Questions and Answers
Toyota Pickup Head Gasket
Q. Hello, I have a big problem with internal coolant leakage on my 1986 Toyota pick-up (22R engine 4 cylinder, 2.4 liter, carburetor) and I can't get it fixed. One day I noticed that my water temperature gauge indicated that my engine was getting abnormally hot, almost into the "danger" zone.
I checked my radiator and it was very low. So I pulled my plugs and checked my oil, The plugs were white and the oil was milky. I then spent all weekend pulling the cylinder head off my engine and discovered that there was coolant sitting in the cylinders. I replaced the head, intake, exhaust, timing chain cover, and various other gaskets. I also got the head machined, replaced the timing chain, and replaced the crankshaft seal. And then spent all of the next weekend putting the engine back together.
When I got the engine back together it was running well and I thought the problem was fixed but I drove the truck on a couple short trips and in a couple days discovered that the coolant was low again. I checked the oil again and it is definitely milky with a green tinge. I highly doubt that it is the head gasket again, so what could it be? What else could cause coolant to leak into my oil?
This problem really has me stumped, I don't even know where to begin.
Thank you...
A. When you had the cylinder head machined, did you have it pressure tested? A machine shop will not pressure test a cylinder head when they machine it, you have to ask to have it done.
The most likely problem here is that the cylinder head is cracked. Aluminum heads do have a tendency to crack and whenever you send one out to be machined, you have to have them pressure tested first to make sure they are in good shape before doing anything else.
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