2nd Gen. 2.7 cracked head?

Has anyone with a 2nd Gen. 2.7 ran into a cracked head? I have not heard of this being an issue, a local machine shop says otherwise. I am asking because currently I have the head removed for gasket replacement, and I am debating whether or not to have the head resurfaced, cleaned and pressure tested at a shop or just doing it myself the old school way. No visible cracks, I still need to clean her up and check the valves. But I am trying to refrain from going balls deep on machine work, head and valve replacement.

 

My '03 cracked the head at #3 cylinder, cracks from the spark plug hole to the exhaust valves. It was running lean on that cylinder for quite a while from the looks of the plug and chamber coloration. I replaced it w/ a rebuilt head rather than having the shop weld the cracks and resurface the exhaust valves and new seats.

 

Smart move on the rebuilt head. I do believe an 03’ has a different head, 3RZ engine if I remember correctly. And thanks for your input. Were those cracks visible to you or did you have it examined at a shop?

 

Wise man once said: A cracked head is better than a crack head

 

I have not heard of any issues with a cracked head on the 2TR-Fe Engine.

 

Yup, it was a 3RZ-FE engine. I found low compression on #3 chasing a P0303 error code (misfire cyl 3), took it to a shop and they removed the head. Cracks weren't visible until the carbon was brushed away from the chamber...pic below.

 

Oh man what a bummer. I am debating whether or not to just clean and resurface the cylinder head myself or just take it to a shop. The quote they gave me was $130 for cleaning and resurfacing, and another $75 for pressure testing. For another $200 I can buy a remanufactured head. I plan on getting some cleaning done later on today, hopefully no cracks.

 

That's about the same numbers I got for reworking my head, I figured the extra $ was a good investment. New valvestem seals, fresh valve seats, cam bearings, etc.

The truck had another issue as root cause of #3 running lean and I never found it. Kept cracking the ignition coil plastic case, spark plug color was clean white versus 1,2,4 normal tan. Fuel trims were normal, all 4 injectors were cleaned and flow-bench tested to verify delivery rate, 2 dealers and a private shop couldn't figure it out. At 260K miles I couldn't complain but it was a tough troubleshoot.

 

is it still running?

 

1 vote for shave the head just cause. I had a 2.5 jeep engine that blew a gasket and i was always looking for ways to get a little more get up and go. This is chance to get a little more compression, have them check the valves are sealing. Not a huge gain when done but a noticeable improvement in zip...

 

Im gonna give it a good cleaning, visual inspection, and go from there. Im in limbo.

 

Sure is, I sold it to a guy at work aware of the problem...it self-corrected after Toyota did the free frame replacement in 2015. Must have been a ground issue, although I tested resistance and removed & cleaned every ground under the hood at both ends. He reports no more cracked #3 ignition coils and plug coloration is tan every time he pulls it. It sort of made sense as the problem seemed to have started after the dealer sprayed the frame with anti-corrosion goop in 2013, #3 started misfiring a few months later and P0303 with cracked ignition coils, then eventually low compression due to cracked head and burned exhaust valves. Just couldn't find the root cause.

 

As a side note, I never reinstall an aluminum head without a machine shop checking the surface for trueness and milling as needed to get it perfectly flat.