Do you have to pull the motor for head gasket replacement on 4.0

Looks like my 2005 4.0 liter V6 Tacoma might need a head gasket. Has anyone here had this done. Were you able to get the heads off without pulling the motor?

 

I didn't do mine personally, but local shop did mine without removing engine.

 

Not required... depending on how many miles on your truck you may look into grabbing a newer motor. From what I have seen it looks like a pita to do head gaskets on 4.0

 

No, but you will need a special bit for the OEM head bolts. As well as all new head bolts, or ARP head studs.

 

Thanks for the replies. The mechanic doing the work is an acquaintance that is charging 60% of what the dealer wants for the job, so I'm fortunate for that.

 

True, bolts are torque to yield, and require a special bit. The engine does not have to be pulled.

I hired a friend and was his helper back when I wasn't comfortable doing such a large job. We did it in two weekends in the back yard.

I never replaced the water pump, but did replace the thermostat. I attributed the initial overheating to low coolant. The overflow reservoir used to leak, and at the time I used quick lube places to check fluids (like I said, didn't know as much back then about maintenance) and I reckon they were rushing and forgot to check the coolant like I asked.

I resurfaced the heads for peace of mind, but it may not be necessary for you. I was told at the time that a wrecker engine swap with less mileage would be cheaper than doing the repair. I decided to gamble on my friend and it worked great.

So much work for a MLS gasket that costs so little. Lesson learned: always check that darn coolant level

Good luck!

 

Thanks Brendonfly, got my truck back from the shop on Thursday. New water pump, thermostat, heads pressure checked, didn't need milling.