Hey all,

been a long time since i posted. My 06 Scion TC is still going strong with 94K miles on it.

I have had no problems with this car since i bought it brand new years ago from the dealership.

Well last week, I needed an oil change, and since I wasnt feeling well, I decided to take it to the dealer for them to do it, and for a good check of everything. My car is stock, with the exception of an intake. Well, everything checked out, but the service technician said that my head gasket was leaking coolant and Oil, not a bad leak, nothing has even started to drip off the block, but enough to notice.

Now i dont know much about cars, but even the service guy said that at 94k miles, it shouldnt be this way. I havent had any symptoms of a bad head gasket, oil always looked like oil with no coolant in it, no white smoke, engine sounds and starts up fine.

Just dont know where else I can look to see if this is the case. I called Scion, and they said because there arent any extended warranty or recalls for this issue, they wont cover it for me, and Toyota dealer cant really give me an estimate until they take the head off.

I am at a loss.

any ideas here guys/gals?

 

Have a compression test done. That will tell you a lot. It wouldn't require them to take the head off. They could take the head off, find out the gasket is fine, and they'll still charge you $600 or more for labor.

 

How much does a compression test normally cost?
Just working on buying a house right now, and want my car expense to be as low as possible.

 

Go down to any local AutoZone, and say you wanna rent the compression tester,part #27138, if i remember correctly. The price might vary, but at the one where i work, its 40 bucks plus sales tax. Its more like a deposit cause when you return it, you get the full amount back. But I dont know what the results should be. Im sure someone else here will know.

 

No need for compression test u said it your self no problems no misfire or rough idle.. if u had low compression it would misfire or run rough. Take it somewhere else get a second opinion. .

 

Briwesk, what is it that you are actually asking? Did the technician at the dealer show you what he was seeing? Or can you see what he is seeing? You need to take a look to see if there is fluid leaking even if its only a little bit. But please make sure it's the gasket between the block and head. I have had a bunch of people say they have oil coming from the head gasket when really it was the valve cover and it's gasket was bad which will run you about $900+ cheaper if its the valve cover.

My advice: Take a look at the leak. At 94K miles, your head bolts loosen, even if its a thousandth of a millimeter, that will effect your head to block seal. What I'd do before your gasket gets too bad, is to torque your head bolts down to spec a few times (run the car, turn it off, torque, run car, turn off, torque, run car, turn off, torque) Three times is optium. That will "squish" that seal a little better and buy you more time. But listen dude, no one on here is gonna lie, your gasket is bad, you gotta replace it and it's gonna be expensive, very expensive. If you can do it yourself (given your description I'm gonna go with no) you're gonna spend about $100 for a gasket and a new belt, maybe less opposed to a grand or so. If you have any mechanic friends or resources, I'd do it yourself. It's just bolts. The only thing that super sucks is that you are going to have to get your timing back just right. Other than that, you just gotta disconnect a few hoses and a few bolts. You will need a torque wrench no doubt. Rent one from autozone. Anyways, you WILL need to replace it though if you plan on running this car for much longer especially if there's a slight leak. Compression will find its way through and it'll be just enough to blow that seal clean out and then you really need to get it fixed.

 

Trying to re-torque the bolts is a good start, but there's really no way to run the car then stop and torque, run the car then stop and torque and so on. the head bolts are under the cams. I mean if he doesn't mind pulling the cams and resetting the timing each time which would take forever and not at all worth the effort then go ahead.really At the point of pulling the cams you might as well just pull the head and replace the gasket, that's just my .2.


Definitely on the right track with the valve cover comment for sure

 

AH!! My bad big time! I wasn't thinking 2AZ, I was thinking other motors. That was my fault about the re-torque comment. Yes, you'll have to do it once and make sure you got them right.

Timmer, thanks for pointing that out. Also, thanks for diggin' my comment, I appreciate that a lot. Hopefully this guy will take something from it.

 

It's all good! He just needs a buddy that knows how to get his hands dirty and he should be set it's just the head gasket. which reminds me I have to do mine lol.

 

1 more thing, 2az uses chain for timing.

 

the -06 motor had longer head bolts, making the leak common for those years.

 

Look for the leak yourself. More than likely if its leaking it will be leaking between the number 2 and 3 cylinder and usually only noticeable form the back side. The reason you might not really be seeing it drip is also because it could be getting soaked up from the spongy material they stick between the intake manifold and the head. There's also a lot of problems with the block treads pulling out causing the bolts to loosing up and causing the leakage. If that's the case the block will have to have some threadcerts installed before putting a new head gasket on.

 

S-SB-0004-11
March 2, 2011
Cylinder Head Bolt Threads Damaged (2AZ-FE)
Service Category
Engine/Hybrid System
Section
Engine Mechanical
Market
USA

Applicability
Introduction
Some vehicles equipped with the 2AZ-FE engine may exhibit damaged cylinder head bolts. Please follow the Repair Procedure to install Time Sert(R) thread repair inserts into the cylinder block.
Production Change Information
This TSB applies to:
^ALL 2005 - 2006 model year tC vehicles.

^2007 model year tC vehicles produced BEFORE the Production Change Effective VIN shown.

Warranty Information

Parts Information

Required Tools & Equipment
Additional Time Sert(R) kits and components may be ordered by calling Approved Dealer Equipment (ADE).

Time Sert(R) M11 x 1.5 Universal Head Bolt Repair Kit