I bought an RV

I just bought a 1983 Toyota Sunrader. Here's a picture:



The good: fiberglass is intact, no leaks, new vents, working water pump, radiant heater, new battery (had to replace the terminals, they were super ghetto rigged), all lights work, all "plumbing" (just tubes really) is good, it has a 1 ton dually 6 lug full floating rear axle, shower/toilet, fresh water tank, grey and black water tanks, working propane stove/oven. It's got some rust issues but a friend of mine is a welder and can fix it for me.

112k miles original/never rebuilt, 22R engine, just drove it 1k miles from Arkansas to Virginia.

Big update:

Lots of work done. New carb (weber 32/36), new harmonic balancer, new oil pump seal, new water pump, valves are all in factory spec, new camshaft seals, new valve cover gasket, entire engine has been gone over with propane looking for a phantom vacuum leak (it was just a tuning issue), timing is good, all emissions equipment removed except ancient charcoal canisters.

Compression/oil rings are totally worn out. Head needs to come off, crank might be damaged. Later updates to come.

Kim Chee said:

Pretty unusual for a Toyota with so few miles to have so many problems.

Might get the cylinder compression tested and have a leakdown test done.

Is there oil in the coolant?

Is there coolant in the oil?

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Yeah, but it must have been sitting somewhere for decades. And it was a pretty good deal given the condition.

No coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant thankfully. Should be something simpler than a blown head gasket I hope...

Kim Chee said:

Hope so.

RV's do tend to sit a lot.

Could be valve seals.

Gotta do a proper diagnose.

Those engines are pretty reliable.

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Yeah... I'm gonna check the pcv valve once the sun rises. In any case it probably needs to be replaced 'cause this thing wasn't taken care of. I already ordered a new valve and grommet, since they were about $1.

Kim Chee said:

I'm talking about engine valves:

http://www.ehow.com/how_8016576_tell-valve-guides-gone-bad.html

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Crossing my fingers there. If there's anything funky going on in the head I'm just going to have the engine rebuilt because I don't want to spend $500 having piston rings replaced then have a piston crack or valve guide fail, or find out the entire head of the engine is being held together by carbon deposits from burnt oil. It happened to my scooter and it was pretty nasty. Pistons rings were fused to the piston. Bad timing belt on my moped after that busted a cylinder. Don't know when any work has been done on this engine (the guy who owned it was very proud of his maintenance receipt for windshield wipers 2 years ago) so if that's the case I'm going to play it safe and have it rebuilt. Timing belt is 50k miles overdue too.

Shwhiskey Gumimaci said:

Do the speed wobbles seem to be coming from the engine or the frame of the vehicle itself? That will make a big difference in what you need to do. Also with older vehicles they can go through oil like no other. With my last 2 vehicles I had in the summer I just dealt with it. I just bought oil wherever I was. I'd spange for whatever I needed to get by. Have you checked the alignment at all? Make sure all the tires all the same size (I know that seems stupid but I'm telling you if they aren't all the same it will fuck you up). I'm not sure with such a vague description what exactly is wrong with your vehicle. I'm not a mechanic or anything but I have driven quite a few old, and shitty vehicles, and gained a lot of experience in the process. If you're worried about your engine you can get a code reader for between $20-30 online. Don't listen to all of the codes just the ones that might seem relevant.

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They seem to be coming from the frame. I'm thinking suspension but I don't know anything about vehicles so it's mostly a guess based on being passed by a semi causing it to wobble. I think I'm gonna go to an alignment shop sometime next week. All tires are the same size, I checked that when I bought it. My friends RV got fucked up by exactly that, put a smaller wheel on the rear dually and it fucked up her axle u-joints. I think the engine is too old for a code reader So far as I know 22Rs should not go through oil like this. After reading around a lot online it seems that something is seriously wrong with it, now it's just a matter of figuring out what. I'm also going to put 15w-40 in it and see what happens.

tacopirate said:

I don't know much about this sort of thing, but being from the 80's it's a body-on-frame vehicle, correct?

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Yeppers!

Grubblin said:

The 22Rs are supposed to be rock solid. Since they're so prevalent you may be able to find a used 22R which is newer with less miles for less than the cost of a rebuild. A Chevy 4.3L V6 can also be substituted with some mods to the motor mounts, etc. That would be a more expensive option but would give you more power to pull the body and it's another solid engine.

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That's definitely true. At least with a rebuild though, I can buy high quality parts and have total confidence that the engine will last until I learn how to work on it. Since I'm generally a very anxious person it's a matter of managing expectations. If I bought a 22R lifted from a pickup with only 40k miles on it, it's pretty much completely assured that it was sitting somewhere for decades without being run, which could cause a lot more problems than my current engine has. A recycled engine is about 2.5k and a long block is about 1.5k. If I got a set of good gaskets, a new timing set with steel guides (oem is plastic), pistons & rings, a full bearing kit, a new camshaft and crankshaft, and a new cylinder head, new valves and oil pump, as well as all the little things needed like tubing, it should be ~$1700 incl. labor. What are your thoughts?

Dmac said:

Those old 22R's can run forever. My buddy has an old 70's model and it still going with over 400K on it. It uses about 1 quart of oil for every 2 tanks of gas, but has been doing that since the 90's. I'd suggest buying a Chiltons, mechanics guide for that engine, and you will be able to diagnose and fix a lot. good luck

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That's pretty crazy. From what I've read it's entirely not normal, and seems like a toss up between something innocuous and something that will eventually cause catastrophic engine failure. Some people say "it wouldn't be a toyota if it didn't [leak/burn] oil", others say burning oil is rebuild time.



Just picked one up for 10 cents!

Shwhiskey Gumimaci said:

Well I would try to check everything in the frame is nice and tight. If you screw up your frame it won't be pretty or cheap. Also that could be due to not enough oil. And you're right a vehicle like that shouldn't be going through that much oil. Although I don't think it's leaking, just based off your description. My guess is it's just burning through it. Pretty common in older vehicles. I don't know exactly what that means as far as fixing it goes and price, I'd suggest try to find a mechanic in your friend group, or last resort Craigslist. In my experience online research can only go so far when it comes to an old vehicle with vague problems. You have options, Check all your fluids and keep a close eye on that oil. I don't have professional experience so that's the best I can give you for now.

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That's a very good point. I think it might be both leaking and burning. A few tablespoons of oil drip out of the front end of the engine after being run for a while and shut off. Can't locate the leak visually. It isn't the front seal or any gasket I can get eyes on/recognize. But it doesn't seem like such a little leak could account for the rate of consumption. Like I said earlier in the thread I'm going to swap the pcv valve & rubber line, I'm going to check the spark plugs for extreme carbon buildup and replace all fluids.

The only problem with my friend group is that they're scattered everywhere Closest mechanic I would trust is 2,000mi away in Arizona. I called the only dude on craigslist within 100mi who told me he couldn't replace piston rings because of the "risk involved" - seems like someone who worked at jiffy lube for a couple of weeks. I do have the number to what is supposedly the best auto shop in town, I'm gonna give them a call tomorrow and see what they'd charge for a rebuild if I have the parts.

I wish research went farther, but I know it's going to come down to actually checking stuff out physically. I've just gotta take everything slowly so I don't fuck anything up or make the problem worse.

Dmac said:

@zim Yep that's the one! You will not regret getting that book. I don't suppose that you have the owners manual for the RV, do you? great help with all the appliances and what not.

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I've got a printout of the sunrader manual and the original 1983 toyota hilux owner's manual. Luckily the only appliance is the propane oven/range which works perfectly. The water pump died today, heh. Who needs showers anyway?

Oh, and when messing with the water pump I accidentally flushed the black water tank down someone's driveway. Tried hosing it off but it still smelled like fermenting piss.