Shoprat Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 It just keeps getting better! After I installed a new head gasket, the engine would hardly start, would hardly idle, and blew blue smoke in an outrageous manner. I left the engine run after I got it so it would idle and the blue smoke went away, only to re-appear when I revved it up. Took a wet and dry compression check on the cylinders and everything appeared kopasetic. So, I did a cylinder pressure test with my air compressor. I heard wind blowing in #4. No wind heard when I listened at tailpipe, no wind heard when I listened at throttle body, but wind blew strongly out of rocker cover vent telling me the rings were bad. I checked the rest of the cylinders, but couldn't get an accurate reading ( listening?)from them as to the way the cam worked the valves. When the piston went to BDC, one or the other of the valves would open slightly and the test was invalidated. So, I started tearing the engine back down again! I pulled #4 piston out and the top ring was fine, but the second ring and third ring were frozen/collapsed in the piston grooves to where they did not expand when released from the cylinder bore. There was NO sealing available from these components. So, I decided to check out the other cylinders while I had the engine torn down. The other cylinders were the same way. I decided to re-ring the entire engine. As the rings were stuck in the collapsed position on the pistons, I decided to soak the pistons in carb cleaner to eat the gunk so I wouldn't damage the pistons when I removed the junk rings. I removed #1 piston after it had soaked a while to be greeted with the second ring expanded to a normal confriguration. I was just going to peel the ring from the groove, when I noticed something funny ( Oh yah- right- funny- har-de-harhar). A goodly chunk of piston land was missing from between #1 and #2 ring groove ! Yup- a chunk was GONE ! I stared at this for a while, disbelieveing my sight orbs. The root of the missing land chunk was dark. It had been broken for a LONG time ! It was a wonder, what with 2/3s of the rings not doing their jobs, that this engine ran with any power at all. Coupled with this, a broken piston along with a turbo honkin' more boom mixture in the cylinders. It was a miracle this engine didn't blow its' cookies all over the pavement. I was able to fish the broken piece out of the bottom of my cleaner can. This proved to me that the only thing keeping this piece connected to the piston was gunk that the carb cleaner ate! Well, I gotta get new pistons. I will not re-assemble this mill without new pistons in all cylinders to give Ol' Shoprat peace of mind. Guess I'll go with cast pistons again, unless ya'll have any better ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Toyota 22RET pistions, a lower compression ratio make keep things together longer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolan Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Toyota 22RET pistions, a lower compression ratio make keep things together longer That was my thoughts too WME, that or some aftermarket forged units. I did that on my supercharged 22r, bit the bullet and used some aftermarket blower pistons and to date still running fine with no detonation problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcg9381 Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 That was my thoughts too WME, that or some aftermarket forged units. I did that on my supercharged 22r, bit the bullet and used some aftermarket blower pistons and to date still running fine with no detonation problems. Nolan, contact me if you need help with your turbo project - I've done turbo and supercharged 22R-series.. Tuning these motors correctly is key! d_ginther@hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolan Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 Nolan, contact me if you need help with your turbo project - I've done turbo and supercharged 22R-series.. Tuning these motors correctly is key!d_ginther@hotmail.com Thanks for the offer, Your right, the tuning is the key and so far I got the tuning under control, mine is a supercharged 22R that I built, couldn't be happier. Now Shoprat is the guy with the turbo monster, Greg has one too, now I can't say for sure but I think they both might be beyond help just kiddin guys Later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 My turbo is the stock 22RTE engine. Low compression and about 6psi boost so it won't blow its top. I think some low compression forged pistons are the ticket. Have the crank balanced with the pistons and rods and it should purr like a kitten! What kind of boost were you getting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolan Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 My turbo is the stock 22RTE engine. Low compression and about 6psi boost so it won't blow its top. I think some low compression forged pistons are the ticket. Have the crank balanced with the pistons and rods and it should purr like a kitten! What kind of boost were you getting? Hey Greg, I knew yours was a factory RET, just figured you might have upgraded the turbo by now. My engine is a late model 22R block, bored .020 over, running 7.5-1 forged blower pistons, fully balanced, ARP head studs, crankshaft windage tray, late model 22R big valve head, with bronze guides, performance springs, Schnieder camshaft, supercharger with a 500cfm holley carb, header and 2.5" exhaust system full length, a Mallory unilite ignition setup plus a remote oil cooler and dual remote oil filters pretty much round out the package. Its running 6psi boost but have been thinking of doing some playing, an 8 or 10 psi pulley is available, plus I have been toying with the idea of adapting a Holley 4bbl carb to see what improvements I can make or break. To date I haven't had a minutes problem with it, runs great, traffic and AC poses no overheating problems, no detonation or pinging, the reliabilty factor is nice but theres always the urge to tweak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcg9381 Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 (edited) Hey Greg, I knew yours was a factory RET, just figured you might have upgraded the turbo by now.My engine is a late model 22R block, bored .020 over, running 7.5-1 forged blower pistons, fully balanced, ARP head studs, crankshaft windage tray, late model 22R big valve head, with bronze guides, performance springs, Schnieder camshaft, supercharger with a 500cfm holley carb, header and 2.5" exhaust system full length, a Mallory unilite ignition setup plus a remote oil cooler and dual remote oil filters pretty much round out the package. Its running 6psi boost but have been thinking of doing some playing, an 8 or 10 psi pulley is available, plus I have been toying with the idea of adapting a Holley 4bbl carb to see what improvements I can make or break. To date I haven't had a minutes problem with it, runs great, traffic and AC poses no overheating problems, no detonation or pinging, the reliabilty factor is nice but theres always the urge to tweak. I ran the Camden (Atkins Rotary) blower with a 7.5:1 Forged setup. Even a 8-10psi, I couldn't get it to ping with factory mechanical advance and 87 octane. That setup *loved* a big carb (or TPI). The 22RTE is in the same compression range, It definitely can handle more boost - the limiting factor (if you're running the 22RTE ecu) is that you'll eventually hit boost cut in the 8-10 psi range. If you want a "factory like" replacement turbo the .42/.48 garrett is great - instant boost at any rpm, it's cheap, and can be adapted to a stock turbo manifold. How well the stock ECU will adapt to it's air flow, I'm not sure as I've never done it. I've run the .42/.48 t3, the .60/.63 t3, and 2 bigger t04b turbos. On a modified motor, the .60/.63 t3 is by far my favorite. I used to say "no intercooler" on low boost setups, but I've found that the factory intake is pretty well preheated and I'm seeing intake temps in the 125 deg (non-turbo) and 185+ on the turbo motors. Guys running intercoolers end up with temps slightly above ambient... So it's probably a good modification. The factory 22RTE is in a great compression range. Going to forged pistons won't help resolve the "blow it's top" issue - but they might give you a litte more safety factor if you're really going to boost it. Other downsides to forged slugs: cost ($300-$600), increased piston to wall clearance, and higher oil consumption. Both my blown motors ran CP pistons. The cast pistons are good for somewhere around 200hp, so no real need to change them until you're targeting over that power amount. If you're concerned about the head gasket (and you should be) - the best mod is a set of ARP studs and an MLS (multi-layer-steel) head gasket. The Cometic HG works great. It typically requires an R50 finish or better on the deck. d_ginther@hotmail.com Edited August 11, 2007 by dcg9381 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Here is the link to the kit I may install one day http://www.turboengineering.com/upgrade_bo...ort/toyota.html My friend Bruce (AC6DN in the Ham world) installed one in his 87 truck. He has been almost 100% happy with it. There were some install problems but overall its really sweet and works well with the stock ECU. Here is another link to one of his pages showing the actual kit http://www.bchawkins.com/tec_pics/tec_pics.html He has another page in the plans to explain the install problems but has not gotten to it yet. I think the total cost was around $2000 LC Engineering also make a kit for about $1500 http://www.lcengineering.com/newsletter/in...=view&id=19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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