I took off the head and i cant see were it blew the gasket from. Im not planning on removing the block. I used a straight edge and a 0.0015 gauge and there was like 4 spots it went through but i still need to remove completely the gasket residue of the block. It had already blew 3 hg with this one. With the second one having a new head in it. It has around 23k miles with the new head. The previous owner said he didnt know about the 72ish retorque they had to put it in, so maybe it kept blowing because they didnt do it right?
Headgasket job so far
- Thread starter Jonathan91
- Start date
yes i believe so. I cleaned up the head and its flush end to end. So the head it good. I just have to get it machined very little and cleaned
Gasket is blown around the coolant ports.
If block is staying in car use some arp studs and torque to arp spec. Will help
If block is staying in car use some arp studs and torque to arp spec. Will help
I had a nice, long response posted on SF and literally minutes before I submitted it, the thread was locked. Maybe you'll get more help here.
Below is a pic of the gasket with the blown seal areas pointed out in red, good sealing areas in blue. The blown areas aren't obvious to a first time observer. Once you know what to look for though, it's obvious.
Here's a brief summary of my response that never made it over on SF:
Forget the block, leave it in the car. You don't have the budget to do that correctly. No offense, just offering honest advice.
Take the head to a reputable machine shop. They can take it apart and inspect it. Ask them to pressure test it and clean and inspect it for cracks. If the head checks out ok, have them replace the valve stem seals and machine the head flat. This shouldn't cost more than a few hundred dollars. $500 max.
Use an OEM Toyota Head Gasket. Forget Fel Pro or any other brand. Get a Toyota gasket from a dealer. Get any other brand you want for the rest of the gaskets, but get a Toyota OEM head gasket.
If budget allows, get ARP studs. If you don't have an extra $150 to blow on that, the factory head bolts should be perfectly fine to reuse.
Use copper spray when you install the gasket, like this stuff: http://amzn.to/2dCBSC1
That will take care of the head, but you still have your nasty block to clean out. I think you can clean it pretty well by flushing it out. Fill it up with tap water at first (after the engine is assembled) and drain it. Repeat until it comes out clear. Do something similar for engine oil. Fill it up with oil (~5 qts or so) and drain it without running the engine. If the oil comes out perfectly clean looking, then proceed to starting the car up. Let it run for a few seconds, shut it down, drain fluids again. Repeat until everything is clean-looking coming out. Then use a flush kit like from prestone: http://amzn.to/2dYc0gU .
After that, fill it with real fluids (good oil and distilled water/Toyota red coolant). Run the car up to temp. Once it's at temp for a few minutes, shut it down, change fluids again. Then change oil after 10 miles, 100 miles and 1000 miles.
Again, forget the block. That's beyond what you have the time/money/resources for. Tackle the basic BHG first, then if you need to later, you can tackle a full build.
FYI, you have no guaranteed success here. You could do my basic BHG repair as above and end up with bearing failure in a few months. That's a part of the game with a 25 year old import sports car with a performance engine.
If you haven't already, read my page on BHG (link in my signature or just google "YotaMD BHG").
Below is a pic of the gasket with the blown seal areas pointed out in red, good sealing areas in blue. The blown areas aren't obvious to a first time observer. Once you know what to look for though, it's obvious.
Here's a brief summary of my response that never made it over on SF:
Forget the block, leave it in the car. You don't have the budget to do that correctly. No offense, just offering honest advice.
Take the head to a reputable machine shop. They can take it apart and inspect it. Ask them to pressure test it and clean and inspect it for cracks. If the head checks out ok, have them replace the valve stem seals and machine the head flat. This shouldn't cost more than a few hundred dollars. $500 max.
Use an OEM Toyota Head Gasket. Forget Fel Pro or any other brand. Get a Toyota gasket from a dealer. Get any other brand you want for the rest of the gaskets, but get a Toyota OEM head gasket.
If budget allows, get ARP studs. If you don't have an extra $150 to blow on that, the factory head bolts should be perfectly fine to reuse.
Use copper spray when you install the gasket, like this stuff: http://amzn.to/2dCBSC1
That will take care of the head, but you still have your nasty block to clean out. I think you can clean it pretty well by flushing it out. Fill it up with tap water at first (after the engine is assembled) and drain it. Repeat until it comes out clear. Do something similar for engine oil. Fill it up with oil (~5 qts or so) and drain it without running the engine. If the oil comes out perfectly clean looking, then proceed to starting the car up. Let it run for a few seconds, shut it down, drain fluids again. Repeat until everything is clean-looking coming out. Then use a flush kit like from prestone: http://amzn.to/2dYc0gU .
After that, fill it with real fluids (good oil and distilled water/Toyota red coolant). Run the car up to temp. Once it's at temp for a few minutes, shut it down, change fluids again. Then change oil after 10 miles, 100 miles and 1000 miles.
Again, forget the block. That's beyond what you have the time/money/resources for. Tackle the basic BHG first, then if you need to later, you can tackle a full build.
FYI, you have no guaranteed success here. You could do my basic BHG repair as above and end up with bearing failure in a few months. That's a part of the game with a 25 year old import sports car with a performance engine.
If you haven't already, read my page on BHG (link in my signature or just google "YotaMD BHG").
Thanks bud. I only had the #6 cylinder that was shiny and with somewhat with water moister , no water inside just water moister, the rest of the pistons were normal carboned up and stuff. Im for sure getting the ARP studs and a toyota gasket. Yea i just want this engine to last me until im finished paying my truck off so i can swap a 1j or 2j into it.
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My block is only .0002 or .0003 of an inch out of spec, says the manual. My .002 gauge barely slides in but my .0025 wont. I still need to give a nice finishing touch with a scotch brite to fully get a true reading.
HANG ON. No Scotch Brite pads on an engine. Read below or google it.
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=563163
Use a gasket removal chemical and a scraper. No abrasives.
That's great for the block. I wouldn't touch it if it's really less than 2.5 thou off of true flat.
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=563163
Use a gasket removal chemical and a scraper. No abrasives.
That's great for the block. I wouldn't touch it if it's really less than 2.5 thou off of true flat.
Ok thats good to hear. Haha good thing i forgot to buy the pads today. I still have some spots here and there that have residue making a high spot.
I have a question about my exhaust valves. They have some sort of hard deposit hard to remove with a toothbrush on maybe less than half of them. The intake valves dont have any buildup just the exhaust.I let them soak overnight in seafoam, but they are still rocky like. Is this normal on the exhaust side? How can i remove this? 
After inspecting my cylinder walls a little more i seen some scuffing on them. The factory crosshatch looks fine just the scuffing. Should i be worried about this?
You didn't happen to do a compression test first?
Looks like a hurt cylinder.
If you can't get the foreign material removed from the valves, I would replace them, and properly lap new ones to the seat of course. Best time to do it
Looks like a hurt cylinder.
If you can't get the foreign material removed from the valves, I would replace them, and properly lap new ones to the seat of course. Best time to do it
I did remove almost all the crap off the valves. I didnt do a compression test but the car ran fine and the idle was fine when i took it down the car transport and into my garage.
That cylinder damage isn't ideal, but if you're on a tight budget I wouldn't necessarily pull the block just to hone/bore that out. Can you feel those scratches with a fingernail?
Yes barely though. Ok so if i do hone/bore my block will i need new pistons and pistons rings? What about the rods? Because if i take it to the shop for a bore or hone i have to remove the pistons either way. So again, will i need to get new pistons if i bore the walls? What about if i just hone the walls will i need new pistons? The pistons alone cost as much as my whole rebuild budget lol
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