LX Head Gasket failure (2 Viewers)

[mojaveoverland]

Well, the unheard of happened—head gasket is leaking at 275,000mi on my ‘99 LX470. Quoted $4,200 for a replacement.

I love this car and I’m feeling disappointed that the “bulletproof” UZ has let me down like this. I was prepared for just about every failure in order to make it to 400,000 but not this one.

I’m considering the 200 series upgrade but now reading about recent head gasket failures with those engines as well and I’m questioning just how “rare” failures are in these otherwise incredible vehicles.

I’m really going to miss this car. And I wanted to share my sob story here in case there are other folks out there like me thinking about spending $$$$ on other maintenance items assuming the head gasket wouldn’t fail. It may be rare, but it happens.

Anyone made the switch from 100 to 200 series and regret it in terms of maintenance?

 

[Mike NXP]

The 2UZ didn't let you down. Lack of cooling system maintenance let the 2UZ down if the head gasket is indeed blown =[

How did you diagnose the head gasket failure? Do you also have performance issues?


If your vehicle isn't rusty and in need of alot of other maintenance, bring it back to life.....Otherwise, kiss it goodbye and start comparing prices in the market for 100s and 200s , neither option will be a bad way to go if you end up shopping around but I do prefer the older tech of the 100 series.

 

[bkfj40]

We have have a 100 and a 200 (and an 80, some 40s and some gx470s). My wife still prefers to drive the 100. It doesn’t feel as big as the 200 when driving. The 5.7 is nicer when towing I like our gx470 compared to either the 100 or 200 on the trail and rolling down the road. She is just used to driving 100s after racking up 250k miles between two of them

Don’t think that it is all great on the 5.7. My second tundra gave up the ghost at 208k when it lost compression on a cylinder

You could always throw a snake oil bottle of head gasket repair at your truck and see what happens

 

[RKRUGER]

@Mike NXP provided members are following scheduled maintenance items like a water pump when they do the timing belt, what other cooling systems maintenance are you suggesting the OP failed to act on?

 

[mojaveoverland]

@Mike NXP provided members are following scheduled maintenance items like a water pump when they do the timing belt, what other cooling systems maintenance are you suggesting the OP failed to act on?

Wondering the same. I’m second owner and have always done fluids and timing belt on or before scheduled dates. It’s never overheated on me. I’ve had the LX for about 50k miles so it’s possible it overheated at some point in its life but how long would an overheating event take to show itself in a failed head gasket?

The only reason it was found now was I took it into my shop which specializes in Toyota for a brake job and they found the leak.

 

[Bisho]

Not sue how handy you are, but it sounds like it was caught early and really is just a head gasket, and not a warped head or bad cylinders. I'm not sure what your shop is including in the quote, but you could do this yourself and be into it for a few hundred dollars. You won't know it the head it warped until you get it off, but again, if that small leak it the only evidence, I think the odds are low.

 

[mojaveoverland]

The 2UZ didn't let you down. Lack of cooling system maintenance let the 2UZ down if the head gasket is indeed blown =[

How did you diagnose the head gasket failure? Do you also have performance issues?


If your vehicle isn't rusty and in need of alot of other maintenance, bring it back to life.....Otherwise, kiss it goodbye and start comparing prices in the market for 100s and 200s , neither option will be a bad way to go if you end up shopping around but I do prefer the older tech of the 100 series.

I’m considering the repair but it’s a tough pill to swallow on top of other items that continue to need replacement. In the past year alone I’ve had to replace coils, valve seals, steering rack, cv axles, bearings, and the list goes on. I always heard Toyota designed these to last 25 years. Well it’s been 25 years so maybe it’s time to get a 200 series with half the mileage.

I’m open to being convinced otherwise though.

 

[SteveH]

My '95 80 series (1FZ-FE) had external head gasket leak stains (appeared old, not current) down the block at 75K miles when I bought it. The head gasket still had not blown by 250K miles and 2 owners, when I got it back again.

Your other options are to fix it or sell it for next-to-nothing with an admitted leak.

If this is a relatively minor 'external' leak, I might just keep driving it or add some 'nev-r-leak' along the way and keep a close eye on things.

 

[Mike NXP]

Wondering the same. I’m second owner and have always done fluids and timing belt on or before scheduled dates. It’s never overheated on me. I’ve had the LX for about 50k miles so it’s possible it overheated at some point in its life but how long would an overheating event take to show itself in a failed head gasket?

The only reason it was found now was I took it into my shop which specializes in Toyota for a brake job and they found the leak.

Fair enough. I monitor engine coolant temps full time and if there was anything fishy going on I would notice it. Maybe temps have always been within spec and not overheated, maybe the gasket is just old and been through enough to no longer do its job? IDK

I'm not saying it's not blown but the only diagnosis was someone saw coolant leaking there and told you the gasket is done for? Can you just top off coolant if needed and keep driving? Any performance issues?

 

[mojaveoverland]

My '95 80 series (1FZ-FE) had external head gasket leak stains (appeared old, not current) down the block at 75K miles when I bought it. The head gasket still had not blown by 250K miles and 2 owners, when I got it back again.

Your other options are to fix it or sell it for next-to-nothing with an admitted leak.

If this is a relatively minor 'external' leak, I might just keep driving it or add some 'nev-r-leak' along the way and keep a close eye on things.

Wow, 175k miles with a known leak is encouraging. I may end up just driving it into the ground from here since I'm not sure if there's any significant difference in the resale value of the car having a 'leak only' vs. a fully blown head gasket. I just don't like not knowing if or when that could happen. I don't want to be on a road trip with my family when it decides to blow.

Fair enough. I monitor engine coolant temps full time and if there was anything fishy going on I would notice it. Maybe temps have always been within spec and not overheated, maybe the gasket is just old and been through enough to no longer do its job? IDK

I'm not saying it's not blown but the only diagnosis was someone saw coolant leaking there and told you the gasket is done for? Can you just top off coolant if needed and keep driving? Any performance issues?

No performance issues at all. I caught it early through dumb luck bringing it to the shop for an unrelated repair. I could top off the coolant and keep going but I don't like a blown gasket hanging over my head.

Also, if it's helpful for others reading this in the future, the only other factor I can think of making my situation unique is that I tow with the LX 3-5 times a year. It's always well below max load limits with overdrive off and a careful eye on temps, but I did notice more items starting to fail when I started towing, like the steering rack. Obviously there are other factors like increased age and mileage as well—not saying towing had anything to do with it, but I would imagine it does put more strain on the engine that in some world could lead to an increased likelihood of head gasket failure.

 

[97 AZ LC]

Do a compression test, yourself, and report back.

 

[rexington14]

Compression could very well be fine if its a small external HG leak. that said it's hard to tell from that picture what exactly is going on. in the top right of the picture the same "crusty stuff" looks like it's there too. Without any drive-ability symptoms or any coolant loss I'd try to get some better photos if you are going to diagnose this as a HG leak based on photos alone.

 

[Eyedaho]

Compression could very well be fine if its a small external HG leak. that said it's hard to tell from that picture what exactly is going on. in the top right of the picture the same "crusty stuff" looks like it's there too. Without any drive-ability symptoms or any coolant loss I'd try to get some better photos if you are going to diagnose this as a HG leak based on photos alone.

Agreed. Maybe it's obvious in person, but I would want to make sure it's not a crossover pipe seal or something.

Were the valve seals done with the heads on the block? Or do you mean valve cover seals?

 

[Batameez]

An external head gasket leak? Very rare and I'm not completely sold on it. Eliminate all potential variables that could leak. Otherwise, junkyard 4.7s are not expensive. I bought one two years back out of a GX470 for $900.

 

[Rhetoric]

@Mike NXP provided members are following scheduled maintenance items like a water pump when they do the timing belt, what other cooling systems maintenance are you suggesting the OP failed to act on?

Since this truck is a 1999, it would have come spec’d with Toyota red coolant. The change interval is every 30k miles or 2 years.

Also something common I have noticed on the forum for non-VVTi 2UZ owners… they do timing belt replacements when belts fail… not at the recommended 90k / 9yr marks. So it could be 20 years between coolant changes on some trucks…

The 5.7 head gasket failures seem to be from not following the Toyota SLLC change interval of 100k / 5yr (at least according to the Car Care Nut).

Like others have said… I would actually verify this is a failure by checking compression / etc. I have seen external seeps on engines before and they checked out perfect.

 

[a_traut_man]

Another vote here for a compression test.

I had a leak once that had me concerned it was HG failure but after more digging I had a leak somewhere else (that was an easy fix) and it just happens to be showing itself near the HG.

Was it a dealer that decided HG failure/leak and turned around the 4.2k quote? If it was I would get a second opinion.

 

[nissanh]

Are you using an OEM radiator cap and functional? Too high pressure rated caps can cause unnecessary coolant leaks too.

 

[OwnerCS]

There are other places on the engine where coolant can leak. I would add some UV Dye to the coolant to be 100% sure of the leak source.

Also, note that Subaru at one time recommended some stop leak special sauce that they used on new and old engines.

 

[SteveH]

Also, note that Subaru at one time recommended some stop leak special sauce that they used on new and old engines.

It's about $1.34/bottle - and I have used it. More here:

It is a ginger root based formula made by Holts, it is the same as GM and Bars Leak tabs. Ginger root does not swell when wet only when wet then exposed to air.it will not plug anything in the cooling system when used in specified amounts (too much of a good thing is almost always bad) it will just roam around the cooling system waiting for a leak/weep.

Highly recommended for some Subaru, Cadillac N* engines and any block prone to porosity. A good product!

Subaru coolant conditioner??

I have never owned a subaru before , but our 2002 honda CRV was in an accident and totaled last fall so in Oct 2016 I bought a 2010 Forester with a 2.5 and a 4EAT. Had pretty detailed service records kept by the previous owner, though lots of maintenance was done at a quick lube Shell station...

bobistheoilguy.com

 

[OldManTanLX]

Just this last week I noticed the smell of coolant after I got out of my 1999 LX470 when driving it. This LX has ~220k miles on it and the previous owner changed the coolant to Lexus coolant back at ~190k miles in year 2019. I have not noticed any performance issues, rough idling, smoke, ect. aside from the smell. Two separate mechanics in town tell me the driver's side head gasket is likely leaking or failing. They both did do the pressure test. I am inclined to fix the driver's side head gasket, leave the passenger alone. Truck is in good shape otherwise. What would you all consider? Thanks everyone