jeremypaonia

sup. I have a 1987 4runner, blown hg, 1,234,420,666 miles, some neat parts etc. Head studs were extremely torqued, probably 80 ft lbs, my guess as to why it failed, as it was my understanding that most of the top end work had been done in the last 60k miles from the previous owner. No slop on timing chain, guides look great.

The cylinder head looks to be aftermarket and measures 3.780 +- inches, and has been machined but the original casting is still present a relieving distance from the surfaced bits. The surface cleaned easily and I was planning on using a thicker aftermarket head gasket. I was cleaning the intake surface and noticed a hairline crack, it barely reaches the outside of the intake surface and does not go deep at all.

I know if I finish the job with this cylinder head I will be thinking about this little crack growing little by little. When my mind wanders on a lonesome stretch of highway that hairline crack will enter my mind and every bump I will think about it growing, as cracks tend to do.

Do yall think I can run this cylinder head? Some peace of mind from the cyber toyota gods would be great, but I am willing to take some of the equity from this curbside head gasket job and fork out the dough for shiny new cylinder head. As much as I love doing major engine work on the side of the road, I would enjoy not needing to do this again for some time.

aztoyman

I've never seen a 22RE head crack like that. How do you know it doesn't go deep? I don't think I'd run it. At minimum, I'd grind it and see how deep it goes and TIG it. Only because I have a TIG. I wouldn't pay for it.

It doesn't look like it is coming from a bolt hole or anything so I wonder if it's a casting flaw. Or does it go to that bolt hole?

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

jeremypaonia

Thanks for your reply. The crack runs to the outside of the mating surface and is very shallow from what I can see along the rough casting(not visible but on the the right side of picture). It does not go to the bolt hole but eventually would i'm sure. The crack sort of follows the pattern of the metal egr valve gasket, so I assumed it was an over-torquing issue(like most all of the nuts/bolts i've removed from my beloved truck), but it could be a grey market manufacturing issue.

I decided not to reuse it and ordered a new head, lc head gasket kit, head bolts, new valve seals and more cool stuff to talk about, or not.

I considered the tig route, but given the unknowns and this being my only vehicle, I chose the less combative(and less cool) route.

thanks again, hope to have frankie putting along this week.