Cause of blown head gasket

WTHANSEN

MEMBER
TOYOTA 4RUNNER

I have a 1994 Toyota 4-Runner with a (6) cylinder manual 5-Speed transmission and 197,000 miles. This SUV has been meticulously maintained for its life since purchase and I have all the records showing regular oil changes and engine repairs and maintenance. I had the vale cover gaskets replaced about 3 weeks ago and noticed when driving the car a few days later it had a "ticking" sound upon acceleration. The day before I was going to take it in I noticed white smoke coming from the exhaust pipe when I backed into the garage. As this has NEVER been a problem I couldn't figure it out. The next morning while trying to start it I had great difficulty but finally did. When I took it back to the garage that changed the valve cover gaskets they checked it out and said I had a blown head gakset. Could poor valve adjustment from the changing the the gaskets have caused the head gasket to fail? Since this is a $3500 repair I would appreciate I quick reply.

Thanks.

2 Replies

RASMATAZ

MECHANIC
75,992 POSTS

If they did adjust the valve lash they could have made it overly retarded or too advance this will make the engine run hot causing overheating to blow the headgasket. When you do a valve lash adjustment the ignition timing changes, therefore the ignition timing must be retime.

The noise you're hearing is probably detonation/spark knock which can be cause by an engine overheating.

Hope this helps-Good Luck.

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Thursday, April 26th, 2007 AT 3:56 AM

2CARPRO JACK

MECHANIC
11,533 POSTS

Well, before you go condemning the shop that adjusted your valves, I would go to Toyota and do a little research. They had big problems with the head gaskets in the 3.0l engines. I wouldnt be surprised if you showed them how well maintained your vehicle has been, they might work with you on some kind of warranty.I know it sounds far-fetched for the mileage and age, but I have heard of them doing it if the cooling system wasnt neglected and the vehicle wasnt abused. Worth a try! Besides that engine uses hydraulic followers on the cams, the tick is possibly one of them getting a little slow to pump up

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Thursday, April 26th, 2007 AT 8:07 AM