Ok, First things first, let’s jump straight into the history on the truck and it’s engine from what I’ve discovered in the 6 months of ownership, if you want to skip past the history straight to the engine stuff I’ll start a second post in this thread with all of that, but this first post will just be the history as to why and what caused my engine to fail.

let’s jump in! so, bought the truck in august of 2022 after my 09 escape died on me, went with the truck because it was shiny, ran well(so i thought) and was a 2wd, and i had visions of having a reliable street truck, and since it was a toyota and had the 22re I was in love, I knew and was sure that it would be the right rig for me… and I was wrong, boy was I wrong, less then a month in and misfires and it was dying on me everywhere, flat camshaft was the cause, the truck was sitting without a cam and i was waiting on parts for it, after getting the new cam in it ran well, really well, but then she wouldn’t start or run for the life of me, fixed it by believe this, cracking the cold start injector bolt, relieving pressure off the injectors, and re tightening it, that fixed it, ran well for about a month on the new cam and rocker, and then tragedy struck again, no start no run, checked all electrical things, ended up cleaning the injectors and replacing the fuel filter(the fuel that came out of the rail was brown), ran ok for a week, died again, tried the same thing, same story, ran for a week, died again, now it was the fuel pump, replaced the fuel pump, cleaned out the tank(rusted with what looked like gravel in it due to a smashed fuel filler neck) now she ran like a top, for about a month, now at the halfway point of the story, it died, fuel pump, middle of winter, went with an in line walbro pump, aftermarket regulator, and wired into the factory harness, about a week later, the 3° weather killed the walbro, i thought, ended up being the factory regulator sticking completely open, causing pressure to drop and cavitation to occur, so replaced the fuel pump, adjusted the aftermarket regulator again, and replaced injectors(osidetiger 220cc 12 hole) now it ran good for over a month, all that happened was a fuel hose blew, replaced it with some high pressure hose, then it started knocking, i thought it was spark knock, adjusted the timing, ended up actually being rods, so now that’s where we are at, second post will have the details on what was discovered on the engine

 

alright, post two, engine got pulled at school, glitter from the pan, was fearing the new cam being destroyed, rod knock on 1, and minimal knock on all 4, 3 was the heaviest of the other 3, but all had some, (engine was still running on all 4 still) flipped it over and pulled the head, and it was a horrible sight, 1/8” deep gouges all the way top to bottom on cylinder 1 and three, towards the rear of the engine, about an inch wide spread too, finished disassemble just to have the plot thicken, rings were fine, it ended up being the wristpin retaining clips ejecting into the sleeve

jump to currently, found an engine block, same year, perfect condition, never decked, was pulled due to light knock on cyl 1 and 3 but less then my engine, got new valve train parts ordered, head goes in for machining once those arrived, i have brand new internals out of an experiment 20r that had a 22re rotating assembly stuffed into it, all is going awesome, and it’s going to be a good experience for me

 

Things to consider when doing a build.

What oil to use? MIneral or synthetic? Viscocity? Bearing type and clearances are different.

Head gasket type? Compoaite or MLS? Mls gaskets require smoother surfaces. Find a shop that knows the difference and has the capability to machine the surfaces properly.

Pay attention to your quench/squish. Measure your deck and order your pistons apprpriately. If using the stock pistons shoot for a zero deck and use the head gasket to get the gap you want. Pistons are big and bulky and the rods are massive, needs a tad bit more than I like, .030" gap. I've always gone for a .040" gap on my 22REs. Stock gap is typically .060" of more. If you are replacing the pistons with "off the shelf" pieces keep in mind those are usually machined -.010" to make up for deck machining.
Quench is more important than most realize. Too tight and the pistons and head try to merge, too loose and performance, and efficiency die off. Too loose can cause detonation as well. Get the gap right and it can be noticeable. For street use a larger gap (.040") is good, safe, gives a few thousandths buffer for unusual use and some overrevving. Measurements are of course cold, at temp a .040" gap translates to .080"-.012" at temp with the rods stretching and the piston deforming.

Try to keep the thrust clearances on the tighter side if you have a standard trans. After miles are put on the engine and the thrust washers get worn they can fall out.

Studs or bolts? Head and main fastener choice.

Piston rings? Material? Standard or low tension? Total Seal? ZGS?

Steel timing chain guides! Single or double row chain?

Balance, balance balance!

For the head a good 3, 5, or 7 angle cut on the seats and polish the valves. If you plan on the higher RPM ranges a back-cut helps. Blend the valve seat head transition, typically a nasty little ridge here. For the 20/22R/RE exhaust is key, so I'd at least smooth the exhaust port and match the port to your manifold/header. Be sure the valve guides are within spec, a little loose and you'll have a noisy engine, high oil consumption, and you won't be able to keep the valve adjusted.

If you're using the stock exhaust manifoldmatch the exit to the inside diameter of the downpipe. Most of the manifold have a minor choke point here. Every little bit helps.

Have the rocker assy. inspected/rebuilt. Worn rocker bores and shafts are noisy! They won't adjust properly and the adjuster screw tip wears out faster. Could destroy the cam.

Lots more things to do if you want more performance, but for a good running engine I'd do at least these things. If you're in a 2WD get a light flywheel. Doesn't help or hurt performance, but makes it more fun.

Just for a note. The guy that built the engine in my '89 didn't pay attention to this gap. Block didn't get decked and aftermarket pistons and McCord gaskets uesed. This engine has a lower than stock compression, .140" quench and suffers in every aspect, including detonation with 91 octane fuel. Irritating!

 

Cam selection, I've found, is best with as much lift as possible with the 22R/RE heads. The intake port is oversize with a rsestriction that kills it's potential. The "vortex generator" dam does a greeat job in producing swirl and really reduces flow with low lift cams. More lift straightens the flow past the valve and narrows the vortex center, better filling the cylinder. My favorite cam was one I had in the '80s in/out profile was something like in/out , 262/254 degree .450/.440 lift. Had one of the flattest torque curves I've seen from a 22R, pulled hard from off idle to nearly 6k RPM.

I removed the dogleg from the 22R with a bunch of other mods and found the head to fall dead below 4k RPM but bring the engine to life north of 5500 RPM. Yeah, the 22R can live at 9k RPM with merely a LOT of work, but not for long.

 

2rz swaps are pretty common on these trucks decent upgrade

 

2/3RZ swap, if you're in CA requires roouting a crossover pipe, the cat has to stay in the original position. Could cause clearance issues if the truck is lowered.

Just a thought.