Bad headgasket, Maybe?

thrsdy1203 · 10-20-2006, 10:38 PM

I have a 1984 Toyota 2wd with a 20r carb motor.

I am unsure exactly what the problem is with it but i am guess it is a bad headgasket as there is coolant in the oil although what throws me off is the fact there is oil dripping out of the valve cover gasket.

So could a bad valve cover gasket cause these problems...the truck runs and drives however after being warmed up it will die/stall at an idle state meaning you gotta keep the foot on the gas to keep it running. I have not yet had it completly overheat on me at all and there is also no steam coming from the exhaust nor have i seen the temp guage go on red.

if you guys could please help me diagnose the problem i would really appreciate it..Just ask me questions and i will answer them to the best of my knowledge so we can together figure out what is going with the vehicle.

Hopefully then i can figure out how to fix it and if it isnt the headgasket that will be awsome but the coolant in oil is really freakin me out.

truck has 130k.

Ryan
Ryan325es@gmail.com

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phorunninduke · 10-21-2006, 07:29 AM

If there is coolant in the oil it is the head gasket. Simple as that. Hopefully it is just the head gasket and not a broken chain guide and worn through the water pump - you can tell when you take the valve cover off, because you can look down and see the guide is missing.

It's best to fix it now, even if you haven't had any major symptoms because once it over heats or blows out the price to fix it grows expodentially

The head gasket kit come with new valve cover gasket too

Herkaleez · 10-21-2006, 05:21 PM

Has your enegine ever over heated? If it has it's most likely a head gasket. But. Toyota aluminum heads like to corrode around the exhaust ports thru the water jacket....that could also cause it to leak. the only way to know for sure is to take off the head. If it is corroded a machine shop can grind out the corrosion, fill with weld and resurface the head for less than 200 bucks. And if your chain hasn't worn a hole in you water pump housing, it's prolly just a blown head gasket and that's a fairly ez fix......just a pain in the ass.

phorunninduke · 10-21-2006, 05:40 PM

The head should be well corroded - the aluminum oxide makes a thin layer that protects the rest of the head from aluminum. I personally have never seen a head go bad from corrosion. -Even still there is no oil in the exhaust port to get into the coolant.. I am confused about what herkaleez is saying about that one.

Good idea to get em resurfaced anyway. well worth the cash. valve job is good while you got the head at the machine shop.

thrsdy1203 · 10-21-2006, 06:19 PM

so wait if the chain wore out the water pump guides. it would still run?

If this may be the case about the chain then is that fixable? if so how would i go about that and how hard is it to do

Herkaleez · 10-24-2006, 06:33 AM

Quote:

I am confused about what herkaleez is saying about that one.

I've had to have the corrosion gound out, refilled and resurfaced on 2 trucks. If you don't use a GOOD antifreeze or just run with water as coolant, the water jacket on the exhaust side will corrode. Depending on the length of neglect in this area, the corrosion can be severe. I'm not sure about other brands, but, TOYOTA's red antifreeze has conditioners for the aluminum to help prevent this. I had a truck where the corrosion ate a pinhole thru into the combustion chamber and leak coolant into the cylinder. Big problem.....as everyone knows water does not compress. The corrosion can also cause pitting of the mating surface between cylinders where the coolant can find a way into the oil. I have had corrosion severe enough on 2 trucks that it required it to be ground out. I'm not sure anyone else has encountered this, but this sort of thing is just my luck....

.......

... The TOYOTA brand of antifreeze is a little pricey but in my oppinion well worth the cost of preventing corrosion.
This may not be your prollem (hopefully not) ....just passing on what I've encountered that it may be of some use anybody else reading this thread.

phorunninduke · 10-24-2006, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrsdy1203

so wait if the chain wore out the water pump guides. it would still run?

If this may be the case about the chain then is that fixable? if so how would i go about that and how hard is it to do

I would run.

It is fixable, you would need a new cover and timing chain.. Not hard just some extra cash.

Maverick · 04-06-2007, 05:26 AM

Ok, so I actually had my timing chain eat a hole in my cover and there is coolant all in the oil. the truck started to overheat but it was cold out so that helped, there was steam that came out of the hood for like 1 minute. I'm converting to a new dual chain kit, along with new cover and water pump and oil pump from lce, what else do I need to do? Do I need to pull the head? thanks in advance

Mave

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10-21-2006, 07:29 AM	#2 (permalink)
phorunninduke Banned Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Intercourse, PA Posts: 1,479	If there is coolant in the oil it is the head gasket. Simple as that. Hopefully it is just the head gasket and not a broken chain guide and worn through the water pump - you can tell when you take the valve cover off, because you can look down and see the guide is missing. It's best to fix it now, even if you haven't had any major symptoms because once it over heats or blows out the price to fix it grows expodentially The head gasket kit come with new valve cover gasket too

10-21-2006, 05:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
Herkaleez Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: the former Mississippi Gulf Coast Posts: 26	Has your enegine ever over heated? If it has it's most likely a head gasket. But. Toyota aluminum heads like to corrode around the exhaust ports thru the water jacket....that could also cause it to leak. the only way to know for sure is to take off the head. If it is corroded a machine shop can grind out the corrosion, fill with weld and resurface the head for less than 200 bucks. And if your chain hasn't worn a hole in you water pump housing, it's prolly just a blown head gasket and that's a fairly ez fix......just a pain in the ass.

10-21-2006, 05:40 PM	#4 (permalink)
phorunninduke Banned Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Intercourse, PA Posts: 1,479	The head should be well corroded - the aluminum oxide makes a thin layer that protects the rest of the head from aluminum. I personally have never seen a head go bad from corrosion. -Even still there is no oil in the exhaust port to get into the coolant.. I am confused about what herkaleez is saying about that one. Good idea to get em resurfaced anyway. well worth the cash. valve job is good while you got the head at the machine shop.

10-21-2006, 06:19 PM	#5 (permalink)
thrsdy1203 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 5	so wait if the chain wore out the water pump guides. it would still run? If this may be the case about the chain then is that fixable? if so how would i go about that and how hard is it to do

04-06-2007, 05:26 AM	#8 (permalink)
Maverick Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Ohio Posts: 102	Ok, so I actually had my timing chain eat a hole in my cover and there is coolant all in the oil. the truck started to overheat but it was cold out so that helped, there was steam that came out of the hood for like 1 minute. I'm converting to a new dual chain kit, along with new cover and water pump and oil pump from lce, what else do I need to do? Do I need to pull the head? thanks in advance Mave