Head gasket failure on 4.0 Toyota engines

Ebay... search 5mm rigid usb endoscope, find one that ships from the US that the USB plug matches you phone. Should be under $20 shipped. Pull spark plugs, put the cam in the holes, the top of the pistons should look 'dirty' with carbon buildup. If one, especially cyl 5 or cyl 6 (the ones closest to the firewall) look abnormally 'clean', you have a problem!

But again, dont jump to conclusions. You for sure should not be having the over heating issue, so DO NOT treat it lightly, something is wrong! Could be as simple as a thermostat or blockage in coolant system. Have you ever flushed it?

Any chance you know someone with a shop air compressor?

You can buy an adapter that screws into the spark plug hole at harbour freight or auto parts store for really cheap.

If you have a friend who knows a little about engines, it would help to have them around.

Pop the hood, remove the radiator cap. Put a socket on the crank, put a big ratchet or a braker bar on the socket so that the handle is sticking up though the top, remove the spark plug on the cylinder you suspect, screw in the adapter, hook the hose from the air compressor to the adapter.

Chances are, the valves on that cylinder are open. you will hear air escaping. Slowly, SLOWLY! Turn the ratchet/bar towards the passenger side (counter clockwise). This will rotate the engine, closing the valves. You will notice as the valves close, the air escaping become less... less... until HOPEFULLY none! Then if you see no bubbles coming from the radiator you are good, if you see bubbles, bad gead gasket.

NEVER EVER EVER ROTATE IT THE OTHER DIRECTION, keep in mind, if you rotate the crank too much, the valves will start to open up again, so you have to go around again. So use 'fenese'. If you go too far, do a full revolution and start over.

The goal in doing this is to put air pressure into the cylinder, rotate the crank to a position where the valves are closed on tgat cylinder so that pressure builds in that cylinder just as it does during ignition.

If gasses are leeching into the coolant system due to a faulty head gasket ONLY under the pressure during ignition, this will memic that senario.

A shop will go the other route. They will pressurize the coolant system to see if coolant/air pressure leaks into the cylinder.

These 1GR-FE's with the faulty designed head gaskets don't show like that. You have to pressurize the cylinder.

 

I took my radiator cap off started the truck and watched for bubbles. That’s a sure sign of a head gasket leak.

 

My coolant doesn't bubble, but it rises and will overflow when I start my 05 with rad cap off. Coolant level hasn't moved in a year and a half and 40k

 

Are you watching for bubbles with the radiator cap off? They are small bubbles.

 

FWIW, I looked into part revisions for the head gasket. Here is what I found:

Production dates from 09/2004 - 10/2005 the old style was used.
Production dates from 11/2005 until the end of the 2nd Gen the new style was used.

Curiously, the 2TR-FE engine appears to be on head gasket version no. 4. over the same production period.

 

Tried over a year ago, multiple times, soon as engine starts it just pushes coolant up and would overflow within seconds. No bubbles that I could see

 

Is your coolant full to the top or just below the top of the radiator where the cap goes? What exactly is your truck doing?

 

I could hear gurgling under dash, mostly stopped now. Coolant is to the top, just below overflow hole. Truck works great

 

Where did you find that info?

 

How do you find out when your truck was actually made? Mine is a 2006, but motor could have been produced in 2005, right?

 

and it keeps going on

 

It should be on the left door jam. Usually just the month and year. Toyota has the "just in time" philosophy for manufacturing meaning they do not stockpile a lot of parts. I've noticed this on various parts, such as the manual transmission case, where the mfg date of individual components tends to be real close to the time when the vehicle is produced even though the transmission was manufactured in Japan but the vehicle assembled here.
For your engine, Toy relates production changes to those on the door jam so use that date.

 

Holy Thread revival batman..

 

Should be on the tag on the drivers door where the vin is

 

hope you're not bitching...this is the result of searching google first...and it brought me here..hence, the revival.

 

UPDATE...so I failed to mention...I was on a trip...from Virginia to Colorado when all of this went down...I was so concerned, that I stopped by a Toyota dealership in Aurora. Stevenson Toyota I believe...they let me pull it right in there...on a busy Saturday. Long story short...they suggested I get it looked at.and they'd have to work me in..5 + hours!! I could'nt wait and just winged it. They did give me a fill up on anti-freeze, and I bought a radiator cap. Guess what worked?? A brand new radiator cap. Bingo! Put close to 4,000 miles on my engine..which now has 210k on her...no overheating and no more blown out antifreeze all over my engine! Thanks for all the replies...

So...it was an inexpensive cap that did the trick.

 

Going to order a new one now. No harm in trying for $15. Thanks!

 

sometimes it's just the simple fixes..and here I was looking at the cost of a new head gasket job. I WebMD'd my Taco...lol

 

Where did this info come from? And this is accurate for the 1grfe?

I have ~150k on my early 06 production, never could find the exact dates they changed the gaskets

 

Mine says 01/2006 so I should be good.