Head Gasket toast- need advice

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Wow, that is a really minor imperfection to be causing trouble. What keeps that small of an imperfection from happening again?
 
Andrew,

What was the result of the cylinder leak down test suggestd by Robbie?

-B-
 
My mechanic does not do those :confused: . Just pressure testing which they did a couple of months ago.

The bottom line for me is it seeps coolant and drips oil from the head/block area. I am the anal type that will not drive a leaking truck for fear of the unknown. My mechanic did not want to do the repair. I told him too replace it as I want to keep the truck and do not want to overheat it at some point. Also, I really think my knocking has a lot to do with this.

I just hope there is not an imperfection in the head or something that goes unnoticed.

Thanks

Andrew
 
I never read about a knock before today. If you have a knock Is your mechanic looking at the bore of the engine? I hope so, Hopefully all is well in the cylinders. Not too many engines have knocks unless you have a problem. And yes a minor inperfection is all that is needed to create the bubbles that lead to the overheating. later robbie
 
Robbie, my error. When I mentioned knocking, I mean pinging like spark knock from bad gas except this truck does it on 93 octane!!! Not any kind of rod knock.

THanks

Andrew
 
Just a thought. I have noted a few people in the 80 community that have discovered their #6 sparkplug was not changed like the others due to difficult access/lazy mechanics. The few head gaskets that have failed seem to have done so around #6 as well. Makes me wonder if that cylinder has been allowed to deteriorate with a lot of detonation and pinging on a number of vehicles, which is very tough on head gaskets - pressure spikes, lots of unburned fuel, deposits causing uneven heating, etc. Just a thought when Andrew mentioned pinging.

DougM
 
With an inline 6, #5 cylinder is the hottest, so it's not surprising HG failures are seen more at that location.
 
Andrew,

Are these the facts?

* You bought the truck at 67k miles about a year ago.
* At the time of purchase the dealer put in:
....1-New radiator
....2-New valve cover gasket (due to oil leaks)
....3- New timing chain cover gasket (due to oil leaks)
* In July, you used Seafoam in 2 tanks to address the pinging issue.
...The Seafoam was at the advice of your mechanic.
* In July, you reported sludge in the valve cover and were advised by C-Dan that the
...leaks (valve cover & timing chain cover) were probably positive pressure in the
...crankcase; possibly due to a clogged PCV.
* Somewhere in the July-August time frame you replaced the knock sensor
* On numerous occassions you have checked the overflow at 3k RPM and you have no bubbles
* On numerous ocassions you report the engine has good power, runs strong & very smooth.
* At some time in the past few months you changed the timing to 2 degrees BTDC
* In July you reported that your mechanic did a complete tuneup
....Plugs, cap, rotor, wires. You implied they used all Toyota parts.
* In July you replaced the PCV, EGR valve, EGR modulator, and the VSV for EGR.
....This corrected the P0401 and reduced the pinging by 90%
* Over the past 3 months, Robbie, Lars, and Beowulf all suggested you have
....a cylinder leak-down test.
....To date, you have not had a cylinder leak-down test.
* In July, Mike (clownmidget) advised that you have a fuel delivery problem.
* In July, you had the engine wiring harness repaired due to missing (?)
* In July, you reported the intake manifold was cracked.
....You were advised by Landtank on how to test if this leak was creating a lean condition.
....You were also advised by Christo that a lean condition could be causing the pinging.
* In August, Doug and Tom (Scamper) both suggested you use a fuel additive (e.g. Redline)
* In August (79k miles) you also reported that you have warped rotors. [Unrelated]
* In August, your mechanic did a compression check and found all 6 cylinders normal.
* Somewhere in the June-August time frame, your mechanic added
.... powdered ginger-root to the radiator to address coolant leaks. [added after post #42]
* Up to 18-Aug you were reporting high oil consumption (1qt/2k)
....and that consumption was back to normal after switching to 15w-40 Delo in mid-Aug.
* In late August you detected an oil leak at the head/block junction.
* Sept 1, you have your mechanic (reluctantly) remove the head
* Sept 2, mechanic reports head gasket had not failed.


Would you please add to the list or clarify any of the above facts and please put them in chronological sequence.

In trying to figure out whether you're a hypochondriac or not, I am really getting confused on what's transpired with your truck.

As of right now (pre-chronological sequence) it seems like your problem with pinging may still be
related to the wiring harness. I suspect you've got an injector that isn't supplying enough fuel
or some other fuel delivery problem as suggested by clownmidget many months ago.
It also sounds like you've still got the positive pressure in the crankcase as suggested by
C-Dan 3 months ago. Is the PCV valve installed correctly and is it OEM? That could explain the oil leak at the head/block junction. Did you take pictures of the head/block oil leak? If so, please post.

In summary, it seems like you had your mechanic pull the head for the wrong reasons.

-B-
 
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Damn B...you should have been a lawyer. :D
 
( :D )

Just trying to organize the above list should keep Andrew busy a while...

-B-
 
1. excellent summary B, but a lawyer would use paragraph numbers and would letter the indented subparagraphs so they would be easier to reference during oral submissions. Actually I think Andrew may be a lawyer. He sure worries like one... :)

2. landtank will be proud of him if it turns out this was the second preventative maintenance head gasket replacement.

3. A few questions for andrew

a. did you ever figure out if you had an airleak in the intake chamber from the crack causing you to run lean (and ping)?

b. why are you running 93 octane? Did i miss a post where this is recommended? I run on 87. I thought it was a bad idea to run on anything else.

c. I seem to remember you were certain you saw red coolant on the head/block seam before. Did this go away? Was it the same placxe as the oil or elsewhere.

d. the place where you describe the oil leak is also where oil might end up if it leaked out of the PCV grommit seal or PCV hose due to positive crankcase pressure. Have you replaced your PCV hoses? Mine were very dry and cracked and so I replaced them.

e. have you tested your fuel pump and fuel pump regulator?
 
Simon,

I started numbering the list but that implies a certain sequence. Since I couldn't figure out what was done when, I gave up and just made a list so Andrew can put it in chronological sequence and number each item for future discussions. This way my numbering and his numbering won't conflict.

If you think it would help I could go back and assign Roman Numerals, then he can renumber in Arabic.... that would work if I can remember by Roman Numerals (my watch only goes to XII)

-B-
 
B, ahh, then you were not behaving like a lawyer after all. The paragraph numbering sequence used by lawyers rarely makes sense except to them but this does not stop them. ;)
 
You didn't say whether or not the Roman Numerals would be an improvement.

-B-
 
no it's ok the way it is. I think your approach is very logical. Almost binary.
 
Bewolf, who are you to be calling people "hypochondriacs"?

Actually, most of the problems mentioned have been fixed at this point a lot due to this board and others. I am very thankful for the help and plan on making a financial contribution. As far as your request, I am not going to put them in any order.

My bad for not posting all the details of my journey with this thing. A few important points:

*Bad spot in wire harness was corrected about 8 weeks after getting it. Help from another board. Do not appear to have any other wiring problems.

*NO ONE IN MY AREA DOES CYLINDER LEAK DOWN TESTs. If you want to come to my house and do it, go for it.

*Also, I changed mechanics a few months back and like this isone much better. Very honest.

*I did test the cracked intake and it was not leaking. However, IT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD IDEA TO REPLACE IT WHILE IT IS APPART, would you not agree? It has a crack not a chip or dirty spot.

The headgasket was failing. IT WAS LEAKING OIL. That is not normal is it????? I emailed Christo about the headgasket and he explained the bad areas may be hard to see for the untrained eye. Christo has been very helpful and is a very good person to know.

Also, it was leaking coolant from the head/block seam until my old mechanic put some sort of stop leak in the radiator (something chevy uses in all their veichles I am told?). Not a drop since.

My bigest problem is I should have not purchased this truck. I trusted someone and got burned. My bad and I will live with it. My other problem is I am very busy as a CPA not a mechanic so I am learning some as I go. I work 60 hours a week and have a family so 24/7 dicking with a truck is not possible.

If the truck gets reliable, I will keep it and maintain it well. At this point, if it does not, I will trade it in on somthing newer.

Also, I appoligze in advance for being angry and harsh. Been a ruff day. Been dealing with the Hurricane coming at us not making for a pleasant work day.

Andrew
 
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Andy,

>> Bewolf, who are you to be calling people "hypochondriacs"? <<

Did I hit a nerve? I agree with your wife that you've obsessed over that thing long enough and as soon as the mechanic gets it back together you should sell it for the best offer over $5,000.

>> As far as your request, I am not going to put them in any order. <<

I didn't think you would. That would mean you would have to sit down and think through the problems and solutions logically. You've given this group bits and pieces here and there but nobody, including yourself, can follow what problems your truck has, what diagnosising you've been doing, what repairs have been made, when and why.

>> My other problem is I am very busy as a CPA <<

That makes you the 3rd bean counting hypochondriac that I've known. Is it contagious? :D


One more thing.... It's Beowulf.
-B-
 
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