Headgasket failed again
- Thread starter kerry
- Start date
Sounds like a Toyota gasket at that price.
What else is going on with it? pull the dipstick and see if it looks like chocolate milk and also the oil fill cap. see if you have bubbles coming from inside the radiator
No evidence of coolant in oil or vice versa. Can't smell any hydrocarbons in the coolant tank which I could when it failed a year ago. Haven't seen any bubbles in coolant tank. I did last year. There is just a steady stream of steam puffs from the exhaust at idle, just like it was doing last year and stopped doing after the headgasket was replaced. Put my hand in the smoke/steam and it is moist. No evidence of oil in coolant or vice versa when it failed last year either. First hint of a problem was when I noticed the coolant tank was a couple of inches low about a month ago. I saw an occasional puff of steam at that time.
I thought initially it might just be the kind of exhaust you see on a cold day but no other vehicles were making the smoke today and it persisted even when the vehicle was fully up to temperature.
I thought initially it might just be the kind of exhaust you see on a cold day but no other vehicles were making the smoke today and it persisted even when the vehicle was fully up to temperature.
OK, I drove the thing to school today and when I got here, the smoking/steaming was gone. Now I'm suspicious about my diagnosis. Was I just seeing condensation at colder temperatures before the exhaust system warmed up? I made sure to warm up the engine fully yesterday when inspecting it and it was still steaming warm then. I also compared the exhaust on the Cruiser with the exhaust on my Sidekick and the Sidekick (although recently having been driven home from work by my wife) had no exhaust smoke at all. Or, did driving it under load expand metal enough to seal up whatever was leaking into the combustion chamber? I guess I'm going to have to drive it for a while and keep a very close eye on the coolant level.
SirCampalot
Adventurer
From my past experience as a automotive machinist, it's a hit/miss to be able to repair a head gasket related problem by simply replacing the head gasket. Once the surface of the head and/or block is less than perfect, a new head gasket may or may not fix the problem... it may temporarily band-aid the issue, but if there's erosion, warpage, or even cracks, in the head or block... you'll need to invest more than just a new head gasket to make a good repair.
When the head was off, did they pressure test it by chance?
When the head was off, did they pressure test it by chance?
keezer37
Explorer
Hopefully this was a false alarm.
If you're leaking coolant into the cylinder, I would think you'd have bubbles in the coolant. When you consider the psi exerted by the compression cycle vs the psi of your cooling system, it doesn't seem likely you could leak coolant in without pushing gasses out.
If you've been doing much short distance driving lately, you could have a build up of condensation especially if you park outdoors. If this is the case, you will see the milky oil on the underside of your oil fill cap. No worries, she just needs to stretch her legs and all will be fine.
*******
The block test is a quick easy check. You can borrow the tester from Autozone. If you get one, get the part number for it and the fluid off their website before you go. They had no clue what I was talking about when I borrowed one.
If you're leaking coolant into the cylinder, I would think you'd have bubbles in the coolant. When you consider the psi exerted by the compression cycle vs the psi of your cooling system, it doesn't seem likely you could leak coolant in without pushing gasses out.
If you've been doing much short distance driving lately, you could have a build up of condensation especially if you park outdoors. If this is the case, you will see the milky oil on the underside of your oil fill cap. No worries, she just needs to stretch her legs and all will be fine.
*******
The block test is a quick easy check. You can borrow the tester from Autozone. If you get one, get the part number for it and the fluid off their website before you go. They had no clue what I was talking about when I borrowed one.
cruisertoy
Explorer
My Autozone had the both the coolant pressure testing equipment and the test kit for checking on exhaust gas in your radiator. I ended up not sing either since I put a bore scope camera down the #6 cyclinder and saw a lake.
That's what my indy did the first time the headgasket failed. However as far as I was concerned it was unnecessary because sticking my nose over the expansion tank opening was like putting it over a can of gasoline. An emissions test wand in the tank wasn't necessary. It was obvious there were lots of hydrocarbons in the coolant. Engine was still running fine.
Toyota's prices for most shops on the Valve grind kit is 220(my cost on this kit) or more. You can buy just a HG on it own. But I have never got just a HG due to the other parts needed to install at the same time. Now most of the Aftermarket HG kits I have seen are still using the original design that was pulled out of the engine. The updated ones have more metal around the holes and support the fire ring much better.
At 154 for a HG kit, I would guess you got a aftermarket kit sold to you. Unless the HG was 154 and the rest of the parts were then billed out to by piece.
Anyhow you may want to take it back to your shop and have them test it. You should have a 1 year, 12 warranty at a min. How close to the warranty they provide are you? If you are still under warranty, I would not mess with it until they have looked at it.
good luck
At 154 for a HG kit, I would guess you got a aftermarket kit sold to you. Unless the HG was 154 and the rest of the parts were then billed out to by piece.
Anyhow you may want to take it back to your shop and have them test it. You should have a 1 year, 12 warranty at a min. How close to the warranty they provide are you? If you are still under warranty, I would not mess with it until they have looked at it.
good luck
It was just the headgasket. Other gaskets billed separately.