86 runner head gasket replacement. Easiest way?

[85runner]

I've pulled many motors but am not very familiar with the 22re. What is the easiest/quickest way to replace head gasket?

Can I separate the intake manifold from the head in one piece, while still in the truck? Or do I need to disconnect all the wires/vaccume hoses and pull the intake manifold with the head, then separate?

Tell me some tricks that you guys have learned in your years experience! Thanks for any help or advice!

[syncrogt1]

I never unhooked the intake from the head. I did unhook the exhaust manifold, and any vacuum lines that cross the head/valve cover. Also, its good to move the p/s bracket out of the way(leave the pump on the bracket). Get the motor to TDC and zip tie the timing chain to the cam gear so you will not have to retime the cam.

[68bullit]

you dont need to pull the intake but should the exhaust manifold just cause of the shear weight of all three piece.you will(should pull the top intake plenum to get at the vacuum line that fish their way between the upper and lower intakes.
pull your top timing gear and snap tie the gear to the chain before you pull it off cam,unbolt your exhause from the head some off the nuts will come out with the studs and some studs will stay in the head no usually a problem theres enuff room to pull it directly straight off.
pull your distributor out and start loosening the head bolts at that point dont unloosen them all the way there is a hidden bolt under the disttributor that usually covered by dirty oil cause if you start pulling the head this will snag you up and will break the front timing cover.before all this drain as much antifreee as you can so it doesnt leak into the cylinders once you start the head removal.also the coolant hose has a bolt at the back of the head which is a bitch to remove if you had ant type of transfer case lowering done because of a lift kit/driveline issues.
once the head is off you can put some rags on top the pistons and start scraping the old head gasket material off and clean itt meticulously as this is where you get your seal against water/oil so you cant spend enuff time here.
once the head is off you can scrape the head and check the head for warpness with a straight edge and feeler guages.if way out you would have to remove everything off the head to have it machined.
if machine you may want to invest in a set of new head bolts depending on how much they removed cause the bolts can stretch and or bottom out and before assembly be SURE YOU BLOW OUT THE HEAD BOLT HOLES as there will be anti freee/oil in there and will give you a false torque reading during reassembly.its pretty much a reversal from there.
before all this i should have ask what gave you the impression the head gasket is gone?milky oil/antifreze leak.
heres what sometimes can be a similar problem and give you that milky antifreeze sometimes the timing chain tensioners go(their plastic they break)and the chain starts to wear threw the timing cover and typically on the drivers side of the cover the chain will wear threw a coolant passege and give the IMPRESSION the gasket is gone.
if new to the toyota scene do a compression check or coolant leakdown test to see if thats the issue.
also if the head gasket is the issue 9 outta 10 times with the head flipped over on the bench whichever cylinder is leaking the valves and combustion chamber will be very clean(like a steam cleaning effect)
anyway good luck with it.paul

[85runner]

Thanks for the GREAT reply! I think it is the head gasket because when doing a compression check, i got 150 in cylinders 1 and 2. Cylinder 3 and 4 had NO compression and you could hear the pressure tranfering between the two. Runs REAL ruff too.


I will be taking the head to a machine shop FOR SURE. With this being said, is it best to remove the head WITH the intake manifold and THEN separate, or is it easier to separate the two while still in the truck? If so, any tricks? Tips?

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

[AKmudd]

separate the intake and head first then take the head off that is what i did with mine and it was very simple. just keep all of your parts organized. another idea for the vaccume is to take a picture of what everything looks like before pulling stuff apart. i hope this helps

[slacker]

unplug the harness @ the computer , and pull it threw the firewall .. dont remove the exhaust mani , jost unbolt the header pipe .. this method requires 2 people to lift it off , and set it back .. but guarenteed to save you lots of time .