Head Gaskets?

Sorry if this has been addressed before, I searched a little bit but had some more questions.

My wife has a 2006 2WD Tacoma with the v-6 engine (I believe is the 1gr-fe). Over the past few months, we've noticed slight vibration while driving, and it's only been getting worse (no codes either, new plugs as well). It recently started blowing coolant out the reservoir cap.

I got a block tester kit (the color changing fluid you put over the radiator to siphon any possible exhaust gasses through) and the test came up positive for exhaust gas in the coolant system.

I unplugged one cylinder head at a time (all three plugs on one side), waited a minute or two with it idling, and retested (to test each bank separately.) Both banks came positive for exhaust gasses in the coolant again. Therefore, it seems both head gaskets have failed.



I have done head gaskets before on small block Ford and Chevy motors, even on the Ford 7.3 powerstroke, but never on something like this with the cams in the head. We don't have the money for a replacement motor either, so I believe I'm going to have to do the head gaskets unless that's not recommended.

Could there be anything I'm missing that would cause this on this motor, or does this seem to be pretty much a guarantee that the head gaskets are bad (or worse, cracked block/heads?)




If it is recommended that I replace the head gaskets, can anyone direct me to a good procedure for doing this? It looks significantly more complicated to do than a Ford 351 or Chevy 350. How long would you expect it to take and would I need any specialized tools that differ from doing the head gaskets on older Ford/Chevy motors?


This truck was the most reliable of our vehicles (and nicest) while also being my wife's, so I really would like to get it fixed.


Thank you for any advice!

Edit: I have to double check but the mileage on the motor is about 160-180k

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles.....

Unfortunately it sounds like you'll need new head gaskets but before you do that you might want to consider what cause the head gaskets fail. Often this is because of excessive temperature and the weakest part of the cooling system will be the head gasket. Check to make sure the thermostat and or rad is not plugged ect....
I have attached a video to review for your convenience...enjoy!
Keep us posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brLmBRYSb_E

 

Thanks for the reply! I haven't looked at the video yet but I'll watch it here in a little bit.

We've had the truck for about the last 5 or 6 years. We've maintained it pretty well too.

As far as I know, it's never overheated before either. I'm pretty careful about making sure our vehicles never run if they experience and sign of overheating so I don't believe that may have caused it.

Upon doing some reading, it appears that the head gaskets used in early 2006 motors and older are somewhat known to have issues and fail. I didn't read what the issue with the gaskets were, but Toyota changed the design late 2006 because of the problems they were having (according to things I've read.)

I hope it's just design flaw of the gasket so I can just throw new gaskets on there and be good. Im going to order a new set this coming Friday when I get paid again and start the teardown process.

 

I wouldn’t let the overhead cam design worry you too much if you’ve torn down overhead valve engines before. Just set the engine to top dead center, unbolt the heads like you would any head (criss cross pattern, each bolt a bit at a time) and take note of condition. If the heads need to be cleaned up or surfaced don’t skip it, you’ll like yourself a lot less later. When you go to reassemble, make sure you get timing set correctly.

Do you have access to a factory service manual or at least a Haynes? And a torque wrench.

 

That doesn't seem like it should be too bad. The whole timing chain connected to each head looked a little weird in pictures but probably isn't super hard.

I don't have any manual for the Tacoma yet, but I should probably pick one up. I just got done doing head gaskets on my 94 F150 so if the job isn't too much more difficult, then hopefully it won't take me too long.

I do have a few Kobalt torque wrenches that range from a max of 50 to 150flbs so I should be covered for torquing.

I saw Amazon has a head gasket/engine gasket kit for 98 dollars that had good reviews, so I was thinking of going with that one. I believe the brand name was DNJ. Im not not familiar with that brand but they seemed to have good reviews and be pretty popular with Japanese vehicles.

 

First of all, get the head gasket kit from Toyota. You really don't know what is coming from Amazon and even if you save a few $$, you may be doing the job again soon. I bought a transmission drive shaft seal from Amazon that had good reviews and it leaked from day one. The new OEM gasket it was replaced with is fine.

The head gasket replacement on this beast is daunting, but there are plenty of YouTube videos that walk you through it. Here is just one.

 

Thanks for the replies! I believe there is a Toyota dealership here in Cheyenne I can get the gaskets from but if not, is there a place online I can order the OEM gaskets? I did some looking around and didn't see them, unless the gaskets aren't branded Toyota.

 

https://parts.camelbacktoyota.com/v-2006-toyota-tacoma--base--4-0l-v6-gas/engine--engine

Here's one, I'm sure there are others out there.

-J

 

How many miles on engine? I’m in the process of doing the head gasket on mine also but my engine has 330k+ miles.

 

this is the cheapest I could find OEM gaskets. This is a more complete valve grind kit for serious engine rebuilding.
https://trdshop.carlocktoyotaoftupe...jb21hJnk9MjAwNiZ0PWJhc2UmZT00LTBsLXY2LWdhcw==

 

mine I got misfire code and it was obvious idle was jumping in park/reverse. test plugs/coils then finally gave in did head gasket and major svc. plan on keeping truck for long time so I guess it was worth repairing it.