Gotta love having a faulty HG!

[thackdingo]

Hey all. Just thought I would share my frustration. I had to replace my old crank because of a good old rod knock. Got a new crank kit and installed it a few days ago. I figured while I was at it, I would re-gasket some of my leaky spots. Re-gasket the bottom end and replaced the HG. Not the first time I have torn this engine down and reassembled, unfortunately. :32: Got it all back together and got it running. All is well when I take it for a test drive other than a slight timing issue. Come back home and back into the garage it goes for a little tuning. I start to adjust my timing and all of a sudden I notice a little white smoke coming from the exhaust. WTF! I check my oil, all is well. I check my coolant, all is well. Still not overheating. I can't possibly have a BHG, it's brand new! So I start to reassemble my interior while it sits at idle keeping a close eye on the temp. Good for about 5 mins, and all of a sudden it starts the steady climb to hot.:eekfacepalm: I start to scream profanities while I kill the engine. Clearly I have an anger issue. At least this time it's for good reason! So obviously I have to pull the head. I get it off and here is what I find....

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/8145/pistonsx.jpg (http://img43.imageshack.us/i/pistonsx.jpg/)

Can you tell where the gasket blew????

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/5782/hg2q.jpg (http://img683.imageshack.us/i/hg2q.jpg/)

So apparently I got a faulty HG. :sadsmilie: Ain't that a bitch! So now I have to order another new HG locally so I can get it fixed ASAP. Gotta love spending more money than necessary. At least the leak was small enough and caught early enough that I don't think I did any damage. Coolant and oil were both still clean, although I'll obviously replace them to be safe. Anyway, just needed to vent some of my frustrations.

[83CelWA]

Did you take care of the head and block when you replaced the HG, or did you just replace the HG and hoped that the head and block were still straight and had no high/low spots?

[Citskipper]

You should call the manufacturer and ask for a refund/replacement!! That's not cool!

[thackdingo]

It's definitely not an issue with the block or head as far as that goes. I had everything machined last summer when I rebuilt the head and I have had no issues until today. It has never overheated and only had 2000 miles since the machining. The problem is that it is a graphite HG and there is a metal skeleton to it. In the pic where it blew through there is no metal skeleton, just a graphite coating that covered the gaps so it wasn't noticeable until it blew. I've already sent an email requesting a new HG set, so we will see what they say.

[83CelWA]

Who did you get the gasket through, and what brand?

[kmfdmk]

Mhg ftmfw.

[thackdingo]

I got the Hg from a company called JIS. I've used this exact HG before w/o issue. The one that is on it's way is fel-pro.

[Prplehz]

Just think of how many of the gaskets from the same run that are going to have that problem as well. I bet the company said a big oh shit when they got your email.

I hate when stuff is supposed to go one way and it turns a 180 and turns into a nightmare for no good reason. At least it wasn't something stupid you did, that is way worse. Your frustration is warranted if you ask me..

[ra24man]

Stock Toyota or MHG only on M engines...that's my opinion

[Road Ripper]

---or Beck/Arnley (they make OEM gaskets for Toyota, right?). :D