Blown head gasket on my 06 Tacoma

Hi TW, I took my car in for a coolant leak that I though was somewhere on the exterior that i just couldn't find. The mechanic did a pressure test and everything checked out. I told him I had out a total of about 1.5 gals over the course of the month. He took another look and found that is was a blown head gasket that was drinking my coolant. He is a fairly reliable mechanic.
So I will be attempting my first head gasket replacement here in the next couple weeks. I am reaching out to you guys for any wisdom, tips, tricks, that you guys could provide as I'm fairly young and inexperienced. I'm 24 and all mechanical experience i have has been on a 87 Suzuki Samurai and dirt bikes.
I have a 06 Tacoma TRD sport, 4WD, 4 door, long bed.
I would love any feedback, Thanks!!!

-Joe

 

first things first, set up your work area and thing about putting your parts down line in chronological order so when you reassemble you simply pick parts in the other direction. After that parts orders and proper tools. Maybe a manual, if things get you nervous its nice to find answers. Slow and Smooth. After draing the coolant and dropping the oil.
Clean the Head real good and inspect very carefully for cracks. A machine shop can magnaflux it for you to.Clean faces perfectly and rub 5w-30 oil on both face before you install the gasket.
put the head bolts back in lightly then torque them per specs and by pattern. Its a cake walk from then on out

 

Search for member named foampile. He is a novice who kept asking basic questions but was still able to do the headgasket job himself

 

Haines repair manual is great tool as well to guide you along while working

 

What Leggo said ^

 

You said you are 24 years old, so by definition, you have a smart phone. Use it to take pictures of every step and search the internet for more information. Take advantage of all the suggestions in this thread and what will inevitably come along.

I tore down a Yamaha motorcycle engine to parts and got it back together by a parts lay out on the bench before digital photography and internet help using a thing made from paper with writing and pictures in it. Someone told me it was called a book or manual or something like that You have a lot more resources to go with now.

Tear in and have fun.

 

How many miles do you have on it?
Haines manuals suck. I have one and found more than a few inconsistencies. I would never trust one for any big job. It's not just the tacoma manual that has wrong information either. I have one for my civic also and it has wrong information.
Someone did a good write up here on a head gasket change not long ago.
You may want to look into alldata for a short subscription.

 

I wouldn't bother with a haynes or chilton manual when this is available:


http://www.customtacos.com/tech.old/files/05FSM/repair.html

 

www.cometic.com

You also need a special socket to remove the head bolts. Throw them away. Get new ones or get ARP studs.

 

Don't search anything with Foampile in it, you want your truck to run again. Follow the link landphil gave you, it's all there. Take your time, don't cut corners.

 

A smartphone, manual, sharpie, and zip lock bags to keep hardware separate. Mark the bags with a sharpie for what component they go to. Keep organized. Good luck. You got this!

If you need special tools, ie torque wrench, usually the big auto part stores have a loaner program.

 

I would be checking to make sure 100% that it is indeed the headgasket that is leaking , there was a taco we had in the shop not too long ago that had a coolant leak on the pass side that looked like it was coming from the headgasket , but was indeed just a freeze plug of some sort , i dont recall the exact details of said freeze plug but i guess the guy had a block heater removed and they did a poor job resealing it. just food for thought , been working on toyotas for 10 yrs and have yet to see a tacoma with a headgasket leak.

 

I thought Foampile put his engine back together because it has been quite a while. Did he screw it up bad?

 

Nah, it was still apart, he was contemplating using all the bolts for his timing chain cover or leaving 2 out because of striped holes. Also contemplating using all the O-rings or whatever on his fuel injection. He hasn't posted anything because i believe he was banned for a while for getting into a pissing match with just about all of Tacoma world because he is smarter than everybody.

 

wouldnt a compression check indicate a blown head gasket? the mechanic came back with a good test showing everything was tight?

i'm no pro. just trying to learn.

 

That made me lol. But it's a great idea. I will use that for future application!!

 

Hydro carbon test is a very good one.

Continuous bubbles in the overflow tank. Gas pulsing out of the radiator, when the cap is off.

 

Head Gaskets going out on Tacos is very common, and not the easiest job. They updated the gaskets on either 07's or 08's, i never got a for sure there. I did mine with the help of my friend who's a professional. There's a lot of threads on this...

There's a known issue of the timing chain cover leaking oil on the passenger side, where the power steering pump attaches. be aware of this and add extra gasket maker in that area upon reassembly. Also take your heads to a machine shop and have them pressure tested, milled and cleaned. make sure you put the head components in the same spots they came apart, they wear in a certain way and cannot be put in different places.

Be 100% sure you got the timing chain on right, so the timing is set correctly.

Above all, dont rush the job because if you do it wrong youll be really pissed later. And have wasted a lot of time and money.

 

It almost seems like clockwork around 150k, doesn't it? That's just from what I recall seeing for posts on here. I hope you're right about the updated part!

 

Ya i bought mine with 220k on it but there is a record of my truck going in the shop with a related issue at 170k, so 150k isnt too far off.... I surely got a good price on my 05 but knowing what i know now id probably only look for an 08 or newer cuz theyre pretty much issue free...