2001 PreRunner 3RZ Top End ReDone.

So I was having a little head gasket issue, not sure how bad it was. Truck is new to me, got it in Jan 2025. I had put about 3k miles on it when it started acting up, no over heat just occasional hard starting. Saw a puff of white smoke which led me to believe the head gasket was bad. Smelled fuel in the radiator so i did the blue liquid test and it was positive. Took off the head not knowing if it was going to need a complete rebuild or just a gasket. Here are a few pics below.

My suspicions were correct, definitely fuel in the radiator but zero water in the oil.

I lucked out, the motor and head were recently redone, not sure why the gasket failed but I'm pretty sure they did not replace the head bolts with new ones, there was little resistance taking them off.

It already had a new timing chain set including guides tensioner.

The head was a teenie bit dirty but absolutely zero sludge.

The pic of the deck and block were after I cleaned them but absolutely nothing to report. They were just slightly dirtier than the pic. #4 had a pattern that indicated some coolant wash but nothing major.

*A note on the head itself... It is an aftermarket head and when I took it to the machine shop, they told me that the deck was uneven. Not torqued or torsioned but the rear was .007 higher than the front. They leveled it off taking a total of .010 and said it should now sit flat. Maybe this was the culprit for the head gasket quitting?? Not sure but if you have an aftermarket head that you're not sure of, have it checked before putting it on. I'm in Los Angeles and it was a total of $40 to have it surfaced.

Adjusted the valves, exhaust side was sitting at .012 all across, the intake side was way off. Replaced 3 shims and moved another 3 shims around. Intake side now sits at a perfect .008 for the entire side. Oh and I used

$9 Permatex 81950 Ultra Slick Engine Assembly Lube, 4 oz. , Red

Permatex 81950 "slick stuff" assembly lube... Stuff is like red pancake syrup lol. Highly recommend it.

While I was in there, decided to replace the injectors as well, it did not have the originals so I bought some aftermarket injectors, new cups as well. New CPS sensor and new ECT coolant sensor.

I wanted to dress up the engine compartment so I painted the valve cover in VHT Red Wrinkle finish.

I was super lucky, not one single frozen or broken or stripped bolt or stud, it was actually quite straight forward. Compression test was #1. 180 lbs #2. 180 lbs #3. 165 lbs #4. 160 lbs.

I guess because i was cranking it to get the compression readings, the oil and fuel charged up and when it came time to fire it up, it did so in about 2 revolutions and she seems to be running smooth as silk (for now) hopefully it'll stay that way.

I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all of the contributors and members who have shared their experiences here. You guys have helped me tremendously on all of my Tacoma projects!