4.0 V6 Head Gasket Leak

Hey there, just wanted some input before heading to a mechanic. Does this look like a bad head gasket to anyone else, the blurry thing in the bottoms left corner of the image is part of header, looks like oil is clearly leaking from where the head and the block meet up on the passenger side. If anyone’s had this issue I’d love to know what it was if it’s not the head gasket. Really don’t want to get into replacing that at the moment. Also the photo was taken on an angle as it was the only way to get my phone on there.

 

Are you experiencing any symptoms such as misfires, overheating, or abnormal discoloration in the oil or coolant?

 

what year is your truck? any misfires? coolant loss/change in color

 

I would clean it up real good then run it for awhile to see where exactly it comes from.

 

As a former Toyota Tech, my first guess would be the front timing cover is leaking oil. This is a fairly common problem on the 1GR engine. The grey factory FIPG (sealant) tends to get brittle with time/heat.

I would clean it up with brake cleaner really well and monitor it over the course of several days to see where it starts to seep out. Helps you pin-point exactly where leaks are coming from.

You can also pressure test the coolant system to check for potential head gasket leaks if you feel so inclined, but this doesn't look like it to me.

 

Could also be an oil leak on the passenger side valve cover. Requires FIPG to fully seal that area up, not just a gasket.

 

This ^ is the only way too find out where the leak is coming from.

 

On a 2008 truck you can expect some oil seepage here and there. Just clean it up with brake clean and keep an eye on it.

The timing cover leaks are common.. valve cover gaskets are common on every car out there after they get some miles on them..

 

Winner...Winner chicken Dinner.

 

No misfires, overheating hasn't been an issue, coolant colour looks fairly normal and oil looked ok on the dip stick but obviously that's a hard one to tell unless I do an oil change which I may or may not do (pretty cold where I am up in Canada right now). Doesn't seem to be showing any symptoms other than the external leak. The trucks a 2008. Might be missing the slightest amount of coolant, I put a mark on the reservoir at the coolant level so I'll keep an eye on that.

That was my second thought since it is right in that area as well, I'll clean it up tomorrow when it warms up and keep an eye on it to pin point exactly where its coming from. Is there any real problem with letting oil seep from the timing cover other than just having to top it off every once in a while?

Thank you for the reply! I'll post an update in a few days hopefully

 

I was hoping it was the valve cover but from what I can tell that area is very dry, almost looks like it had a small leak at one point but there's no fresh oil in that area right now.

That is a problem of mine, I like to think of my 11 year old truck as brand new and I have to remind myself sometime that's its old and gonna have some leaks no matter how well I've maintained it. Im starting to think it's the timing cover from everyones input.

 

Nothing wrong with keeping a clean engine/bay.. just be patient and make sure you fix the right leak. Dont start tearing the motor down just yet lol.

As mentioned, clean it up real good, add some UV oil dye if you like and check again in a week or two

 

same here, even as my truck approaches the 11 year old mark I always have it in my head as this new truck even though it definitely doesn’t look it anymore haha. Just curious though, how many miles on your truck when this leak started happening?

 

I’ll clean it up and try to pin point before attempting any fixes, no point wasting money trying to fix things and hoping it’s the right gasket/part. Oh ya definitely don’t want to get into a driveway engine tear down at this time of year haha. Might look into that UV dye if I still can’t tell after it’s been cleaned up. Thanks for the help!

 

We all like to wish we were still driving a shiny new truck haha. I’m at about 140000 miles right now and I believe it just started leaking

 

No real problem other than oil loss like you mentioned. If unattended the leak will only get worse though. If it gets bad enough it can get all over the engine bay/exhaust (potential fire hazard)/radiator hoses/belts, etc. The rubber on the belts/hoses tends to soften up some when they are constantly soaked in oil, which can cause premature failure. This is usually only an issue on things that are leaking severely and have been doing so for some time. A leak like yours is not going to cause this issue, and the fact that you are looking at fixing it now tells me that you likely won't let it get to that point - so no real worries at the moment.

Hope you are able to pin-pint the leak!

 

Clean it up good with brake cleaner. Then apply some grey sealant over the gasket area thick. Let dry a full day. Use . Ford TA 31

That will seal it up for a long time and be under 30 bucks in solvent and sealant. Maybe 15 minutes of your time.

 

Thanks everyone for the help, I decided to clean it and then just drive it for a couple months while checking so far nothing other than a little seeping cause there almost no build up of oil after driving it, after cleaning you could tell it’s the timing cover.

 

you will know its gasket leak w cel misfire code and idle starts to jump at stop or in reverse...trust me you would know my 05 head gasket went out at 165k

 

Plus, wasn't leaking head gaskets just an issue (typically) on the first year or two (05/06) 2nd Gens?