Edgardoswift

Hey guys im new here. I got a 95 3.0 4runner and something funny is happening to me. I had a blown gasket and i took the head off and got it to the machine shop. I only sent ONE so they shaved it. Now im having issues with the intake manifold, it has a nasty coolant leak. Does it mean i gotta shave the intake manifold to compensate the shaved of the head?

MudHippy

Nope. That won't work. You need to have the other head shaved an equal amount. Or use a thicker head gasket on, or possibly add a head shim/spacer to, the one that's shaved.

MudHippy

Wait. No...nevermind. Second-guessed myself. Sticking with post #2.

Edgardoswift

But that means having the head removed again and buying new gaskets and stuff. isnt there an easier solution

Edgardoswift

Tanks by the way. I forgot to say that first.

jb451

No, when you mill a head, you are supposed to do both... I'm surprised the machinist did not tell you that. Sorry man, no easy fix there.

Edgardoswift

Thats what i found strange. That i brought one head and he didnt even asked for the other one. And its the passenger side one, the most difficult to take off. Ughhh imgues my vacations wont be as fun as i thought. I hope they remeber how much they took off the first head. Thanks manmi appreciate all your help

jb451

They didn't put that on the receipt or write that down anywhere? Usually they only take a few thousandths off depending on how much it needs to be cleaned up. But that can vary widely. You can try a thicker gasket like MudHippy suggested, but i'm not sure where you would get one of those for a Yota motor. You'd also still have to know how much they milled too.

Edgardoswift

Ill call them tomorrow and ask them, i think they have like a standard thickness if the head doenst look pretty bad, then they work their way out, i repeat thats what i think. But honestly i feel bummed cuz i already started the engine and now i gotta take everything apart again.

jb451

I know how you feel man, been there, done that.. Just keep in mind it will be RIGHT when you get done with it and all will be good!

Edgardoswift

Lol thanks. Ill let you know guys how it goes.

Edgardoswift

One last piece of advise, i never do it, but i just wanna ask in case someone has done it and can give me some light about it, i just started the engine for like 20 min, no more than that, could i reuse the head gasket?

jb451

Depends, some gaskets are "crush" gaskets, and once you torque the head down, are non reusable. Some gaskets you can reuse, but your head alignment with the old indentions has to be SPOT on. Not sure how yota's hg's are, but you have to ask yourself "do i really want to tear this apart a THIRD time?" Overall, reusing a hg is not widely practiced... and for good reason.

MudHippy

Hypothetically, it depends on which type of HG was used. Slipperplate™ facing the block, or slipperplate™ facing the head. Non-slipperplate types do not apply, and are considered to be 100% non-reusable. But if the slipperplate™ faces the head, then you might be able to reuse it. Because the silicone sealant beads, on the block facing side, will usually stick the HG firmly to the block. So when you pull the head off, it might come off cleanly, no HG attached. But if the HG even slightly seperates itself from the block during head removal, it will most likely damage those sealing beads. And the HG will be essentially ruined. You'd also need to be extremely careful when removing the head so as to not damage the slipperplate™ side either. But if all goes well, you could hypothetically reuse the HG.

I done quite a bit of research on these type of HGs. And, from the mouth of the inventor, reuse would be one of the potential benefits of using the slipperplate™ design. Since, due to the nature of said design, any potential slight head misalignment during re-installation should be "forgiven" by it. And, as stated previously, the likelyhood of damaging the HG upon head removal would be minimized. Though, AFAIK, this is only a hypothesis at present. I don't know if it's ever even been tried. Much less been proved as theory. Not to mention the lack of any, as yet undiscovered, procedural changes that might need to be applied for reuse. Such as slightly over-tightening the head bolts to compensate for any "crush" of the gasket when it was first applied. Which, due to the TTT(Torque-Turn-to-Tighten) method, may or may not even present itself as an issue. I can only suppose that it might.

BTW, I'm talking about the HG on the passenger-side head. But from the sounds of it, you're talking about the head gasket that only has ~20 min. of run time on it. Which shouldn't need messed with again at the moment. Correct? As in, why would you be removing the driver's-side head? Maybe I've misunderstood.

Anyhow, in case there's any further miscommunication, you might be the first first explorer to dare enter those uncharted waters. Should you choose to. I, personally, would not. IMO, a new head gasket isn't prohibitively expensive. Especially when weighed against the chances that reusing one might not go as planned. Leaving one having to do the work over again, and needing to purchase a new HG anyway.

Class dismissed.

Edgardoswift

Dont worry guys. Thanks for the help. I ended up taking off both heads because i didnt notice the difference between left and right HG. I installed 2 right side gaskets. So now i took it off ( both heads) bought the L and R sides gaskets and got both heads to the shop, one to be measured and the other one to be milled. Yup i know what a waste of a perfect pair of felpro gaskets. But thats how life works. Ill keep,you guy posted. And thanks again for all the help.

Punchy

Also spray both sides of the manifold gaskets (rubber Oring style) with WD40 so the seals don't bind during placement and torqueing.

Suggest gaskets from Dealer.

Edgardoswift

hey guys, i just got the heads again installed, and the intake manifold, tomorrow ill try to fill it again with water to see if it leaks. by any chance anyone got pics of the 2 6 point bolts that goes in the cylinder head ( one each head) i kinda lost them when i first repaired the heads, and it seems like i didnt put them om all that time, anyone knows if by not putting them on the head would get any damage?

scope103

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b.../2onvehicl.pdf
page EG-2 78

I don't know if you can damage the head or intake w/o them.

Edgardoswift

thanks for the link but it sent me to the charging system and only has 3 pages, i do have the FSM, its just i cant remember how long the bolts are so i dont know how to buy them. if anyone knows the lenght and the thread type i would appreciate it a lot, or maybe a pic.

Edgardoswift

thanks everyone for your replies, i finally discovered was the problem is, the water bypas Tube has a pin point hole in it. i had to remove the intake manifold and start pouring water thru the heads water intake ports untill i saw the little hole in the tube. now the thing is i cant find the tube anywhere to buy it, i saw a post where someone proposed to cut it and use a hose and clamps, does anyone has done this?