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An engine swap--okay. I have considered this in my 86 Sunrader. I decided not to do so ! First you have to change engines, then change all the side items and hope they work ! Sorry- I've done engine swaps and they hold no appeal for me. Sooo-

I explored other options. I finally decided on putting a turbo on my 22RE. Some will shake their heads. Some will show a single finger salute and -- aww whatever.

Here is my thinking . . A swappable engine with warrenty will cost approx. 3500 dollars to give you a feeling of confidence. Then, to make it run with dependibility, you will have to change all sensors, the micro-processor, wiring , and diverse other items to feel confident. Do you have this knowlege? Hope so ! By the time you are done, you will have approximately 4000 - 5000 dollars invested. Sorry- thats the way it is ! This to gain up to maybe 100 horsepower all day long ! Don't forget the days and days of shoe-horning ths into the receptive vehicle.

I , after much research, have decided to just hang on a turbo charger from L-C Engineering. People have warned me againis this. I have decided to either be an example of stupidity, or a really smart dude !

Consider--- the engine stays in place. Next, you take off existing components and just hang the new ones in their place. L-C supplies the computer, wiring, etc-etc. With instructions. Sounds good, don't it ?

A low boost unit ( i.e. 4-6 psi) will allow you to use the present engine for many miles. A stock 22re delivers 116 hp. This L-C unit , at 5 psi., will deliver 160 hp. When you enable the maximum boost, 7 p.s.i., you will get approxiamately 200 hp. for a very short time.

For this h/p boost, without going through the process of decideing which engine mounts,how to accomplish a tranny match up, drive shaft mods if any on and on and on, you will give approximately the same amount of money with a lot less hassle !

I decided to do so. I figure maybe 2 weeks , working when I can , to get 2 times the usable horse power.

Wadda ya think ?

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Before you write the check for the turbo you should check out this yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/22RTE-Trucks/ . There are some experts on that group that can and will save you many days of migrane. Many of these guys run 10 psi boost all the time but not from a converted 22re engine but from the 22rte engine. Its actually built for the turbos produced horsepower. One of the key elemants is lower compression. You might consider finding a 22rte engine to drop in your truck and then hang the LC package on it. There can be several advantages to this. One you can put in a crank kit and end up with new bottom end bearings with out having to pull the head. New main bearing seals, and other assorted leak prone gaskets. Turbo charging an engine produces extra crank case pressure if your rings are worn. Another advantage of using a 22rte is getting its computer and other sensors. Ya I know its basicly a swap again but lets get real, you want to just drive it and not have to spend days trying to get it all to work smoothly. Many of the 22rte owners have retrofited thier engines with the t3/t4 hybrid turbos which I think LC is using. My rig is the factory turbo which is considered prone to failure due to heat build up and usually limited to 6 psi boost. The 22rte engines with a hybrid turbo easily run 10psi boost with out fear of blowing up. I would be a bit concerned to run 6 psi on a stock 22re. Any how check out the turbo group and ask some questions there.

Greg :hyper:

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Will do Greg. But I also have to say that I asked theguy at L-C Engineering if the 22re would hold up to the gaff at 4 -5 pounds. He assured me it would, but I haven't bought the unit yet . I will check with these guys for more input

The link is here http://www.toyotacatalog.net/m1webgear/Pro...PartRevisionID=.

As you can see- it says 22re.

But I will check further on this.

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That kit looks really good and LC is definitly a quality outfit. For info the stock turbo engines produce horsepower close to the V6. Its biggist problem is over heating of the turbo and a hole being burnt thru the housing at the waste gate. If you could find a turbo truck or celica engine and support parts an engine swap for the stock setup would probably be a bunch cheaper than the LC product. An 86 truck will give you the instrument cluster, computer, down pipe and everything else. As far as know it should be just plug and play into the existing 86 wireing harness of your truck.

Any how good luck with the adventure and keep us posted. Remember that this forum will keep the history of the thread intact for all to read from beggining to end unlike the yahoo groups where threads become lost in time.

Greg

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Shoprat, you make things way more difficult than they really are.

I can do a full 7M swap in a couple days, including the R&R and wiring. It really isn't all that hard. As for making the A/C work after that....well, that will take a little bit more imagination to get working...but can and has been done.

I have also been pondering the 4.0 V8 engine. They are increadibly reliable, and adpatable to a stock auto transmission, plus leave a little extra room for your radiator and A/C condensor.

Then of course a 4wd conversion after that. That could be done in about a day if you had all the supplies.

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Also, if you did want to turbocharge your 22RE, you could easily lower your HG by using a thicker HG. Cometic makes HG serveral different thicknesses. I forget what the stock compression is, and I don't know how thick the stock HG is, but depending on that, you could get from .865mm up to a 3mm HG(way thick) to lower your compression to desirable boost application.

http://www.cometic.com/catalogs/AutoCat04.pdf

Edited by turbobob
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Wow ! You can do an engine swap in two days in a motor home. Wish I had your expertise an energy. And as far as the head gasket goes, I had thought about lowering the compression ratio by this method. Then I saw the website for L-C Engineering, looks like I won't have to lower the compression ratio. This appeals to me because there will be no power drop when I don't use the turbo. I get 18 m.p.g. with this rig as is. If I lower the comp. ratio , I will have to use more gas. In my needs, the present engine is fine when I'm just sloping along at 55 mph. I just want the turbo to help me make it up hills. The rest of the time it will probably be set at the lowest possible boost. I ain't lookin to burn the duals for a quarter mile. Also, the swapping the micro processor and wiring from another vehicle doesn't appeal to me. You have to remove two and install one with all the accompianing wiring, right. .

So, I am lucky enough to have a few bucks to do another way of powering up. I won't have to get another vehicle to remove the engine, or look for and buy a used engine to install in the receptive vehicle. Or , if I want reliability, buy a rebuilt engine. I checked on this option where I worked. At my cost, the 3.4 ran 3500 bucks. Then I have to buy all the processor and wiring new, or rip used stuff out of an existing vehicle. Then hope it works. Nahhh. Don't think so.

With the complete new turbo kit unit, I just R and R parts. I can do that.Tell ya what, check out the link I provided above, then let me know what you think if you could afford it.

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Wow ! You can do an engine swap in two days in a motor home. Wish I had your expertise an energy. And as far as the head gasket goes, I had thought about lowering the compression ratio by this method. Then I saw the website for L-C Engineering, looks like I won't have to lower the compression ratio. This appeals to me because there will be no power drop when I don't use the turbo. I get 18 m.p.g. with this rig as is. If I lower the comp. ratio , I will have to use more gas. In my needs, the present engine is fine when I'm just sloping along at 55 mph. I just want the turbo to help me make it up hills. The rest of the time it will probably be set at the lowest possible boost. I ain't lookin to burn the duals for a quarter mile. Also, the swapping the micro processor and wiring from another vehicle doesn't appeal to me. You have to remove two and install one with all the accompianing wiring, right. .

So, I am lucky enough to have a few bucks to do another way of powering up. I won't have to get another vehicle to remove the engine, or look for and buy a used engine to install in the receptive vehicle. Or , if I want reliability, buy a rebuilt engine. I checked on this option where I worked. At my cost, the 3.4 ran 3500 bucks. Then I have to buy all the processor and wiring new, or rip used stuff out of an existing vehicle. Then hope it works. Nahhh. Don't think so.

With the complete new turbo kit unit, I just R and R parts. I can do that.Tell ya what, check out the link I provided above, then let me know what you think if you could afford it.

I actually just did a 3.4 swap for a guy winter before last. I think he got the engine and ECU for around $1500, and I installed it for him for $1500. He did buy a plug and play harness adaptor, although I could have done it for him for 1/4 of the price he paid for his.

Wiring actually is very easy. 22RE have an engine harness, you can just rip it out with the engine. Pulls right through the firewall. If you go with a toyota engine, they pretty much are the same. You can either cut your old harness, or find some a donor at a wrecking yard to make a plug and play adapter...I usually just go cut some plugs out of any old car and use that so it is not hardwired, but I still have to splice into the harness. It only takes about 7 wires to make most toyota engines run just fine. Power, fuel pump, and speed sensor. If you want stuff like cruise control, automatic tranny, or ABS, then a few more wires will be needed.

I have a site that is dedicated to doing these swaps, it really isn't all that bad.

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stock 22RE compressoin is 9.4:1, and you really need 8.5:1 for good boost applications, although, 9.4:1 is safe for at least 5 lbs of boost. I would actaully feel safe running up to 10psi. My lexus engine was 10.5:1 and and ran it to 11psi and got 400rwhp out of it, although my goal is 26psi and over 650rwhp, so I am overhauling the engine with 8.4:1 pistons(only because the engine had 237,000 miles, otherwise I would have used a HG).

Again, I am not sure what the thickness of a stock HG is, but it is is around 1 - 1.2 mm, than a 3mm HG would probably give you around 8.5:1 compression. Good for 20+lbs of boost. You probably wouldn't want to go that extreame, so maybe a 2mm HG for somewhere in between.

Oh, motorhomes are no different than 2wd pickups...from the cab forward. And so yes, I can do an engine conversion in a couple days on a toyota motor home.

I really want to get one...probably a Sunrader, but I first have to convice my wife. I really want to be able to tow a rock crawler or a small atv trailer behind it.

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The Sunrader is a nice rig. Course, I'm biased. As to the engine swap in a motorhome, I am wondering if you could get clearance to pull the engine with a cherry picker seeing as how the house entends over the engine compartment. Or do you pull the grill, radiator support, etc.-etc. and pull it out that way ?We used to do this on a lot of vans and ambulances. Yep. I could probably really boost this bugger up and jump up the ponies. I amazed at the strength of this engine, but I would hate to give up reliability and longetivity, so I just want to gain enough power to at least beat a bycycle going up hill. Performance vehicles are in my past now. I enjoyed the heck out of them. Now I'm old and boring. And I like it that way. High speed makes me nervous.

So I say to you, friend, go for it. I'll cackle in your tire smoke and remember when !

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The Sunrader is a nice rig. Course, I'm biased. As to the engine swap in a motorhome, I am wondering if you could get clearance to pull the engine with a cherry picker seeing as how the house entends over the engine compartment. Or do you pull the grill, radiator support, etc.-etc. and pull it out that way ?We used to do this on a lot of vans and ambulances. Yep. I could probably really boost this bugger up and jump up the ponies. I amazed at the strength of this engine, but I would hate to give up reliability and longetivity, so I just want to gain enough power to at least beat a bycycle going up hill. Performance vehicles are in my past now. I enjoyed the heck out of them. Now I'm old and boring. And I like it that way. High speed makes me nervous.

So I say to you, friend, go for it. I'll cackle in your tire smoke and remember when !

Hmm, never thought of the top getting in the way...might make things a little interesting.

The hardest part of doing the swap is making it reliable. Doing the swap is half of it, making it reliable takes just a long.

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Yessir. The swap part was exciting to me. To get a bundle of horses by JUST changing engines - WOW ! But the reliablity thing is what you live with afterward. After the swap I did it seemed like I was always having to tweak this, tweak that, adjust this and that at the same time. It can wear on you if the vehicle is a daily driver. For something to go over rocks, race track, or dragstrip, tweaking is a blast. It is a choice to tweak or not to tweak. A daily driver is different. It has to get from point A to point B. A motorhome is just like a daily driver. It must get from point A to point B without breakdowns. Who wants to have their engine quit or break when you're on a camp trail 20 miles from town? Or on an expressway 60 miles from town. And the town mechanic never saw a Toyota motorhome. I could be called fearfull I guess, but if I can avoid this scenario by giving up another 30 h/p potential, I will do this. If I can avoid breakdowns by putting on new expensive components in place of used components of unknown quality, I will do this. I really value a vehicle I can trust. Turn the key and go- and go till I turn the key off. It quits when I decide it quits. Quitting when it decides to upsets me.

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Well Guys. Afer thinking and thinking and going around and around, I have decided to do the dirty and get the upgrade. I may be a victim of my wishfull thinking, but I now really want to do this upgrade with all new parts. Rest assured that if I blow this engine up, I will never tell anyone. Seriously, I thank you all for the time you took to advise me, but something says to me- do it. Would any of you be interested in updates as I do this?

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Well Guys. Afer thinking and thinking and going around and around, I have decided to do the dirty and get the upgrade. I may be a victim of my wishfull thinking, but I now really want to do this upgrade with all new parts. Rest assured that if I blow this engine up, I will never tell anyone. Seriously, I thank you all for the time you took to advise me, but something says to me- do it. Would any of you be interested in updates as I do this?

You got my vote for updates!! A lot of folks read without posting. Take photos from start to finish and I will put it all on its own page!

Greg

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Well-- I did it. I got the L-C Engineering turbo upgrade along with a few more attached goodies that sounded like a good idea. I sweated all over my debit card big-time. There goes a very healthy chunk of the ol' retirement fund. The unit will come in about three weeks. I know you are all interested in how much this cost--4700 dollars- there, now you can all say some jerks have more money than brains. Money buys happiness and comfort. I am at an age where comfort rules and hard work can roll in dog stools . I will sit in my 21 foot motorhome, feeling comfortable and superior as I tool down the road, and call out to my lifetime companion to increase the boost as I need to climb a grade, surprise a 45 foot diesel pusher, or just feel froggy. I can't stop grinning ! I haven't felt this happy since I came across a BMW in Pennsylvania that thought he could blow that stinkin' ol' Dodge pickup off the road where it deserved to be. That ol' Dodge pickup had a 400 c.i. engine under the hood going through a 2.91 axle ratio rear end. It could bury the speedometer before it would shift out of passing gear. I, as an ol' man, remember, and grin till the corners of my mouth hit my ears. Horse power is addictive ! L-C engineering has told me that at a 5 pound boost with my rig, 150 horse power is practical. At 7 pounds of boost, 170 horsepower is practical. My engine stock is 116 hp. A 40 hp boost is not to be laughed at. No power increase is to be laughed at, ask the turd that was driving the BMW.

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