Looking for info on the best year / motor to get in the 2-wheel drive extended. cab truck. My plan is to get an early 90's or late 80's and rebuild it if I have to and keep for a long time. Plan to have a small camper set up for use a few times a year. Use as daily driver. and do some light hauling. I want the most economical buget minded deal I can get. And like I say willing to put in money to rebuild if it means a lot of years as a low buget ride.
Most anything from '88 on up is pretty much the same up until '95. You should be looking at a 22RE 4-cyl and 5-speed. Any real differences are purely cosmetic. The later models will have a bigger cab space.
Toyota trucks have a few generations, all with variations of the excellent 22R engine. The first real trucks were from '79 to '83. The real heyday was from '84 to '88 (these are my preferred trucks as I own 3 of them). Then the body style changed again from '89 to '94. The 22R used from '79 to '83 is different from the later versions in that it has a taller block, taller head, longer timing chain and round exhaust ports. These engines also were used in many of the '84's even though the body style had changed. The 22R engine was virtually unchanged from '85 to '95, other than a ever growing emissions control. The original 22R had around 85 HP in the carbureted version. The later 22R had around 95 HP iwith a carb or 110 HP with fuel injection. The turbo version was around 125 - 130 HP. I would avoid the turbo because of repair costs, I own both carbed and fuel injected trucks. Te carbed versions have less power, but are easier to trouble shoot by yourself. The fuel injected engines are definitely more powerful, but if some of the sensors or computerized systems get wonky, it requires a more sophisticated level of training to trouble shoot.
In the 2 wheel drive trucks in the mid 80's there are a few transmissions to look for. The standard 5 speed tranny was a W55, and it works fine, but you will be limited to tires no larger than 205R14's. You will get a bit more torque if you stay to 195R14's. The problem with these small tires is lack of payload capacity. Both of my main trucks now have 1-ton transmissions. My '85 flatbed is a factory 1-ton so it has the W56 tranny. Way more torque, and I can use my favorite tires, 27X8.5R14. These tires have a 6 ply side wall and can run up to 50 PSI for heavy loads. My '86 extra-cab longbed is now a hybrid. It was a factory 1/2 - ton, with really wimpy rear springs. Now it has the springs, axle, drive lines, and tranny from a 1-ton. makes a world of difference. Another option is to use a 4WD tranny and adapt the drive lines.
In '89 toyota expanded the Xtracab area, but no longer offered the Xtra-cab with a longbed. In '90 they required a V6 with the 1-ton, and you really don't want a
3VZE V6 engine if you can avoid it. In '95 they came out with the first Tacoma truck, but it still had the
22R engine. Toyota also got out of the flatbed and commercial chassis market in '95.
I know a 20R since I had one in my '78 toyota truck.
Have you ever rebuilt a 22R in your life? I have rebuilt 8 of them. There are 2 distinct families of 22R's. You are right that it began in '81, not '79. The earlier model can be seen in any '83 and some '84's. It is easiest to spot it in the truck since it uses a 7 bolt exhaust manifold. So it has 3 bolts on each end and one dead center. If you removed the exhaust manifold you would fine ROUND exhaust ports.
The 22R's made from late '84 to '95 have an 8 bolt exhaust manifold. If you removed that manifold you would find PEAR SHAPED exhaust ports.
The earlier 22Rs have a shorter block, thicker head and longer timing chain. They also have what are called "domed" pistons, with a raised half ring on the combustion surface of the piston. Many parts are interchangeable between the 2 types of 22R's, like the cranks shaft, cam shaft, and valves, but most parts of different.
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"The 20R 2200cc. / 22R 2400cc. engines were the most popular US Toyota engines. For 20 years, 1975 to 1995, these motors served as U.S.Toyota's dependable workhorse engine. These engines powered the popular Celicas until 1985, and the unbreakable Pick-up models used these engines until
1995 (in commercial models). Turbo models appeared briefly as the 22RTE in 1985-1988 on Pick-up and 4Runners. The 22RE Fuel injection models appeared in 1983, on some Celica and Pick-up models. In 1985- the 22RE had a major change. The block was taller and the head shorter, compared to the earlier models. The engines' blocks and heads are not interchangeable (for practical and cost purpose)."
Since you seem pretty darned knowledgeable on these little trucks, can I ask you about a Horn problem I have in my 86 pickup?
My old horn sounded like an old goose when I honked it: It started slow, then went to a sick sound. Instead of "BEEP" it went "muuu eeeh" (don't know how else to describe it).
So far, I have replaced the brass horn pin under the steering wheel - didn't help.
So, I went to the auto parts store and got an extra loud "low tone" horn. Installed it, and it sounds exactly like the old horn!
There must be a wiring problem somewhere or maybe there is a horn relay that is corroded. I looked in my factory Repair Manual and in my Chilton's manual, but nothing says anything about how to bring the old, soggy horn back to life.
You can start by connecting the horn directly to the battery with a jumper wire and see if the horn changes tone, that will tell you if the horn is the problem. Do you have a wiring diagram for the horn cicuit ?
Sounds like water got inside the coil in the old horn. If water gets inside it will kill the coil and hence the sound output. Easier to find another in a junkyard.
I think I have 4 of them scattered around my parts boxes. I currently have enough parts to assemble 2-1/2 working trucks.
Yes, it would seem like water got inside the coil or something like that, but the new horn that I got from the Auto Parts store sounds exactly the same! ...and it is supposed to be a different tone.
No idea were you can find one to print, at least I wasn't able to find anything.
I would first check for a bad ground to the horn. Starting at the horn see if you can trace the ground wire to were it connects to the chassis. Make sure it is clean and tight. I would also check the horn relay, it's possible the contacts are burnt and pitted. If you have a multimeter you can check to see if you have 12 volts at the horn. If you have high resistance in that circuit it should show up as low voltage. If possible, visually inspect the horn wiring for any partial breaks in the wiring. It would be possible to have a wire that is cut half way through test OK but not provide enough current flow under load.
Probably a corroded terminal somewhere between the steering wheel and the horn. The corrosion is acting as a resistor.
Could take a while to find. I had a problem with my '85 truck with a tiny leak in the middle of the bottom edge of the windshield. The constant slow dripping of water got all the way down inside the dashboard and ended up damaging the air blower vent controls and some wiring. Absolutely the worst thing to have to fix on a Toyota truck is the air box. It requires the complete removal of the dash and all it's sub-structures.
The ground isn't hard to trace: It goes about 4 whole inches to secure using the bolt that holds the horn to the truck.
The horn relay is something I'd like to check! I have the Toyota Repair Manual for this truck, but it fails to list where the horn relay would be located, and I can't find it.
I'll have to check the 12 volts. That will require assistance, as I can't very well depress the horn button while reading the meter under the hood. Maybe I can convince my wife to help with this, but there are no guarantees.
While I'm checking the voltage, could you give me an idea where the horn relay is?
That makes it easy to check ;). If you haven't already I would take the ground wire off and make sure ir is a good connection before I started checking the hot side.
I don't know were it is either but I would look under the hood and around the fuse box.
I would start by checking at the horn first and working towards the firewall. You can always use a jumper wire to extend the test leads on your meter.
The older (80's and back IIRC) trucks don't have a horn relay - the clue is the horn has a 2-wire connector and neither one is grounded.
One horn lead goes to constant +12 battery through a fuse, and the other goes to the horn ring brush assembly, through the steering wheel slip ring and then to the horn button switch.
Ground is through the steering column, and if there is a bad ground strap or bond jumper that will cause an intermittent horn too.
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