How realistic is replacing the headgasket yourself
 

Alright well i got my quote back from my mechanic and it looks to be around 1100 to replace the head gaskets not including the transmission work that needs to be done. Right now im in the tough desciosion of doing the headgasket myself or just bitin the bullet and sendin it to the shop. If it did it myself i could afford a set of weasys cams and maybe some other little things. How realistic is doing the headgasket replacement yourself? Ive read up on bumpin yotas thread and it honestly doesnt seem all that hard. I dont have a shop so all the work would be done outside and in the dark, minus auxillary lighting. Ive got the basic hand tools and could justify buying any tools necessary to save in the long run. Im 17 (if that matters) and am not to shabby with a wrench. Ive done alll the maintanence on my 4runner myself including new alternator, rebuilt front end, and so on. Id like an honest opinion. I wouldnt mind payin the money if it came down to it to have the shop do it but i would much rather do it myself. Id just hate to get in a bind and end up kickin my own ass. So whutcha think.

it not hard at all, I just broke mine down to intall a trd supercharger. you start by disconnecting the black battery cable, then the other one. Then move to left side of engine and take off the intake pipe, etc. then remove the tubes going into the throttle body, then take off the manifolds. A trd install manual breaks it all down.

I'd suggest getting a hold of a factory manual or checking this link out...

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...fsm/index.html

The factory manual is very clear and step by step. Has torque specs... everything you need to know.

Make sure you have a good torque wrench, strong breaker bar, a shop to adjust your valves and clean the heads (could do this yourself, but an expert might give you a better result), check YotaTech threads for all the tips and tricks... and don't reuse your head bolts.

With the factory manual and YT's help I replaced my HG's and like you said saved some money for other mods, which is always a good thing. :great:

I am assuming 3.0 since you read bumpin's thread...


not a difficult task, more time consuming than anything.

I'm assuming you are talking about the 3.0. If so, the HG replacement is not a small job. I've done it, and while I certainly wouldn't call it easy, I don't think you'd have too much of a problem doing it yourself. When you are finished, you will know this engine like the back of your hand. Future repairs won't even be a challenge. I say go for it.

Yeah its the 3.0

Alright thats 3 for and 0 against. Anyone care to tell me im stupid and am gonna dig myself a big ole deep hole?

For the rebuild itself if i were to try it myself id like to make a good list of tools to have ready including the basics. Feel free to add to the list.
-good set of 1/2 drive metric sockets (already got um)
-1/2 drive extensions, and some long ass ones for the exhaust manifold
-normal tools like screwdrivers and such
-lots of PB Blaster
-good torque wrench
-big ass breaker bar for the cam bolts
-factory service manual (not reeally a tool)
-digital camera
-friendly folks at yotatech

How does the whole timing thing work after that. So you set the engine to top dead center before taking off the timing belt right? And then whenever you put the timing belt back on when your finished, itll be back in the right location?

12 point 12 mm socket for head bolts.

its nice to have a torch around to heat some bolts manly the cam bolts. mine where very tight broke a few sockets on them. heat helped

I have a friend with an impact so i might luck out with them versus doing it with a breaker bar. Waaittt, wont the head have oil on it, and oil is flammable. Is a torch safe to use in the engine bay?

there souldent be oil on the cam bolts unless the seals where bad but oil just wont ingnite like gas. you should be fine just to heat the bolts if needed you wont need to get it red hot so a propane torch with work fine..

alright so i just had an interestin talk with my neighbor and now its got me thinkin. When the headgasket blows, is the normal white smoke supposed to come out of the exhaust continously without stop or is the smoke supposed to stop after a minute or two of driving?

Could smoke like mad or not smoke at all, my brothers 3.1L buick regal blew and all he had was coolant in the oil to indicate the problem.

To add to the list of your gear:
-big ass breaker bar for the cam bolts - instead a good 18" pipe placed over yor ratchet will do the trick. Done it a ton of times before and never ruined a socket wrench, if you can use a regular wrench its even better.

-a good bernzomatic torch, use mapp gas its hotter than propnae but be carefull and hold the flame away. If you can find aceteline (sp) its temperature is between propane and mapp gas and may work better.

The best read I've had on yotatech...dunno if you've found this or not, but it will be a big help. Was inspiration when I tried to do my HG.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...ht=3.0+Rebuild

Thanks for the link...bout to start readin it. No i havent seen this one before..thanks.

Alright hold on, back to step one, Diagnosing the problem. I have smoke at startup but goes away as soon as u start driving. No oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil. Had a few little bubbles in the oil. Rough idle when smoking but runs great after smoke stops. Boiling radiator fluid IN the overflow bottle. Boiled up enough to pop off the cap of the bottle. This is the headgasket right or just some other smaller problem??? Man i hope ive been wrong all along.

anyone?

Im in greenville nc give me a call and ill help u out 2527562111!!With the diagnostic and hg if needed oh yeah ask for sam if you call.between the hours of 7:30am and 5:pm mon through fri..

Why don't you take it back to the dealer? The 3.0 v6 had a recall for the head gasket so they should fix it if that's the problem.

My 4runner is over the deadline for the headgasket recall.

exoman - SWEEET. glad to see a fellow north carolinian. If i end up replacing the headgasket myself, which i most likely will, then Ill give you a call. Im not old enough to buy beer but ill provide an endless supply of Mt. Dew and pizza for your services.

Alright guys, What i just described, is that typical headgasket symptoms. Both my mechanic and my dad (might as well be a mechanic) have told me that it is but my case doesnt sound as near as bad as the rest of yalls. Any opinions. Is there anyway to check for sure that it is the headgasket other then taking the heads off? Compression test?

THis is off topic, but....
Gotta say that acetylene, is hotter than mapp gas, and any other gas that is used in welding etc. You cant weld steel with mapp gas the way you can with acetylene. You can cut with it, but not weld. Oxy does the cutting not the fuel.
But you cant do much of anything with acetylene unless you have oxygen. Using OXY/fuel here would be wayyyyy overkill, so my point is moot anyway..