Head gasket leak - 2000 lx470 (1 Viewer)

[ktmracer01]

So, I got my Doug Thorley headers and exhaust this week...Yay!

But when I was crawling around under the truck and removing skids to start applying penetrating oil to all of the hardware, I discovered some pink residue along the head and block on the driver side just below the exhaust manifold at cylinder no. 5, looking closer, there was a wet spot....no more yay..

This is soo weird, truck only has 125k miles, had the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, and front crank seal done at the lexus dealership at 121k (1.5years ago) and the truck has been sitting at least half that time, and its been babied. Never overheated and no other leaks.

It seems soo weird for such a reliable engine to develop a leak so unexpectedly. Anyone else have any experience like this? I tried searching and found one other thread about someone who had something very similar happen, but there's went away...

 

[SaulG]

First it is an external leak . . yay. Grab a can of Brake cleaner, engine degreaser and clean that spot well to see how bad it really is.
Grab some Subaru coolant "conditioner" they were notorious for headgasket leaks .. TSB TT0404-0002

 

[ktmracer01]

First it is an external leak . . yay. Grab a can of Brake cleaner, engine degreaser and clean that spot well to see how bad it really is.
Grab some Subaru coolant "conditioner" they were notorious for headgasket leaks .. TSB TT0404-0002

Thanks, and you're right, very happy its external.

I'm going to try a pressure leak-down test tomorrow and see what the results are, I'm also going to try and remove any heat shields that might be blocking my view of another potential issue.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Figure out where it's really leaking from. I can't quite tell where we're looking at there, but there are a few coolant gaskets over the engine which could leave you thinking the head gasket had sprung a leak when it's really just a bypass joint or something.

With the 2UZ, generally, a hidden bypass joint leak is more likely than a head gasket leak.

 

[ktmracer01]

Figure out where it's really leaking from. I can't quite tell where we're looking at there, but there are a few coolant gaskets over the engine which could leave you thinking the head gasket had sprung a leak when it's really just a bypass joint or something.

With the 2UZ, generally, a hidden bypass joint leak is more likely than a head gasket leak.

The photo is looking up at the driver side of the engine from where the exhaust manifold drops down and connects to the catalytic converter piping. The leak I am seeing is right at cylinder number 5, just below the exhaust manifold.

I've already looked over all of the hoses from the top side to determine if anything is leaking. I'll be removing as many shields and guards as possible so I can get a better look while I have a pressure tester on it.

 

[ton504]

From experience, windshield washer fluid works great on dried up coolant. Even better than brake cleaner.

 

[ktmracer01]

Well, I did a coolant leakdown test and it failed. Before that, I cleaned up the area i suspected was leaking, after the coolant leakdown test and a nice clean area, I was able to see coolant starting to come out.

After my diagnosis, I sparked quite a debate at the lexus service department. After they performed all of their diagnostics on it, they confirmed the coolant leak. Everyone was pretty dumbfounded that it was leaking with only 125k miles on the clock.

Before anyone asks why the Lexus dealership and not Toyota... I will never be taking a vehicle to Seattle Toyota ever again. After poor customer service and getting lied to by the parts department more than once, I opted to call Lexus and they set the standard for customer service from the moment I called.