3rd blown headgasket in same car, why?

[xirdneh]

my friend bought a tercel about 9 years ago that had had a crate engine installed
it ran fine for a few years then blew headgasket (water leak into cylinder only)
we fixed it and three or four years later it blew again (water leak into cyl. only) this time we had the head shaved.
so here we go again with the same problem, head gasket blown (water leak into cylinder)
and i did the Petros headgasket mod. i checked the top of the block with a straight edge too and it was fine.
What the hecksagon is going on?

[dlb]

does it always blow in the same place? i wonder if there is some kind of blockage in the cooling system causing inadequate flow to a particular area.

does your buddy drive hard?

[xirdneh]

i have not been able to determine where exactly the leak was
just the after effects like a clean piston top
pretty sure he is a normal driver

[Petros]

it will blow the gasket if it is overheated, or even run hot never reaching the red zone. he may not be keeping the coolant topped up, or his radiator is plugged up and does not know it. long up hill grades being low on coolant, or with a partically blocked radiator, will heat the head enough to damage the seal between the #1 and 2 cylinders (it is the hotest place on the head, even with the head gasket mod).

Also, if the timing is advanced too far, or the poor quality gas causes pinging, than he needs to switch to mid grade or premium fuel. this is not as costly as it sounds since I find that I get better fuel economy running mid grade gas that it makes up for the extra fuel cost. IOW, the per mile cost is about the same or even slightly better, and I get no ping, head gasket hold up much better.

If it has pinging, than that will damage the head gasket over a long time until it leaks. so check for vac leaks, properly working EGR and spark timing. even mild pinging will eventually damage the head gasket. that might be the problem because of the crap federal gasoline, never designed to be used in our cars.

Also, you might consider paying a bit more and get a genuine toyota head gasket. Many of the after market gaskets are junk. Fel Pro is not bad, but the factory gasket is clearly a better quality gasket. It would be nice to know who makes them for toyota, we might find them a bit cheaper if they are available on the after market.

[xirdneh]

i ordered a genuine toyota head gasket at the local dealer
total incl tax came to $34.00
seems like the last time i checked there (about 8 years ago) they were 4 times that

[Petros]

I would expect about $30, I looked into about 3 years ago and it was $27 than. Not so bad if it holds up better than aftermarket.

When you get the head gasket, post some close up picture of it. I want to see what it looks like. also see if you can determine who made it my manufacturing marks or perhaps ID tags in the package. lets see if we can buy them from an aftermarket supplier.