2003 Tacoma 2.7 head gasket

You could do the shim measurements at either time. Might as well do it now.

Start from the outsides and work your way inward. Correct, start with quarter turns on all bolts, then half. If there is a small 10mm headed bolt, just do those all the way first.

You are on the right track.

 

Anyone ever replaced the alum head with an iron one? I know it would be quite an undertaking…it would have to be fabricated but it would be badass.

 

I know I'm super pathetic, but I finally got the head to the machine shop and got a good report. I'm going to start putting it back together and I'm wondering what other items I should replace on the way out. Also it seems like everyone recommends OEM gasket set or is there a better replacement set.

 

Nah, not pathetic. This is worth taking time on.

I used the oem set with no regrets.

I did the water pump, hoses and radiator at the same time, as well as the hoses that hook up to the throttle body.

 

This is the spot the gasket failed. Does the block look like it needs machined. I cleaned it super good with acetone and a brass brush

 

If I remember right, it’s fine as long as you can’t catch a fingernail on it. But I defer to @Speedytech7 and @Empty_Lord , they’ve done more than one

 

I'm definitely not pulling the engine and I'd really like to keep the truck. If I put it back together and it just blew again that would be a major bummer. Is there any tool that could polish it down.

 

I used a ceramic resistor that happened to be sitting on my toolbox with some oil to catch the filings. It did a good job knocking down any edges I was concerned about. Almost 30k miles now and all good.

 

Any ideas on what I could use to polish it up with out damage

 

anything you do other than stoning it will make the surface uneven and lead to a blown gasket fast. that block needs to be decked. the MLS headgaskets want a very smooth surface or they dont seal well

 

Wow its almost always the head that fails....with it being the softer metal....

However......looks like you won the lottery.....it looks like its a casting flaw.....
not sure if that can be fixed......think its in the grain....
......hopefully someone that has done this will chime in........

I'm waiting on the answer.......

I'm blaming it on the pink slime.......nasty shit........

 

How much harder would it be to pull the old motor and swap a rebuilt engine.

 

My 04 2.7 blew a head gasket at around 200k. I went back with a Fel-Pro gasket and bolt set. My head had a crack in #3 on left side of cyl, went back with a reman from Advance Auto. Not a bad job just expensive.