Hi,
I'm in the middle of rebuilding my 85 22R. I have the engine almost completely torn down. I can't decide whether to rebuild the bottom end. I was burning oil at about a quart every 1000 miles, but I know my valve seals were leaking so they might be solely responsible for my oil consumption. The cylinder bores all have a very slight ridge at the top and one has very small scratch which I can barely catch with my fingernail.
Also, is it normal for the head bolts near the 3rd cylinder to have carbon and smell burnt when all the others are just oily.
Is it worth it to go with oversized valves in the head? Not just performance wise, but for resale value as I plan on selling this motor next year and switching to toyota diesel. I also plan on putting in one of EB's cams and I have an LCE header.
Sorry if this is an overwhelming amount of questions.
Thanks for any help
Ryan

If you have the engine out and torn down, go ahead and do the bottom end. If money isnt tight, take the block in for evaluation by a machine shop. Let them clean it and at least put a fresh hone on the bores. Then reassemble with new bearings and rings so that you can truly claim a rebuilt engine.

On the oversized valves? Love them! I run a complete Street RV head with the original 270 cam and not only does the cam/valve combination increase power...it also increased my fuel mileage by about 2.5 mpg. After mating it with the Gen2 creation (EBs handywork) mileage increased up about 4 mpg over my stock engine.

Just my $.02

~Darin <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/baby.gif" alt="" />

You never get the $ out of a project like that if you are just going to sell it.

I would definately recommend doing the bottom end while you're at it, especially seeing as you have everything apart. Like Darin said, at least take it in to a machine shop so they can have a look at it. If you can get away with simply honing the cylinders and chucking in some new rings and bearings, it's well worth it. I'm sure it'd be easier to sell the truck with a complete rebuild, rather than misc. work done here and there (at least in my opinion).

Have you already bought a rebuild kit? If not, I would highly recommend getting one from EB. I am on the finishing stages of rebuilding my '84 22R, and for the quality and price, you can't beat it. Good prices on cams as well if you get it with the kit (I went with the 261C).

Thanks for the help. I've decided to rebuild the whole thing. I plan on going with a 261 cam and EB's rebuild kit.
I can't wait to get my truck back on the road and enjoying the warm weather.