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Blown Head Gasket/H G Replacement Thread

Discussion in '4 Cylinder' started by Murrfk, Mar 28, 2011.

  1. Mar 28, 2011 at 6:23 PM
    #1
    Murrfk

    Murrfk [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I am aware that there is a manual about the proper steps to removing a head gasket and replacing it, but I once watched a Toyota Mechanic replace My 22r head gasket on his driveway in a little over an hour. He didn't remove all the pieces, but basically took off the exhaust and intake manifolds and a few small bits, slid everything out of the way and slid the head up high enough (5 inches or so at the front) to slide the head gasket over the timing chain and put a new one in place.

    I have a 2.7l that (I hope) has a blown head gasket. (Coolant floods cyl #1). I am going to pull the head in a day or two, and want any guidance about what doesn't really have to be removed or disassembled. Can, for example, the intake manifold be left in one piece and just unbolted from the head and slid out of the way.

    Also, if folks want to post picts of their blown head gaskets and/or the reasons that they blew, I am sure others would find this information useful.

    Any tips on efficient ways to replace a head gasket on a 3rz? Any input is appreciated. I will try to post pictures so this thread can be useful for others.
     
  2. Mar 30, 2011 at 8:37 PM
    #2
    Murrfk

    Murrfk [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I bought this taco with an engine issue. Coolant was flowing into cyl1. When I bought it, it was unknown whether it was a head gasket or a cracked head. I needed to find out which as I had an opportunity to by a used engine if I needed a head. Here is what I did:

    1. FIRST, I removed the ground from the battery. No sense having things short. The next thing I did was remove the airbox connector. See picture 1airconnector.

    2. I then wanted to remove the exhaust manifold, but had to remove the EVR pipe from the exhaust manifold. (My exhaust manifold is cracked! :eek: ) See picture 2Evr.

    3. The other end is on the intake side. Picture 3Pipe. There is also a bolt on the back of the head that needs to be removed so the pipe can be removed.

    4. I then removed the wiring harness connections on the exhaust side. See Picture 4Harness.

    5. I had trouble with getting the connector off the distributor. Since I had to remove the distributor anyways, I did that now so I could rotate the distributor and see the connection from the bottom. There is a little tab you have to pry up to remove the harness connection. See Picture 5Dizzy.

    6. The head will not come off with the belts attached, so I first removed the bolt for the dipstick and then removed the belts by loosening the idler pulley bolt then loosening the tensioner bolt until I could remove the belt.

    7. The heater hose is attached to the head, so it had to come off. The top end is easier to access. Pict 7HeaterHose.

    8. The intake stay would have to come off even if I lifted the intake with the head. So it was next. Pict 8IntakeStay.

    9. Next the valve cover had to come off. Picture 9ValveCoverRemoved.

    10. Don't forget about the chain tensioner. That was removed next. Picture 10Tensioner.

    11. The camshafts have to come off to access the head bolts. At least, I didn't see a prudent way to removed the head bolts without removing the camshafts. The end caps are tight, but they have tabs you can pry with a screwdriver held perpendicular to the head. I got them off keeping careful attention to which went where. They are lettered but once I got them off, I found that they were also numbered E1-5 and I1=5 (the marks are under the oil drops on top. I was careful to keep them in order just in case. Next was the head bolts. Picture 11Headbolts

    12. Finally I was ready for the head bolts. I had to break out my 14mm 12 point socket and a LONG ratchet. The bolts at the ends were particularly nasty tight. Of course, these are loosened in sequence a little at a time from outside to in. See the manual!

    When I pried the head up, I could clearly see the damage to the head gasket. Picture Headblown1.

    I subsequently had to split the intake manifold and remove it from the head to get the gasket off. To remove the intake, the fuel supply line to the fuel rail had to be disconnected. It is RIGHT in the way of one of the bolts. I also removed the return line in order to lift the head. Once the head gasket was removed, the damage was clear.

    See pictures headblown2 and headblown3.

    There is a LOT of gunk in the coolant ports in this gasket. Look at the middle cylinders. Crud was PILED up in these ports. Is this a byproduct of using the wrong coolant? Radiator stop leak?

    2EVR.jpg
    3pipe2.jpg
    4Harness.jpg
    5Dizzy.jpg
    1AirConnector.jpg
    6DipstickPS.jpg
    7HeaterHose.jpg
    8Intakestay.jpg
    9ValveCoverRemoved.jpg
    10tensioner.jpg
    11HeadBolts.jpg
    headblown1.jpg
    headblown2.jpg
    headblown3.jpg
    headblocked.jpg
     
    BassAckwards likes this.
  3. Mar 31, 2011 at 10:32 AM
    #3
    nagelg

    nagelg Well-Known Member

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    Thanks
     
  4. Apr 1, 2011 at 7:26 AM
    #4
    ecoterragaia

    ecoterragaia Everyone lives downstream.

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    Wow, awesome write-up man!! It doesn't apply to my truck, but it's cool to read and view the pictures. Hopefully someone will find this post useful when they have to replace their HG. Thanks!!!
     
  5. Apr 1, 2011 at 7:42 AM
    #5
    afd23a

    afd23a Well-Known Member

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    Nice job. I'm interested to hear what would cause those coolant ports to clog up like that.
     
  6. Apr 1, 2011 at 10:25 AM
    #6
    Murrfk

    Murrfk [OP] Well-Known Member

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    The previous owner said no stop leak or additives while he had the vehicle (Six years). Wrong coolant type (rust)?
     
  7. Apr 1, 2011 at 8:10 PM
    #7
    Murrfk

    Murrfk [OP] Well-Known Member

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    1. It was a nice day, and my Felpro head gasket arrived, so I did some work on the head gasket. First thing I did was fully remove the head. The block was absolutely covered with crud. Pict 1Crudblock.

    2. I first cleaned the block surface with a flat scraper. While it did not remove the staining of the block, the surface was perfectly smooth when I was done. Pict 2Cleanblock.

    3. I did the same process, very carefully, on the aluminum head, taking care to not remove any aluminum, but only old gasket crap that was stuck to the head. With the surfaces prepared, I put sealant on the front edge. Note the blue sealant. Pict 3Sealant.

    4. What was very interesting to note was that there were no full size coolant ports on the gasket. Note the small holes and compare that to the old gasket. Pict 4Noholes.

    5. With the head gasket in place, I didn't want to muck up the new gasket with a sloppy move when trying to put the heavy head on by myself, so I put a piece of the cardboard from the gasket box down to keep a buffer between the head and the gasket while I aligned the head. Pict 5Headsaver.

    6. I slid the cardboard out and put a couple of headbolts in the middle to hold the head on. Pict 6Headon.

    I then put the hose on the back side of the intake manifold, put the injector electronics back on, and followed that with putting the lower intake manifold back on. I then attached the fuel supply and fuel return to the fuel rail. I attached the upper intake manifold to the lower, and replaced the intake manifold support.

    I went around to the other side and put the harness back on, followed by the exhaust manifold, and the EGR pipe.

    I did not do the head bolts because they haven't arrived yet! So I will be doing the rest of the top end when they arrive next week.

    1crudblock.jpg
    2cleanblock.jpg
    3sealant.jpg
    4noholes.jpg
    5headsaver.jpg
    6headon.jpg
     
  8. Apr 3, 2011 at 9:28 PM
    #8
    SurfInferno

    SurfInferno Dont be stupid, its not smart.

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    excellent write up
     
  9. Apr 3, 2011 at 9:35 PM
    #9
    afd23a

    afd23a Well-Known Member

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    maybe he used tap or hard water instead of distilled??
     
    Elow007 likes this.
  10. Apr 3, 2011 at 9:39 PM
    #10
    Unknown

    Unknown He who angers you conquers you

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    yez but 22r:(
     
  11. Apr 3, 2011 at 9:41 PM
    #11
    SurfInferno

    SurfInferno Dont be stupid, its not smart.

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    didnt catch that. Im sure you can get a manual from like autozone or something that would show what to do. no?
     
  12. Apr 3, 2011 at 11:08 PM
    #12
    joes06tacoma

    joes06tacoma Well-Known Member

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    Good to see you pulled the head all the way out and cleaned the block up. I did a head gasket on a 22R a long time ago and remember having a hell of a time cleaning the block and head surfaces. The head gasket coolant passages had the same small holes on that engine as well. Can't imagine the new gasket would have sealed if I hadn't cleaned it all up. Mine had been overheated by the previous owner and they just slapped a new gasket in without surfacing the head. Hope you got it running good again and double check that cooling system.
     
  13. Apr 4, 2011 at 10:54 AM
    #13
    98tacoma27

    98tacoma27 is going full "SANDWICH" Moderator

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    Some stuff. Not a lot, just some.
    That's not a 22RE. A 22RE has one cam shaft, not two.

    Nice write up OP
     
  14. Apr 4, 2011 at 11:01 AM
    #14
    Murrfk

    Murrfk [OP] Well-Known Member

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    The engine in this thread is a 1996 2.7l 3RZ. What I stated in the first post is that I once WATCHED a mechanic replace a 22re (my old truck..not this one) without removing all the stuff stated in the service manual...which made me realize that following all the steps wasn't necessary. Sorry for any confusion.
     
  15. Apr 7, 2011 at 7:28 AM
    #15
    Murrfk

    Murrfk [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I installed my head gasket, flushed the coolant and drained the oil (7 litres of "oil" drained!.) One tip I would give to someone following these steps: Use a breaker bar to do the two 1/4 turn of the head bolts after setting them to 29ftlbs. I initially continued to use my torque wrench, but it would sometime "click" and screw up keeping track of the 1/4 turn.

    I was careful to align the camshafts, but when I tried to start it up I got a P0336 code and the engine would shut right down. I thought it was just a fuel supply issue before I checked the engine code. I now think the problem is the distributor setting as set out in this post:
    http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/4-cylinder/66130-runs-5-seconds-then-shuts-off.html

    I did align the marks on the distributor carefully but perhaps things moved when I inserted the distributor? Any way to line up the marks on the distributor with the hole in the head when inserting the distributor?

    The vehicle would run if I gave it gas and I was able to drive it. I am still testing for coolant loss to ensure the original problem is fixed.
     
  16. Apr 8, 2011 at 5:22 AM
    #16
    Murrfk

    Murrfk [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Distributor had moved a tooth when I put it back in. Code is now gone and I continue to test everything. So far, so good.
     
  17. Apr 18, 2011 at 1:28 PM
    #17
    s1deout

    s1deout Active Member

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    Excellent write-up. I'm envious of your knowledge. I bought a 96 tacoma a little while ago and have been learning as I try to get this truck running well. Aside from the doing some body work and replacing headlights, my knowledge is limited. Thanks to some folks here, I've been working on troubleshooting the high idle i'm currently dealing with. I'm pretty sure it is a bad IAC valve which will be replaced as soon as the new one arrives in the mail.

    I noticed that you ran into the P0336 error code after reinstalling the distributor. I am getting this same error and I've replaced the sensor and inspected the wiring. I can't even clear the code briefly with my obd scanner. I was wondering what you did you fix this code? Will I need to remove the valve cover or (hopefully) just adjust something with the distributor. I apologize for my ignorance, you seem to know what you're doing.

    Thanks!
     
  18. Apr 18, 2011 at 1:42 PM
    #18
    Murrfk

    Murrfk [OP] Well-Known Member

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    That code is only caused by three things:

    1. The camshafts are out of time. The dots on the teeth are not pointing at each other when the engine is at TDC for number 1 cylinder.
    2, The distributor is out of time. The little line wasn't in line when the distributor was installed, with the engine at TDC for number 1 cylinder.
    3. The ecu is bad.

    Did you remove the distributor or either camshaft at any point in time? See the link I provided and the manual for the vehicle that you can download.

    It is not a sensor that needs to be replaced. The sensor is working, and sensing that it is not put together properly.

    At least that is how I understand it.
     
  19. Apr 18, 2011 at 8:42 PM
    #19
    s1deout

    s1deout Active Member

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    Been researching this for a while. I've only had this truck for a few months now and it's had this code since I bought it. I've haven't removed the camshafts or distributor, but who knows what the previous owners did.

    I think you're right about the camshafts. I guess I'll have to remove the valve cover and make sure those line up.

    I don't have a crank pulley and this seems pretty daunting for my level of skill. I've removed the distributor to see what is going on. I drained the oil before doing so. I've attached some pics of it. In the process it seems that I should replace the spark plug wires. They are a bit corroded upon pulling them out of the distributor cap.

    I'm going to remove the valve cover when I get some more time to see if dots are aligned on the camshaft. If they are aligned, do I then align the crankshaft pulley with the '0' mark on the oil pump cover? And then do I reinstall the distributor while it is aligned with these green dots in the 2nd -picture? There doesn't seem to be a visual mark on the gear side of the distributor.

    Hope you understand what I'm asking.

    photo-1.jpg
    photo-2.jpg
    photo-3.jpg
     
  20. Apr 18, 2011 at 8:47 PM
    #20
    Murrfk

    Murrfk [OP] Well-Known Member

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    No. Check the link that I had in the previous thread. There is no reason to pull the crank. You need that to line up TDC. Make sure you understand what you are doing BEFORE you do it. Trying a bunch of things without understanding will get you in a mess quickly. Find and download the service manual!
     

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