TOYOTA 22RE ENGINE REBUILD - Part 1/2 - Teardown and analysis of a poor running 22R Toyota legend!

My 1985 Celica GT Coupe was barely running when I bought it, but I knew that I could bring the legendary 22R-E back to life! In this video (part 1 of 2) we remove the engine, tear it down, analyze it, decide what parts to order, and then clean it all up in preparation for the rebuild in part 2.

[@beachthor1]

You’re an excellent teacher, vids like this are high value for a hobbyist mechanic like me

[@tinygaragefab]

Thank you so much, I appreciate that. I have several other engines to build in the near future, plus a lot of other cool stuff. I hope you'll follow along.

[@tinygaragefab]

This engine definitely needed to be pulled, and I'm so glad that I went through it. The 22-RE is a LEGEND, but only if someone hasn't made a mess of it before you get one. Stay tuned for part 2, because this little engine gets a lovely makeover, and we figure out EXACTLY what went wrong!

[@aerialrescuesolutions3277]

Really well done, this and LCE are the best sources I've found so far, you pretty much show and explain all the key points here. I just found your channel and subscribed of course. Thank you, and I look forward to more great content, Jim

[@tinygaragefab]

Thank you! It's wild to think that more than one person regard my videos to be as good as those from world-famous LCE! I'm humbled for sure.

[@aerialrescuesolutions3277]

@@tinygaragefab The methodical manner in which you approach this task is well done. I'm planning on a dual row timing chain kit from LCE, I've watched all their videos about this. Did you consider a dual row for your 22R? Thanks again for the great videos, I love the powder coating too. Jim

[@drazapatos]

are you in TN I have a 1986 22 RE carburated that needs to be rebuilt.

[@tinygaragefab]

I am not. I'm sure there is no shortage of good 22RE builders in TN, with the offroad scene as big as it is there. I'm sure you can find someone local. Good luck!

[@bradleybarringer]

Good job! I'm rebuilding one right now and these 2 vids have been very helpful 👍

[@tinygaragefab]

Awesome! Good luck with your build!

[@williamgeorgelopezjunior8533]

Between yourself and another company I’ve watched (LCE) … I’ve found these two series to be the best content covering a head to toe on the 22R(e) I’ve Literally time stamped the segments from 1 and 2 of your videos in my notes as a companion from your “start to finish” including specifics… gaskets, the zinc, torquing … etc. …. so if I get stuck on something I’ll have some quick reference points. Thanks again for making this as it doesn’t seem there is as much on KZbin covering start to finish … as I’d expect there to be. I do have a Toyota service manual for my specific vehicle but as many other people would agree … a visual aid tutorial is very helpful

[@MartinSage]

@at@

[@Giroux68]

Just got all my new head parts from LC engineering. This video is going to be a big help for a first time rebuild for me.

[@tinygaragefab]

That's awesome! Just take your time on the rebuild, and it will turn out just fine. 👍

[@johnbrewer2206]

Fantastic build!!

[@mattd8411]

Awesome video man. Yes I learned the hard way guy that did my timing chain used the plastic guides. Guides broke 30k miles. I love my 22 re just found a 1990 from California with hardly any rust. Im afraid ill have to put a water pump on it just found some antifreeze leaking looks like from a seal from the waters pump.

[@tinygaragefab]

That's awesome about the truck with no rust. My '87 only has a little in the bed. I have the Japanese bed, so it has the seam that rusts out. I'm going to pull that 22R to swap a 1UZ, but that 22R will love on as a turbo build in my '85 Celica.

[@johnsnow4110]

Great VIDEO I have same running issues

[@tinygaragefab]

Make sure to watch part two, as I find and show what the actual culprit was.

[@mattdlmn]

Awesome video, glad I found your stuff. I’m about to do a rebuild on an 87 4 runner. It’s gonna be tricky because I bought it with the top end disassembled and stuff is not very organized although it appears to be all there

[@tinygaragefab]

Awesome! I love the 1st gen 4Runners! Between this video and the Part 2, there should be enough info to guide your rebuild, at least on a basic level.

[@mattdlmn]

@@tinygaragefab What’s your opinion on buying an aftermarket head vs reassembling a stock head? I think I’m gonna put a supercharger on this baby

[@tinygaragefab]

That's where your wallet can lead the way for sure. I would prefer an original Toyota head over most aftermarket offerings, because I can trust that the casting/metallurgy is 100% correct since Toyota made it. However, the head in this video is an overseas aftermarket head. It was on the car when I bought it. It is still holding up just fine after nearly 10,000 miles, but I'm also not boosted. I'd also like to believe that the castings that LCE and 22RE Performance sell are extremely high quality as well, but I cannot say for certain, as I've never had one. And I'd suggest turbocharger over supercharger. Packaging is easier, because you'd realistically need to lose either A/C or power steering in order to physically fit a supercharger and have access to the belt drive to run it.

[@mattdlmn]

@@tinygaragefab thanks for the advice. As I look more into prices for everything I think I’ll stay stock, stuff can get very expensive very fast

[@davevjordon]

Nice video, Bro. I heard about your channel and had to check it out. I’ll hit you up with some advice on my issue of breaking my crank bolt loose without turning the motor. Great job, Indestructible!

[@tinygaragefab]

Thanks dude! I'm always down for sharing tips and tricks.

[@davevjordon]

@@tinygaragefab thanks. I guess after soaking for over a week in PB Blaster, the crank bolt couldn’t hold on anymore. The impact wrench got the best of it.

[@heyitsmoffy4152]

I’m about to rebuild my 22r Carby Hilux! I’m in Australia and have only met one other bloke who has a 22r. I haven’t met anyone that has a 22re, so I’m real excited to rebuild it

[@tinygaragefab]

I also have an '87 Hilux that is 22r powered for now. It's going to get a 1UZ swap when I can fit it into my schedule, but I do love the 22r so everything it has done for me. Such a great little engine!

[@philipmorgan5050]

I owned an 85 Celica GTS, it wasn't very fast but it was my favorite car I ever had. It wiped 2 camshafts and rockers so I cleaned and refreshed it, replaced bearings, rings and oil pump and it went a total of 300K miles.

[@tinygaragefab]

Heck yeah! I really should have done bearings and rings in this one. I'll pull it again soon to refresh the bottom end and gaskets, because it leaks and burns a fair bit of oil.

[@crashandburngaming5103]

Had a 22R in my 80 celica. Was a great engine. Had several in cars I owned.

[@tinygaragefab]

I also have a 1983 Celica and a 1987 Pickup (Hilux) that both have 22R engines. I'm definitely a fan of them. The Celica will get a turbo, but the Hilux will be getting a 1UZ-FE from a Lexus SC400.

[@williamgeorgelopezjunior8533]

You have me worried about overcast painting that block so close to your car man…. Brave

[@kacewhite4746]

im doing this exact same process on my friends 85 celica gts. his has a stumble on acceleration, orugh lopey idle, and running extremely rich. amazing cars (once you get those pesky misfires and valve lash in good shape)

[@tinygaragefab]

Oh, for sure. I took mine on a 2500 mile road trip last year and it was perfect...even got 34mpg!

[@kacewhite4746]

34mpg?!?! What other stuff had you done to it? Egr delete, etc?

[@tinygaragefab]

Yes. EGR delete, new head, Melling 'stage 2' cam, and that's about it. Average daily mpg is 25.5, but all highway it gets 34, like on that road trip. Pretty decent for a 37 year old car!

[@AndresSalazarAutos]

Racing hearts, my favorite 80s style piece from Epidemic sound, I use it quite often for my videos. Cheers

[@tinygaragefab]

Great taste in 80's royalty-free music! Lolol

[@lovethedogsNC]

The "hidden" 10mm bolt, I learned the hard way.

[@fredrickevans5725]

Same

[@mattd8411]

Man i just rewatched this awesome videos thanks for taking time to do them. What oil would you recommend? Thought about a synthetic blend but was a afraid to switch.

[@tinygaragefab]

Thanks for watching! It was a fun video to make. For oil, since it's not a roller cam, just flat tappet basically, I only use Rotella T4 10w-40. I use that because of the high zinc content for an off the shelf oil. Cheap to buy in gallon size from Walmart also.

[@mattd8411]

@tinygaragefab awesome thanks man

[@luiselizalde6757]

Good videos,thanks 👍, what city are located it

[@MartinSage]

I’m doing the same on my ‘85 Toyota pickup only I don’t have an engine crane/ stand so I am replacing the head (leaking head gasket and bent valves) and timing chain (broken timing chain).

[@tinygaragefab]

I did the head gasket with the engine in place in my 1987 Pickup. Started Saturday morning and finished by the time the sun went down. I do love these 22R engines.

[@lesklower7281]

I own a 1997 Toyota Hilux with the 22R engine which is excellent what a terrific engine one of the best 4 cylinder engines ever made when l bought the Hilux about 3 years ago for aud$1500 as l was a courier retired now l have not removed the engine because you Celica was running very rough and there was something not right with your engine l have no idea what has been done to the engine but l can tell that the engine has not been removed it has been serviced because l have replaced the rocker cover gasket and l don't think the cylinder head has been removed and the caburator is never been removed but it starts on the button every morning the automatic choke works you didn't mention how many miles is on your Celica and the 22R engine appeared in the Hilux in about the 1995 but we got in Australia the 22RE in the Toyota Corana Avante in the 1980s

[@tinygaragefab]

Excellent story! It's cool to hear how different engines get used around the world. The 22RE was replaced by the 2RZ sometime around 1995 here in the states. My Celica had 157k miles (252k km) on it when I pulled the engine for this video.

[@Trumpetmac]

Great video! What size bolts are you using to mount the engine to the stand, I just got a 84 Celica gts and transmission is about 1/2" from bolting up but no bolts to engine. Thanks

[@tinygaragefab]

I don't remember the exact size, but they were pretty long, something like 75 or 80mm length.

[@richmcintyre1178]

Engine break-in is just an afterthought for some people and I'll bet that contributed to the cam problem but hey you get to put a hotter one in now:-) but it was strange that the wear increased in each cylinder. Were the head bolts new? I didn't notice. Some folks also try to re-use them which isn't a good idea. Since I am a "shade tree" mechanic at best why the wear occurred like that is beyond me. Good luck with the build.

[@tinygaragefab]

I was also a bit stumped by the increasing wear. As for head bolts, some aren't reusable, but on these 22R's, it is plenty acceptable. Reusing head bolts is really only a bad idea on torque-to-yield bolts, which these definitely are not. Part 2 will be out on the 30th.

[@masont314]

How did you clean the clave cover for powder coating? Did you sand blast it? If you did, how did you prevent dust from getting in the baffle on the underside?

[@tinygaragefab]

Great question. I Sand blasted it, but first I removed the baffle by cutting the rivet heads that hold it in. Then I carefully drilled and tapped new holes for stainless button head screws. I reinstalled the baffle after it was coated using the screws and red loctite. It was a bit of extra work, but much better than having sand in my oil!

[@robertvance1873]

I just wanted to know is powder coating just for looks? Or does it help with like strengthening metal integrity.

[@tinygaragefab]

I will absolutely not claim that it will do anything for strength. I do it for looks as well as the longevity of the coating, as it is usually more durable than paint.

[@deadjoey77]

Wondering if you had any advice. I have a 22r with a holley sniper EFI. its been running rich. i found a good amount of aluminum shavings in the oil and its murky. i think gas is mixing in the oil getting between the head and pistons. what do you think it could be? oil pump? bearings? pistons rubbing against head? timing chain cover? im going to pull the sump and check rod bearings tomorrow.

[@tinygaragefab]

I'd guess it's in the timing chain cover. Do you have a double row timing chain in a single row cover? That would explain the aluminum shavings as well as murky oil if it rubs through the back of the water pump housing. Other than that, there isn't actually a lot of aluminum in a 22R.

[@deadjoey77]

@@tinygaragefab finding out what i have. i think im going to get ready to just pull it off. will i throw it out of time doing this? i saw how you kinda kept things at the same place. i can understand where to get the pistons with the distributor but i dont know alot about timing.

[@packrcch]

what would be a reasonable price to have a machine shop rebuild one of these?

[@karstenvandersande3710]

Watching this just makes methink how bad my engine needs a good rebuild 😭. 213500 on my 22re.

[@tinygaragefab]

It can probably go a little longer as long as you change the timing chain guide to a metal one like I have.

[@christopherbritton8161]

the last 22r i had was in my 88 2wd 5spd pickup almost 400,000 miles carb not EFI AC was cold as hell an still got mid to low 20's gas mileage

[@tinygaragefab]

Hell yeah! I also have a 1987 pickup with the 22R carburetor. Truck runs great and had ice cold AC until a year ago or so. I will be engine swapping that truck, but it will only become better, I promise.

[@jennymaddox1422]

The head gasket looked like a Felpro.

[@MartinSage]

My Question is ..If I am pulling my head how hard is it to put in a new set of rings??? My compression is 135psi in all 4.

[@tinygaragefab]

135 isn't too bad. Not amazing, but it'll run. For rings, you have to take off the oil pan and undo the rods from the crank. Probably a job you'd need a ship crane for in order to get the engine up high enough to safely work under it.

[@lesklower7281]

Toyota is the largest selling brand in Australia

[@408Berto]

How did you clean the upper and lower intake ??

[@tinygaragefab]

I used brake cleaner and then bead blasted them. And then powdercoated them.

[@JoshTolbertUrbana]

As soon as you showed the progressively-worsening cam lobes, I figured you had a screwed cam bearing/retainer or head bolt issues...No bueno.

[@tinygaragefab]

I'm still a little stumped on why it was the way it was. Hopefully it was just the bad head bolt. I get that sorted in part 2, which should be out next week.

[@pageculver8376]

What do you charge to rebuild 22re or do you take that because you are good. Thanks

[@tinygaragefab]

Unfortunately, I do not build engines for people.

[@pageculver8376]

OK thank you. Great video.

[@BDSsalcruz]

wondering where did you get your parts at got a 84 Celica

[@tinygaragefab]

Most of my parts came from Rock Auto.

[@noblej7897]

Do you do work for other People's 22REs?

[@tinygaragefab]

I don't do any customer work at all. I don't even take powdercoat jobs anymore. Between my real job and having over a dozen cars of my own, I just don't have time.

[@cryoine7194]

i just noticed, that his has to be one of the few Toyota engines that I've seen that doesn't have that oil filter right below the exhaust manifold

[@tinygaragefab]

You know, you're right. I never really noticed that either...which is weird considering that I'm building a 3S-GTE and there is almost no room for a filter because of the turbo. Lol

[@BlownBudgetGarage]

Idk why I feel more comfortable pulling v8s than I do anything that small lol pulling it was definitely the right call holy crap Also just realized I didn't have notifications on so I'm playing catch up.

[@tinygaragefab]

I agree that it seems easier to pull an American made brick than other engines, but it's all the same stuff. An honest couple hours of work is all it ever takes, regardless of make/model.

[@raymondjr.1080]

These are my favorite engines, without watching the video, it sounds like the valves are not seating down and the rings are shot

[@tinygaragefab]

Close. I do think the rings may be a bit worn. I have a small oil consumption issue. I should have did the bottom end as well, but its not a big deal yet. Only takes a few hours to pull the engine, so if I need to do the rings and bearings at a later date I will.

[@raymondjr.1080]

@@tinygaragefab , looking forward to that video!!

[@jlopezz310]

I have a '86 4runner. I need an engine rebuilt. Can you please recommend places across US that are trustworthy and good. I am willing to pay for shipping. I just need to find a place

[@tinygaragefab]

I wish I could help. I don't really know of places because I always do my own work. But any engine shop should have the skills to rebuild a 22R. It's an easy engine compared to some modern stuff.

[@jerredhubbard8788]

How many miles are on this engine?

[@tinygaragefab]

There were about 154k for this video, 184k now.

[@JoshTolbertUrbana]

I see a Cougar in the background!!

[@jonsmith6496]

More 64!

[@tinygaragefab]

In time, I will get her to the garage. But I can't just drop everything and shift all my focus. Hopefully this summer she will make her way into the garage for surgery.

[@rogermorris7309]

next time you have an issue with "groove" in Harm. Balancer use a speedy sleeve rather buy Harmonic balancer.

[@tinygaragefab]

I considered both, but ended up putting this one back in. No leaks after a full year of driving.

[@dare2scheme904]

None of that stuff stops a 22r.

[@tinygaragefab]

Stopped this one.

[@superchef78]

Way too much work

[@tinygaragefab]

What would you do? Just throw the car away? It took 3-4 hours by myself to pull the engine, start to finish. Then another couple hours for complete engine teardown. That's only most of a Saturday. Hardly too much work in my opinion. Give Part 2 a watch also. More work there, but all that can still be done in a day. So...a full weekend to get a classic car back on the road isn't that bad at all.

[@superchef78]

@@tinygaragefab That’s not bad at all. I lack the expertise to do this kind of job. I have a 22re with 233,500 miles currently. Timing chain replaced at 222,000 miles and valves adjusted. I’m doing oil changes at 4,000-5000 mile intervals. How many more miles based on that available information do you think she’ll go for? I really want to see it get 400,000+. Is there anything else I should or could be doing to improve the chances of more longevity? Would installing an LCE header be advantageous in any shape, form or fashion? It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for over a year now but I keep hesitating because I don’t want to potentially ruin a good thing in the slightest if that makes sense. I know probably the least about automotive as about anyone you’ll run into, but I’ve always driven it with slow acceleration and have driven at 55-60 mph to keep from “stop and go” driving as I hear that is the main cause of wear and tear on an engine. I just want my 22r to last as long as possible and so far I think I’ve been fairly prudent regarding this. Thank you very much for the video and response. You could say I’ve become hypochondriac about my vehicle in the past through days through the immense searches on 22RE’s and Toyota trucks I’ve done. Probably just mental.

[@tinygaragefab]

So, it sounds like you have a good grasp on things. Valve adjustments periodically and engine oil changes are a must. Now about that oil...I run Rotella T4 15w40 in my 22Rs, and that is the only oil I'll run in them. It's made for diesel engines, but thats not an issue here. Our 22R has a "solid lifter" type valvetrain and because of that, friction is the enemy. Specifically metal-on-metal. The only additive in oil that can fight this is Zinc. Problem is...zinc has been removed for the most part from almost every regular commercial oil, especially anything targeted to newer cars (~2000+) Newer cars use "roller" valvetrains that inherently cut down on a ton of friction, so the oils can be formulated differently. The Rotella T4 has the highest zinc content, by far, of commercially available oils outside of very expensive racing oils. But yeah, take good care of it and it should last. Adding a header will not effect the motor in any significant way. Some will say that it can cause your tune to change and you can run rich/lean or whatever. But our cars/trucks have a MAF, which measures the volume of air in so that it can mix the right amount of fuel. More air out(with headers) means more air in. The MAF will compensate without you having to do anything at all. While tuning is an art, there are many who overinflate it as a black art. It isn't.