Well, as most of you know, I sold my mini rock crawler. Just didn't get enough use and I hated to see it sit. The Mrs. and I have been discussing down sizing also. So I put the Tundra up for sale and got a hit on it right away! The problem is.... now I am not going to have anything to drive come Tuesday. 
So, I found this little gem here on MUD.
Blown head gasket, or so it was thought. After finding out a little more about the truck they PO said that there was a lot of coolant in the oil. He had already replaced the HG. So, I'm thinking that the chain guide is gone and the chain ate a hole in the cover. Common issue. But I thought they would have changed the chain and guides when they did the work. Turns out not so. The PO and friend are more knowledgeable on the F series engines and didn't know much about the little RE. So I checked compression (cold) and numbers looked fine. Check the dip stick... Uh oh...
Pulled the valve cover off and found this....
Milkshake confirmed.
Not sure if you can make it out in the last pic but the guide is gone. Chain has cleanly carved matching grooves in the cover, and the coolant has made it's way in. So, first order of business is to swap the cover. I am going to ATTEMPT to do it without pulling the head. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but the head gasket is brand new and I don't suspect the guys that did it did anything wrong in the process. And, it CAN be done if you are careful. As many of you 22RE gurus know, the head actually comes over past the front edge of the engine and the chain passes through. (See the last pic for reference if you don't know what I'm talking about.) So, removing the cover is possible by removing the oil pan and then (very) carefully pulling the cover. As long as there is no damage to the HG where the head meets the front cover, you're good to go.
If the HG DOES get damaged, well, you gotta pull the head. We'll see how it goes!
Also, I don't want to bash the PO. He was a really nice guy that just knows more about cruisers than pickups. So, please refrain. In the end it turned out to be a great deal for me on a truck that I can use as a DD and to haul stuff around in. Plus the timing was great since I'm going to be without a vehicle in a few days.
So, I found this little gem here on MUD.
Blown head gasket, or so it was thought. After finding out a little more about the truck they PO said that there was a lot of coolant in the oil. He had already replaced the HG. So, I'm thinking that the chain guide is gone and the chain ate a hole in the cover. Common issue. But I thought they would have changed the chain and guides when they did the work. Turns out not so. The PO and friend are more knowledgeable on the F series engines and didn't know much about the little RE. So I checked compression (cold) and numbers looked fine. Check the dip stick... Uh oh...
Pulled the valve cover off and found this....
Milkshake confirmed.
Not sure if you can make it out in the last pic but the guide is gone. Chain has cleanly carved matching grooves in the cover, and the coolant has made it's way in. So, first order of business is to swap the cover. I am going to ATTEMPT to do it without pulling the head. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but the head gasket is brand new and I don't suspect the guys that did it did anything wrong in the process. And, it CAN be done if you are careful. As many of you 22RE gurus know, the head actually comes over past the front edge of the engine and the chain passes through. (See the last pic for reference if you don't know what I'm talking about.) So, removing the cover is possible by removing the oil pan and then (very) carefully pulling the cover. As long as there is no damage to the HG where the head meets the front cover, you're good to go.
If the HG DOES get damaged, well, you gotta pull the head. We'll see how it goes!
Also, I don't want to bash the PO. He was a really nice guy that just knows more about cruisers than pickups. So, please refrain. In the end it turned out to be a great deal for me on a truck that I can use as a DD and to haul stuff around in. Plus the timing was great since I'm going to be without a vehicle in a few days.
