2.7 Head gasket issues...

Hi all,
I bought my 96 Tacoma 4x4 with 286k on it a few years ago in really poor shape. One of the few things the previous owner had actually done was a head gasket job trying to fix what turned out to be a totally unrelated issue. The engine started leaking a coolant into cylinder (2?) I think, around 291k and eventually totally blew. I thought it was a good opportunity to install a rebuilt cylinder head and quality parts to make sure it would be reliable for a long time. I did the job with a felpro gasket set and new headbolts; the block looked great when cleaned up. The engine started leaking a little coolant into one of the cylinders AGAIN within a few months. I was really frustrated, so I used a bottle of some head repair slurry which seemed to solve the issue for about 25k more miles. Now I'm at 334k and feeding it a slow diet of the stuff, so I guess I'm going to have to get back in there soon. The truck runs well now, but it will occasionally squirt a little coolant into a cylinder when I let it sit overnight, then stumble momentarily as it burns off the liquid in the cylinder, then I top off with the slurry :/.

I guess I'm wondering if there's anything that could be causing this? It seems to have the same exact symptoms as last time, but with a totally different head and gasket set! I've done many head and head gasket jobs before, and this one looked really straightforward, I just really don't want to do it again to have the same problem immediately.

 

Ahh, another account of someone not using OEM parts.

Youll see enough horror stories with Felpro items on this forum. Use OEM parts, use only OEM parts.

So you will probably be redoing the HG. You need to take the head to a reputable machine shop to have the head straightened, pressure tested, and have the valves re-seated and fitted.

EDIT: re-read your post with the 'repair in a bottle' stuff you put in it. You may have just clogged up your cooling system. The heater core is usually the first to get clogged. That shit has never fixed a problem and has destroyed plenty of engines.

 

Alright, I guess I'll just hope for the best using an OEM gasket this time. While it's obvious the "repair in a bottle" solution didn't fix the problem, it has staved off the inevitable for ~40k, and the truck still runs well aside from the occasional bit of coolant lost. I'm guessing the cooling system is fine since my heater works great and the temp rarely gets over 1/3 of the way up the gauge. And I'm going to say that the head is probably still doing fine, being so recently rebuilt. Any suggestions other than "use OEM parts"?

 

That stuff solidifies when it come into contact with heat and air. Its not ever going to repair a head gasket, youre just going to damage the cooling system of your engine. There is a reason you use distilled water and Toyota coolant, it makes a lubricant out of the water. Nothing you can buy at Walmart will fix it.

Even if you remove the head, your still going to have all this stuff sitting in the block. Use OEM parts and have the head straightened by a professional.