I am looking at buying a 1987 Toy P.U. 4x4 4 cylinder with a turbo, it has
176,000 miles on board. The exterior cab is fine, no damage or dents, the bed is rusted and looks like crap. Can anyone tell me what kind of engine this has with the turbo, 22r or what and if buying a turbo engine with this mileage is going to be a problem down the road. The seller is my neighbor and he takes good care of the engine but he has no idea which engine is in it either. He is also selling it to me for $900.00.
The turbo motors are more troublesome than the regular 22RE. I hear the average life expectancy of the stock turbocharger, which is a relativly poor design, is around 120K miles. The bearings or seals tend to go out around then. You can get it rebuilt though, but that'll run you at least 500 bucks, with a new Toyota turbo running close to $2000 bucks! My '86 22RTE has 128K miles and needed the cylinder head replaced due to cracking, which is a lot less common on non-turbo motors. I drive my truck hard though, so maybe if the guy has been super easy on his truck, his parts might last quite a bit longer.
That said, I love my turbo truck. Its got a lot of power for the little motor, and the compromise in reliability is worth it for me.
Also, the 5-speed trannys that came in the turbo trucks are HIGHLY desirable. They are very beefy and have a lower 1st gear, making them much wanted by the off-road crowd. You might come close to recouping your $900 with the tranny and transfer cas alone, if you ended up parting out the truck. I bet you could get $600 easy. Oh yea, the rear-end is the more stout V-6 type also.
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