My '87 has high miles too, over 222K.
When I bought it a few years ago, it would knock like crazy when ever the RPM's got over 2K.
Did an oil change and replaced 1 quart with Lucas Oil.
Now I can red line with no noise.

Give it a shot, it certianly can't hurt :)

If nothing else, it may prolong the inevetible while you work on the donor engine.
 
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