thinking of getting a 86 4x4 toyota 4x4 p/u 22R engine 166.000 miles. he has said it was blowing white smoke out exhaust. now water is in oil so ether head gasket , cracked head or worse a block. now i have been told of the timing chain can wear a hole in the timing chain cover and can and will let cooling fluid onto the oil pan. now can that hole be seen with removing the valve cover and cam gear? or need to remove the cover to see it ? second i have look a lot and can not see a pic of a cover with with a damaging hole . someone have a pic of where that hole would be? kind of like to know just what i'm looking for.

 

if you remove the valve cover, and sight down the chain on the drivers side, you can see or not see, the chain guide... IF the guide has worn out, broken off, dropped into the oil pan... then, the chain will start to eat tracks along that side of the timing cover. If you pull off the water pump, and look at the left side of the hole that the impeller fits into, perhaps feel, you will find where the tracks have worn thru and perforated, IF this has happened. Timing cover, or head gasket, are both about as involved in terms of time and mechanical skill.

 

if you pull the water pump you will be able to see if the chain has worn threw.

 

Here's what mine looked like at 153,000 miles

http://s240.photobucket.com/albums/f...t=P1010045.jpg

Had not cut through yet, but it was workin' on it...

 

White smoke is coolant. Do a radiator gas check. Do a compression test. It could be any number of things or a combination thereof.

 

theres been quite a few 22re's have the timing chain wear a hole in the timing cover and allow coolant to get into the crankcase oil resulting in major engine damage.
the stock timing chain sliders are'nt the best but there are some very good replacements on the market.

 

theyre called chain dampers

 

as mentioned, if you remove the water pump, you will see if the chain guide has broke and let the chain wear through the housing.

waskillywabbit has the best advice, if you buy the truck: get the coolant analyzed and check the compression.
you can also do a leak down test to help narrow down the possible causes.

how much are you looking to pay for the truck? if it's not too much you could rebuilt or replace it for between 500 and 1000.

 

If the truck is blowing white smoke, its likely the head gasket.

Wearing a hole in the timing chain will only allow water into the oil. Eventually it would overheat, but it wont cause heavy white smoke.

 

sorry for the crappy pics my camera dosent take good up close pics, these are from a few months ago