2tr-fe head gasket replacemet

Hey guys its been awhile. Recently I had a misfire in cylinder #1, as well as oil accumilation in the coolant reservoir. The check engine light was blinking right after the misfire, so I plugged in my scanner and caught the code. I pulled the plugs, and sure enough, coolant on a burnt plug. A friend has recomended that Bars Leak Head Gasket Sealer until I can gather a headgasket kit, head bolts, coolant, and T-stat. She just turned 228K, and its time for a new headgasket. She hasnt overheated (I keep my eyes glued to that temp gauge), no white smoke, threw in new plugs, cleared the codes, and so far, nothing has popped up. I know this leak sealer is only a bandaid, so right now im gathering all the parts. Has anyone done thier headgasket? And what advice can you give me? Aside from the gasket kit and headbolts, coolant and T-stat, what tools and parts should I have on deck before I tear her down? This is a one shot deal, I cannot fit my truck in my small garage unit, only enough to pull halfway in,pop the hood, and jack it up. Any pics would help, and I am hoping there is just a small gasket leak at cyclinder #1, and I can get away with not sending the head out to be checked and planed. Its winter here in New England, so I am dreading the repair. Any help or pointers is greatly appreciated! - Josh

 

Don't put bars leak in anything but the trash. Does more harm than good. Blocks your heater core and radiator and you can never get all of it out of the block.

 

Yeah im aware, its not a brand new engine, once my parts come in i plan on doing a full flush, im looking for advice on the gasket swap, all the gasket sealers are junk, its a temporary fix, what im looking for is pointers on gasket replacement, but i appreciate the reply. If you replaced a gasket on your 2TR i would love some advcie and pictures. thanks

 

I would get a head gasket like cometic its a better than oem upgrade made of multilayer steel many supercharged tacos use this type of gasket because it is super strong and resilient. And definitely get need head gasket studs again arp if you’d like to upgrade. As far as anything else I’d go new oem for the tstat and water pump and the gasket as those products are proven.

 

@gunny1005 will get you the best oem prices around....
Lce engineering or paradise racing for the cometic gasket and arp studs

 

I was gonna go Felpro MLS and OEM headbolts, OEM stat. I live in the Northeat, and rust is my biggest enemy (exhaust manifold etc etc), should I keep some heli coils on deck as well?

 

I just recently took all my exhaust and intake manifold assemblies off to turbo my Massachusetts 04 Tacoma without snapping any studs. I used tons of CRC and a torch and a bunch of different sockets but intake wasn’t bad and exhaust while a pain was definitely manageable. You should take a peak at your studs now are they crumbling and flaking with rust or just some surface specks? If its just surface specs definitely try to save the studs and the mls exhaust gasket should be fine although its cheap insurance to replace again see gunny... as far as the actual exhaust when you take it off inspect it for any cracks ect and be ready to replace it if their are.

 

I’m not sure of felpro for the head gasket but i do know cometic is best of the best so thats all i can speak to

 

usually for oem i go thu genuineoemtoyotaparts.com, and as far as the MLS i used it for my old 3rz, had no issues, but the 2tr is new to me, and yes, all the exhaust nuts are almost completely rusted off, i spend just as much time in the trails as i do on the road, and unfortunately i dont garage my rig, but i do what i can to fight the rust. i will def check out gunny, i appreciate the referral

 

i recently swapped my coolant bypass for the stainless steel upgrade, the intake manifold wasnt too bad, but the exhaust looks scary lol

 

hey guys just a quick question, i remember reading somewhere someone mentioning the fuel pressure when removing the intake manifold, i dont remember having any issue with fuel leaking when i swapped the bypass, from what i understand, if the truck is off, there shouldnt be any fuel pressure. should i take certain steps to make sure i dont have a fuel leak when i remove the intake manifold when i swap the gasket???

 

05 Yoter. Did u finish the job? I have the same issue. Was going FelPro and aftermarmet head bolts ($15 vs $70 for OEM)

 

For headgaskets, either OEM or MLS. Dont run a felpro single layer over an OEM. You get what you pay for. MLS gaskets are a different animal. LCE is where i would go for those.

Oh and always use new bolts or upgrade to studs. Never reuse a TTY bolt.

 

05Yoter. Is there an update? It seems I may be having a HG issue myself. Wondering how hard the job was and where you bought parts from.

 

Same issues, following!