Arcticwolf

Rebuilt the engine about 35000 miles back.
Just got back from a trip to the coast and blew a head gasket on the return trip.

Truck had been acting a bit strange (surging and running a bit hotter than normal).
I was pulling a trailer so she was working pretty hard on any hills.
Was within 10 miles of home and the radiator overflow hose blew off so I pulled over and let 'er cool down, added water and limped on home.

Next morning I checked the oil and it was overfull but didn't appear milky.
I suspected a blown head gasket and confirmed this when I restarted it and ran it for a few minutes. Exhaust was white (likely mostly steam) and the oil turned milky within that time.

Just ordered a Head Gasket Set w/ new head bolts from Ted at Engnbldr.
My plan is to keep the timing chain taught as I pull the head so I don't have to pull the front cover. (Timing chain, tensioner, rails, oil pump and cover were new as of 35000 miles so I know they are in good shape).
I believe the gasket kit I ordered has everything I need and I'll check the head for warpage and chase the head bolt threads to clean them up for an accurate torque.

Should all be fairly routine since I just rebuilt it (new shortblock, full head etc).
I think I did a good job on the rebuild but screwed up when I didn't re-torque the head bolts after running the engine to operating temp and letting it cool down.
I'll be sure to torque them accurately, heat the engine up, let it cool then re-torque them this time. My manual never mentioned this but I've seen recommendations here at the forum that it's necessary (I'd be one to readily agree with that recommendation now that I've experienced the outcome of not doing so).

I'll clean the tops of the pistons, clean and inspect the valves, head and all ports, clean the plenum, flush fresh oil through the drain holes, drain the pan well, put on a new oil filter and re-fill with 10W30. I'll change the oil to 10W30 synthetic with another new filter after a few hundred miles just to be sure there is no contamination.

Hopefully this will do the trick, I need my pickup back in service.

Any recommendations on where to get a good click torque wrench, I can google but still would like to know where others get tools?
(I love and have Snap-on tools but don't really want to afford their price on a torque wrench since I don't use one often).
Thanks,

Dave

bobbybouche

I have harbor freight torque wrenchs and a buddy that works at Honeywell. I gave him all 4 of my wrenchs to have calibrated when I bought them and believe it or not they were all dead on.

Georgiadave

Don't be too hard on yourself, Toyota head gaskets fail pretty regularly. Heat from the exaust manifold cooks the gasket and they fail. My rebuild lasted about as long as yours. The gasket Ted sells has more metal in it, I hope mine lasts more than 30K.

Arcticwolf

Actually I was pretty lucky that the main effect of the blown head gasket happened so close to home. I'da been up chit creek if it happened at or near the coast, broken truck, stranded trailer, no ride home ... ugg!
Looking back, I think there's been a problem with the gasket for a while now, in fact I just purchased an OEM thermostat prior to my trip but haven't had a chance to install it yet.

One more project that I hadn't planned on but I kinda enjoy wrenchin' on my Toyotas and this will give me a chance to check 'er over, re-adjust the valves, put in that new thermostat etc. I suppose I should probably flush the radiator and cooling system while I'm at it (now's actually an ideal time since there's no antifreeze left from overheating).

As for a torque wrench, I hope to find a mid priced one, lots of them on ebay but you can't count on a warranty from any of those so I'll just shop around to see what's available.

Thanks for the replies guys!

Dave

c0ugar69

try torquing the head bolts slightly more. stock is 58LBs I did 65 on mine, another guy on here had a new gasket leak between the head and block on the side and just torqued it a little more problem solved. I have an engine builders gasket on mine with about 9000 on the rebuild.

Badger62811

I finished my HG replacement about a year ago. I think there's less than 5,000 miles put on it since then. I haven't seen my truck in a few months so I can't remember the mileage. I used all engnbldr parts, and am very pleased with the outcome. I, also, did re-torque the bolts after 100 miles of driving. So far, so good. If only replacing the clutch would be that easy...