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Greetings Dolphin Masters:

It is a sad day in Evergreen, CO. My 1986 Dolphin blew the head gasket today. I had some loss of power and my former mechanic advised me to have a valve job i.e new top end earlier this year.

My thoughts and a recommendation from a brother firefighter were to drive her til she quits and replace the engine with a fresh rebuilt one.

Any recommendations on a reputable supplier for rebuilt 22RE engines?

Also, is this a short block or long block? what is the difference? does this matter?

Fortunately, I have a shop available to swap the engine, just enough money (I think), and plenty of helping hands.

Plan B is to put a used engine in for now and save for the rebuilt one (if I don't have enough money for a rebuilt one now). Jim at our local Toyota Bone Yard will sell me a used 22RE for $600; will run it for me before taking it out of the junk rig and guarantee it for 30 days.

Your input is greatly appreciated.

Truly,

Stephen

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Greetings Dolphin Masters:

It is a sad day in Evergreen, CO. My 1986 Dolphin blew the head gasket today. I had some loss of power and my former mechanic advised me to have a valve job i.e new top end earlier this year.

My thoughts and a recommendation from a brother firefighter were to drive her til she quits and replace the engine with a fresh rebuilt one.

Any recommendations on a reputable supplier for rebuilt 22RE engines?

Also, is this a short block or long block? what is the difference? does this matter?

Fortunately, I have a shop available to swap the engine, just enough money (I think), and plenty of helping hands.

Plan B is to put a used engine in for now and save for the rebuilt one (if I don't have enough money for a rebuilt one now). Jim at our local Toyota Bone Yard will sell me a used 22RE for $600; will run it for me before taking it out of the junk rig and guarantee it for 30 days.

Your input is greatly appreciated.

Truly,

Stephen

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Greetings Dolphin Masters:

It is a sad day in Evergreen, CO. My 1986 Dolphin blew the head gasket today. I had some loss of power and my former mechanic advised me to have a valve job i.e new top end earlier this year.

Something doesn't add up unless I'm misunderstanding. Are you saying you got a valve-job done and after that the head-gasket blew? If so, first question is why? Should not have happened if it was done right. Next question is - what was the condition of the engine when the head was off? Having the head off would of enabled whoever was working on it to ascertain what kind of shape and future life that engine had. Cylinder walls unworn? Piston rings not slapping back and forth in the pistons?

In regard to the question of where to buy a rebuilt? Now adays machine shop costs are so expensive - I would never try to rebuild any auto engine locally - even when doing most of the labor myself. My #1 choice would be an OEM used engine in good shape (virgin and never rebuilt). My #2 choice would likely be a brand new engine from Asia. You can get a rebuilt long-block for $1000 and a brand new long-block for $1500? Will either one have the same quality parts or close machining tolerances as a new 22RE would of from the Toyota factory? Probably not - but I could live with that fact.

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I was in the same situation and put in an engine from Sunwest. They were good to deal with and did a good job on the engine. After about 300 for shipping and 150 for the gaskets, it cost around 2,000 (I might be a little high on this). http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOYOTA-22R-22RE-REBUILT-ENGINE-LONG-BLOCK-/331397907248?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4d28dac330&vxp=mtr

Here is a video of part of my work on my very slanted driveway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYerHpZvf9g&list=UUKKdTtDd_73MKZghl-qm6Dg

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I think you ought to pull the head off and find out what shape the rest of the engine is in. What you already have might be in better shape then what you buy used. If it wasn't using oil before - or clanging and knocking, it's seems a little premature to condemn it and replace it with something that might be worse. From what I've seen the warranties given with used engines aren't much insurance. Not if you are paying someone to do the labor of swapping engines. I doubt anyone selling you a used engine is going to pay your expenses of engine swapping.

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Here you go. Bet you can buy this Dolphin for $1600- $1800 and according to the seller - it only has 36,000 miles on it.! Also has that rare "V4" and new "deap sale" battery.

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I don't remember how many miles are on your engine, but if the bottom end (short block) is in good shape, I'd think about this:-

http://www.ebay.com/itm/85-95-2-4L-TOYOTA-PICKUP-COMPLETE-CYLINDER-HEAD-HEAD-GASKET-SET-w-BOLTS-22RE-/140689057901?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20c1b8a86d&vxp=mtr

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My guess is that's a scam. For some reason scammers like oddball amounts for their prices.

Could be. It's a Georgia cell phone #. May be a scam or may be legit. I live in northern Michigan yet my phone # is from central New York. Price looks average for what few Toyota RVs come up for sale here in northern Michigan. I paid $1800 for my 1988 Minicruiser and there's an 85 Dolphin down the road from me for $1200. The 85 Dolphin is based on an S15 GMC with a 2.8 V6.

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I don't remember how many miles are on your engine, but if the bottom end (short block) is in good shape, I'd think about this:-

http://www.ebay.com/itm/85-95-2-4L-TOYOTA-PICKUP-COMPLETE-CYLINDER-HEAD-HEAD-GASKET-SET-w-BOLTS-22RE-/140689057901?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20c1b8a86d&vxp=mtr

I would of used one of those if I'd had the chance. Rock Auto was selling the complete "loaded" heads for $250 awhile back. When my water pump blew, and head gasket then failed on my 1988 22RE - the shop where my wife was stuck refused to install one of those new loaded heads. I even offered to sign a waiver so that shop did not have to warranty the job. NOPE. Wound up paying near $500 just to get the old head done at a local machine shop and $1800 for the total job of installing it. I was stuck behind a "rock and a hard place." I was driving a moving truck en route to Michigan and had farm animals with me. No way for us to stop, hang out for a few days and try to fix ourselves. I've read a few commentaries on those new heads by machine shop guys who bought them just to take apart and inspect. From what I can tell, they are Chinese clones but not all that bad. Said to have softer valves and valve-seats than OEM and a poorer casting. But considering a well cared-for OEM head can last 200K miles - even if these only have half that life - it's still a good deal.

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The 22RE was a great engine around 150K the chain want south but other than that they lasted a long time. I would yank the head and see what's up chances are the bottom end is fine unless you have excessive miles on it most MH don't get many miles per year. If the head gasket was done and failed in short order either the head was not resurfaced or it was cut beyond the minimum. Resurfaced badly warped cylinder heads do nothing for the cam bearing surfaces they still have a twist just the bottom is flat so with a history of head gasket failure it may well be time for a complete cylinder head. Personally I would not throw a decent engine away just because it lost a head gasket.

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If I understand correctly, a mechanic suggested a rebuilt head but it was decided not to because of the $1000 estimate. The head gasket has now let go.

Before pulling the head, I'd start with a compression check. If it's the head gasket, 1 or 2 cylinders will be low. The other's might be an indication of the condition of the short block.

The OP reported "I had some loss of power ...". That might have been as simple as the valves needing adjusting. There might be nothing wrong (at this point) beyond the head gasket.

I'd certainly do some more investigation before replacing the whole engine. :)

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Hi jdemaris:

The points you bring up are excellent, one of the reasons I value this forum so much. I can still just pull the head and have a look. Our Fire Dept mechanics will help me, too, to evaluate before just pulling it.

Thanks for your input, I'll share what I find before taking action.

Truly,

Stephen

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Hi DerekUpNorth:

Correct, did not do the head work. Coolant in the oil, gray colored oil, and about 2 qts over full tells me probably the head gasket. compression check when mechanic wanted to do head had low compression, he said on all cylinders and #3 lower than the others. the valves were adjusted at that time.

Agreed more investigation before pulling the whole engine. I have the shop space and time ( fortunately)

Truly,

Stephen

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Drained the oil, actually got quite abit of coolant first as oil floats. After the pure coolant came out of the oil drain, the gray-colored oil came out. I am letting it drain until the last drops come out.

Drained the remaining coolant from the radiator.

What do you think about changing the oil filter, filling with fresh oil and starting the engine to get some "good" oil coating the inards of the engine?

Stephen

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if oweners before you did not change antifreze everyfew years the head maybe ate up corroed ed out i have seen this several times over the years the head was so ate up that all antifreze would go down in the oil pan wont hold compression eather

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Hi DerekUpNorth:

There is 90k on the bottom end.

Miles are kind of meaningless unless you have knowledge of what sort of miles. One vehicle can be babied, just driven long distances at 55 MPH, and last well past 200K miles before needing any major repairs. Another vehicle might get nothing but stop and go use, lousy care, and by 50K be completely worn out. My mother's car was like that. She lived in a city and that car (87 Cavalier) never got driven more than a mile at a time. When she died - and I took the car - it had 52,000 miles and was a wreck. Burned oil, door hinges worn out, trans slipping, etc. Companies that are in the business of engine-life-projections have tried to come up with a standard measure of vehicle wear that works regardless of what sort of use. Miles driven don't work for the reasons already stated. Engine hours has been tried but that method also does not always work as a predictor of longevity. A car could sit with the engine idling for 8 hours, rack up no miles but high hours. Another might spend 90% of its life being towed, show high miles yet have almost NO miles on the engine. My 1995 Geo Tracker is like that. Got towed behind a big Winnebago for many years racking up miles on the odometer but was not being driven. Mine reads 240,000 miles and I suspect it actually has around 10,000 miles of actual driving. There are currently two methods used to predict engine life that are alleged to be the most accurate. One is fuel-used. I.e. guess how long an engine can last by how much fuel it has eaten up in its life. An engine used hard eats more fuel then one run easy. Subsequently it's thought to be a more accurate measure of wear than engine-hours or highway-miles. Another method is "B-rating." That is an actual performance record of engines used hard, with stats of how many needed major repairs versus how many did not at X amount of miles. For example,

B10 engine life projection:

The expected engine life, measured in miles of operation, before 10 percent of all engines in operation will require major repair(s), overhaul, or replacement.

Example: The 7.3L Power Stroke as used in Ford pickup trucks has a B10 life of 200,000 miles. Therefore, 10 percent of all engines in operation can be expected to require an overhaul at/near 200,000 miles.

B50 engine life projection:

The expected engine life, measured in miles of operation, before 50 percent of all engines in operation will require major repair(s), overhaul, or replacement.

Example: The 5.9L Cummins like used in Dodge pickup trucks has a B50 life of 350,000 miles. Therefore, half of the engines in operation can be expected to require an overhaul at/near 350,000 miles.

An "overhaul" or "major repair" is considered a repair that requires removal of the cylinder heads or dropping of the oil pan. Failure/replacement of components that are accessible without removing the heads or dropping the oil pan do not attribute to B10/B50 life expectancy.

No such ratings for a little Toyota pickup with an RV on its back.

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Hi 5Toyota:

I have had my Dolphin for the past 34k of the 90k total miles on the odometer which I put on in 2 years. I have regularly changed the oil and antifreeze, drive without winding the gears out, know its limitations i.e. driving the 6-7% grades from Denver to Evergreen or over the Continental Divide at 25mph in 2nd gear.

No tellin how my Dolphin was treated for the first 56k miles over its 26 year lifespan for those miles.

Truly,
Stephen

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Hi jdemaris:

Brilliant! I finally got to chat with my brother firefighter Dream Weaver tonight. My marching orders from him are to research a local engine rebuilder and the cost of a rebuilt engine and shipping. Rob's thought being alot of what you described in your last post, just no tellin how much wear on the engine as a whole..........

On the positive front, Dream Weaver assures me we can swap out the motor in 2 days, yep he's that good. So, I'll plan on posting what I find out before taking action..........Thanks for all of your insight.

Truly,

Stephen

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Sounds like you're on the right track.

Yeah, swapping engines really isn't that big of a deal. As long as you have a process to keep track of vacuum hoses, it's fairly straightforward. Definitely doable in two days if you don't want to rush yourself and bust it out in one. That's kind of no fun.

When you're doing your research, be very sure to take into account the reputation of the local machine shop. Just because they have a good price, obviously doesn't mean they're any good. There are definitely some horror stories out there.

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Drained the oil, actually got quite abit of coolant first as oil floats. After the pure coolant came out of the oil drain, the gray-colored oil came out. I am letting it drain until the last drops come out.

Drained the remaining coolant from the radiator.

What do you think about changing the oil filter, filling with fresh oil and starting the engine to get some "good" oil coating the inards of the engine?

Stephen

If you have that much coolant in the oil and 90+K I would suspect the timing chain beat a hole in the timing case. If you lose a head gasket it more than likely will go out the tail pipe.

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