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Blown Head Gasket???

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May 27, 2016
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Valve Job and resurfaced head done at Colorado Toyota Specialist in Aspen Park in 3/2016

I noticed the other night that it took a while for the thermostat to kick on. Today, I noticed white smoke from tailpipe and coolant was about 1/2 gallon low. Thinking blown gasket or cracked head???... unfortunately it's my daily driver.

I'm kind of bummed and not looking forward to dishing out a ton of $$$ if it's just the gasket. Any thoughts or guidance would be great.
 
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SteveH

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Check the oil for water contamination (is it cloudy looking or white-ish, or still clear?). Is the white smoke great in quantity and does it continue after warmup? Does the exhaust have a nasty sweet smell? A bad head gasket that leaves water in the cylinders can also result in the engine missing when you start it (clearing up after the water burns off).

A compression test is easy enough and might tell you something. So would a leakdown test on the cooling system. You can do these yourself with $100 worth of tools or beg/borrow the tools. A shop will charge a fair amount for the diagnosis, I'd think.
 
Joined
May 27, 2016
Messages
35
Location
Denver
Valve Job and resurfaced head in 3/2016

I noticed the other night that it took a while for the thermostat to kick on. Today, I noticed white smoke from tailpipe and coolant was about 1/2 gallon low. Thinking blown gasket or cracked head??? The oil appears dark but not cloudy (but that's only the dip stick). Yes, the white smoke is of great quantity . It does not continue after warm up. Exhaust does have a sweet smell. The engine does not appear to be missing, feels like it may have less power. unfortunately it's my daily driver.

Which gasket is the best if I'm doing the job? Where do I get it? (I've read that some are better than others)

If its cracked and I need to buy a rebuilt head, who is the best source?


I'm kind of bummed and not looking forward to dishing out a ton of $$$ if it's just the gasket. It doesn’t appear to be that hard of a job. Any thoughts or guidance would be great.

THANKS,
David
 
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Notyourmomslx450

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do a leak down test.
 

60wag

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The white smoke and loss of coolant are pretty solid indicators of where the coolant is going. You could try the "rev and hold the engine to 2500 rpm and look for bubbles in the coolant tank" to confirm what you already suspect. Hopefully its not a cracked head or block. Was the head shaved when the work was done? I did that once and it may have contributed to a failure of the engine. Fortunately the the head and the block are both iron, unlike the 1FZ. This makes it easier to keep the head gasket sealed. Any premium brand of gasket should work if the head and the block are healthy. If you need it fixed quickly, taking it to a shop makes the most sense. If you can have it down for a week or 2, maybe do it yourself. Classic Cruisers in Salida might be a good resource for a used head.
 
Joined
May 27, 2016
Messages
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Location
Denver
The white smoke and loss of coolant are pretty solid indicators of where the coolant is going. You could try the "rev and hold the engine to 2500 rpm and look for bubbles in the coolant tank" to confirm what you already suspect. Hopefully its not a cracked head or block. Was the head shaved when the work was done? I did that once and it may have contributed to a failure of the engine. Fortunately the the head and the block are both iron, unlike the 1FZ. This makes it easier to keep the head gasket sealed. Any premium brand of gasket should work if the head and the block are healthy. If you need it Fixed quickly, taking it to a shop makes the most sense. If you can have it down for a week or 2, maybe do it yourself. Classic Cruisers in Salida might be a good resource for a used head.
Thanks Bruce,

I just talked to Jim C (tlc) because he seems knowledgeable and recently rebuilt a carb for me. Supposedly, the head was shaven, and valve job 5 years ago but I really don't know, I've heard a lot of stories about unethical repair people just replacing the gasket and not doing the work. But I have only heard good things about Colorado Toyota Specialist in Aspen Park, and Joe seemed like an ethical guy. So I assume that they did the work that they said they did, but maybe just an interior gasket...

Interesting what you said about having yours shaved and engine failure. Jim C said that the older heads were overbuilt and rarely crack. He even said the factory manual says that the old ones have a tolerance of .100 that can be removed. (that's 1/10th of an inch). He said that it will probably be obvious what the problem is once the head if off and the gasket can be inspected. furthermore, he said that he suggested that if the head is off it should be inspected for cracks and shaven again.

There is no coolant tank on a 72 f engine.

It seems like a lot of work to do it myself, and when you add everything up (car rental, etc) it will end up being the same if I have someone else do the work because of convenience. It is possible to get a completely rebuilt head for around $1,200 delivered, and just swap them. Best case scenario, take it off have it resurfaced and new gasket, do it myself (coupe hundred bucks). Worst Case, I take it to a shop, they remove it and test it and find crack, then I have to buy the rebuilt one anyway and rent a car for a month(probably 3k). So it may be a better choice just to plop down the $$ on a rebuilt one. But it would probably be around $1,500 to do the same repair that was done before. All because of a faulty gasket. I guess that their are different qualities of gaskets, and don't know what's they used

Any shop recommendations that would be good at this job in Denver? I am a bit upset because I just went through this 5 years and about 25K miles ago. Should get at least 100k out of this from what I've read.
 

MountainGoat

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Have you considered talking to Joe about it? He definitely does not do shoddy work. Of course it is way out of warranty, but it might be worthwhile to let him know and get his input. I know if I'd done the work I would at least want to know about it.
 

60wag

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I shaved the head 0.050" to up the compression a bit. It def' helped but I did chase an occasional knock that never really got resolved. Maybe that stressed the HG. The engine was in an '84 FJ60. It failed after I sold the truck so I didn't get the complete details.

CTS is a reputable shop. You might try going back there to get it fixed. Is Joe C still there? He might give a bit of a break on the repair since he put it together last time. If the head is cracked, he should be able to come up with a replacement quickly.
 

Inukshuk

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Agree to call Joe Calleja at CTS for a consult. He'll likely remember the truck. I trust him 100%.
How long have you owned it?
 
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Agree to call Joe Calleja at CTS for a consult. He'll likely remember the truck. I trust him 100%.
How long have you owned it?
I'm sure that he did good work, and it helps being reassured by others. I called up there this morning and spoke with the book keeper and described what was going on and she said they'd get back me. Haven't heard back, I will give in a couple of days and call back if I don't hear from him. I WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT, I THINK THAT HE DOES GOOD WORK!!! NICE TO KNOW THAT OTHERS FEEL THAT WAY. I wish that I could say that about others in Denver but that has not been my experience. As a matter of fact that's why I went to him in the first place someone down here told me the engine was shot when it wasn't and tried to get me to replace the engine. He actually steered me in the right direction telling me that the Denver guy was full of S#*%. The 40 has been running like a top for the past 5 years until now. A couple of years ago I called to have some work done and they said they were trying to not work on older trucks as much.

The 40 has been in the family since purchased in 72. It sat in garage for 30 years (1982-2012). Then I took possession in 2012
 

White Stripe

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Did it ever overheat? If the thermostat stuck closed it could overheat and pop the gasket. I have a oem thermostat in my 40 and I've had it stick once or twice. I think it stuck closed once over this last summer while I was over by Georgia pass.
 
Joined
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Messages
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Location
Denver
Did it ever overheat? If the thermostat stuck closed it could overheat and pop the gasket. I have a oem thermostat in my 40 and I've had it stick once or twice. I think it stuck closed once over this last summer while I was over by Georgia pass.
never overheated
 
Joined
May 27, 2016
Messages
35
Location
Denver
Did it ever overheat? If the thermostat stuck closed it could overheat and pop the gasket. I have a oem thermostat in my 40 and I've had it stick once or twice. I think it stuck closed once over this last summer while I was over by Georgia pass.
I think that it got to 3/4 on the temp gauge so not fully over heated, but running hotter than normal. I just started it and I think that the thermostat is stuck and not operating properly. What do you mean when you say pop gasket? What did you have to do?
 
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MDH33

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Check the oil for water contamination (is it cloudy looking or white-ish, or still clear?). Is the white smoke great in quantity and does it continue after warmup? Does the exhaust have a nasty sweet smell? A bad head gasket that leaves water in the cylinders can also result in the engine missing when you start it (clearing up after the water burns off).

A compression test is easy enough and might tell you something. So would a leakdown test on the cooling system. You can do these yourself with $100 worth of tools or beg/borrow the tools. A shop will charge a fair amount for the diagnosis, I'd think.
Do this. Leak down test will tell you a lot. Just went through this on my 40 and it alleviated a lot of anxiety.
 

White Stripe

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I think that it got to 3/4 on the temp gauge so not fully over heated, but running hotter than normal. I just started it and I think that the thermostat is stuck and not operating properly. What do you mean when you say pop gasket? What did you have to do?
If a motor gets too hot things can start to warp and cause a head gasket leak. That's what I meant by pop. I haven't done anything yet. It's only done it twice on mine. If it does it again I'll replace the thermostat. Actually maybe I'll just replace it anyway now I think about it. I don't know what temp 3/4 is on your 50 year old gauge is. A temp gun might help to get a more accurate temp in that scenario.
 
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If a motor gets too hot things can start to warp and cause a head gasket leak. That's what I meant by pop. I haven't done anything yet. It's only done it twice on mine. If it does it again I'll replace the thermostat. Actually maybe I'll just replace it anyway now I think about it. I don't know what temp 3/4 is on your 50 year old gauge is. A temp gun might help to get a more accurate temp in that scenario.
Thanks!!! It was a bad thermostat (stuck closed). I replaced it, I should have noticed it running hotter (wont make that mistake again). I will buy a temp gun. I drove it to and from the auto parts store (only a one mile trip) and no problems (before changing thermo). Hopefully I didn't damage the head, head gasket, or block. Fingers crossed. I now know that it was over heated. I'm surprised that the cap didn't release the pressure, or maybe it did. Maybe I might get lucky... Just curious I put a 180 deg thermo in it. Some people run 160 deg thermos. Any thoughts???
 

White Stripe

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Thanks!!! It was a bad thermostat (stuck closed). I replaced it, I should have noticed it running hotter (wont make that mistake again). I will buy a temp gun. I drove it to and from the auto parts store (only a one mile trip) and no problems (before changing thermo). Hopefully I didn't damage the head, head gasket, or block. Fingers crossed. I now know that it was over heated. I'm surprised that the cap didn't release the pressure, or maybe it did. Maybe I might get lucky... Just curious I put a 180 deg thermo in it. Some people run 160 deg thermos. Any thoughts???
Radiator caps go bad all the time too. So I would put a good radiator cap on it. I would keep a very close eye on the coolant level and oil condition for a while. Oil in coolant can ruin a lot of stuff in the motor. As far as thermostat Im not sure. Maybe research it or get others opinions here. You might also buy a boroscope that connects to a smart phone if you have one. After it sits overnight look through the spark plug holes for any coolant that has seeped into the cylinders and created a little pool. If you see coolant then it may be headgasket time again unfortunately.
 
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