This 6 part series walks through the very detailed procedure for diagnosing and replacing a cracked cylinder head and head gasket on a 1995 Toyota Tacoma with the 3.4 liter 5VZ-FE V6 engine.
This engine was widely used by Toyota from the mid 1990’s through 2004 in the Tacoma, Tundra, T-100, 4Runner, and Land Cruiser. Therefore, this repair procedure should be common to all of those vehicles with the same engine.
Due to the detail presented in this video series, it is also a good reference for doing other repairs such as changing the antifreeze/coolant, timing belt, valve cover gaskets, camshafts, alternator, spark plugs, spark plug wires, ignition coil packs, vacuum hoses, exhaust manifolds, belts, hoses, cooling fan, and various intake gaskets.
Part 1 – Diagnosis & Initial Disassembly
http://youtu.be/voLBRDZL9fE
Part 2 – Intermediate Disassembly
http://youtu.be/in4VdfnHdI0
Part 3 – Final Disassembly
http://youtu.be/yTsocmNdBpQ
Part 4 – Cylinder Head Removal, Inspection, & Replacement
http://youtu.be/nFYEoWTX0YU
Part 5 – Initial Reassembly
http://youtu.be/iQ7-wmjo6PE
Part 6 – Final Reassembly & Wrap-up
http://youtu.be/5ysgDyea1GU
Here is the tool review for the OTC Universal Pulley Holder that was used in this video series to tighten the camshaft pulley bolts and to install the service bolt in the exhaust camshafts.
http://youtu.be/j_TfAACwJac
With the right tools and some patience, it really is not a very difficult job.
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these videos are incredible. hats off to you good sir
you seem to be the smartest person ive seen on utube, i gotta question, we have a 99 4runner 3.4 – 4×4 and it started smoking white smoke lasts until 15 minutes after warmup dissapears , now the engine runs pretty smooth but has 1500 RPM idle at start up and 500 RPM after warm up, i thought nothing of the smoke this winter but hey ! its still smoking white smoke on warm days till motor is warm? another thing it seems like its too weak when climbing long hills like its underpowered, and temperature always stays half way point on the guage, what test would you recomend here?
You're a mechanic's mechanic. Enjoyed watching.
you're a class act! with that cool 1960s movie voice 🙂 thank you for taking the time to share this gift with us all
Спасибо за видео!Предстоит самому все это проделать.
Thank you for taking the extra time to film this! This is definitely the most informative video on pulling this engine apart!
Hello sir, i would like to know plz, are u a Christian/Believer? Would appreciate your response!
Спасибо! Очень подробно и понятно, даже с учетом того что я мало понимаю по английский!
just spent my christmas vac doing my head gasket, which turns out cylinder #1 and 3 valves were cracked, i had a set ready for install cause i knew it was bad, thanks to these videos i was able to follow to the "T"…….added a new starter while heads were off thanks, would have not known what to do with out these….haven't finished yet, will let you know how it turns out…..so far …..right on track…..third day so far…..i think i can do the whole engine after this….lol thanks a million
I cant seem to line up the timing marks on the crankshaft pulley with the timing marks on the top belt pulleys together. How much did you have to crank your pulleys before they lined up? Mine is about 90 degrees off and it doesn't seem to be moving.
Awesome help Thank you!
Does your truck only smoke on initial start up or does it have smoke all the time? I am in the same boat and mine only have smoke on initial start up but will stop after 5 minutes and not smoke the whole day
very good video..
Where did you get the service manual ? I went to Toyota parts department and he told me they were not available !! wtf ?? Told me to get the Chilton's service manual ! 🙁 Chilton service manual sucks !!
Thanks for the great video! Can you provide some info on the supplier of your head gasket kit and cylinder head? My sons 99 4runner has the same exact symptoms with about the milage, 245,000. Thanks
Thank you for making this! I'm doing this right now on my 1999 Tacoma V6. The engine assemblies are probably 95% the same.
A word of caution after you have drained the cooling system. Ethylene glycol coolants are deadly poisonous to animals, and they will drink it, especially immature animals. The stuff tastes sweet. If a pet drinks this stuff it is going to die a monstrous agonizing death as it's internal organs shut down. There is no antidote and no reversing the destruction. If you are going to reuse the coolant put it in a pet proof container and put it somewhere that pets can't access the container.
Worstthanchiggers, you are a brilliant man!
This is an excellent video series on how to meticulously prepare, organize and account for parts. Know what to do beforehand, where every part is, not to lose any, be patient, calm and diligent above all, as applicable to any vehicle repair or maintenance procedure.
A blown head gasket, however, is usually indicative of additional internal engine damage that head gasket or cylinder head replacement will not solve. A blown head gasket is a huge dilemma that many auto shops will gladly allegedly repair at crushing labour cost to almost no performance improvement. Most models will require between 8-12 shop mechanic meat chart hours to replace a cylinder head. In DIY = 4-6 hours. But it won't address any other latent problems also affected by the issue (overheating and/or compression from shoddy manufacture) that led to the leaky or fully blown gasket.
Around this time of year in Canada one can see which car is blowing engine antifreeze out the tailpipe from a leaking head gasket. And it's all aluminum cylinder heads on steel blocks in which the owners, or whichever one in the ownership history, neglected to change the coolant per manufacturer recommended interval or from a lemon build. In a real blown head gasket event, the check engine would illuminate, huge plume of white smoke out the tailpipe and engine would probably shutdown from the computerized emission control.
The over-heat to warp an aluminum head or crack a cylinder, if bad enough that can't be milled, is almost always a sign of other unseen damaged parts. It so critical to replace the coolant at spec mileage like engine oil, while hoping the assembly line employees performed their job properly. If buying a used car "as is," it's ideal to have it towed to a garage for full inspection. If they diagnose any head gasket issue, walk away and look for another used vehicle.
THE BEST I HAVE SEEN FOR TOOTA PICK UP'S I JUST WATCHED THE 6 VIDEOS ONE AFTER ANOTHER AND IT JUST ISPIRED ME TO DO IT MY SELF ON MY 96 T100, I ONLY REPLACED THE TIMING BELT AND INTAKE GASKETS BUT NOW I AM SURE I CAN DO THE HEAD GASKETS AS WELL THANKS TO THIS GREAT KINDLY MAN………THERE SHOULD BE MORE MEMBERS LIKE YOU HERE WORSETHANCHIGGERS JUST THANKS… The comment of celia leon its me Sorry about that thanks worsethanchiggers
thanks for replying back. If you know of or hear of any forums or anyone that can help me with the conversion problem with oil pan when putting a 4runner engine in a T100, please let me know. Thanks again for your videos.
I just want to thank you for taking the time to do this. I think this is the best video, detail, tips, etc. It really helped me. I do want to see if you may have a video or know another YouTube member that may have a video on swapping a 4runner 3.4L 4wd engine with a T100. Engine going into a T100 and having to use the oil pan off the old T100 engine on the 4runner engine. I've been told that their is a "conversion kit" where you remove the oil dipstick tube from the front of the block (plug it I think). I also read that there is a plug that has to be knocked out of the side of the 4runner engine and a T100 tube has to be installed. I'm hoping you are familiar with this or can direct me to someone who can help. Thanks so much. Dennis , dgmenace@gmail.com
search for Schley SCH97300, and go from there.
+worsethanchiggers At what rate was the engine consuming coolant prior to the head gasket replacement? The level in my expansion tank drops about a quarter to half an inch after being filled to the full mark over a 4-5 month period. Fairly certain that my head gasket is still good though.
I puchased a 2004 2wd Pre-Runner with 7 original miles on it in 2004. The first 70,000 or 80,000 miles were uneventful. At some point I noticed I was getting a ton of smoke at start up. Changing the oil had no effect on this. Before too long I burnt a valve. I was quoted $3400 for a valve job. With some effort I did it myself for about $700, which included: (All OEM parts from dealer) New Timing belt, tensioner, water pump, head gaskets, all other misc gaskets and belts. The heads were sent out for a valve job, that was $300 of the $700.
I should mention that there were only 89,000 miles, and I had foolishly not maintained the vehicle properly. I had not changed the oil in perhaps 10,000 miles. I lved one block from my shop, less than 500 ft, and the 1000's of very very very short trips meant that the engine got up to proper operating temperature perhaps 1 time for every 10 times it was started. These factors combined to create the ideal conditions for sludge, as the moisture entering the system at each start had no chance to "burn off" on short drives. Both of the valve covers were packed with sludge. It was a gooey grimey hateful task, all due to my own stupidity. I also dropped the pan (2wd prerunner) and removed and cleaned the oil pickup, which was about 1/3 obstructed with sludge.
There is a trick tool to compress the tensioner to get around removing AC compressor, but I didn't have one either. The AC bracket not so terrible anyways.
That was 3 years and 20,000 miles ago, haven't had a single leak or squeak since then.
Thanks great video. I learned so much about the 5vz-fe, mine currently has a slow coolant leak, your instruction helps big time.
+worsethanchiggers this video is probably the best video tutorial on the subject. thanks very much and i truly appreciate your time answering this question. Im not sure if you mentioned the pricing on the replacement parts. how much money did you pay all and all for the repair/replacement of cracked cylinder head, head gasket and parts?