Head Gasket Complete!

[baggar11]

I thought I'd share some pics of my head gasket job. I always knew that replacing the head gasket could be a possibility when I bought the Cruiser back in '07. This whole summer I've been fighting over heating issues. I thought I had finally licked it with the fan clutch, and then head gasket...

Timeline:
August 5th: Wife said the Cruiser was real shaky at idle.
August 6th: Narrowed down shakiness to Cylinder #1 injector
August 7th: Took injectors into a cleaning place. They verified #1 was dumping fuel. Replaced it with new Toyota Denso injector. Cylinders 2-6 cleaned fine.
August 8th: Got the Cruiser back up and running.
August 9th: About to leave for camping trip, still shaky idle. Couldn't keep it from overheating. Noticed steam out the tailpipe. Cancelled camping trip.
August 10-11th: Tore the head off the Cruiser.
August 12th: Took cylinder head into machine shop. Ordered parts from CDan.
August 13-15th: Got Cylinder head back from machine shop. Block cleaning.
August 16th: Start reassembly.
August 17-22nd: Cleaning old parts as I reassembled. Cruiser was up and running again.
August 24th: Ran CLR through coolant and did 2 other water flushing sessions. Also changed the oil again. Cruiser is back on the road!

So here I started working on the exhaust side.


Then I moved over to the Passenger side and moved through the battery/alternator area.


Here, the exhaust side is completely free.


And here, the intake side is completely free.

 

[baggar11]

When I removed the distributor, that was my first sign of the milkshake within. Here's a shot of the valve cover off.


My head gasket issue was definitely cylinder #1. Looks like it was steam cleaned compared to the others.


Here's the resurfaced head back from the machine shop.


Here's the much beefier head gasket on the block.

 

[baggar11]

Putting the cams back in and keeping the timing.


Mostly back together


Finally complete! I also removed the PAIR system on my vehicle. For now I installed plates over exhaust portion, but I plan on relocating the o2's up there soon.


Not too bad for about 19 days worth of work.

 

[baggar11]

I had also installed a Koso Slim temp gauge during all of this. Temps are staying nice and cool. Took an hour drive down I5 at 60mph on a 75F day. It was sitting right at 176 degrees the whole way. During stop and go around 80F, it likes to be around 185-190. I don't think I've seen it over 194F yet on muggy/humid day with the A/C on.

 

[Blue Bomber]

Why is #6 green?

 

[gtfour43]

Nice work...and fast too! Its just a matter of time before I'll have to do this. Hopefully later than sooner

 

[gtfour43]

Why is #6 green?

Looks like it just spilled in there when the head was pulled.

 

[baggar11]

From me climbing into the engine bay and coolant from the back spilling into the cylinder. It wasn't from the gasket...

Why is #6 green?

 

[gravygrabber]

What head gasket did you end up using?

 

[baggar11]

Toyota gasket from CDan. Much improved over the old gasket that I pulled off.

What head gasket did you end up using?

 

[flow]

well done!

how did the intake manifold look?

 

[baggar11]

Ha! Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting. This little circle port was completely flat with carbon buildup. Had to poke a screw driver through it. There was ample oil sludge and buildup in the rest of the runners.

well done!

how did the intake manifold look?

 

[geologic]

You ready to sell it now? I usually get into a get rid of it tear after a big job like that, 13 days. Nice work, I know nothing of the PAIR system you took off, I have the 97. Hope this effort pays off for you. I redid the top and front seals of the motor but stopped short of the head gasket. All is well so far, I hope I don't have to go right back any time soon. Got tired of it and had to get a friend to put it together. You've got more staying power than me.

 

[baggar11]

Hehe, no, I love the Cruiser. Solid axles, lockers, pretty easy to work on. Should be good for anothe 200k now. Hopefully.

I was a little bummed that it happened when it did though. I was planning on pulling the trigger on a 4bt engine to swap in this January. I'm not sure how those plans are going to go now though.

You ready to sell it now? I usually get into a get rid of it tear after a big job like that, 13 days. Nice work, I know nothing of the PAIR system you took off, I have the 97. Hope this effort pays off for you. I redid the top and front seals of the motor but stopped short of the head gasket. All is well so far, I hope I don't have to go right back any time soon. Got tired of it and had to get a friend to put it together. You've got more staying power than me.

 

[75CorollaGuy]

Saw %6 with the coolant and thought dang, then realized it probably spilled in after it was opened. Good job! I got to tackle a head gasket replacement soon.

 

[baggar11]

Well good luck with yours! Most of my re-assembly time was cleaning the peanut butter oil build up off. I honestly didn't even know that the front of the block was silver until I removed half an inch of caked on oil crud with a couple cans of degreaser and carb cleaner.

All in all, I'm happy that the Cruiser is running again, and running well. And that it didn't take me months to complete. It really wasn't too bad.

Saw %6 with the coolant and thought dang, then realized it probably spilled in after it was opened. Good job! I got to tackle a head gasket replacement soon.

 

[DetroitStyle]

I'm about to tackle this. Just curious what the head work cost and if they did anything other than mill the head?

 

[baggar11]

Head work was $115 total. They cleaned, pressure and leak tested the head. Then milled it.

 

[flow]

Updates on MPG increase?

 

[baggar11]

Ha! Nothing that I've seen. My wife drives it throughout the week to work and around town, so mileage is generally city most of the time. At most we'll see 13mpg, but likes to hover around 11-12mpg.

Updates on MPG increase?