Sad but hopeful (dreaded headgasket)
2004 1GR-FE, V6 4.0L
Around December of last year I noticed a little hiccup/misfire on start up. No codes, just sounded like ole girl clearing her throat in the morning.
I’ve been getting into DIY work, actually sort of growing a decent interest in mechanic work, especially on these 4th gens because they’re straight forward and rather simple machines
Welp, I’m in the middle of doing a suspension refresh, just knocked out the rear shocks, was planning on doing the front struts
But this pending issue got me to run more tests. I use OBDFusion with a VeePeak+ that runs through my CarPlay so I can get a live feed of the data
I’m loosing coolant very slowly (2 cups in a month or so) so it’s holding but no external leaks
I knew the issue I just didn’t want to accept it. Did a coolant pressure test and it passed, held 17.8ish PSI for an hour. So that was good but then bought a cheap borescope off Amazon and checked cylinder 3, low and behold, small pool of coolant in the combustion chamber. I opened up and looked into cylinder 5 as a control and it was perfectly dry. Only happens after a cold soak and barley misfires on start up, misfire counter counted 8.
It’s at 227,700. I’m pretty strongly against stop leak products. Some say replace the motor, few say do the job. Some mechanics say just keep her rolling until judgement day.
Straight up, I’d like to learn, i absolutely love this truck, I don’t think I’m going to call it and go for another vehicle. Frame is rust free, transmission is in good shape, I’ve done a decent amount of stuff to it in the 2 years I’ve had it.
Just curious y’all’s perspective and what may be the best course of action from here. A headgasket job is obviously a big bill, but a motor swap and or stop leak come with unpredictable variables. Opening the motor could lead to unexpected obstacles and leave the truck disabled for longer than planned, it’s my daily
Thanks for your time