My Headgasket Blown

[jeremy56]

Hello, yesterday traveling on the hiway I saw the steam coming out of the passenger corner. Pulled over immediately and noticed the overflow was spewing, radiator was low water everywhere and low oil. I have had some poor running symptoms for some time but very intermittent. I went on a trip hunting in the mountains and got 17 MPG going down. Seemed to be running great after a few other repairs. Drove a bunch in snow and mud and never had a problem started the trek home and Bam. Stranded just above Mexico. I limped the cruiser about 6 miles back to town threw another quart of oil in it and talked to a mechanic (broken english) No Bueno. Towed it home and now the job will begin.
I had smudge in overflow and water in oil. although I just changed the oil days before and no signs.
Question; is 6 miles driving gonna cause any more damage then i already have with blown head gasket. I filled the radiator back up with water before hand, didn't get much below 28 degrees.

Also what tools do you guys suggest i purchase other then regular wrench's and sockets. Im not very familiar with the job but i have a big warm garage to tackle it in. I have read through numerous posts that say plane the head and this and that. I guess my main concern is that the 6 miles i drove to town is gonna make it to where more then gasket and checking valves is in order.

Can anyone please post a link if you have a good thread in mind, there are just so many to thumb through.
Thanks

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

I don't think those six miles changed much.

Other people can recommend specific tools - about having the head planed, I think it's more that as long as you have the head off, you should take it to an engine machine shop and have someone who is expert in engine head work go through it.

That involves assuring that it is properly flat, but also checking that the valve seats are good, replacing the oil seals on the valves, etc.

Expect that to cost a few hundred bucks, i think.

 

[jeremy56]

Anyone have suggestions on tools solvents etc to get now to make job easier.
What is the clamp looking thing/tool in the Manual?
I just have normal wrench and sockets.

 

[TheAmerican]

Spend $50 bucks to have the head pressure checked and if all is good another $50 for a small surface/face clean. I just bought a truck where previous owner had the toyota dealer do a hg to the tune of $2 grand and turns out the head was cracked. Exact same symptoms $2000 later. Im in the middle of swapping a new head now. Not that hard just make sure you have the fsm and read the threads here for tips on what you can skip in the fsm to make it easier. Great time to switch phh and firewall hoses to silicone and breeze clamps

 

[Landseer]

How many miles are on the engine?

 

[baldilocks]

Have plenty of ratchet extension on hand. Buy a good torque wrench and have it calibrated. Don't bother re-using the head bolts no matter what. ARP head studs are cheaper than new bolts. Replace ALL heater hoses. When I did mine last spring, I replaced EVERY single hose under the hood because access was much better. Test the VSV's per the FSM while they are out of the cave where they live. Consider installing an after market water temp guage for accurate real time temp indications. The OEM gasket kit is for the full overhaul and rather expensive but this is an area where you don't want to be cheap. Ask me how I know! Be sure to evacuate all old coolant from all heater lines and both heater cores. Buy green coolant because its way cheaper, easy to find anywhere and best of all it works great. OEM parts can be had at 28%-34% off at onlinetoyotaparts.com. They ship same day if you order by 2pm ET. Lots of great threads to draw on but there is no substitute for the FSM and some patience. Keep us posted.

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

Spend $50 bucks to have the head pressure checked and if all is good another $50 for a small surface/face clean. I just bought a truck where previous owner had the toyota dealer do a hg to the tune of $2 grand and turns out the head was cracked. Exact same symptoms $2000 later. Im in the middle of swapping a new head now. Not that hard just make sure you have the fsm and read the threads here for tips on what you can skip in the fsm to make it easier. Great time to switch phh and firewall hoses to silicone and breeze clamps

They charge fifty bucks for that somewhere?

The shop i go to will lay a precision straight edge on it and vacuum test the valves for free.

 

[jeremy56]

Thanks guys got it tore down to the part where FSM calls for service bolt in Cam gear and the 35 degree marks
Quit there because I can't find a bolt that works.
All the bolts to the head on intake and exhaust sides were really loose.
PO used blue gasket glue in places should have been a gasket and definitely had head off before.
Odometer shows 149k and that's why I bought the rig but I was duped and it was rolled back according to Carfax so beleive it's 249k now
Gonna call CDan tomorrow and get what I need and then other suggestions other then heater hoses?

 

[TheAmerican]

I think i used a valve cover bolt to hold the sub gear

 

[baldilocks]

Thanks guys got it tore down to the part where FSM calls for service bolt in Cam gear and the 35 degree marks
Quit there because I can't find a bolt that works.
All the bolts to the head on intake and exhaust sides were really loose.
PO used blue gasket glue in places should have been a gasket and definitely had head off before.
Odometer shows 149k and that's why I bought the rig but I was duped and it was rolled back according to Carfax so beleive it's 249k now
Gonna call CDan tomorrow and get what I need and then other suggestions other then heater hoses?

You can install that bolt upon installation if you would like to continue your tear down. i failed to install the keeper bolt when I disassemble mine with no detrimental effects. It's just easier now.

 

[jeremy56]

I tried the valve cover bolt and it just barely caught the head when turning. Any observations or input from this pic that you can tell me....

 

[sbman]

From that pic you are missing one camshaft bearing bolt. Was it missing when you pulled the valve cover?

 

[jeremy56]

From that pic you are missing one camshaft bearing bolt. Was it missing when you pulled the valve cover?

It sure was! And like I mentioned alot of very easy bolts to remove from the head.
Glad to see folks with a keen eye helping out a Newby

 

[baldilocks]

That engine is extremely dirty! Just yank the cams and put a rigging bolt in later if you don't have one that works right now.

 

[sbman]

It sure was! And like I mentioned alot of very easy bolts to remove from the head.
Glad to see folks with a keen eye helping out a Newby

I'd be suspicious of everything. Pull the oil pan(s) and check the bottom end too. Whoever did that obviously threw it together as quickly and crappy as possible just to make it run for a few miles. Who knows what else you'll find. You might look into legal options if you can prove that they mis-represented the mileage, if you have an advertisement with the mileage in it, that's a good start.

 

[jeremy56]

I believe the trickery was done prior to the PO or would have went a legal route.
I tried to put another cam shaft bolt in and it looks like its not missing a bolt its broke off. PO may have put it back together that way or its in the pan? Does it look like he has done this job before....what's up with green paint. How much additional work at this point will I have dropping the pans and adding the overhaul gasket kit vs headgasket kit? can I do it with the engine in the frame? I have read several posts that say the bottom end is bulletproof and was all gungho (sp) about doing whatever I needed to do because I'm committed at this point but I'm not a mechanic. I can read and follow directions but I may be in over my head and way out of my price range if my bad luck continues.
So far I have learned the following:

1. replace all coolant hoses while I'm in there
2. flush radiator and all of system....where is block drain BTW? replace radiator? Koyo?
3. do alternator brushes
4. have injectors cleaned
5. take head for cleaning check for cracks by machinist
6. wrap harness with more protection...what material?
7. clean electrical connectors....recommendations on process and cleaner?
8. clean other parts....carb cleaner?
9. new head bolts?...oem or ARP?

What am I missing? A lot of questions but I've been searching and searching and seems like my internet is on dial up when I need it most its been painful. Anyone that can answer I will be grateful and if anyone is in the Albuquerque area I have cold beer and a warm garage.

 

[sbman]

I think your list is good, but not all of it is necessary. It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. You can easily 'while you are in there' your way to spending $7K, ask me how I know. Check @NLXTACY rebuild thread on how to double that.

If the bolt is broken off, the person who 'assembled' your engine's top end probably broke it off with excessive wrenching and decided to just leave it. Obviously they did not use a torque wrench. They may have damaged the head and/or cams with improper torque and sequencing.

If you want to keep your cost down, do the hard stuff, the stuff that you just can't fathom getting back into later, let that be your dividing line of how far you go. You'll see how much work it is to get to item X and then decide if you want to do that again or not. Replace/renew/repair it now if it doesn't pass that test and if you can spend the money. Alternator brushes? Pretty easy later. Head check for crack? Probably best to do that while your are in there. etc....

Head bolts can be measured with a micrometer and the FSM gives a spec. re-use if you are on a budget and the meet spec. ARP if you want to spend the coin. Avoid carb cleaner, brake cleaner works better with no residue, others will tell you the opposite. Buy a parts washer at harbor freight if you want to save yourself a lot of hassle, they even have a small desktop model that will make scrubbing up a bunch of mechanical parts easier and more enjoyable.

Electrical connectors can be cleaned with CRC brand QD electronic cleaner or equivalent. You MUST get a plastic safe cleaner to use. The wrong electric motor cleaner spray will instantly destroy plastic connectors with one squirt. After cleaning, use some di-electric grease and feel free to be generous with it.

The harness can be wrapped with any kind of high heat wrap. I used a little bit of fiberfrax (a ceramic cloth that is used on firewalls) and then covered that with some aluminum tape.

Once you have the head off you can see what shape the cylinder walls are in. If they look great, you probably don't have too much to worry about the bottom end. Getting the pans off in place is a bit of a pain, I wouldn't want to have to do it that way. You could have a look around by only taking the smaller lower pan off and then decide if you think you need to go deeper. You can probably tell if the previous idiot was in there by the tightness or lack of tightness of the oil pan bolts. If it looks factory sealed and only very small amounts of sealant are on it, you are probably OK. If you do look in there, is there metal in the oil pan? are the bearing caps torqued properly? does it look like someone else has been in there?

On the other side of that, if it sounded OK with no knocks when it was running and it looks like the previous idiot didn't open the bottom end, just forget all that stuff, get the head off, get the head checked out, machined up and re-installed with whatever selection of replacement parts you decide to put in. Drive it.

 

[Landseer]

250k miles is a lot, even for the 1FZ. Toyota intended the engine to go for 300k miles before being bored out and rebuilt, at which point it would be good for another 300k. I would be inclined to do a full rebuild and then not worry about it for another 20 years.

 

[Robkc]

So far I have learned the following:

1. replace all coolant hoses while I'm in there
2. flush radiator and all of system....where is block drain BTW? replace radiator? Koyo?
3. do alternator brushes
4. have injectors cleaned
5. take head for cleaning check for cracks by machinist
6. wrap harness with more protection...what material?
7. clean electrical connectors....recommendations on process and cleaner?
8. clean other parts....carb cleaner?
9. new head bolts?...oem or ARP?

What am I missing? A lot of questions but I've been searching and searching and seems like my internet is on dial up when I need it most its been painful. Anyone that can answer I will be grateful and if anyone is in the Albuquerque area I have cold beer and a warm garage.

Agree with most of the answers from sbman above.

2. Block drain is a brass plug on drivers side about centered on the block. Usually reached with several extensions from wheel well. You can try flushing radiator but with the oil sludge I would replace radiator w/Koyo - purchase links in several other threads about $150.
3. skip unless you are having issues with it already.
9. Head bolts have most likely already been reused last time. Go ARP.

 

[rjinga]

Wow. Reading all this, and comprehending maybe half of it, I'm glad I recognized my limitations and took my LC to ACC in Atlanta for my head gasket rebuild.