Possible blown head gasket?

I have a 06 sr5 prerunner with 236,xxx miles
Yesterday I got a check engine light and I cut off the engine and then back on hoping it would go away. It didnt so I continued to drive it back home and there wasn't as much power as there normally is and the revs would fluctuate more than normal sitting still or parked. I let it sit over night and this morning I had the codes checked. the power seemed to be back when i drove it but the light was still there. the code said cylinder number 6 was misfiring. After inspection we found the oil smelled like fuel was in it and the guy told me it was probably a blown/cracked head gasket. That honestly sounds iffy to me. Anyone else have an idea that could be wrong? I really don't want to have to pay to get that replaced if I don't have to

 

Rings could also be bad. Do a compression test and a leak down test on all the cylinders. They should all be withing 15% of the highest one as long as that is still in spec. 160-180psi per cylinder.
Do an oil change as well. You don't want that fuel in there breaking up the oil compounds.

 

Sounds like it really could be a blown head. Do a leakdown and compression test, if you have the stuff to do it. I know you said it was running sluggy/without power, but were you noticing anything else- strange noise, roughness, etc?

 

I did notice it idled a little rougher than normal while the revs fluctuated

 

That is your misfire.

 

I'm taking it to my mechanic right now to have it tested and looked at

 

We are going through the same thing with out 97 Caravan. It's got the 3.0 Mitsubishi in it. (Piece of sh*t.) Says cyl. 4 misfire, and I'm pretty sure it blew the head again, though the head was just redone a year ago. Does it constantly try to die on you? Take off the spark plug wire to your problematic cylinder and see if the sound changes. If it doesn't change, there's a problem. If you disconnect the plug wire from the spark plug and hold the end of the wire close to the plug terminal, you should see a spark and hear a snapping noise if voltage is getting through the wire. No spark= bad wire. If the wire is okay, pull the spark plug and check for fouling, and check the injector to see if it is clogged.
If it checks out on all of the aforementioned things, do the leakdown and compression tests. For Leakdown: Air leakage through the exhaust port means a bad exhaust valve. Leakage back through the intake manifold would indicate a bad intake valve. Air leaking into an adjacent cylinder would mean a blown head gasket.
Good luck, dude, and let us know what you find out.

 

The engine doesn't try to die it just idles rough while parked

 

Whats ur exhaust look like? Still clean?

 

Yeah no colored smoke or any smoke at all

 

have your mechanic friend check the coils, plug wires, and plugs.

 

Fuel-smelling oil sounds more like a bad injector (which can also cause a misfire condition). Testing cylinder 6's injector, or swapping it with a known good one, would be 2nd on my list, right after a pressure testing the cooling system.


If you find milky oil or oily coolant, then yes, HG.

 

A misfire can be caused by MANY things. The fuel that isn't being burned has to go somewhere. What doesn't get blown out the exhaust gets scraped by the rings, and gets into the oil.
As stated before, a leakdown test will properly diagnose the health of the head gasket, cylinder walls, rings, and valves.
Possible causes for the misfire: Bad gas, old plugs/wires, clogged fuel injector, low fuel pressure/clogged filter. Starting with the cheapest parts first is always a good idea. Use some Seafom(follow directions on can). Replace the plugs and wires(or insulators, for coil-on-plug designs). If the misfire is still there, swap two fuel injectors; if the problem moves, it's the injector.
I doubt it is the head gasket. Is the oil milky? Does it overheat, or run hot? Is there excessive water coming out of the tailpipe? Are you losing coolant? Is there a lot of blue smoke on startup? If you answer yes to those questions, you may consider the head gasket. I would focus on the ignition and fuel system.

 

When you say milky oil what exactly are you talking about. I'm sure it's a dumb question. But the oil on the dip stick looked fine

 

Your oil will look like coffee with creamer in it. Not semi-clear, but truly cloudy and lighter colored than normal.

 

Yeah it looked totally normal to me

 

Look at the oil in the catch pan in this link. This is what they mean by milky oil. Just oil that looks a little milky. You would know right away.

http://moparforums.com/forums/f7/milky-oil-oil-pan-q-2728/

 

Normal oil and coolant... Focus on the ignition and fuel injectors. They usually go first.

 

I hope it's the injectors or coil packs. If it is I'm confident I can replace those on my own. Is there any companies I should stay away from or lean towards if I do decide to do it

 

It depends on how long you plan to keep it. Factory is the best way to go: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/ca...298-camelback-toyota-discount-tw-members.html