slamigo

Hey all,

I just redid my HG on my 22RE. I replaced all the gaskets, bearings, rings. Got everything back together and started it up and the timing cover was leaking coolant. Visible leak outside the timing cover and water pump. I did not use any sealant, just dry gaskets. So, I get a new gasket set for the timing cover and take it off. This time, I put a thin coating of FIPG on the timing cover gaskets and put it all back together. A fun five hours.
Once I got it all back together, I start it up and it runs great. But then I notice there seems to be some light smoke near the exhaust. I check the dipstick and it's frothy. I look under the oil cap and it's milkshake. So, I'm still getting a massive coolant leak!
I did a compression test and all cylinders read 160 psi. (it's a little low, but those are new rings, so they'll need to set. Also, I don't think the milkshake helped with sealing the rings at all.
I had purchased a used timing cover off eBay. What's the most likely culprit? I didn't have the head pressure checked, but I did have it milled. Good compression means the HG should be somewhat intact right?
Is there any way to check the timing cover to see if it's the part that's leaking? I've heard of folks lifting the valve cover and pressurizing the coolant system and looking down the cover to see if they can see a leak. Is there any other way, or is that the easiest?

TNRabbit

Coolant pressure check is the only reliable method. You can get one from Sears.

tampabayota

after you pulled the timing cover off the truck did you drain the oil. if not the water that was still in the water passage that goes to the water pump still has water in it and that water fell in to your oil pan when you took off the cover. get some cheep oil and run it for like an hour or two, than drain it and see what it looks like, you may need to do this couple of times to get all the contaminated oil out.

slamigo

everything was drained before I started on this. I drained all the coolant and the oil out before I installed the timing cover. But, the first time, the coolant was visible leaking out the front.
Are the toyota gaskets better than Fellpro for the timing cover? I had Toyota gaskets for everything else. The first time, I didn't use any sealant, but the second time I put FIPG on both sides of the timing cover gaskets. I put it on superthin though, just enough to coat it. I started the truck up about 2 hours after that though.
Should I have waited longer? Is it a bad idea to use FIPG on coolant areas?
Actually, come to think of it, I used permatex grey AND FIPG around the water pump. I wonder if the 2 sealants didn't get along? Again, I just used my finger and very lightly coated the gaskets.

tampabayota

well after you drain the rad. there is still some water in the block, before you started her up did you re drain anything that went in. i have no problems with the felpro gaskets, thats whats on my truck, all you need is just a light coat of permatex, and i use it on every gasket but the head gasket. theres two things to do, the pressure test like stated above or an oil change, that will tell you if you have an internal leak

slamigo

there is an internal leak. There's no question. The amount of coolant in the oil was pretty bad.
Also, the coolant wasn't flowing (or the truck hadn't warmed up enough for the T-stat to open), but with the rad cap off, the coolant was just sitting there, not flowing at all.
I can pressurize the system with my air compressor, but how do you find the leak if it's inside? Do you just listen for it?

84sr5yoty

I'm willing to bet that's your problem right there. Probably a pinhole in the cover from the timing chain rubing against it by the previous owner. Get a new one from ebay or engnbldr.

Also, get a genuine Toyota headgasket. Nothing even begins to compare, not even Teds (engnbldr).

slamigo

I do have a genuine Toyota head gasket. I bought all the gaskets from the dealer except the timing cover ones and the water pump one. The timing cover and water pump gaskets came free with my used timing cover.
I'm thinking I'll just get a new timing cover off eBay. I have some Toyota timing cover gaskets waiting for me at the dealership.

trythis

I just did my timing chain, head gasket, oil pan routine. I put all new parts on the front, tc cover, water pump, etc. I used the gaskets that came with EB's front end rebuild kit but I only used FIPG where the FSM indicates using it and a couple of spots to keep the gaskets from falling off. Had no leaks, so I am guessing your used tc cover was the culprit.

FSM only shows using where the block meets the TC cover. and the oil pan, of course.

slamigo

yeah, I'm thinking it's either the timing cover or I just didn't get it to seal properly. When I took the timing cover off the second time, I didn't remove the head, because I'd just finished a HG job. The timing cover slid right into place and the head gasket seemed fine.

There is one area of concern now though. I noticed that the upper right bolt hole on the block, the one for the upper right bolt on the timing cover, has a crack in it. The bolt hole is on the outside of the block, right next to the spot where the distributer bolts to the block. I noticed that I couldn't get that bolt to tighten all the way and I didn't want to force it any more and have the crack really open up.
Should I just stick a blob weld on that bolt hole and run a tap in it, or maybe just some JB weld or something. It's not really an integral part of the block, just a little bolt hole on the outside.

cjbaldwin88

did you ever figure out what was going on with your coolant leak.. i just had the same exact problem and havent figured it out yet