Head gasket replacemnt
Submitted: Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 10:37
ThreadID:
54692
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2185
Replies:
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Chich
Howdy all!!
right I know this is a hard question to answer but I'm going to post it up anyway, I have a 95 Toyota 4runner diesel (denco turbo kit) 190,000 excellent condition and I love the car..
driving
home from work one day heater hose pop'd (didn't know this happened until later) temperature gauge remained normal (also have second temp gauge with audio alarm) neither of them showed anything abnormal but that's another story.
the car overheated and I got it towed
home.. after changing all the fluids oil filter coolant etc..... the car starts and runs/sounds fine.
But! with radiator cap removed and engine running I get bubbles in the radiator (exhaust gas?) the coolant and engine oil is clean no milk etc
do you think its most likely just the gasket that needs changing? again I know you cant be 100% sure until you rip the head off anyway, none the less what do you think?
and what about some rough costs if it is jus the gasket and if it is the gasket and head?
sorry about the long winded post!
much love
Chich
Reply By: Member - DOZER- Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 13:19
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 13:19
Did it sieze up on you or did u pull over when it got low power?? You are looking at scored bores and i would buy a jap secondhand motor and sell yours as a going rebuilder.
Even a wreck from pickles would be cheaper than a motor....or a rebuild...your looking at about 3k to rebuild if you have scored piston bores.
Andrew
AnswerID:
288139
Follow Up By: Chich - Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 13:37
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 13:37
the engine didnt seize as i was slowing down at the traffic lights at the end of the freeway it staled, after taking it
home and changing fluids its start and drives fine. normal power and boost.
Chich
FollowupID:
553405
Reply By: Member - Davoe (Yalgoo) - Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 13:28
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 13:28
Much more likely your head has cracked between the water jacket and conbustion chamber hence no oil
Head gaskets rarely just go even if it was it would be because warping had taken place
AnswerID:
288140
Reply By: Derek from Affordable Batteries & Radiators - Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 16:28
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 16:28
It is very common to have to replace the head with a new one. Toyota sell blank heads for this model as they crack and can't be repaired.
Think about trading before you get a $5000 repair bill.
Regards
Derek.
AnswerID:
288158
Reply By: stefan P (Penrith NSW) - Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 16:59
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 16:59
You could try some chemi-weld and see how long your luck lasts.
Stefan
AnswerID:
288163
Follow Up By: Chich - Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 17:09
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 17:09
yeah thought of that but dont really wanna go bush with a car with chemi weld in it, i think ill grab a bare head and gasket kit and tackle it myself..
i feel guilty trading it in busted, some
young fellow might buy it and i will be his problem
chich
FollowupID:
553430
Follow Up By: stefan P (Penrith NSW) - Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 17:32
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 17:32
how bad are the bubbles? one or two every few seconds or like a spa?
FollowupID:
553434
Follow Up By: Chich - Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 20:36
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 20:36
just a couple bubbles every second but this is definitely bubbles there...
Chich
FollowupID:
553471
Follow Up By: stefan P (Penrith NSW) - Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 21:39
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 21:39
I will start by saying Yes you could have done some serious damage......BUT do all the tests first. I say do the tests because my GU was getting bubbles in the coolant about a year ago....all the experts were saying head gasket or head (I can understand that as it was showing classic symptoms of a dud head). BUT when I explained that it had been doing it for around 40000kms they still insisted on pulling the head for a better look. In the end West End diesel in
sydney took the time to do all possible tests for me, Pressure
test, leak down
test, co2
test ect before going to the expense of pulling the head off, sure the testing cost me around $300 BUT it saved me around $2000 cause it wasn't the head at all.
Under load the plastic header tank opened up a little around the seam let some coolant out, then sucked some air in, when the car cooled down the air was trapped in the system apearing as bubbles in the coolant.
So maybe do some tests first thats all I am saying
Cheers Stefan
FollowupID:
553500
Reply By: Member - Axle - Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 19:29
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 19:29
Think i would run around in it a bit longer as it is, heat plays havoc with small jap engines, so i'd make sure the rings, etc, are still ok, before throwing money at it.
Cheers Axle.
AnswerID:
288190
Follow Up By: Chich - Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 20:37
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 20:37
thanks axle will do
Chich
FollowupID:
553472
Reply By: Member - DOZER- Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 21:06
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 21:06
The motor stalling was caused by the pistons, that are alloy and expand quicker than cast iron, rubbing the bores...the rings will now not spring open against it, but will be broken and stuck in the grooves, it will start to loose power soon enough....
I just went through ebay, and found 3 motors from wrecks, at best, a new head will cause the bottom end to let go, or wear faster....overheating with no water is the best way to kill a diseasal...my current cruiser had broken rings on all 6 pistons, ran fine when i bought it, but 12 months and one owner later, it started using oil and missing.
How much blowby comes out the tappet cover oil cap when idling??
Was it a top or botom hose that let go??
Andrew
AnswerID:
288216
Follow Up By: Chich - Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 21:19
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 at 21:19
thanks for your continued support, i get very little if any blow by at all.
the heater hose just before the thermostat let go. the temp gauge didn't show excvessive heat (nor did it show low tempreture. i also have another gauge with audible alarm however my theory is it didnt sound coz it didnt have coolant in it so didnt register excessive tempreture, at the end of the day i should have replaced those hoses more often..
chich
FollowupID:
553492
Reply By: Member - DOZER- Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008 at 16:04
Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008 at 16:04
Things could have been worse, had it of been the bottom hose.
When you remove the head, a good inspection of the bores will be in order....only 1 in 10 diesels can get away with whats happened without a rebore, once the piston grabs the
bore and scores it, the motor gets progressively worse, if you need to fix the head, you might as well put rings in it if the bores are ok. If they are not, i would not spend anything on that motor...but rather, buy a low km jap going concern or even a wreck for the motor...
What others have said is equally good advice, chemiweld works wonders, so does engine stop leak.
A friends motor had thesame problem after a rebuild that was fixed by a head shave (new head too) if there is any out of level, compression will leak out....does your water blow into the overflow bottle???
A way around this short turm is to leave the rad cap on the first click....
Andrew
AnswerID:
288451
Follow Up By: Chich - Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008 at 16:18
Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008 at 16:18
Thanks Dozer,
im still in two minds on what im going to do, the water doesnt blow into the overflow bottle, and as i said above drives just as great as it does before, only thing i notice is the bubbles and also some gassey discharge when removing the radiator cap after driving..
ive done about ten kilometres in it since, and they are the only systems..
looks like im pulling down the motor this weekend for a look see!!
thanks again
FollowupID:
553785