spent the weekend doing my first full head gasket replacement on my 88 4runner. I had a couple of questions before i continue.
1) when i lifted the intake manifold i had oil (see picture) under it on the block. can't figure out where it came from?
2) when i take the camshafts out do they need to go back in the exact same spot
3) when i took the distributor out the rotor wasn't lined up with where the book said it should be (pulley and belt where lined up)
4) there is oil everywhere under the hood. what is a safe product to clean with
5) i know i've read it on here somewhere but do i have to take the crossover pipe off
thanks,

 

sorry the last pics didn't work out

 

Sweet, Nelson, BC- I err...dated a girl who moved their. You'll find half the board is from Canada. I'm from Van.

1) HG leaking oil (?)
2) The cam has to be synced with the crank and the ignition. There are little marking on the cams and the crank so that you can put it all back together properly, their called "timing marks".
3) Your crank spins twice for each revolution of the cam, cam rotates at the same speed as the distributer cap.
4) Your local auto parts store will have some brand of "degreaser". Spray it on, wait 20 min, pressure wash it off. Using hot water in the pressure washer works best (ie: hook the hose up the the utility sink hot tap).
5) To remove the head? I would think so. It connects the two heads to the exhaust system. Its probably easy to remove and otherwise will get in your way.

 

thanks, matt.
can i spray the degreaser everywhere (even with the engine still apart) or are there some holes i should cover?

 

can anyone else comment on the crossover pipe

 

The crossover pipe does not have to come all the way off to remove the heads. I unbolted the driver's side only since those bolts are easier to get to. I actually never took it off since my heads did not need to be decked.

as for the oil, I'd clean it up after the engine is buttoned up. Good chance you'll just get is messy again - plus you don't want water in your engine.

Yes, to avoid unnecessary work you will need to put the cams, cam bearings caps and any spacers back in the exact same spot you took them from.

Don't worry about the distributor until its time to put it back in.

And one trick I learned from doing mine is once all the fuel rails, washers, regulator and injectors are in use a paper clip kick the fuel pump on and pressurize the fuel system to check for O ring leaks BEFORE you install the plenum. Jump FP and B on the diagnostic port with the key in the on position.

 

About the crossover....maybe not. I had to unbolt one side, because when I unbolted the exhaust manifolds, a couple of the studs stayed in the head. If all the studs come out of the head, I suppose you wouldn't need to, but I would go ahead and plan on unbolting it at least. You won't need to actually remove it to pull the heads off though.

 

so i got the heads off together with the crossover. thanks for the help. this is what i found. any comments?

 

Looks like some good ol 3.slow fun there. I highly recommend checking your knock sensor to make sure its plastic center isn't brittle and replace that pigtail! Better yet, build one out of heat resistant and interference shielded networking cable like I am doing. The original one seems to get hard and brittle after a few years. Just my .02

 

Time for a bottom end rebuild!

 

Tell me more. This is my first time doing a head gasket. Can i get away with only doing the gasket. I wasn't going to machine the heads either, but was wondering what i could clean them with. There is some nice milky oil on the tops of the valve. Also what can i clean the bottom end with around the pistons. lots of carbon and antifreeze. thanks.

 

definitely get the heads decked (machined), pressure tested and get the valves adjusted while the heads are off. a local shop should be able to do this for you for about $300. a new gasket will only do its job if the mating surfaces are completely flat.

to clean the block surface, i did what i saw another user here do and got a brillo pad type disc and put it on my cordless drill and scoured the surface. any hardware store should have this in their drill accessory area. this and a scraper allowed me to get the block surface super clean.

 

You may or may not have to deck your heads - check the FSM for instructions on how to measure if you will to or not.

Dry off the water/antifreeze and wipe of the milky oil with a rag. I picked up a still nylon brush that goes on the end of a drill to knock the carbon off. Don't use a metal brush. Use a gasket scraper and get all the extra pieces of gasket and carbon build up off.

 

okay i'm back at her this weekend. took some time off. just about to start cleaning the surfaces. this may be a stupid question but to clean the top of all the pistons do i have to take it out of TDC? The heads are straight so I'm just going to clean the surfaces and then put them back on.

 

so i clean off the surfaces and found this. Am I #$%^ed? what causes this? Should i keep going with the head gasket or is this the end?

 

That looks bad you might be able to save it by having it machined but i cant tell how deep that is so they may not be able to take the head down that far.

 

what do i do about the piston?

 

it is hard to tell from your picture but the affected part of your piston might be from where the head gasket failed and was making contact with the piston. this happened to my #6 piston and everyone here responded that it shouldn't be a problem. i left it alone and 1 year 14K miles later everything is still running fine.

 

HI...I'm doing a 3vze head gasket replacement also and could you please comment on how you removed the heads with cross over pipe attached, and if it took 2 people to lift the heads and cross over pipe up and off.I would like to know if you put the heads back on the block with cross over pipe attached/

I have heard that it is somewhat difficult to put the heads and attached cross over pipe back on new gaskets without messing up new gaskets

I would appreciate any advice you can give me on this because i'm doing this by my self and don't want more hassle than this 3vze all ready is

 

Just make sure the hood is off for good lighting and get a strong friend to help. We do it all the time no problem hurting the gaskets. Been working for Toyota for 20 years