Spark plugs fouling? 2trfe

I bought this truck from a previous owner who said it was "overheating" I replaced the plastic coolant bypass hose that was cracked with the updated aluminum one. No coolant leaks now. Truck would always start but if it sat for 3 weeks plus(it was getting paint work etc) it would crank and a plume of WHITE smoke would come out the exhaust for the first 5 seconds or so.

Fast forward to yesterday I took the truck on a hour trip, parked it, went to start it this morning, and she was just stumbling on her face, like she wanted to run but couldn't. The truck had no cels lights on but I'm getting a cylinder 3/4 misfire code now, it is not misfiring while running but while starting. Could not get it to start this morning. Coworker suggested pulling the plugs so I pulled plugs 3 and 4 on lunch. My assumption at this point is a bad headgasket, or bad valve stem seals? Any advice? This truck also passed a 'block' test 2 days ago. Heres what the plugs look like. They both are wet and smell like fuel

 

a plume of white smoke at start up makes me think you have leaky injectors?

 

That plug looks normal to my eye. Pretty sure an excess of hard, scaly, white buildup is coolant fouling.

Could just be bad plugs. Have those been changed in the past?

 

Spark plugs are basically brand new denso plugs, fuel would be black smoke on start up? White smoke is oil? It only does the smoke on startup after a long period of sitting.

Edit: plugs are basically brand new, so may be decieving

 

Blue is oil, coolant is white. Are those the exact plugs recommended in the owners manual? I know a lot of these trucks ask for copper plugs and those appear to be iridium. But I dont own a 2tr 4 cyl, so I wouldnt know what it wants off the top of my head.

 

The plugs in the picture are "wet" as well. I should've mentioned that. Denso iridium's are factory plugs for the 2trfe as far as I know, I'm thinking it's an internal headgasket failure.

 

Is it using coolant? Milkshake in the oil? Look for those symptoms before you come to a conclusion. With the plugs being wet and smelling like gas, my first thought is leaky injectors.

 

I do believe coolant is disappearing but it's hard to tell since i haven't driven the truck extended mileage(I average 6-8k miles across 3 different vehicles annually), since i just went on a long trip(the first this trucks had) ill know for sure ill double check what my radiator looks like tomorrow as well as check the oil cap for milky/change the oil and inspect old oil.

another thread on hard cold start
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2009-4-cyl-rough-start-when-cold.529611/page-2

 

Idk, my 92 ran BAD with a popped HG. Went through coolant like most people go through gas. Would buck/skip/miss a lot at speed, kind of terrifying really. Gas mileage in the single digits etc. Dipstick was milky white.

 

My current thought is the headgasket leak is quite minor and is only leaking when cold, hence coolant overnight is slowly getting into the cylinder and causing the hard start with a weird air/fuel/coolant mixture. when the engine clears up after 10-20 seconds / warms up the gasket either seals itself or the oem pink coolant is "sealing" itself temporarily while running? this would also explain why my truck passed the block test because the engine was warm while performing the test. my gas mileage was great on my hour round trip.

 

What your describing could be an injector issue just as much as it could be a HG issue. That excess fuel in the cylinder can cough out some white smoke too upon startup. Just like if you flood a lawnmower engine. The gas smell/wet on the plugs is what points me to that, and the great gas mileage/ no problems once started also.

 

Truck was full of coolant and bled prior to trip, now not even sure how much coolant is left in the bottom hose, top hose was dry. (the white coolant residue thats everywhere was from when i bled it using a proper funnel) oil cap looks milky, oil dipstick looked normal. 99% sure it's the headgasket at his point

 

Yeah you may have a HG issue then. Draining the oil will be the surefire tell. Sometimes simple condensation will make the cap look like that, but it wont make the oil in the pan look like that. But with the rad being bone dry, and no leaks outside, your oil will probably look like a milkshake coming out.

 

it could be the headgasket....but a puff of white smoke on the first bit of running is also a sign of leaking injectors....anyone remember the chevy 4.3L Vortec engines with the spider injector setup? They woukd leak and had the same puff of white smoke for the first couple seconds of startup.

 

The thing is though it was full of coolant just a couple days ago, and the coolants not leaking onto the ground so it's going somewhere

 

Have the oil analyzed. Take a bore scope down each cylinder and see if you see clean the top pistons. Light carbon is good. Clean tops means water is getting in and “steam cleaning” the pistons.

 

Well I believe you have your answer, it's more than likely using it, just at a rate you're not seeing it well being burned. She's dead Jim...

 

Just to update,

the truck got leakdown/pressure tested and air was coming out of cylinder two spark plug hole when cylinder 1 is pressurized and coolant starts to bubble in the resevoir -- confirming a headgasket or cracked head (albeit the truck driving perfect besides startup for 50+ minutes to the shop where it's being worked on)

truck will be torn down on wednesday will keep you updated, hopefully with pics

Im thinking of doing the waterpump + gasket, as well while it is torn apart as well as obviously the valve cover gasket. anything else you guys recommend while im there? the coolant hose has already been replaced with the updated version as well. Is there a gasket for the timing cover, or is silicone used?

I see these
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Timing-Cov...-Toyota-Tacoma-2-7L-L4-DOHC-16v-/262416934983

and these
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...ioyOmKxUrWgolxr0jVMaAjisEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

are both needed?

Thanks

 

Bump for hopefully finding someone with alldata access/ a 2trfe expert