Man does this mean I can stop having second hand anxiety and stress dreams about this now?
Another 2013 head gasket goes kaput
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No. You should stress over if you only thumbed-in the chain tensioner bolts, or you had an oil drip on the mating surface just before placing the timing cover so maybe it’ll leak soon, or a valve retainer breaks, nicked the head gasket, head studs fail, alternator power cable pops off and grounds and torches the truck—
I mean, it’s your imagination—have fun with it!
FYI When my 2010 lx head gasket went (around 230k) was having the exact symptoms as the first post in this thread. I had a complete engine with 45k installed but before I had the shop remove the old engine I drained some oil and sent it to blackstone laboratories, sure enough they were able to detect coolant in the oil. just adding my experience here.
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- #224
Not sure who the owner is.
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- #226
I'm curious what year it is. Definitely 13-15 based on trim
My vote still goes to this being a heat and design related problem. The water jacket spacer is too large on the intake side of the V8. It restricts flow, which is good up to a point, but the cross bore drillings suffer, and that is where the gasket fails.
Right from Toyota, this shows a WJS and how it changes the flow and heat flux into the coolant. This spacer does not block the flow into the cross drillings like the V8 does. The heat flux where the gasket fails is still very high, though.
Right from Toyota, this shows a WJS and how it changes the flow and heat flux into the coolant. This spacer does not block the flow into the cross drillings like the V8 does. The heat flux where the gasket fails is still very high, though.
Well know for sure in a few years when all the unfortunate souls who had head gaskets go at ~200k miles and now swap their coolant religiously at every oil change either have them go again or are perfectly fine.
I like the WJS theory. I’m a believer the head gasket failures are heat or heat-stress induced failures than acidic coolant, and this supports my uninformed opinion so I’m in. I am curious what the difference is in the newer part # for the head gaskets that makes it more durable than the original as if that’s the fix it seems like Toyota is just compensating for a bad (or at least less than ideal) sleeve design.
We may or may not know, as the newer gaskets could reduce or eliminate the problem. SLLC lives up to it’s name, has anyone actually found truly worn out acidic coolant? If they have, it’s a double whammy for the head gaskets.
If we look a little deeper, the sleeve design and coolant flow are actually quite slick! How many engines exist that distribute fresh coolant to cylinders and heads in such a way as to ensure that it’s available to all areas, as the UR Series V8 does? They are not exactly common. The entire valley plate leak issue exists because of this distribution pathway, and Toyota cheaped out on sealant or a real gasket there. IMO, this issue should not exist. When we look at an inline-six like the 1FZ-FE, it makes sense that head gasket problems pop up later in life. With a a very long length and coolant fed front to rear, the rearmost cylinders/head gasket have the potential to see heat related issues as the coolant running back there has already serviced the front 2/3rds of the engine… it’s already been absorbing heat, we don’t have that issue with the UR.
The WJS in the UR is designed to increase efficiency and meet emissions targets by running the intake side of the combustion chamber hotter. A look at other open deck engines produced by Toyota shows a wide variety of WJS, most of which do not block nearly as much of the flow. Reducing the height, or adding holes to the spacer in order to the feed the cross drillings could be of benefit here. Exploring this would not be a bad idea.
The gasket # change in 2014 is possibly a material upgrade to help with the delamination issue? Heat will damage the viton bond, but the WJS design must remain, so the material and bond has likely been improved upon.
If we look a little deeper, the sleeve design and coolant flow are actually quite slick! How many engines exist that distribute fresh coolant to cylinders and heads in such a way as to ensure that it’s available to all areas, as the UR Series V8 does? They are not exactly common. The entire valley plate leak issue exists because of this distribution pathway, and Toyota cheaped out on sealant or a real gasket there. IMO, this issue should not exist. When we look at an inline-six like the 1FZ-FE, it makes sense that head gasket problems pop up later in life. With a a very long length and coolant fed front to rear, the rearmost cylinders/head gasket have the potential to see heat related issues as the coolant running back there has already serviced the front 2/3rds of the engine… it’s already been absorbing heat, we don’t have that issue with the UR.
The WJS in the UR is designed to increase efficiency and meet emissions targets by running the intake side of the combustion chamber hotter. A look at other open deck engines produced by Toyota shows a wide variety of WJS, most of which do not block nearly as much of the flow. Reducing the height, or adding holes to the spacer in order to the feed the cross drillings could be of benefit here. Exploring this would not be a bad idea.
The gasket # change in 2014 is possibly a material upgrade to help with the delamination issue? Heat will damage the viton bond, but the WJS design must remain, so the material and bond has likely been improved upon.
Not counting failure modes such as the radiator exploding and the motor running low on coolant, has anyone actually torn one of these down and found the block warped?
If there's a silver lining in any of this it appears that in the common failure mode these head gasket replacements are successful. (The common failure mode being a misfire/CEL with a subsequent borescope inspection revealing coolant in the cylinder(s)). It sucks, but at least you are not doomed to an engine replacement. Because if this is a design issue you may be swapping in another motor with it's own HG already on the way out.
If there's a silver lining in any of this it appears that in the common failure mode these head gasket replacements are successful. (The common failure mode being a misfire/CEL with a subsequent borescope inspection revealing coolant in the cylinder(s)). It sucks, but at least you are not doomed to an engine replacement. Because if this is a design issue you may be swapping in another motor with it's own HG already on the way out.
I thought I had put the second hand stress of this thread behind me
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- #233
How about doing all the work then realizing you should have considered modifying the water jacket spacer while you had it apart?
The care care nut (TCCN), states: all UZ have head gasket issue. That once they go, block is likely toast. Is He correct. He also stated 4.7L 2UZ head gasket, has issue. But failed to prove it or follow up on claim.
IMHO. Most 5.7L end up running low on coolant. I say this, based on everyone I inspect heat exchanger (valley plate), they are leaking if not yet resealed. Most also fail to keep radiator fins cleaned. Also so many fail to flush coolant, within factory recommended time frame. It may be a case where many engine are excessively running hot, for extend periods. But head gasket failure is to common in the 5.7L. Is there a design flaw, perhaps!
I've a blown 2011 5.7L engine. I've yet to pull apart and haven't had oil tested (oil filter likely has some oil). Parts of piston blew out bottom oil pan. Radiator & reservoir are at proper levels. I suspect it a case where timing chain tensioner failing. Resulted in vibration, causing cam bolt failure.
IMHO. Most 5.7L end up running low on coolant. I say this, based on everyone I inspect heat exchanger (valley plate), they are leaking if not yet resealed. Most also fail to keep radiator fins cleaned. Also so many fail to flush coolant, within factory recommended time frame. It may be a case where many engine are excessively running hot, for extend periods. But head gasket failure is to common in the 5.7L. Is there a design flaw, perhaps!
I've a blown 2011 5.7L engine. I've yet to pull apart and haven't had oil tested (oil filter likely has some oil). Parts of piston blew out bottom oil pan. Radiator & reservoir are at proper levels. I suspect it a case where timing chain tensioner failing. Resulted in vibration, causing cam bolt failure.
He's a guy on YT saying whatever it takes to generate views, likes, and subscribes. All to generate more YT income.
I wish there was a filter on MUD that would let me block any posts mentioning him. So done with that...
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- #236
Most but not all. I got mine at 105k and while it did have the radiator crack, it hadn’t failed. I swapped that radiator and coolant, did everything to schedule.
Unless it happened before I bought the rig, this thing absolutely did not get low on coolant, run hot, or miss coolant exchanges. Very clearly there is a design issue.
Well said.
What we need to see. Are many, that are one owner. Where owner checked coolant level, flushes on time, no crack in rad, no valley leak, R&R thermostat & rad cap & clean radiator fins on regular schedule and monitor & kept logs on ECT through tech stream. So we know, engine always run to factory spec, as intended.
In these forums, we tend to hear about, the ones that had and issue.
In these forums, we tend to hear about, the ones that had and issue.
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- #238
That has been presented before. One-owner, no valley plate, rad changed before crack leaks, etc. Amidst all the other ones with questionable history, I remember reading about a couple of those over the years, which had me just a little nervous. Then mine let go. And while it wasn't one-owner, the odds of any of those issues happening in the first 100k is really low, plus there was no mention of it in the service hx.
I replaced plugs yesterday at 184,500 miles and was greeted with an anomalous cylinder #8 plug. The plugs I replaced were not the factory-installed plugs (the originals are marked), but I have no idea how old they are.
Maybe a stuck ring, valve guide seal, something. But it’s burning a little oil. No symptoms so I’ll just bury my head in the sand a while.
So excited.
So very excited.
Maybe a stuck ring, valve guide seal, something. But it’s burning a little oil. No symptoms so I’ll just bury my head in the sand a while.
So excited.
So very excited.
What did the borescope look like?