What happened to my 5VZ-FE?

[lurch]

It's probably too late now, but did you consider sending some oil off to Blackstone for analysis? It would be good to confirm if there's coolant in it or not.

Nope...didn't think of it until a neighbor suggested it

Steve, any enemies or devious pranksters that might have had access and poured sugar or? in to the engine?

Don't think so...everything is locked up and alarmed at all times.

Steve:

So what is the global plan on this? Rebuild?

A refresh on the short block (honed with new rings and bearings) and a rebuild on the heads. I talked to Todd at Budlong and it turns out the heads are in good shape and were not damaged. It will be a standard machine, grind and adjust!

I admire those who want to rebuild but isn't a guy time and money ahead by just putting in a complete engine from a wrecker?

At this point I'm up to $775 plus parts, so for perhaps a few hundred more than a used motor I have a fresh motor. Plus I know how I have treated this motor for the last 140k and know it has never seriously overheated etc... For me I'd rather pay more for the piece of mind and knowing the exact condition of the motor. If it never left the pavement I'd feel a little different

 

[SC T100]

Have the valave cover gaskets ever been done, or other seal jobs that require RTV on/in the motor? Maybe a piece of excess broke off and clogged one of the oil passages? I assume you'll never really know since it's torn down but it's one thing to ponder as to the culprit.

 

[alia176]

Oh man $775, ouch...guess that's where your vacation fuel money is getting redirected to. Still hurts.

 

[OGBeno]

Good luck Steve. Looking forward to the resurrection....

 

[lurch]

Todd called earlier and said once they cleaned the head gasket surface on the block they found a bit of pitting and looked like I had been loosing coolant to at least the outside of the engine. So I told them to go ahead and machine it so I can get a good seal. This is the closest thing I've found that could have seeped coolant in the oil. I'm having the oil cooler tested and cleaned for peace of mind.

Looks like maybe by end of week I'll have all the pieces back

 

[alia176]

My '97 had "pitting" on the block surface that was allowing coolant to seep into the cylinder; this is even AFTER a new head gasket and a machined head on the first go around. Hence the need for a total engine rebuild on the second go around.

Hopefully this will solve your riddle!

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Were you using a measurable amount of coolant before all of this? Usually it takes a lot of coolant to cause that much sludge.

Can't wait to hear that it's up and running again.

 

[lurch]

Were you using a measurable amount of coolant before all of this? Usually it takes a lot of coolant to cause that much sludge.

Can't wait to hear that it's up and running again.

I was using a bit of coolant but I had multiple small leaks so it didn't really worry me. I knew I had a decent leak at the lower radiator hose that was a work in progress and then found that the bypass tube between the heads had been leaking. Which I would have had to take the intake off to even find.

 

[lurch]

My '97 had "pitting" on the block surface that was allowing coolant to seep into the cylinder; this is even AFTER a new head gasket and a machined head on the first go around. Hence the need for a total engine rebuild on the second go around.

Hopefully this will solve your riddle!

Should, both surfaces have been machined

 

[lurch]

Engine porn!


And a long weekend to put it back together!

 

[ToyotaDon]

I see the GoPro hanging there. Are you going to make one of your awesome videos of the install?

 

[lurch]

I see the GoPro hanging there. Are you going to make one of your awesome videos of the install?

Already half finished

 

[TrickyT]

That sure looks pretty!

Did the oil cooler check out good? If so, does this all come down to pitting on the block surface possibly allowing coolant into the oil? That just seems very unusual to me.

 

[OGBeno]

Nice work Steve!

Awesome job man. Glad to see you keep a positive attitude through this entire ordeal....

 

[spressomon]

Glad you're on the way back to rolling with a newly rebuilt and reliable engine Steve! Like Tom...the sludge and gum still seemed unusual...a real mystery

 

[lurch]

That sure looks pretty!

Did the oil cooler check out good? If so, does this all come down to pitting on the block surface possibly allowing coolant into the oil? That just seems very unusual to me.

Not sure yet...hoping to get it back tomorrow, it's the last thing I need to fully drop the motor back in. I did some testing with a bike pump and it seemed ok. I figured I'd have it cleaned and pro tested so I can sleep at night;p

Glad you're on the way back to rolling with a newly rebuilt and reliable engine Steve! Like Tom...the sludge and gum still seemed unusual...a real mystery

Todd said the pitting was in to the "fire ring" around the cylinders so seems like this is the best culprit. Unless I find out the oil cooler is bad...

I just figured I'd see some sort of performance decrease with a bad head gasket/surface. Maybe I'm wrong.

Here's to my first "new" engine

 

[lurch]

The last stretch!

 

[OGBeno]

The last stretch!

Nice!!!!!

 

[lurch]

Got it back together on Thursday night/Friday morning (in time to drive it to work) and have put a little over 100 miles on it. So far so good no leaks that I can tell and I only forgot the alt wire which became an issue yesterday but a quick plugin and jump got it going. Definitely a different motor now, it's very responsive but doesn't have the guts it had before (yet). My first break in of a "new" motor

Oil cooler checked out fine so must have been the slight head gasket leak...that's only thing that stands out.

Video to follow soon...

 

[lurch]

Found it...

the leak that is

I've been battling a coolant leak ever since I got it back together and the main problem is the coolant was no where to be found. Well that was until it collected enough to raise the oil level despite a massive valve cover leak.

First thing change the oil and bypass the oil cooler, no change. Time to take the heads off, cross my fingers and hope its a head gasket issue. I take them off and can’t see anything obvious at least no smoking gun.

So yesterday I decided to take the heads back down to Budlong see if we can retest and get a third opinion on the gaskets (thanks John). Todd was hesitant to retest but was willing for my sake. After inspecting the gaskets Todd was leaning towards the heads not being tight enough to properly seal due to the head bolts bottoming out in the block (blind holes). So we figured we would use double head washers when putting it back together.

I called today to see if they had a chance to test anything yet and was told "We found something and you need to come down to see it". When I got there we went back to the pressure testing equipment and Todd explained how they test heads and where leaks most often happen on the bottom. He turned it right side up and showed me the top removable plugs that go into the coolant jacket and said it's not leaking hear. Then pointed out where they removed a valve cap and spring and instructed to watch when he turned on the air pressure. A small pin hole in the casting at the valve spring seat started leaking bubbles. I couldn't even see the hole!

Todd said they had never seen a leak like this before and don't typically look in this location for possible leaks. I'm sure because the leak was under the spring and cap it was hidden until the cap was full enough to bubble out and show a problem. The kicker is both heads are leaking in the same spot the other head was worse than the one he showed me. He thinks that it has probably been an issue for sometime which would explain the slow accumulation of gunk and not much loss in coolant or over filled oil over time. Of course after cleaning the heads the leak became much worse and very obvious (once the valve parts were removed).

I suspect it was an issue with the cast/mold from the factory but don’t figure I can get any warranty on a 97. So time to find some heads at the junk yard!