head gasket leaking after rebuild

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lowtideride

lowtideride

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Yulp.

I followed the FSM to the T. Cleaned everything, installed a rebuilt head and timing chain. Followed every step and checked every torque spec, also went back today after about 50-75miles to retorque the head bolts.

I am blowing white smoke on start up, after it warms up there is no smoke to be seen. Just a pissed off owner.

Not sure what I should do next. I didn't plan on keeping this in too long (maybe a year) as I have a 2RZ I want to throw in it. I was almost thinking about putting a head gasket leak stop in it, that I normally would never ever do. But I am not sure what my next move should be.

Thanks in advance for the advice.
-Al
 
Michael Hanson said:
Was the head milled and electrofluxed? Mike
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Yes and yes.
IMG_6082.webp
 
Michael Hanson said:
Block checked? Mike
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Aside from cleaned, nope. I just had it down for a head gasket, not a full rebuild. While the gasket was being replaced I did a lot of "while your in there's "...which lead to the top end getting rebuilt. (timing chain, water pump, rebuilt head, full gasket kit, RV cam)

Its running far better then it ever has but it smokes til its warm.



Would a leak down test confirm what cylinder is leaking?
 
Not to sound like a smart a$$, but did you use an OE head gasket? My 1FZ-FE blew its HG soon after the PO used some pos after-market HG.

Also, I have all but given up on rebuilt or exchange heads. I am 2 for 3 on getting a defective rebuilt head. I bought a Suzuki head from some exchange place that ended up having a cracked valve seat, which made it blow white smoke when cold. Pretty frustrating:bang:
 
Ill have to give it a go on the leak down test. I wonder if it is the rebuilt head I got? I am having the same problem, white smoke on start up. An oem gasket was used.
 
Well I have not changed to many of those Toyota head gaskets but on other make and models I had nothing but trouble if I did not........but then again I have not had any real dealings with a mini head.quote=lowtideride;4275119]Nope. FSM and a few other people said to reuse them.

But who knows could be the problem. I torqued them again yesterday.[/quote]
 
A useful method I learned from a old guy(and you may have seen me in the 60 section talking about it) is when I am on the torque wrench I do stages more so than normal like on a head such as this I would do 4 or 5 stages or on a cruiser I would do 3 because of the different material. His thought was the aluminum heads are so soft and with age they may be prone to crack more so than a cast head...... when you use less force in an area you may save some time and effort later. I dont know it made sense to me at the time:D
 
I personally think the "never reuse the old head bolts" thing is a bunch of hooey. I've lost track of the number of HGs I've replaced in both the 22R-series and 3VZ-series engines, plus several Corollas and a Camry. There is only one time when I didn't reuse the old bolts and it's never been a problem. When I did the HG in my pickup, I swapped to ARP head studs "just because".
 
i have never replaced head bolts and never had a problem.

i use felpro gaskets all the time and never had a problem.

i'll bet the farm that if you did everything properly, and if the gasket is not defective, your coolant passages next to one of the cylinders has developed corrosion which contributes to a leak in the combustion chamber.
 
:D Why bring logic into this?













:whoops: Never thought of the corrosion.
WristPin said:
i have never replaced head bolts and never had a problem.

i use felpro gaskets all the time and never had a problem.

i'll bet the farm that if you did everything properly, and if the gasket is not defective, your coolant passages next to one of the cylinders has developed corrosion which contributes to a leak in the combustion chamber.
Click to expand...
 
WristPin said:
i have never replaced head bolts and never had a problem.

i use felpro gaskets all the time and never had a problem.

i'll bet the farm that if you did everything properly, and if the gasket is not defective, your coolant passages next to one of the cylinders has developed corrosion which contributes to a leak in the combustion chamber.
Click to expand...

I'm speaking out of ignorance regarding the 22R's since I've only rebuilt one. However, I do know on the 1FZ-FE's the after market gaskets are based on the original design which we all know was failure prone.

Regarding the coolant passages leaking due to corrosion, I would think the machine shop that did the head work would have welded or filled the jacket opening and reground it to avoid it getting too close to the fire ring. :meh:
 
I have read this thread several times and I think i have a pretty good idea of whats going on, but I do have a few questions.

1. Was a headgasket shim used to make up for what was shaved off the head?

2. If so, did you apply the sealer to the block side only?

I've fixed this problem a hundred times. When you re-torque the headbolts it causes the gasket to stretch at the coolant passages and then you have a leak at start up that wont go away until it warms up. If you were to tear it all back down i'd almost bet the farm that you'll find a stretched coolant passage on the head gasket.

My other theory is that if a shim was not used, then you simply ran out of threads on the head bolts. They will torque down just fine, but not properly crush the gasket.

Just my two cents

Charlie
 
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