TECH NOTES FROM KEN
Why so many head gasket failures?
I've been doing this since I was 18 and had my first 1974 Hilux with an 18R engine. Up until the last 10 years I had never seen so many head gasket failures. Even on high Km engines I don't remember ever seeing these engines have HG failures. These engines use a cast iron block and an aluminum head, two metals that heat and cool at different rates. Another issue is that when a head gasket does fail it often warps the head and the block surface. Typically, backyard guys will just put a new gasket on or even get the head re-surfaced and never get the block decked. Fair enough, it's a pain in the ass to have to pull the entire engine and take it to the machine shop. They may run a straight edge on it but that's just never as good. That's why we just do it right the first time and avoid these issues.
Coolant leaks will kill pretty much any engine, it's crucial that you check all your coolant lines and hoses for leaks or wear. If a rubber hose feels spongey and soft - replace it. The factory gauges on these trucks are not perfect, so if you see your temperature rising above normal operating temperature stop your truck immediately before it gets too hot. Checking your thermostat and your hoses for leaks can save you rebuilding your entire engine. There can be a lot of different causes for HG failures (blown coolant bypass hose is another common one), but these are the main ones that I've encountered and the solutions that I feel are best and will create the longest lasting and best 22re engines, period!
22RE OWNERS BEWARE! Your oil could ruin your engine! READ MORE.
OUR PROCESS - OUR DIFFERENCE
PERFORMANCE ENGINES AND WORKMANSHIP
GAP-LESS RINGS
The main reason we do gapless rings is to drastically reduce blow-by in the engine. This is a cause of all the carbon (power stealing black gook) build up in the plenum and intake. Your intake is meant to suck in CLEAN air, that's it. There is no reason your intake should get built up with all the black mess that you may have seen. The reason for the build up is the blow by through the pcv valve. We can address this issue by installing gapless rings on the pistons which substantially reduces blow up by creating a 360 degree seal. Additionally, the gap on a conventional rings grows as the engine wears and creates more blow-by, where the total seal gapless rings stay constant, and the blow-by does not increase with engine age.
TOTAL SEAL PISTON RINGS
"We are confident you will enjoy the Total Seal benefits
- Low blow-by
- Increased horsepower
- Improved fuel economy
- Cooler and cleaner oil
- Longer engine life"
STAINLESS VALVES
Doesn't "oversized stainless steel valves" just sound COOL? These valves are FAR more durable and can take much more heat than a conventional valve. They look great as well and are polished smooth for better flow and performance and less deposit build up on the valve surface. The factory 22re head with the swirl port do not breathe that well, these oversized valves combined with the ported and polished head will correct that issue and improve performance.
HAND POLISHED
Anytime you polish an internal part of an engine it creates faster and better flow. There is a large volume of air and fuel travelling through the engine. By creating the smoothest surface possible we ensure the best flow rate of air-fuel mix through the engine. Creating the smoothest surface also makes it harder for deposits to build up inside the engine. This is taking porting and polishing to the next level.
BRAND NEW ENGINE HEADS
Generally when a head gasket is done, the head is resurfaced. If this is done improperly or too many times the head thickness becomes below usable spec. We call them 'old warpys' - warn out and warped heads from too many head gasket failures and "repairs".
Many old heads can still be resurfaced and reconditioned to be used safely in rebuilt motors as long as they meet factory spec.
On our performance engines we only use NEW heads. These are brand new cast aluminum heads that we purchase, hand polish and have re-machined to accept oversized stainless valves.
PISTONS
Stock vs. Forged pistons
All our engine blocks ('stock' rebuild or performance) are bored out for oversized pistons. Forged pistons are lighter and stronger and they take the compression up to 9.7:1 (which is the maximum for pump gas). A lighter rotating mass creates more acceleration, so by using forged pistons we can create more power through those means. 'Forged racing pistons' sounds pretty bad ass too!
ARP HEAD STUDS AND OILING
Some may know, others may not, that the top end engine oiling of 22r and 22re engines happens through the gap next to the head stud. The controversy of ARP head studs with regard to oiling is that the larger head stud reduces the oil passage to only 15 thousandths (.015") clearance. In our opinion that is far too little clearance to supply the entire top end of the engine with oil. What we've done to correct this issue is enlarge the hole/oil passage (see photo for reference).
Most engine builders fail to recognize this issue. Whether is it or not, why not have more oil to the top end of your performance engine?
If you've had a 22re for any length of time, you're likely familiar with head gasket issues. ARP head studs are one of the solutions to that problem. You can torque these studs to 90 ft. lbs. whereas the stock studs are 58-63 ft. lbs. That's one third more clamping force holding your head gasket on!
ZINC IN THE OIL
I have been visually noticing the wear on the cam lobes and rockers. They get chewed up because there is no Zinc in most off the shelf motor oils! If you can't confirm whether the oil you're using has Zinc or not, you can purchase a Lucas Oils Zinc Additive. These old engines NEED the Zinc in the oil to run at the best, last the longest. This is an anti-wear ingredient that has been removed from a lot of oils. Most synthetics seem to have a zinc additive. Oil companies used to add zinc as a standard to their oils. New cars however don't need it as much having different roller rocker set ups.
*Why we polish and don't grind crankshafts. When we are rebuilding engines and we discover a crankshaft that is out of spec and needs grinding we prefer to remove it and replace it with a better crankshaft that can be polished back to factory specs.