Head Gasket Replacement 4.0

@Kerrigan911 how did it go, how many miles in are you, and would you have done anything differently?

 

I have not done a head gasket replacement on a Toyota Tacoma 1GR-FE. If I needed to, for the double hex head 10mm, I would not skimp. This would be my choice.

https://store.snapon.com/Double-Hex...tandard-Double-Hex-Socket-Driver-P671292.aspx

I say that w/o knowing if it's long enough to work. Further research suggests this Snap-On 10mm double hex head may be what you need:

https://store.snapon.com/Double-Hex...etric-Lexus-Toyota-10-Double-Hex-P646038.aspx

 

That's the one I have also.

 

Hello, this is my first post to tacomaworld. I have an 05 4x4 double cab long bed and recently did my head gaskets myself. I was experiencing the misfire on cylinders 4 and 6 only at startup and then it would clear up after 10 sec or so. I did some diag and also got an oil analysis to confirm coolant in the oil. Truck was at about 198k miles when I did the job...as for the job, I did it all by myself in my garage. I am a mechanic by trade but mostly work on diesels in a municipality fleet.
I did not remove engine and had plenty of room, although there’s a couple tight spots but nothing too crazy. I used all oem Toyota parts and did all new head studs, water pump, timing components. I was able to get a Toyota “re seal” kit that included pretty much all gaskets and o rings. I bought all timing components separately but stayed with oem. Honestly the timing chain and components were fine but thought I’d change them since it’s all off. The tensioner piston showed absolutely zero wear. The shaft had not moved to compensate for any chain wear. I was impressed! I did purchase the snap on bit for the head studs. They are very tight and I wouldn’t want a cheap tool breaking. I did not get any work done to the valves or have the heads decked. I could get a .002” feeler gauge under my straight edge in one place on the bank 2 head but thought that was ok. There’s no spec that I could find. I did not replace oil pump but I did replace the seal in the front cover. The pump itself is driven by the crank in the front cover I believe.
I followed the Toyota service manual online and it went smooth. I will say putting the timing cover on was tough. Especially with all the fipg gasket material around the whole thing. I did a few practice runs putting the cover on dry and then had a friend help me do it for real with the gasket material on. When all done, it started right up. Not even a long crank. Hopefully it had oil pressure right away. Haha. I’ll try to post some pics. It took me around 50 hours of labor but lots of time prepping and cleaning mating surfaces. I’m at 205k now and the truck doesn’t miss a beat. Hoping to get over 400k someday. Hope this helps. -nick

 

You can see coolant in the #6 cylinder on top of the piston.

 

What an odd piston dome

 

Incredible work! Thanks for sharing your experience. Im leaning toward a swap if this happens to me, seems less labor intensive, and less costly for those of us who couldn't achieve what you did.

 

@Benny123 yes an engine swap would be faster and a good value if you got one with low miles. I spent about 800-900 in oem parts. The timing components added up to about 500 but we’re not absolutely necessary but I wanted the peace of mind.

 

@Nickn
Awesome first few posts! Thanks for jumping in

 

Hey guys,

First time posting, couldn’t help but relate from your guys great insight here. I’ve got me an ‘05 Tacoma Off-Road with 183k and just recently started getting signs of a bad head gasket; loosing coolant over time, misfire at cylinder #6, rattles on a cold start first thing in the morning. Just got a quote from a buddy who’d fix the head gasket alone for $2,000 versus the 6k quote I’ve gotten to rebuild the engine. My question is how much more have you guys been able to get out of your truck without anymore major repairs? Tight budget and really trying to make my Taco last love my truck.

 

Hello Nickn, looks like you did a great job, I just did my 2006 head gaskets at 225k miles and truck is running great except I have a knock sensor voltage code and I cant remember if there is a knock sensor connection under the water pipe as shown on your first picture. If there is a plug there I may have not plugged correctly or damaged the connector. trying to jog my memory, do you remember a knock sensor connection there?

Hello Himes, I did my gaskets with Fel Pro aftermarket parts and spent about $250 in gaskets , timing cover seal, water pump gasket and new head bolts, plus $280 to resurface, valve job and valve seals install. My head had damage where the water was leaking.
It was not an easy task, and I stripped one head bolt that required me to drill off the head to remove it. I spent at least 40-50 hours over a 3 week span.
Before I started I did find a 65.000 mile complete motor from a 2008 for $2200.00 and a shop to swap the motor for $1400 Labor.If your NOT doing the work yourself , I would recommend this over paying someone $2000 to change just head gaskets on a 200k mile motor because of the can of worms that they may open.
Motors after 2007 are supposed to be free from the head gasket issue.

 

@jorgem I don’t remember a knock sensor in particular. Was it at the back of the engine?

 

@The_Himes I agree with @jorgem. For the price to pay somebody, i would just do an engine swap. Would be easier and less “what if’s?” in my opinion. Also, to answer your question about how many miles you can get without major repairs....I can say that other than this head gasket repair, I haven’t had to fix or replace anything on the engine. I did replace thermostat at approx 150k just as a preventative thing...I’m at 205k and still all stock I believe. I’ve owned it since 70k so I’m assuming nothing major done before that (my wife bought this truck at 70k before we met)...there’s a guy on this forum that has over 400k on his 06’ and he posted entire history of repairs and there’s not much at all to the engine.

 

HI Nickn

I think i get same issue now , plan to replace head gasket , but i have a question for this , during the replace , do i need to do Cylinder Head Surface Grinding if the gasket injure by the leak ? if need to do , will impact anything ex: like timing or any others ? tks.

 

The Toyota specialty shop that did my head gaskets recommended against resurfacing. They said if the surfaces were not flat when they opened the engine, they would recommend finding a used engine. I don’t know the technical reason why.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2006-4-0-v6-head-gasket-overheating-rebuild.609265/

 

My god ......

 

got it , i think this will be a big problem... if my situation needs to Surface Grinding .... hope it's will not happened .... Orz

 

We only used OEM gaskets at the dealer for these jobs. SnapOn & Hazet brand headbolt tools are what I have. Leave the engine in the truck & pull the heads. I left the oil pan on the block & slide the timing cover off, saves time especially on 4WD trucks. Just DONT clean the block with any Roloc or abrasive cleaning material. The abrasive compound with never get removed no matter how well you cleanup. The material is smaller than what the oil filter can catch & I've seen so many engine come back with lower end bearing problems shortly after a head gasket job. The bearings are destroyed by the abrasive media. I’d use a straight edge on the block & heads, if they’re good replace the valve seals from the engine gasket grind kit & reassemble