Hi all,

So it looks like I need to do the HG on my 88 22re. All the signs are there - bad unsteady idle, coolant overflow when rad cap is off and engine revved, coolant smell under hood, and finally, in the last couple of days, white smoke/steam out of the tailpipe for first ten minutes or so of driving. I haven't done a compression test but that white smoke couldn't be anything else.

Sooo, I'm wondering what the most cost effective way of doing this is. Once I pull the head, if it passes the tests for straightness am I good to just install the new gasket? Or should I take it to a machine shop to get some work done? I see rebuilt heads on ebay shipped for 200 bucks. Is this the cheap way to go? If I don't have the block and head resurfaced (which seems expensive...) am I just asking for premature HG failure?

This truck is at 200k and I'm sure a complete rebuild would do it some good, but I don't think I can afford to have the block worked on. I just want it to run reliably for now.

Lastly, if I do have machine work done, can anyone recommend someone in the northern Colorado area?

Any and all advice is much appreciated,

andy

I have found that if you redo the head, the rings go out.
so depends on what you want to do. if you redo the head. it is better to pull the motor, new rings, new or rebuilt head.
rings are cheap, if you don't have to bore the motor.

my advice would be have the head checked. shaved if it needs it and put the head gasket in.

make sure that you blow the crap out of the head bolt holes and call it good. maybe a timing chain and water pump since you have it that far apart.

also look in to why it blew.. new thermostat.. toyota. get the radiator cleaned.. I think they still use the term rodded out.

looking at just the head and the stuff I mentioned about 300 bucks.

fill out your profile..... I like to know a bit about who I am talking to.

Previous owner overheated it for sure. He had the rad worked on several times and eventually that just blew.

Sooo...

Is it possible to do a ring job with the block in the truck? I don't really have the resources to pull the motor...

It doesn't drive horribly though. The only issue has been a bad idle. I took it to Moab last spring and got 21-22 mpg for the trip. That included driving over the continental divide twice...

I put a new rad in when I bought it. temp gauge stays pretty much at 1/3 even in 100 degrees.

You can an engine rebuild with the block in the truck if no work needs to be done on the block. You will need to remove the front 3rd member(assuming still IFS), and drop the oil pan to be able to unbolt the piston rod bearing caps so you can remove the pistons.

I would go ahead and pull the head, then pick up/rent a micrometer/caliper to determine the shape of the cylinders. If the cyls. are within specs you could replace the rings(though cheaper to replace the entire piston), and reassemble it.

With only 200k, the block you should be fine for just replacing the gasket providing the PO serviced the engine on a regular basis.

If you do decide to rebuild the engine check enginebuilder.com for quality parts at damn good prices, most of us here buy from them.

200k on the block no work needs to be done.
A proper rebuild can't be done with it in the truck.
The block should be decked, at 200k it will need a slight bore...

You could forget decking the block, hone the bore, and drop in some new pistons... Assuming you get the crank turned and go through all the trouble of assembling it with it in the truck (which will be a huge pain) - you've got a 1/2 rebuilt motor that will last as long as that set of rings does..