chandler66

So my buddy owns an 88 pickup with a 22re. About a month ago he blew his head gasket on the exhaust side. We watched coolant leak down the block. So we went back to his house and began the long process. We pulled the head and he had a family friend who is an engine builder go through the head, mill it, rebuild it, etc.He also purchased an LCE head gasket kit, new timing cover, metal back guides, chain, sprockets, oil pump, water pump, and an egr block off plates. After putting it all back together and getting the timing correct we got to run for about 5 seconds in till we realized the water fall of oil and coolant pouring out between the head and block on the intake side. There was also a little bit leaking out on the exhaust side but not nearly as bad. The leak on the intake side was closer towards the front half of the motor and so is the exhaust side. After we noticed the leak we turned the motor off right away. After that we tried torquing the head down a little more(70 ftlbs vs 64ftlbs). thinking the torque wrench itself could be out of spec. It still poured out oil and coolant just as bad. We are stumped and have no idea what it could be. I was not there when he actually put the head gasket and head on but i was there for almost everything else. We even put gray rtv between the timing chain cover, block, and head. The only thing he didnt buy new is the head bolts. We just reused the old ones. Obviously we are going to have to pull the head again which really is not that big of a deal. I was just wondering if anyone has any idea what could have gone wrong or could point us in the right direction. We both suspect the timing cover and block are not completely flush which each other causing the leak. If it was a slow leak i would just assume the head gasket was bad or got creased when being put in, but its pours out a quart plus of oil and coolant with in 5 seconds of running. We are in no rush to finish it anyways because he doesnt plan on driving it during the winter and because he has a back up vehicle but would like to finally finish working on it. We also made sure that we cleaned off any old gasket that was left behind on any surface that had one. Sorry it was so long but i wanted to put out as much info as possible. Thank you everyone for your time i look forward to hearing back from everyone soon.

ewong

As I understand it, head bolts stretch, and thus can't readily be re-used.

I see that you noted that head was "milled". Did the shop specify how much it was milled?

Also - did you check the BLOCK for flatness?

Oh wait - NEW Timing Cover....

BEFORE you put the HG in place, you need to verify that the Timing Chain cover is not sitting "higher" than the height of the deck.
You can do this with a precision straight edge and a feeler gauge.
You can also at this time, confirm that the deck is not warped.
If the block deck is warped, you will need to machine the block AND the timing chain cover.
If the block was decked in its previous life, you will need to mill the timing chain cover.
If the block was decked ad you have a new timing chain cover, the head wont seal to the block at the front where the timing chain cover is...

thefishguy77

iTrader: (1)

If the timing cover and block are the same height then it sounds like a warped block if the head was milled properly. It can and does happen. Might not be worth reusing the block if that's the case. If you start taking too much off the surfaces of the block and head you begin to change the timing of the motor. You should be able to find a used block fairly cheap.

Make sure the block is flat. The timing cover and the block are the same deck height. And just for fun make sure the head is flat.

I have reused head bolts on many occasion. As much as I have wanted to blame them for issues it always ended up being me. If you feel you have to replace them they are cheap enough to not worry about. Good luck let us know what you find.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Post some pictures of where the leak is coming from might help. I too have re-used head bolts and had no issues. Did you get an aftermarket Timing Cover? I prefer Aisin, even a used Aisin over aftermarket.

Keegan137

I'll take some more pics later for you guys. Here's the motor itself. I really appreciate the help. Leaking on intake side right at the junction where timing cover, head, and block meet.

chandler66

Thanks everyone for all the feed back. We will for sure take a straight edge to the block and timing cover and the head. The timing cover was aftermarket not Aisin. Keegan137 is the owner of the truck.

scope103

If you care, the official word from Toyota is that head bolts CAN be reused, and if you need to replace one you do NOT need to replace the whole set. http://www.toyotaparts.metro-toyota....T-EG98-002.pdf

[Though it has been pointed out that "IF ANY ONE OF THE BOLTS DOES NOT MEET THE TORQUE SPECIFICATION ..." is not very clear.]

And while everyone should have there own definition of "cheap enough," a set of head bolts will set you back $50-$70.

thefishguy77

iTrader: (1)

I get my stuff through engnbldr. He has great stuff at great prices. Head bolts are $32.
http://www.engnbldr.com/build-a-kit-85-95.html

chandler66

Turns out he put the headgasket on upside down Put it back together and it doesn't leak a drop! We put the new headgasket in without taking the intake off. Did it in 3.5 hours! Thank you to everyone who helped out

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Great to hear you got it fixed.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

That was my first thought Head gasket up side down

I know I have done that once or twice

wallytoo

iTrader: (1)

nice to solve, and nice to have posted the solution, too, for future reference/inquiries.