White smoke, runs fine

I've owned this truck since late October and I must say that I love it. 215,000 miles, 1995.5 Tacoma 4x4 Regular cab 5 speed manual with the 2.7 l4. Bought it for $1400. Here's my problem:

Truck blows white smoke on startup. Way more when it's cold or wet outside but still a little when it's warmer (60ish degrees) and dry. The smoke will go away right when the temp gage starts to approach the middle. The truck runs absolutely great and I want to keep driving it for a long time.

I've recently replaced the radiator (I bought it with a small crack in the top) and the catalytic converter and every exhaust part behind it with the exception of the o2 sensors. I also got some sweet Falken Wildpeak A/T for about $73 each from Discount Tire direct.

So, here are some pictures to help diagnose my problem:



This is my upstream o2 sensor, which looks like antifreeze contamination






Here's downstream. Don't worry, that tire is the spare that I'm getting replaced this week.


Here's a picture of the truck with my buddy's pickup:




Here's a video of the smoke on a cold wet day:

http://youtu.be/L8eAUR7p0s8

I think it's a head gasket, but I've never overheated. I am loosing a small amount of coolant though. Is a head gasket something I could do myself? Thanks. I know it's a long post but I feel all this information is relevant with the exception of the picture of my friend's pickup.

 

I don't claim to be an expert but I too am thinking head gasket. I have the same exact truck (even the same color) and it's never put out smoke like that.

 

The video was taken at around 40 degrees on a wetter day. If it's hotter than 50 it's much less.

 

Check the oil for coolant and the coolant for oil. Could also check the spark plugs for discoloration and do a compression test

 

Forgot to mention about the oil. I've changed it and checked it and see no sign of any coolant.

I also changed the spark plugs when I bought it. They were all pretty nasty. I was misfiring. I think it they were just old though.

I'll borrow a friend's compression tester soon.

 

Are you losing much Fluid in the radiator or the reservoir? A head gasket that needs replacing could do what yours is doing, seeping antifreeze when it cools down and settling on the piston. If it was a cracked head it would smoke all the time. The expanding metal is sealing it when it warms up. Just another fun thing to replace.

 

Reservoir is pretty consistent. I top the radiator off about once a week and then it goes back down to right above the core.

Should I stop driving it with this failing head gasket? Could I (a somewhat mechanically inclined 17 year old) replace the head gasket myself? If I couldn't how much should I expect to pay for a shop to replace it?

Thanks, this forum is pretty great. I've been able to search for all my problems up to this one.

 

A HG can be leaking and not visibly contaminating the oil. I think most of your leak is going into the combustion chamber, hence the white smoke. you can do an oil analysis and it will tell you if it is leaking. the chemicals that will be in the oil are increased silica mainly. it costs about $25. they send a full readout of all of your oil.
I had this done on my Nissan when i was losing coolant. I think the name of the place is Blackstone labs. Google them.

Best to find out and replace it while you can before it strands you somewhere.

 

On the 4 cylinders it is a little more straight forward, but time consuming and a lot of work. The proper way to do it is to have a machine shop check the head for flatness and get it machined if need be. Having a garage do it can get expensive in a hurry. Lcengineering may have a head gasket rebuild kit.

 

I could always take the head off myself and have a machine shop machine it for me. Or I've seen people lay sand paper on a glass table to smooth out the surface. I've read on other threads that a Toyota gasket is a must but do other makes really make that big of a difference?

$80 Evergreen HSHB2032 Cylinder Head Gasket Set Head Bolt

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P743EK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3S38U0XJ8KU50&coliid=I2YGDIM1MZR1N1

was looking at this kit

 

I'm not sure what the flatness call out is for the head so it would be hard to give you a good answer as I am a machinist myself. I would honestly look into lceperformance.com and see what they have. They know toyota engines

 

http://www.lceperformance.com/Head-Gasket-Set-2RZ-3RZ-1995-2004-p/1024156.htm

This looks good. Thanks. This isn't my daily driver so I think I'll just use it less until I can decide if I'm going to replace the head gasket myself or not.

 

No problem! Also, consider that you will need other gaskets as well like the valve cover gasket to name one and other parts like torque to yield bolts or upgrade to ARP head studs

 

If I'm not mistaken I think the kit from LCE I linked to includes a valve cover gasket. And as far as torque goes I have a torque wrench. Thanks again! Once I get this smoking problem fixed I can go onto doing some mods!

 

The stock torque to yield bolts that hold the head to the block should/need to be replaced as well and think about some other maintenance items that you can replace while the truck is apart like timing set, water pump, thermostat, belts, stuff like that

 

You can also taste test that motor oil for contamination. If it is regular motor oil it will taste (to me anyway) like an earthy flavored olive oil. If there is any coolant seeping down there that oil will taste bitter and tangy. Taste oil in a good engine for comparison if needed.