22R Engine Rebuild

[autumn]

I'm just going to throw this out there in advance, this is kind of a low-effort post because I didn't take enough pictures along the way. This is mostly just for the couple of people that have been bugging me about why I'm taking so long getting to the west coast.

Back in February, I went and picked up my new home. A 1983 Toyota Sunrader. We drove it from Arkansas to Virginia, approximately 3,000 miles. It made the journey without issue. When we had finally arrived, the e-brake cable snapped and the RV rolled. It seriously busted up someone's brand new BMW, blew up one of my rear tail lights and nearly snapped my bumper off. His wife shouted that she was calling the police, and when they asked me about insurance, I laughed, and told him the bad news. In cartoon-ish fashion, his face got so red that he looked like he was about to blow an artery in his noggin.

View attachment 37824

While we were preparing to leave, the engine began showing signs of trouble. By the time that we were ready to leave, it sounded like two skeletons making out on a tin roof in a hailstorm using a tin can as a condom. We tenuously began a 500 mile journey north to @DrewSTNY, who had graciously invited us into his home.

We met up with my friend, another toyota RV fanatic, along the way.

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Our RV is heavy and slow, so it took us about 3 days to make it to @DrewSTNY. The moment we pulled into his driveway, the engine died. The surgery began.

First, we hoisted the engine out:

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Then we completely disassembled it:

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And we sent it off to the machinist. While we were waiting for the head/block to be machined, we built a super sweet solar rack:

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We got the head and block back. Back in the day, Drew had custom built a dyno for the machinist who did the engine work. Someone fucked it up between then and now. Drew agreed to fix it, and he gave us the engine - a shitload of new parts, and twenty hours of labor, for FREE!

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Only a couple of weeks now and it'll all be back together. I started knowing nothing about engines back in February, and with the help of two StP resident mechanical geniuses @DrewSTNY and @creature, I've gotten pretty handy with a wrench. Drew is an awesome guy and has been incredibly generous with his space, time, and knowledge. I couldn't have done it without him. Thanks, buddy.

I'll reply to this post later with more pictures as the build progresses.

 

[creature]

my God..

Drew is fkng brilliant..
I'm targeting a stop in, if the trip north holds up against last moment uncertainties..

sweet pics, dood..

def hit hillbilly's co-op!!!

 

[autumn]

my God..

Drew is fkng brilliant..
I'm targeting a stop in, if the trip north holds up against last moment uncertainties..

sweet pics, dood..

def hit hillbilly's co-op!!!

More like a mad scientist, or.. a mad engineer.. if that rolled off the tongue well. Using aluminum angles to build the entire solar rack was his idea. It was cheap as hell and it's incredibly stout. He or I will post the CAD file and drawings for that later.

Think you'll get here within 3 weeks?

 

[creature]

should be..
putting my rig ogether with toothpicks & thumbtacks..
this has been a bit conspicuous:

so I'm hanging internal sheving with the now shitty wood that the rain, heat & humid air down in this shithole have effectively destroyed:
View attachment 37865


View attachment 37867

nothing spectacular, but it will move stuff below & give me a space to throw a tent, up top..

i carry a lot of shit..
if i dump the kitchen gear, food crap, telescope, work clothes, and all the fucking tools, i could probably just sleep in the back..
a small truck is in no way a reasonable full time rig..
i got fucked up in north dakota, & am *still* fucking dealing with it..
but hopefully up there within another week..
when all this shit is done, I'm doing what i hate most, & bee-lining it..
unless i get the RV i have an eye on, or an offshore gig in the Caribbean..
won't know everything for another 100 hours or so..

 

[creature]

BTW.. metro pcs kind of sucks & lagged the other photos, but. ya get the idea : )

 

[autumn]

should be..
putting my rig ogether with toothpicks & thumbtacks..
this has been a bit conspicuous:

so I'm hanging internal sheving with the now shitty wood that the rain, heat & humid air down in this shithole have effectively destroyed:
View attachment 37865


View attachment 37867

nothing spectacular, but it will move stuff below & give me a space to throw a tent, up top..

i carry a lot of shit..
if i dump the kitchen gear, food crap, telescope, work clothes, and all the fucking tools, i could probably just sleep in the back..
a small truck is in no way a reasonable full time rig..
i got fucked up in north dakota, & am *still* fucking dealing with it..
but hopefully up there within another week..
when all this shit is done, I'm doing what i hate most, & bee-lining it..
unless i get the RV i have an eye on, or an offshore gig in the Caribbean..
won't know everything for another 100 hours or so..

BTW.. metro pcs kind of sucks & lagged the other photos, but. ya get the idea : )

That is a bit conspicuous, yeah. Any particular reason that you aren't using corrugated aluminum? You could build a camper on it. If it's a temporary rig I guess it wouldn't make any sense.

Keep me updated, it would suck if you got here after we've left

 

[scntfc]

Any updates on the Sunrader? I have a Previa with the same engine. I love the mpg and performance for it being a 4banger. I haven't built it out yet with the hope that I will graduate to a Toyota camper.

 

[Coywolf]

Dude! The 22R is bulletproof! I would have replaced it with a 22RE, personally, more power and torque, it can be dropped into the same mounts and hook ups.

But hey! That's awesome. The part about getting the work for free is ridiculous, that's some karma for all the helpful posts you've posted on here or something.

I also live out of a Toyota...eh-hem.. "RV", in the form of a 93' pickup and campshell. If I ever found a Dolphin in good shape I would kill for it.

 

[CaptainCassius]

Had an '87 for years if you rebuild them right or take care of them the 20r 22r 22re are probably the most legendary, bulletproof awesome 4 cylinder gas engines from that era and arguably even now considering ease of working on them availability of parts etc. Toyota makes some good stuff, the 3fe in the land cruisers are killer engines as well. Not as good on gas being a straight 6 but just as bulletproof if not more so. Seen them go over 500,000 on original block and head. In fact if I had the dough I always thought about importing one of the LC pickup models that weren't offered in the US and using that as a base for an RV build.

 

[DrewSTNY]

So here's the archive for the solar panel frame.

 

[autumn]

Any updates on the Sunrader? I have a Previa with the same engine. I love the mpg and performance for it being a 4banger. I haven't built it out yet with the hope that I will graduate to a Toyota camper.

Sunrader has been good to us so far. Unfortunately the interior is so fucked up that we found it unlivable for the winter.

If you don't already know the main thing you wanna look out for with toyota campers is the shitty 5 lug/half ton rear axles that got a total recall. If it has 6 lugs it's ok.

 

[CaptainCassius]

Sunrader has been good to us so far. Unfortunately the interior is so fucked up that we found it unlivable for the winter.

If you don't already know the main thing you wanna look out for with toyota campers is the shitty 5 lug/half ton rear axles that got a total recall. If it has 6 lugs it's ok.

This is actually somewhat interesting to anyone doing custom campers or looking for Toyota RVs:
The 5 lug (7.5" ring gear 27mm axle shafts) and 6 lug (8" ring gear 30? Or 33mm, can't remember) single rear wheel axles from that time are actually rated up to "1ton" themselves although personally I wouldn't put that much load on them I would say 3/4 ton is your safety and easily doable with the right suspension. The 6 lug dually axles are what got put under Dolphins and such and the 1 ton work trucks and they also have an 8" ring gear and corresponding axle shafts and the tube is no different but the addition of the dual rear wheels disperses a lot more weight reduces axle bowing tires popping etc. esp. Under constant weight but they're not any tougher.

Really with the 5 lug single rear wheel axles Toyota told the RV builders it would work and the RV builders went way heavier than they needed too + DOT in the US wasn't so happy about it.

Addt'l note: those Toyota duallies used an odd wheel stud spacing and can be hard to find wheels as such unless pulled off a junker.

 

[CaptainCassius]

This is actually somewhat interesting to anyone doing custom campers or looking for Toyota RVs:
The 5 lug (7.5" ring gear 27mm axle shafts) and 6 lug (8" ring gear 30? Or 33mm, can't remember) single rear wheel axles from that time are actually rated up to "1ton" themselves although personally I wouldn't put that much load on them I would say 3/4 ton is your safety and easily doable with the right suspension. The 6 lug dually axles are what got put under Dolphins and such and the 1 ton work trucks and they also have an 8" ring gear and corresponding axle shafts and the tube is no different but the addition of the dual rear wheels disperses a lot more weight reduces axle bowing tires popping etc. esp. Under constant weight but they're not any tougher.

Really with the 5 lug single rear wheel axles Toyota told the RV builders it would work and the RV builders went way heavier than they needed too + DOT in the US wasn't so happy about it.

Addt'l note: those Toyota duallies used an odd wheel stud spacing and can be hard to find wheels as such unless pulled off a junker.

^^ and for anyone more familiar with American vehicles the Dana 44 is a pretty comparable Axle.

Sorry didn't mean to hijack the thread
*Please move this info elsewhere if needed*

 

[DrewSTNY]

^^ and for anyone more familiar with American vehicles the Dana 44 is a pretty comparable Axle.

Sorry didn't mean to hijack the thread
*Please move this info elsewhere if needed*

True, but with the weight that is carried on that axle, I would put a Dana 60 in there, but finding the right rim and tire combination to fit under there would be a real challenge. With Zim's RV, the weight is centered just in front of the rear axle and the front suspension didn't have much weight on it at all. There's around 4500-5000# over the rear axle or more and the whole thing only weights in around 6000# or so. That's fine for a true 3/4 ton truck, but for a modified 1/4 ton cab and chassis, that's a lot of weight.

 

[CaptainCassius]

I would put a Dana 60 in there

No doubt, that's a much beefier axle and much more up to the task not to mention more strength for torsional forces at a moment a la engine/trans combo swaps. At that point though, as tough as those chassis components and frame design are, you're definitely entering the threshold of a lot of maybes without serious modification; for me personally I like things overbuilt and tougher than they need to be and I completely agree with you.

 

[autumn]

This is actually somewhat interesting to anyone doing custom campers or looking for Toyota RVs:
The 5 lug (7.5" ring gear 27mm axle shafts) and 6 lug (8" ring gear 30? Or 33mm, can't remember) single rear wheel axles from that time are actually rated up to "1ton" themselves although personally I wouldn't put that much load on them I would say 3/4 ton is your safety and easily doable with the right suspension. The 6 lug dually axles are what got put under Dolphins and such and the 1 ton work trucks and they also have an 8" ring gear and corresponding axle shafts and the tube is no different but the addition of the dual rear wheels disperses a lot more weight reduces axle bowing tires popping etc. esp. Under constant weight but they're not any tougher.

Really with the 5 lug single rear wheel axles Toyota told the RV builders it would work and the RV builders went way heavier than they needed too + DOT in the US wasn't so happy about it.

Addt'l note: those Toyota duallies used an odd wheel stud spacing and can be hard to find wheels as such unless pulled off a junker.

Not really the main issue with the 1/2 ton axles is they put these fake duals on em that are 2 rims welded together, it put a shitload of stress on the axle (aside from the fact that they came out of the factory 1 ton over the weight spec for the axle) and the axles had a habit of catastrophically failing while you were barreling down the highway.

The 1 ton axle is an actual fully floating dual and is what you want.

 

[CaptainCassius]

Not really the main issue with the 1/2 ton axles is they put these fake duals on em that are 2 rims welded together, it put a shitload of stress on the axle (aside from the fact that they came out of the factory 1 ton over the weight spec for the axle) and the axles had a habit of catastrophically failing while you were barreling down the highway.

The 1 ton axle is an actual fully floating dual and is what you want.

I don't think I was trying to suggest you use the 1/2 ton axle underneath those horrendously overweight RV's. Simply posting specs for people interested in converting pickups and such.

That was the issue though, like I said before, the RV builders went waaaay overweight. Toyota just sent them rolling chassis with cabs, they had no clue what those idiots were putting on them until they heard complaints of axles breaking.

 

[CaptainCassius]

Let me clarify:

The 5 lug (7.5" ring gear 27mm axle shafts) and 6 lug (8" ring gear 30? Or 33mm, can't remember) single rear wheel axles from that time are actually rated up to "1ton"

^^ referring to single wheel semi-floating axles with either 7.5" or 8" ring gear.

The 6 lug dually axles are what got put under Dolphins and such and the 1 ton work trucks

Addt'l note: those Toyota duallies used an odd wheel stud spacing and can be hard to find wheels as such unless pulled off a junker.

^^ referring to the dual wheel full floating axle with 8" ring gear

And also to clarify: YES they are two different axles.

 

[CaptainCassius]

they also have an 8" ring gear and corresponding axle shafts and the tube is no different but the addition of the dual rear wheels disperses a lot more weight reduces axle bowing tires popping etc. esp. Under constant weight but they're not any tougher.

^^ this I believe is where the confusion comes from; yes they're full floating and so take weight on the housing instead of the halfshafts and therefore are capable of handling more weight than the semi-floating axles.

Yeah seems i neglected inclusion of that info.. yes the dual wheel set-up and full-floating design are what make these suited to that particular application.