22RE Timing Chain

That's a good question but really hard to answer. What condition is the rest of the truck in ? How much is the repair going to cost ? Can you purchase another vehicle for the price of the repair ?

If the truck is in good condition and well maintained it may be a good idea to have it repaired. While you are doing the timing chain and cover remove the cylinder head and have a valve job done. It might be a pricy repair but you shouldn't have any more engine problems.

Depending on the cost of repair you may be able to purchase another vehicle for less money. If you purchase another vehicle it may need just as much work as the one you have now. Then you would be out the money for a second vehicle and repair costs.

Attn: Mike

Have you ever ACTUALLY replaced a timing chain, without removing the head? Also, the oil pan! Head item aside, how do you check (remove) any broken gasket material and junk (metal particles ) that most likely have been ground up and will wind up in the oil pan and subsequent pump!!. Maybe I have done the last two the wrong way............

Might add, that the cost of the repair, if done by the OP (with help) should not be much over $400.00, far less than the cost of a new truck!

Just my .02

I did six 22RE headgaskets last year. On my trucks and a few friends. Every time I did the headgasket I went ahead and replaced the timing chain cover, timing chain set, oil pump, and water pump. All 4 of those together cost around $125 from the eBay parts dealers.

If the hole dumped your coolant into your oil pan then the engine will need to be flushed before it can be used. You might as well do the headgasket, and the rest.

Doing your own rebuild isn't that hard, and will end up around $500 in parts. It does however take quite a bit of time, quite a list of tools, a bit of shop space to lay out the parts, and you really should get a factory manual for your truck.

A reman engine can cost from $1000 to $1800, depending on who you get it from. You can also opt for a Japanese crate engine known as the 21RU. They cost around $600 and bolt right in. They have a little less power, but they do work.

Toyota trucks routinely get 250,000 to 300,000 miles before the first headgasket blows or the timing chain goes out. After a rebuild you are looking at around 80,000 to 100,000 miles before it goes again.

The best consistent engine pricing I have seen is from a eBay dealer from Oregon.

I had my timing chain replaced at 125k as a precautionary matter. It cost about $1500 to have the shop replace it. The truck still runs great at 150k and I have no plans to get rid of it. In fact I have had people at the dealership offer to buy it.

Hell no!! But you get people asking all the time if the head really needs to be removed to do a timing chain. If you have the engine that far apart it only makes sense to replace the head gasket as well. Also, with 210,000 miles on the engine, it makes sense to have a valve job done while it is apart.

The first question I have is were did the ground up gasket material come from ??? If you cover the front of the oil pan while you are scraping the old gaskets off you should not have any gasket material in the oil pan that you need to remove.

The second question is what are all these metal particles in the oil pan that need removal ??? If you are talking about the metal from the timing chain cover it is most likely in the oil filter. As it was rubbed off the timing cover while the engine was running it was suspended in the oil, run through the oil pump and ended up in the oil filter. That's what oil filters are for. Any shavings that were too heavy to be suspended by the oil will be laying in the bottom of the oil pan and will most likely get removed at the next oil change. Any particles that remain will stay at the bottom of the pan and will not be a problem.

Before any gasket material would be able to get into the oil pump it would first have to go through the oil pump pickup screen.

Maybe I

Maybe..........

Yes, if the OP could do the work they would save alot of money that would be spent in labor. The OP said they had taken the vehicle a mechanic, which will be a bit more expensive.

I think the "Hell No"! and subsequent rant answered my question!! Responding to a question with lack of knowledge and experience often leads to embarrassment! Bill

Sorry Bill, didn't mean to embarrass you......

""Chuckle".... I wasn't referring to me being embarrassed...... I have the knowledge AND experience... Nuff Said!

I replaced the timing chain, guides, and tensioner on my 22re engine last summer without pulling the head or oil pan. Mine hadn't worn into the front cover yet but was starting to make noise at 215,000 miles. I bought the parts from an eBay store for about $60 which included the metal guides instead of plastic. I saw new front covers on eBay for under $100 also. The job was a piece of cake and took me just a few hours.

Paul wrote:

Thanks for the info. I don't have the tools and knowledge to do this job myself, so I'll be paying someone else to do it. This is why I was (and still am) kind of on the fence as to my next step. What I dont want to do is spend the money to have the timing chain and cover replaced only to find out that the engine got trashed from either debris from the guide that failed or coolant getting into the oil pan. I also contacted a local junkyard that has what is "allegedly" a good used 22re that I can pick up for abot $450, but I'm not crazy about that option either. I appreciate everyone's input.

check out Partsdinosaur.com, he sells on ebay, but the prices are the same and you get the parts faster without having to bid. Also make sure you get the steal reinforced guides and not the plastic ones like the original.

Prologue:

I went ahead and had my old engine repaired. Turned out to not be as bad as I was told by the first mechanic that looked at it. I suspect he just wanted to sell me a $3k reman engine. The plastic guide had broken, and the chain was just starting to wear into the cover, but had not worn all the way through, so I had no water/antifreeze in the oil pan. It's running great so far and I'm a little lighter in the wallet, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Thanks for everyone's input.

Paul

Really common story.

Just think if Toyota had stuck with the steel backed chain guides in the earlier 22R's.