*** V6 Head Gasket Action Request ***

[JEL]

Had my wife's 04' repaired last month for a HG failure, and now my 06' is in the shop for a HG failure. New water pump on both.

What's the build date on your '06? Was it built in '05 or early '06?

I have an '06 as well and it was built 02/2006, hopefully it came with the updated gasket. Seems like there have been more and more HG issues popping up all across the board lately, I've been keeping an eye on it with all the usual checks, and my last Blackstone analysis was a-ok, we'll see how it looks this time around with 7500 miles on the oil.

 

[2003-4x4runner]

Had my wife's 04' repaired last month for a HG failure, and now my 06' is in the shop for a HG failure. New water pump on both.

That's odd? Two HB failures in the same household. Did you get a 2nd opinion from another mechanic?

 

[sull625]

Has this request mad any headway? I don't have any issues as far as head gasket but if I did I hope I would get some help.

 

[DirtyD61]

This issue is exactly why im joining this thread, needed to find some info on this. Thanks for the post.

 

[gizmopt2002]

2004 SR5 4x4
157k. Majority highway.
Prod. Date: 02/04
Bought with 0 miles
EIN: Will update later

No issues so far. Knock on wood.
Mix of maint. done by me and dealer. Light towing. ~5,000# 2-3 times a year from 04-08, less than 30 miles each. Only went offroad a few times, mainly around winter. Never overheated. Synthetic since new.

Honestly, this car has been really easy to own, only routine maint. It's even been almost totaled before and repaired

 

[Tony_SS]

2004 87k. Now I'm paranoid. Should I sell for a newer model?

 

[2003-4x4runner]

2004 87k. Now I'm paranoid. Should I sell for a newer model?

I wouldn't worry about. Just keep an eye on the temp and any issues. If your really worried, you can go head and get the head gasket replaced now.

 

[JEL]

2004 87k. Now I'm paranoid. Should I sell for a newer model?

IMO if you have any suspicions send a used oil analysis to Blackstone, they can spot problems like this long before they become a huge failure. Typically a HG will begin to SLOWLY leach coolant into the oil before it shows symptoms elsewhere, but a UOA tests for that.

I had one done recently (at 85k now) with about 3k on the oil, now I just grabbed another sample with 7k on the oil so we'll see what they have to say. At 3k all looked great, no traces of anything bad and very low wear metals vs. universal averages.

I can post my 7k UOA back in here if there is any interest.

 

[Asmara]

2004
12/2003
150,800 miles
#6

Just started. All the initial signs are there: P0306, miss on startup (intermittently, seldom and seems to be affected by outside temp) for just a second and most recently on one occasion the gurgle, waterfall type sound described by [MENTION=118509]fdbyrne[/MENTION].

Despite that, I put in new plugs, fuel injector cleaner and swapped the coils around. I'm more likely to win the lottery than have any of those measures fix the issue.

 

[iBison]

I wouldn't worry about. Just keep an eye on the temp and any issues. If your really worried, you can go head and get the head gasket replaced now.

Mine never overheated even a little bit so I wouldn't count on that as a warning.

 

[nyc4runnin]

2004 V6
125,000 Miles
Coolant (using dealer fluid) changed at 90k when doing water pump
no issues so far other than the mysterious coolant loss....
Oh and I do hear the waterfall noise behind the dash on first startup as well .... :-( ???

Praying this doesnt come up ....:sadwave:

 

[gizmopt2002]

EDIT: Radiator test was negative
1 - 150psi
2 - 160psi
3 - 150psi
4 - 150psi
5 - 140psi
6 - 150psi

Still unknown about the metal shavings.

OLD:
Now I'm worried

I checked the oil to find metal shavings. I also hear the waterfall, gurgling sound behind the dash.

No other symptoms. No noticeable coolant loss, never overheated.

The repair shop down the street is doing an exhaust gas check on the coolant and compression test on all 6 cyl. tomorrow for $85. Fingers crossed its something minor....

:crybaby:

2004 SR5 V6
02/04 Mfd
159,300mi

 

[nyc4runnin]

Where is the "waterfall" noise coming from on engine start??? and how is this related to a head gasket going bad ?

 

[fdbyrne]

It's exhaust gasses building up in the cooling system. They displace coolant and end up creating an air pocket in the heater core. When you turn on your vehicle after it sits for a long time, the water pump starts pushing coolant into the void in the heater core and since the heater core is in the passenger compartment with you it sounds like a waterfall or a yard fountain.

That was the only symptom that I ever got that my head gasket was bad.

They can put a device on the radiator cap and test the gasses to find out whether it's just plain air or exhaust gasses. Either one probably represents a problem since it's supposed to be a closed system, but the exhaust gasses are evidence of a head gasket leak.

 

[gizmopt2002]

It's not after a long time, just turning it off for 5 minutes and I'll hear it. Coolant stays at full though.

 

[Baba Booey]

It's been almost a year since I have had my head gaskets replaced. At that time, I called Toyota, reported my problem, and mentioned that it was becoming a more common problem with other owners. Toyota told me it was news to them - they had never heard of these 1GR-FE head gasket issues.

Anyway, I am wondering whether others here are reporting the head gasket failures to Toyota. If so, what are they telling you?

 

[Stephens.T4R]

Certainly @JEL thanks for the input! I would definitely like to know how the rest pans out. Thanks bud!

 

[Wishbone]

IMO if you have any suspicions send a used oil analysis to Blackstone, they can spot problems like this long before they become a huge failure. Typically a HG will begin to SLOWLY leach coolant into the oil before it shows symptoms elsewhere, but a UOA tests for that.

I had one done recently (at 85k now) with about 3k on the oil, now I just grabbed another sample with 7k on the oil so we'll see what they have to say. At 3k all looked great, no traces of anything bad and very low wear metals vs. universal averages.

I can post my 7k UOA back in here if there is any interest.

You will not see coolant in the oil on 4th gen HG leaks, the coolant is leaking into the cylinder rather than into the oil. If you look at the below, the water jacket is around the cylinder, the HG is making the seal and where it fails the coolant passes into the cylinder.

 

[SteelStacks]

Is the UView Combustion Leak Tester an accurate way to test for a potential HG problem?

 

[JEL]

You will not see coolant in the oil on 4th gen HG leaks, the coolant is leaking into the cylinder rather than into the oil. If you look at the below, the water jacket is around the cylinder, the HG is making the seal and where it fails the coolant passes into the cylinder.

That's a bummer to hear, that the UOA won't shine any light onto the matter that is.

Do you suspect there is no real way to tell when a looming HG issue is on the horizon? Aside from really odd looking plugs in some of the typically-problematic cylinders.