Hey Guys-
Wanted to get your feelings on something. I just finally got done doing a full 22re rebuild in my 4-Runner. I got everything back together and did a quick test fire prior to filling with coolant to make sure things were kosher. Truck fired up and ran beautifully (I only ran it for 20 seconds or so).

After finishing re-assembling the cooling system, I filled it with water. After I was done filling it, I noticed water on the floor. Tracing the leak back, it appeared to be coming from the head gasket are on the drivers side of the block. The rebuild was done with all engngldr parts (Rock Auto gaskets).

After analysis, I verified that the leak was coming from the head gasket. For giggles, I decided I would try break the head bolts loose (one at a time), and re-torquing them to 60 ft-lbs (just to be safe). After the re-torque, my leak is noticeably less. It is no longer dripping like it was before, but the cylinder head / block are on the drivers side still started getting damp / slightly wet after filling it with water.

I'm trying to figure out if I should just try getting a new head gasket (probably toyota) and re-install it, or if I should pull the head back out and have it checked again? I know the block is straight as I had it decked when it was being bored, but the head was a little unknown. I bought it in what appeared to be new condition from a guy who seemed honest enough, but you never know.

I'm also wondering if anyone else has had similar problems? I did do some reading on some issues guys had had (iamsuperbleeder was the starter of thread). The issue I'm having is similar to theirs, excepts theirs started after a few hundred miles of running, and see to be based around the engine running. In my case, the leak is occuring when its cold / just sitting.

Any thoughts / suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'm assuming a new head gasket is a guarantee, but I'm trying to decide what else I should do. I'm already into this engine quite a bit more than I had planned, but the last thing I want to do is skimp out at the end and blow my freshling rebuilt motor up.

 

Assuming you torqued the head in the proper order and to the proper spec, then I doubt that a different gasket would make much difference. The block was decked so I would assume that the head is warped. When you have it apart I would check the tolerances of the mating surfaces with a straight edge. engngldr also sells new heads

 

Ya, that's kind of where I'm at right now. The first time I found the leak, it was a noticeable drop (about 1 drop ever second or so). I pulled the valve cover and re-torqued everything (got between 1/8 and 1/4 of a turn out of the bolts again). After doing this, the leak lessened, it didn't leak enough to drop down the block... but its still moist in the area.

The thing I'm really trying to figure out is if I should even bother with this head, or if I should just buy a new one and sell this one as rebuildable. The head seems fine, my guess is that its just warped.

 

I have rebuilt the 22re in my 4runner and my girlfriends 4runner. I bought a new head for both. My thought was new was not much more than rebuilt and I didn't want to have to tear it apart again if the head was bad.

 

this is exactly what happened to mine today, but before firing it up i filled with coolant, never turned it on and it started to leak in the same location..the engine was just machined and rebuilt by a local shop...don't know what to do, the shop is an hour away and i can't drive over there, should i try and retorque the head bolts first if anything

 

could it be at the intake area? The coolant runs right in through there and I think I've got a leak around there as well, but haven't had time to remove it and inspect it.

 

So, I ended up finishing this issue off in another thread, but realized it might be helpful to post my results here.

After some research I found another thread dedicated to similar issues with the Rock Auto head gaskets. Now, I'm not blaming these gaskets, but my findings were that on these gaskets, the metal ring / reinforcement around the cylinder walls and water jackets actually sit on top of the gasket material. But a couple of the jackets are outside this reinforcement.

When you torque the heads to the factory spec, the metal reinforcment does not completely crush / seal against the gasket material. In m case, the water was leaking from one of these seal points around the outer edge.

In my case, going to a Toyota factory gasket completely resolved my problem. I did get a new cylinder head and new headbolts when I reinstalled then, but the Toyota gasket had the metal reinforcement ring sunken into thr gasket material, so it was flush to start. I also had he other head taken to ashop and they verified that it's surface was straight.

As a note, engnbldr does recommend a higher torque value and slightly different torque sequence which may also resvole the sealing issues I encountered.

Hope that helps.

 

I received a new head & Rock gasket from engbldr, I got it back together and running but I have a coolant leak like the ones described above. Mine is a quick drip, very alarming. It's coming from the passenger side at around the #3 cylinder area, seems like maybe from the head gasket or just below, can't really see in there.

Anyway, I don't recall seeing anything about a different torque value or torque sequence. He did, however, tell me to use different valve lash settings for my 261C cam shaft: .007" intake and .009" exhaust.

What were the torque settings/sequence you got? Suggestions? Anyone?

 

I got a reply back from Ted, he says same pattern. Torque sequence is 30#, 45#, and then 63# (for head bolts obtained from engnbldr)

 

Hmmm... that sounds low for some reason based on the information I had found.

Also, keep in mind that the torque values used are heavily dependent on how clean the threads of the bolts / block are, as well as the lubricant you are using on the threads. Did Ted indicate whether those torque values were for "Dry", or with some specific weight of oil?

 

He did say to make sure the threads are clean but nothing else you mention.

 

Out of curiosity, what did you torque the head bolts to the first time?

 

This is my first time with a actually being part of a forum. Not sure if this thread is to old but i would also like to add that i just rebuilt my 22re with bottom end bored, milled and polished but nothing to the to head was done besides reseating the valves. I also used
rock head gasket. after filling with water and no pressure to the system i got a few small leaks coming from the drivers side head to block as well. should i try to retourqe the head bolts tighter or just go with a toyo head gasket. Thanks in advance for any replys.

 

.....

 

When I rebuilt my 22re it leaked so I pulled each head bolt out one at a time and cleaned out the bolt holes re-torqued head problem. Even though my block was hot tanked there was still crap in the bolt holes one thing to check if anybody else has this issue.

 

Correct, if you haven't cleaned out the bolt holes in the head, your torque readings will be off.

I would suggest contacting Ted (Engnbldr) to ask his opinion.

Based on your description, there are 3 most likely problems: Your head is warped, your block is warped, or you haven't fully torqued / seated your head gasket.

My experience with the Rock Auto gasket was that the third issue was my problem. I found a number of threads relating to this same issue in my searches, and some of the indicated that torque values as high as 85 ft-lbs were necessary to get the Rock Gasket to seat. Once they did seat, they were fine.

In my case, switching to a Toyota OEM Head Gasket and using the factory torque specs ultimately resolved my problem. I went that route because when I pulled things apart, I had effectively destroyed the Rock head gasket and decided that it was worth the money to just buy the Toyota one. After comparing the Toyota OEM Gasket and the Rock Auto gasket, I could clearly see why I was having issues. Again, this does not mean the Rock product is bad, just different.

Either way, before you go too much further, I highly suggest you contact Ted (Engnbldr). He is a wealth of knowledge, and often has a lot of insight he is willing to share with you to help you get along your way.

 

There are many variables here, some people may not have properly taped the head bolt threads or used a head that was not perfectly flat.

However reading through the threads there have been many many people who have cleaned the threads, and surfaced the deck and head who still ended up with a Head Gasket leak of some kind using these Engnbldr (DJ Rock Products) gaskets.

Even I have had this issue from Rock and a few other different brands of cut rate priced head gaskets.


My question is at what point do we call a duck a duck here? A couple people in this thread have been VERY PC about it, which is ok. No need to start a mud throwing contest but simply put these parts are by far the cheepest on the market, and the quality shows.

OEM Toyota or high end aftermarket is the way to go. All my problems have vanished since I switched to them. IT IS simply too time consuming and expensive to tear appart an engine multiple times and then still "live with" constant issues.