blown headgasket please help

[walkersimpson]

its been a while and i was hoping for this post to be a good one about how i got my rebuilt engine in my tercel and it has 1500 miles on it and how much i love it. unfortunalty i have found that i have a head gasket leak and this rebuilt engine is overbored .040 and i was using a stock head gasket im not sure if this is the reason for the failure or if its something else my question to all of you is what head gasket should i be using so i know what to replace it with and maybe buy a few for back up just incase it happens again im ready and can do it in a day or two. any advice would be great just need to have a working car asap thanks everyone

[Petros]

the over bore should not affect it, the gasket is sized to accommodate over-boring. What brand of head gasket did you use?

Most feel the toyota factory head gasket is the best (get a factory thermostat while you are at it as well). I have used other brands, as long as they are made in Japan I find the quality good. I have mixed emotions about fel-pro.

before you replace the head gasket, you might try retorquing it first, I had that actually work once. did you allow it to get overheated? If so, you need to find out why it over heated and fix that, or you will doom the next one as well. do a full cooling system check out and diagnostics.

good luck.

[walkersimpson]

i used a dnj head gasket. it over heated once but i caught it fast and let it cool down but sense i put the engine in it wants to run at half temp and the only way to get it to run below that is to remove the thermostat. i put a brand new radiator in it because the old one had a lot of build up. where would i get the toyota oem head gasket and thermostat what else should i check out on the cooling system i may have not thought of

[Petros]

I had a really bad experiance with DnJ products once, they were also completely unresponsive to my complaint. I do not know if that is indicative of their products or nor, but their lack of responsiveness was troubling.

How did it over heat? Try to re-torque the head gasket first. Than also get it to run cooler, mine stays in the lower half of the thermometer graphic on the gauge, and only goes above half way if I am stopped for very long, and than it comes down right away after the fan comes on (or I turn on the heater). Though I have found that even a minor overheat event will compromise the head gasket, if not right away, eventually it will start consuming coolant. A little at first, top up every few weeks, and eventually will be using a quart of coolant a week.

Toyota head gaskets and t-stats come from a Toyota dealer, though most will have to order it for you. There are also many toyota dealers that sell genuine Toyota parts online. Do a search.

good luck.

[dlb]

sense i put the engine in it wants to run at half temp and the only way to get it to run below that is to remove the thermostat.

halfway on the gauge is normal operating temp. is it consuming coolant, or any other signs of a head gasket failure?

[walkersimpson]

thanks petro's i ordered a new oem head gasket last night. going to try to re-torque the head after i get off work and see if that at least helps untill i get the new head gasket. just checking but when i re-torque the head i should lossen then torque correct.
Dib in all the tercels i have owend they have all ran in the bottom half of the temp gauge around the quarter temp range just like petros stated so i knew there was something funky going on with the cooling in my car for a while.
petros so it is already consuming coolent and has been for a few weeks now. no white smoke yet but can definitly tell its going down every few days

[dlb]

1/4 on the temp gauge is too low for full operating temp. that indicates you have had some faulty thermostats.

but if it's consuming coolant, confirm first that there are no external leaks anywhere. some can be tricky to find, like pinhole leaks in old hoses that only appear when the car is at full operating temp and the coolant system is pressurized.

[irowiki]

David: My DLX (different style dash guages) gets to 1/4 maybe closer to 1/3 when fully warmed up, and half when idle, where it goes back down to 1/4.

[dlb]

in my experience, that has been due to bad thermostats. running at too low a temp means running richer and not engaging carb components like the choke opener. you can certainly drive it like that but it's designed to run best at certain temps so that's what i aim for.

[irowiki]

Oh, it's been through two thermostats, a new radiator, etc.

I'm saying, at least on the DLX, 1/4-1/3 appears "normal" for normal running

[jimcrazy]

got to agree with dlb, on my 9th or 10th tercel never had one that the temp gauge did not come up to at least half way even on the coldest day of the winter, running cold will eventually sludge her up, seen it before that the valve cover off and did the sludge out with a putty knife

[irowiki]

I've verified engine temps with a heat gun and everything is normal!

[Mark]

On every car I've ever had, the temp gauge stays at the middle when the coolant is warmed up. The only exception was my '81 Tercel's temp gauge was dropping to about 1/4 on the highway. It was caused by a stuck open thermostat. I replaced it and now the needle stays in the middle.

[irowiki]

If the heater didn't work, I might blame it on a thermostat, but the heater in the car in question heats up faster than any tercel I've ever been in, and stays hot at highway speeds.

Where any car I've been in with a bad thermostat quickly cooled down to C at highway speeds and never warmed up at all.

[Petros]

when you retorqure the head, yes, you back off the bolt just enough to break it free. It only takes like a 1/8 of a turn, it usually "pops" free, than go to full torque value. do this in sequence as for tightening the head bolts. do not back them off any more than just breaking them free.

Also, you might calibrate your torque wrench using a sting and a known weight with it in a vise, just to make sure it you are getting the necessary 43 ft-lbs. Even if you are renting a new torque wrench, do not assume it actually gives the value on the scale.