Blown head gasket? NOPE, power steering air control valve!

Heya, just bought a new-to-me 2003 4.7L Tundra - private sale.
280k miles for 4k, most of those miles were in New Mexico, I'm in New Hampshire.

Anyway I was taking it to Toyota Dealership to diagnose other issues (see bottom) and noticed a good puff of white smoke on a cold start, and then noticed coolant was low

Tech removed sparklers + did a compression test

Removed 8 spark plugs, found one plug on each side to have been washed or show signs of coolant entering cylinders, indicating head gasket leaks. Performed coolant system pressure test and system lost 2 psi in 15 minutes.​

I'm not experienced enough to know how bad 2psi in 15mins is. I do know the truck runs and sounds great otherwise.

What's a good estimate for a head gasket on it? Any tips or advice for other work that should be done while it's apart? Timing belt was done at 230k, I was planning to do it at 300k, but should I do it with the head gasket?

In the past I bought a diesel chevy express van (old skoolie) with a bad head gasket. That engine is packed in tighter than you could imagine. Head Gasket + water pump was 3.3k if I remember right - which was stunning since it included shipping it downstate and back; let alone all the labor involved.
I sure know how to pick 'em

I'm leaning towards repairing it because I like the truck and would expect it to last a long time (that's the whole reason I bought it ). Body is beat to shit, but I like fixing things and embracing the character.

Frame is in great shape and am planning to undercoat it with Wool Wax if I move forward with Head Gasket. Toyota tech mentioned truck looked great other than what was diagnosed (see bottom), just a lil old and tired and ready for some TLC.

All said and done I think I'd be in for 8-9k or thereabouts on the truck. Doesn't sound bad when I compare it to prices for new trucks - and I don't even really like the look of new ones.

For the curious the other repairs done are new alternator + tensioner kit + battery
Repairs needed for a sticker are LBJs + thermostat + coolant sensor + passenger 02 sensor. (Toyota wanted 2.6k for all of that, a local shop offered 1.3k, I'm debating doing the thermostat and sensors to bring cost down further. LBJs are a tempting DIY, but my driveway is sloped sand and rock so I'm nervous about lifting it)

I also want to replace the calipers because...280k miles
I have more service history if anyone is curious

Cheers, and thanks everyone for all the other posts you've put up here. Really helps a guy out

 

Not bad at all, and for that mileage, probably just a gunked up valve that can be resolved with any of BG or Seafoam's products in the crankcase. Of course the stealership isn't going to tell you that but whatever.

However, YSK, puff of white smoke at cold start only is more likely the power steering air control valve. There's a procedure in the FSM to test. More info here: https://www.tundras.com/posts/2833199

The stealership likely doesn't know about this, or isn't well versed. It's expected. These trucks are old, and knowledge isn't transferring.

You should read this if not already read: https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

Don't go there dude. Seriously. Confirm it's not the PS air control valve. You can technically disconnect it completely and cap it off, then give it a few dozen cold starts to clear the power steering fluid out of the intake/vacuum lines, see if it reduces. But seriously, do the test I just linked before you cap things off. I have this gut feeling that's what it is, unless the truck came with a history of blatant overheating or something.

Maybe? But this isn't a GM product. Nor Dodge, nor Ford. It's a Toyota. They're built better.

• Only use OEM LBJ, with 4 fresh new bolts per side. This is not a suggestion, don't fuck around on that specific part. You can do this work yourself. Create a flat stable space like a slab of wood if needed. You only need to jack up one side at a time, apply the e-brake.
• O2 sensor, only use Denso (OEM) brand, look up your part at www.densoautoparts.com, upstream part often listed as "air fuel ratio sensor" and downstream "oxygen sensor", get the "EXACT FIT" part and not universal, if you need help LMK. You can do this work yourself.
• Do not trust a shop to use OEM parts, they often won't.
• Do not order any of your parts on scAmazon or fleaBay.
• Do not use chain shops like Meineke, Goodyear, etc. for general service, find a Toyota independent shop
• T-stat is another easy one you can do the work, as is the coolant temp sensor, which you should also buy OEM, but you need to know there are two on your pre-2005 truck, one for the dash gauge and one for the ECU SEE HERE, some observe the truck won't start w/o ECU getting a signal from the green one.

Is there a problem with them? If not, I want to understand your logic here. Again, this is not a Ford, GM, Dodge, it's not something you need to "just throw parts at" because high miles. Routine maintenance is what makes them last long. If you're having braking issues, there's a whole lot of other reasons for that, and it's usually not the calipers.

 

Really appreciate the detailed reply!

Thank you for bringing up the power steering control valve - I saw some posts on that just last night. Like many others, my lil chimp brain couldn't compute how PS fluid would end up in the intake, but after reading some posts (many of them from you, I think) it made more sense.
My gut was telling me it's PS valve too, but when Toyota gave me that report I swapped opinions to Head Gasket. I'll do the test this weekend, thank you.

I've only owned the truck ~14 days, I've only seen the white smoke once, after it was sitting for several days. Like I said, it's not stickered yet, so I can't really drive it around willy nilly yet.
But it was quite literally a puff on start and that's it. Not minutes before it dissipated, just the initial crank, puff, and stopped. Saw it blow by my passenger window before fading. Couldn't tell you if it had a blue tinge to it or not. Wasn't ready to look for anything like that.

Would I see low PS fluid in the reservoir as well if it's the valve?

Interesting! I told Toyota that an O2 sensor was already replaced (previous owner), but the service report didn't list which one. The Tech said "I saw no signs of an 02 sensor being replaced, but I did see new "air fuel ratio sensors".
So i guess I need downstreams replaced. I saw a few videos on this, looked like a simple job, just needed lots of force to break em loose.

Gonna go through the the rest of your links and tests.
Thank you again for the advice, I'm not eager for a blown HG, was just trusting of the dealership.

And finally, no, no issues with braking that I've seen. I was just taking the mentality that this girl is old, and calipers are the rustiest part on here, and I'm not 100% on the service history of them. I was thinking if I'm getting LBJs done, why not calipers too? I'd rather replace those before the seize than find out the hard way. Maybe I need to adjust my 'fix it before it breaks' mentality.
How often should they be serviced?

I'll respect your advice on this point, I'm just a DIYer, not a grease wrencher

 

Also,

Be easy on my skoolie She lived a hard life LOL

School district put a speed governor on her that forced a downshift into 3rd if you crossed 70mph. Imagine having that happen on the highway with ~30kids asking why you're slowing down to 45mph and you want to get home FLOOR IT!!! Poor girl

 

Hey, I'm coming from a GM background, GM family going back a couple generations, with family in Vegas who still straight-line race classic GM muscle. I myself have built up several GM trucks, and owned several GM cars, vintage and modern. Then I found Toyota when I met my wife. I still have a soft spot in my heart for GM. And frankly, their GenIII and GenIV small blocks are fucking incredible. I've done several LSx swaps for myself and for friends, into all kinds of stuff. My favorite is documented over on the LS1Tech forum. But let's be real: Truck-wise, the 700R4 was a respectable transmission, when they converted it to electronic and rebranded 4l60e, what an embarassing piece of garbage that ended up being.

Anyway, I digress.

FYI, as much as I'll tell you to use OEM parts quite often, it's not necessary for everything. That PS air control valve is one of them. Dorman's version looks 100% identical, I picked one up for like $30 when RockAuto was doing a clearance event., normal MSRP is twice that for Dorman, and I think OEM is like $120 or something crazy like that. I wouldn't trust many other brands, though. The main purpose of that valve is to use the engine vacuum to help with power steering function.

With how little PS fluid it'd use, and if it's quite recent, I doubt it would show for months.

There's also a chance it's a leaky injector. There are things you can check for. But my money would be on that valve. And like I said, easy to test. Also easy to block off, but it may impact steering function. It shouldn't hurt anything to block it off though. I've seen plenty of trucks with the blockoff.

They're all technically oxygen/O2 sensors, but Upstream will be referred to as air/fuel ratio, downstream oxygen or O2.

This is another part that, two things, first, you don't want to replace unless it's clearly messed up, and second, you can definitely test it for performance to see if it's showing signs of failure if you have a decent code reader that will show realtime stats. There are several out there under $100 that'll do it, and a few under $60.

But it's also important to stress: Never cut the OEM wiring harness to install an O2 sensor. Only use exact-fit (i.e. non-universal) parts. And given how sensitive the system is, and how lackluster the aftermarket part quality is these days, for any electrical/sensors type part, stick with OEM, which is Denso brand for a lot of the electronics on these trucks.

I mean, did the dealership really say anything about it being problematic, or just observe "there was a little leakage"?

Clearly they did compression and leakdown, did they give all numbers and percentages, and say how long they ran leakdown? As long as you're less than 20% loss, I wouldn't be concerned.

Curiosity would have me wondering, "man, where is it leaking", but it wouldn't be a pressing thought on my mind. It's when you start getting up into the 30s and 40s is when I'd be, like, "Houston, we may have a problem..." But again, I wouldn't be going straight to that place of "Oh fuck! Head gasket! FML!", just because it's not a common fail point for the 2UZ-FE, at least not that I've seen. I'm not the king though, and I'm also not a service tech that works on them day in/day out, with a long history. However, stuck valves, for example ... that's one we've seen here.

You don't need to remove calipers to do LBJ. Just disconnect swaybar (upper nut), jack up, remove wheel. Hardest part is popping it off the outer tie rod and LCA, there are puller kits for it. Once those are off and you get the four bolts out, bridge a 2x4 under the lugnuts and use your factory bottle jack to jack the rotor etc up off the LBJ, pop it out, new one in, use a thread lock on the 4 bolts, reinstall, and reverse your install steps using Toyota's Torque specs. If your confidence is low, or your truck is extra rusty, check with your preferred shop and ask if you can supply your own parts. We can help you get a good price on everything you'll need, and give part numbers.

That said, caliper-wise, I'm not saying it's a bad idea to do them. But if you're going to, really inspect your front brake lines closely and consider replacing them, and doing a full brake flush. And if you don't trust yourself, engage a shop.

And to the point ... if this truck is rusty, i.e. it was in the rust belt, and everything is rusted, the O2 sensors are potentially going to be an absolute bitch. Get an O2 sensor tool if you intent to do it yourself, and get a can of Kroil or PB Blaster, you need to start spraying the base of the sensor to soak now. However, I'd reiterate, if no codes, be wary of replacing. If it's a rust belt truck, you'll probably want to ensure you have no leaks at the various exhaust joints, and at the O2 sensor though.

Oh, and Powerstop makes a nice replacement red 13WL caliper for these trucks, remanufactured in the USA, powdercoated red versus raw steel, better corrosion resistance. I think your 2003 will have 13WL calipers (that number will be cast into the part, 13WL or 13WE, the latter is smaller).

I'm attaching the 2006 service maintenance schedule. It should be similar for your '03.

 

TLDR:

But I saw blown head gasket.

I had good luck with this stuff on a old Ford.

It was a last ditch effort and worked wonders.

We had that thing for a few more years and a few cross country road trips.

 

https://autoparts.berlincitytoyotan...int-assy-lwr-ball-w-knuckle-arm-rh-4333039466
https://autoparts.berlincitytoyotan...int-assy-lwr-ball-w-knuckle-arm-lh-4334039356
vs.
https://autoparts.berlincitytoyotanh.com/products/product/joint-assy-lwr-ball-4333039605
https://autoparts.berlincitytoyotanh.com/products/product/joint-assy-lwr-ball-4334039485

What's the difference in the $20?

 

As shifty said on the calipers, you might have 13WLs. 03 was the transition year, so you'd have to look on the calipers for 13WL vs 13 WE. If it is 13 WE, you can do the calipers, pads, and rotors for a nice little upgrade. You can see it on the 2nd pic, 1st post here.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/front-brake-job.41227/

 

I gotta buddy that bought an 04 double cab from somebody with like 330,000 miles, looks spectacular, he got it to tow his small trailer and lawn mower to cut yards. He drove it plenty and didnt see any problems, he hooked his trailer to it and towed and it got hot. He took it to a shop and like yours he had blown head gasket.
He has had the truck at least two years now and still has the blown head gasket, he just doesnt tow with it and doesnt take long trips. I guess on short trips unloaded he doesnt have any issues so hes just left it alone and continues to drive it. He bought a beater single cab ranger to tow his trailer so the tundra stays unloaded and apparently he doesnt have any long term issues as he continues to drive it. I guess check the water often and keep it topped off unless you want it fixed, in which case fix it.

 

What parts are you looking for exactly? There’s a sticky thread with all the LBJ info you need.

 

Some thoughts, Blue Devil only buys enough time to sell it. I haven’t done head gaskets on a UZ, but it’s got to be simpler than a UR, side note, fawk working on the UR’s, horribly complicated engines.

 

Appreciate sharing the experience, thank you!

I have the truck back now, ordered a bunch of parts and am just waiting for them to arrive. Might be 2 weekends before I update this, next weekend I have a wedding to attend.

I haven't done the PS test Shifty shared yet, but while parking last night I did crank the wheel all the way left/right at a stop and didn't notice any fluctuation in RPMs. Turning the wheel did start to feel harder than I would expect.

I also remembered that the prev. owner listed a "PS hose needs replacing" which I totally forgot about. Idk if that means there is actually a line cracked, or if they noticed PS fluid dropping and made an assumption.
I'll be spending today/tomorrow going through it all and see what I find - my gut is leaning towards this all being a PS issue.

 

Did the PS Air valve test, my truck failed! hurray! I'm ordering a new one.
I didn't find any leaking PS hoses, but I didn't totally know where to look. PS reservoir is just a smidge below Min.
I did notice the passenger side of my engine block has some somewhat-old fluid running down the side. It's right across the PS reservoir and it sorta looks red like PS fluid, but there's so little it's hard to be confident.

I think I found the coolant temp sensor, passenger side up front? I see two clips kinda hidden, right after where the upper rad hose connects to the block. They were green and white. I'm thinking white one goes to my instrument panel, dunno why it's white and not black though.

That's about it. I think the thermostat is good, I felt the radiator get uncomfortably hot after it idled for a few mins testing the PS air valve.

Do we have a part number for Bank 2 Sensor 1 O2 sensor? That's the code I'm getting, P0125

 

Awesome, good to hear the truck failed

Two ECT / coolant temp sensors, one for ECU to monitor engine and one for gauge cluster. One is white either because someone replaced it (and it's already failed, a testament to how shitty aftermarket parts are), or in your year, the black sensor pictured is grey. See here for location and part numbers, this is a part you'll want to buy Toyota, not generic parts store or generic online. I don't have a pre-2005 to test on, but hear if the ECU can't get a signal from the green sensor, the truck won't start. Given if your engine overheats, it can be catastrophic, seems like this is one of those parts you really don't want to skimp on.

​

 

Probably oil. Valve cover gaskets are notorious for leaking. Sometimes because the bolts have loosened. Sometimes because gasket is shrunk. The gaskets shrink with time. Note, bolts are known to snap on removal too.

Here's the info you need to replace them: https://www.tundras.com/threads/valve-covers-fix-or-leave.105385/#post-2712883

Always look up your own part numbers for O2 @ www.densoautoparts.com

Note sensors are often different for 2WD vs. 4WD in some years. And different for different engines. It's why I typically don't give part numbers out unless someone tells me all the details on their truck, including trim level (engine, SR5/Limited/Base, 2WD/4WD, year, etc.)

If you need help finding or confirming the p/n, gimme that info.

 

So I already bought this part cus it said OEM and also it was $2 instead of $60
I'll throw it in and see if it works, then order OEM to help me sleep at night later on.
This isn't my main vehicle so I can tolerate if it suddenly stops starting

Parts are starting to arrive this week, I'm broke but less broke than if I let Toyota have at it
They wanted $2,600 altogether
$600 per LBJ, couple hundred for each of these sensors - and that didn't even include a PS Air Valve - they wanted to rebuild my engine for that!

I'm getting this all done for around 7-800. Half of that is the cost of new tools; torque wrench, jack + stand, o2 socket, etc.

Each project gets cheaper


Until you start more projects


Thanks all for the help. I'm going to come back to valve gaskets after this set of fixups. I know they're cheap, but my brain is getting mushy from getting up to speed on all these parts, OEM vs non-OEM and just the truck in general lol. Just wanna get her stickered as a first priority.

I'm simultaneously trying to chase down a MAF code on my 08 Yaris too. And then I gotta weld on some metal for the rocker panel! Too much going on!
Life is a ride, yeehaw lol

 

Try out the SKF, don't bother ordering the OEM. I'm not familiar with their products. Maybe you'll find a winner.

Ultimately, this is one simple way to get ahead in life, with regard to not-overly-difficult/non-specialty work: Use the money you'd have paid someone in labor to buy the tools required, do the basic research to the point you understand what needs to be done and why, then do the work yourself.

The gains are great. Not only do you know the work was done right because you did it, but you now have the required tools to do future jobs, and you've acquired extra confidence. It also gives you a chance, with your own eyes, to look at other adjacent things "while you're in there" which may need attn. The confidence boost and knowledge acquired alone is worth it.

But you also need to be realistic with your ability, have patience when you hit a snag, and be unafraid to ask questions/call for a sanity check when things don't seem to be right. And know the extra precautions to take, like with LBJ, make sure you have a paint marker to mark your bolt head positions, so you can check during the next oil change, for example. Little stuff like that matters.

 

The have been times in my life when I've had more money than time, so I would let others repair my vehicles. When the repairs grew to be too costly, I'd just trade it in and get a new one, justifying the car payments by the money I was saving in repairs!

There have been other times in my life (like now) where I've had more time than money. So I do all my own repair work, and using the money I save as justification to buy the right tools for the job. Over time I've amassed a collection of tools suitable for nearly any project, and have become skilled at many tasks.

When I owned boats the rule of thumb was to be prepared to spend 10% the value of my boat on repairs/maintenance each year. My Tundra seems to have a similar metric.

In my case I can state unequivocally that if I had to pay others for the repairs/maintenance on my 20 year old truck that I couldn't afford to own it.

 

Good advice in here. Thank you Shifty and w666.
I'm 32 now and am glad I've spent my last two years collecting *good* tools and building a small workshop in my basement.

In my twenties I always bought Harbor Cheap stuff and eventually I learned it's expensive to be cheap.
I'm not talking bad on buying cheap stuff - that's how you learn what you wish worked better/lasted longer. Just saying it's nice to be on the other side of that lesson

And yeah w666, you dropped some real good life perspective on time vs money. Money represents the value you've accrued of the time you've spent bringing value to others.
Life is always going to be flipping between too much and too little until we run out.

What matters is spending it in the way that best brings self actualization to your life.


Cheers all! I probably won't have any updates on this for another week or so. Parts are arriving this week, then I'm out for a wedding.

Ps.
I thought OEM just meant Original Equipment Manufacturer (or otherwise equivalent). Should I just be buying these parts straight from Toyota websites instead?

 

A fellow forum member wrote up a small bit on that exact topic, and I broke it up and spread it across the new owner megathread.

The tl;dr is this:

• Toyota doesn't make every part used on their vehicles.
• I guess one could say there's "OEM Toyota" and "OEM manufacturer", the latter is where Toyota outsourced to another company
  
• Some of those outsources are Toyota associated/related brands, to name a few: Denso. Aisin. Fujitsu. Advics. Sumitomo.
• Some are not, for example, the V8 MAF is made by Hitachi. Many of the bearings are KOYO or Spicer.
• There are some brands Toyota recognizes as "as good as OEM", such as NGK spark plugs, which you'll see in your Owner's Manual for replacement parts.
• If you know which brands are for what, like Denso for the electronics, Advics for brakes, Aisin for mechanical parts, you can save considerably over the same part coming in a Toyota box.
• If you know which parts Toyota outsourced externally, that helps; like anything in the driveline, u-joints and carrier bearings, all Spicer.
• If you ever want to know, ask!

Look, I and many others have heard people claim, "If you buy it with the Toyota box, it's not the same part! It's made to a higher OEM standard!", and I'll be the first to refute that with "BULLSHIT!" Someone on a Facebook group said it better than I could recently, after seeing the guts of a Denso coil pack next to Toyota OEM - all the same components. Identical. But the Toyota logo was scratched off.

For Advics or Aisin parts, use their parts lookup tool: https://aisinaftermarket.com/online
For Denso/electronics parts, use their lookup tool: https://www.densoautoparts.com/
For other stuff, don't hesitate to ask.

 

So that was embarrassing.

Turns out Engine Coolant Sensor needs an EXTRA deep 19mm socket, not just a deep one, to get past that green plastic housing.
I didn't have a 19mm wrench either, so I went with an adjustable one I use for plumbing.
It was way too big and while I thought I was crushing the crush washer, I was actually doing this

I'm VERY GRATEFUL I didn't snap it all the way off. I was able to remove it with my fingers, and put the old one back in.
I think it's a combo of being a cheap part, and me using such a big wrench I couldn't properly feel the crush washer.

PS Air Control valve, quickly found out needs a 17mm wrench....and my set goes up to 15mm
Coulda used the adjustable wrench, but I learnt my lesson

So ordered a bigger set of nice wrenches. Goes up to 19mm yeehaw.

Would you believe me if I said I planned this whole day out ahead in my notes? Gee whiz.
I put the easy stuff first to get me in *the zone* and it ended up being the impossible stuff lol.

Next weekend I'll reproach and do the rest of the work.

---
Questions:
Does the order of the hoses to the PS Air valve matter? Couldn't see anyone mentioning a specific order. Not 100% i put them back correctly.

O2 sensor Bank 2, Sensor 1 - Passenger side upstream right? It looks brand spanking new is why I ask. Maybe PS fluid being burnt up makes it fail?

 

...got the right wrenches, but now this PS valve is stuck like no other. Been soaking in Kroil the whole day - wrenches are bending but it ain't moving. Getting afraid I'll break something - maybe me!
I might end up just doing a delete instead if it doesn't give out

 

That has been a common complaint: MF'er is on there tight as hell. I've seen two people now go ahead and break off the plastic top to get a proper socket on it with breaker bar or impact.

 

I did my PS valve with a big wrench and a pipe over the wrench. It was crazy tight. IIRC it’s pipe thread so I only tightened it a little. No ugga-duggas for next time.

 

got dang. I'll try with some more courage tomorrow then. I'll probably break the plastic bit off like Shifty mentioned.
Any info on which tube goes to which on the valve? Does it matter?

 

Hey I had to move my truck around the driveway today and it ran REAL rough, likely barely could move it. Is that expected from a missing temp sender? I broke off the green plastic, so used the brass pieces as a plug. The cord is just dangling there until new one arrives.

Only other thing I've done to the truck (besides remove/replace airbox) is potentially swap those two PS hoses going to the valve

 

Could be a vacuum leak then

 

Yeah hoses are old, but I didn't see anything obvious leaking. Maybe moving the airbox around I wrecked something and haven't seen it yet

 

Or, you have a vacuum leak. Or, moving the airbox around opened the air intake hose and you're getting unmetered air in the intake.

 

Heyyy turns out it was the missing engine temperature sensor. Came back roaring once I plugged the new one in.