So I'm driving and when I go to stop I have a pretty good mis. When I go to restart after 3hrs, I have a terrible time getting it to fire and when it does I have a horrible mis and blowing a huge cloud of sweet smelling white smoke.

I replaced the HG, cam, and timing chain around 80k miles ago. I replaced the TC guides with the enginblr steel guides. I have yet to get the truck home to do a compression test, that should be tomorrow. When i parked it there were no signs of water in the oil... but th huge cloud of smoke leads me to believe something is wrong ::sarcasm::

She never got hot, I was running pretty hard down the highway, but nothing out of the ordinary. The temp would creep up as I was running it in the parking lot trying to find an exhaust leak or something in the dark last night when it happened.

Is there any other tests I should do? What's the likelihood I can just get away with a gasket and no other issues? Should I get the head decked or anything?

 

Sounds like a HG to me. 80k is about right for a rebuild, using aftermarket parts.

If you want it to last a LONG time, get new factory parts. Remember your old setup lasted how many miles and how many years? I would get the head completely rebuilt if it was me. Refresh the whole shooting match with seals, valves, etc. And make sure they magnaflux the head for cracks, you don't want to toss a new gasket on there only to find a cracked head.

 

Really a 22r HG is only good for about 80k miles. I thought these things were just about bullet proof. Or is it the HG that sucks? Is Toy OE that much better?

 

Compression test, but if you the smoke you are smelling is sweet then you have a head gasket issue. You can also drain the oil into a clear container/jug and see if the coolant separates from the oil or you can take the radiator cap off to see if dark specs float up.

If you have the money get the head re-decked if you never overheated or anything the likelihood that your head is warped is minimal. If you pull the head off you can stick a straight edge or ruler on it to make sure it's straight. If it is then I recommend cleaning the valves and replacing the seals. Use OEM parts as mentioned above and if Toyota offers a better head gasket that is composite buy it.