Houston, think we have a problem...

How did you conclude that it was a head gasket?

 

I had a friend who's family has owned a mechanic shop for a couple of generations come over. He has been working as a mechanic for probably 40 years. We tried everything else. Wasn't thermostat, wasn't fan clutch, no leaks in hoses, there was pressure in the lines, flushed system 4-5 times, no restitutions noticed. Water pump shaft is solid. And started hearing gurgling noises in the interior coming from under the dash when I started it.

By this time coolant would almost immediately start filling overflow reservoir when I started it.

Finally as last resort we put Bar's professional grade in the system... About 45 minutes later, symptoms were gone and she has been running like new ever since.

Basically process of elimination. Planning to basically rebuild the engine when I have the money for all the parts. When we pull the heads I guess we will know for sure, but we are both 99% sure the problem is head gasket.

 

Plus tacomas are legendary for head gasket blowing in the area of cylinder 6 when pushed REALLY hard for long periods of time, I.E. high RPM's for 100 - 200 miles at a times many, many, many, many times

 

Sorry for your loss. Sounds like you have it nailed.

 

Knowing this, why drive like a jackass and push your truck

 

I've heard Toyota redesign the head gasket or something between 2006 - 2007.
Can anyone confirm this?

I have 2007, I hope mine is "upgraded".

 

I have a stupid comment... If you are killing the average vehicle in 5 years you are doing something way wrong.

 

Yes there was a design change in the head gasket.

 

Do you happen to know a more specific time frame?

 

Sadly I do not. I just remember reading about it.

 

I'm with you, killing anything in 5 years should raise some warning alarms that you're doing something wrong. Just wondering, why over 90 mph?

 

I totally agree, but...

The speed limit on some of our roads is 80 mph so, even though I prefer to be closer to 60 most of the time, I can understand driving over 90. In my Taco I don't feel it's worth driving that fast for fuel economy and safety reasons - my truck isn't built for stability at speed, some vehicles are though.

 

Make sure to buy new head bolts. DO NOT reuse the old ones.

 

Guess I'm just never in that much of a hurry, I feel good around 70-75, 80 for passing.

 

Mine feels fine at 110.

 

... the gasket in his head is blown.

... and more like a lead foot.

Keep blowing it up, that'll keep you off the road.

Admitting to dangerous driving and racing is against the TW COC.

@tcBob

 

I did not know that rule, thank you for letting me know! I'lll make sure I do not do it again!

 

Problem solved (well, not the gasket - yet)

 

I was about to pull the trigger on buying another wrecked 2nd gen and swapping the engines. Decided not too. Since I plan on pretty much rebuilding this engine, can you guys recommend any mods or aftermarket parts to consider for better performance, more HP? Cam, headers, etc? I found out today we came to a settlement about my accident about a year and a half ago. After medicaland other bills, money set aside for savings, I plan on having $3,000 I can spend. Will be doing the work myself with aid of my friend who owns a shop. Also anyone who would happen to have a parts list for everything I need to buy before we start this project, if you could post it, I'd very much appreciate it!

 

One unexpected thing I have seen is that the water pump impeller can "dissolve" over time. And when this happens, it doesn't push much water. A test for this, which will obviously cost you some anti-freeze, is to let it cool off, remove t-stat and reinstall housing, then fill with water and remove upper radiator hose from radiator. Crank. It should blow out a heavy stream of water. A trickle is a problem.

I didn't see how old your truck is, whether you had followed coolant replacement schedule, etc. The dissolved impeller I saw was the direct result of driving about 100K+ miles with no coolant / antifreeze change, over a period of maybe 5 years. If your fluid has been changed, to keep the acidic crap down, this should not happen. but it is not that hard to test, and if you have not flushed/drained recently, this is a good test to run since you need to drain and refill after this test anyway.

Other possible problems include a bad fan clutch that doesn't pull air at slow speeds after driving at 90+ and really getting things hot (transmission included). Or a bad t-stat that sticks. Or a dead buzzard stuck in front of the radiator. That last is a true event, BTW. Sort of like the Farmer's insurance commercials where they saw "we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two..."