OK...in my Phoenix Project story I wrote:

"Even if it's not overheating, the carbureted 22R four-cylinder is a weak excuse for an engine in my experience.  The thing is low-powered, has a noisy valvetrain, and the carburetor can't compensate for changes in altitude.  The 22R-E is an improvement, but it's still a slug and has a noisy valvetrain."

Since you know my take, what's yours?  Have you had a 22R (or R-E) last forever, or have you had that engine die several times on the vine?

I feel about the 22R and R-E the same way I feel about the band U2...it's good, but extremely overrated.

Kevin Blumer  

I have to say that I like the 22R-E.  I think they're reliable, last a long time, and they work much better on the trail at crawling speed than the V6 boat anchor that was available from 1988-1995. The 22R-E has better low-end torque than the V6.  

You've had a bad experience with the 22R.  Regarding the 22R-E, I think you should take the advice of the ad that says, "Try it!  You'll like it!"  

Hmmm...

Low end torque is great for the trail, but I think even a 22R-E will be a slug on the freeway that leads to the trail.

If I had a 22R-E that ran well, didn't overheat, and was reliable I might form a new opinion about the 22R and 22R-E.

For now, we'll just say that the jury is out.  

Well, maybe the 22RE isn't impressive in an off-roader, but in a 2WD street truck (I know, heresy in this forum) they're plenty spunky. I know some of them were prone to break timing chains sometimes, but other than that, as far as I know, they have a rock-solid reputation.  

I have a 22R in my 82 crawler that has been extremely reliable and is excellent on the trail other than lacking the power to rip up a snowy hill climb. On a rare occasion it loads-up in high altitude and once in a while I'll get on a angle it doesn't' like.

As far as the street goes.. not to bad in town but as soon as I hit a climb I'm in the slow lane with big rigs fighting to get around me.
I'm not to worried about it's street performance, I built it for the trails, unfortunately there is a lot of pavement between here and there!

BTW it has 232k miles on the original motor, 5:29 gears, 37" tires and a whole lot of extra steel welded on for protection.  

I have an '83 Yota 4x4 pickup with over 250,000 original miles on the 22R.  The odometer broke at 193,999 about ten years ago. It uses no oil and has never had anything but a waterpump and routine maintenance.  I got the truck brand new and still use it regularly.  The transmission, however, is another long story....!  And then there's the rust problem...!  

Any of you guys ever owned or driven a 22R turbo? It was only offered for a split-second before the 3.0 V6 came out, but an interesting engine nonetheless.