Yes but I want to go at least another 450k km before I have to do this again

 

if you drive it regularly, and do the oil/filter changes and tune-ups, those plastic guides will work fine. there's another reason, in my mind, that the plastic guides are better - made in japan vs made in china.

you'll likely be replacing the headgasket before you put another 450k km on it, anyway, so you'll want to change it out at that point. you'll discover it is far easier doing the timing chain from the top rather than the bottom, without removing the oil pan.

fwiw, my original guides lasted almost 200k miles (and 34 years). ymmv.

 

My fellow 4Runner experts. Having spent several hundred $ (I think 5) on new osk timing kit, Aisin timing cover, oil pump and water pump, oil seal and an assortment of liquids and lotions (Toyota FIPG, ultra gray, slick engine goop, thread locker, thread sealer, gunk degreaser, brake and carb cleaner), I was in shock today to find that I didn't actually have a timing chain cover gasket! I guess I assumed it would have come with my rather expensive Aisin timing cover.

So I check with my local Toyota dealer - they don't have any and would need to order from california. Would take 5 days and the cost - well if you can believe it $19 for each side - that's $38. I check Rockauto - the Felpro set that includes the 2 tc gaskets as well as water pump gasket, oil pump gasket and crank seal is a whopping $2 ! (and that's Canadian!) But I'm in canada so the shipping is $13 (and will also take a few days). So I go to my local auto parts place (it's like a napa) and pickup that same $2 set for $20. All I need out of this set is the 2 lousy tc gaskets.

Sorry for the long story - are you still with me. Anyways these gaskets sure are flimsy. Kind of like thick paper.

Now, finally my question (I will forgive you if you haven't made it this far) - should I put anything (eg. Ultra gray or something) on either side of the gasket. I saw a guy on youtube put the UG on both sides of the water pump gasket. Is this a good practice? If I do, should I also do with these TC cover gaskets ? Or is it better just to use the gasket itself?
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The OSK kit should have the gaskets. I think they come in the box under a false bottom. Check that you didn't just miss them.

 

That guy on YouTube might have been me. I use a very thin film of Ultra Grey on the gaskets. Permatex also makes a different RTV which is formulated for coolant. It's also grey. I use it on the water pump gasket and around the water ports on the timing cover gasket.

 

the osk timing kit is supposed to have the gaskets, just where arlindsay says.

 

Permatex High Tack Gasket Sealant on both sides of the water pump and timing cover gaskets will seal it good. Plus you can use it on the threads of bolts and on hose connections.

 

Yes I looked for that permatex water pump/thermostat gray yesterday. Evidently it was discontinued (at least in canada). The noted replacement is just to use the UG

 

You are the man and you saved me 20 bucks - I can now return those felpro to my local auto parts and use the OSK ones I found under the bottom flap of that box. Good call!

 

Yes, I think I did purchase some of that stuff as well

 

Yes, maybe that was you I saw

 

I assume also that I should add a blob of Toyota FIPG at the back inside corners (on each side) on the bottom of the extending head gasket. Another thing of note, I did a prefit of the new timing cover and it did have a touch of a "roll" to it - between the top right and bottom left. Meaning if i pushed the top right completely down the bottom left separated slightly (and vice versa). I temporarily put the corner bolts in and with very little torque (almost like finger tightening) it pulled the TC seemingly tight all around (and then was a little tough to pull back off. Should this be of any concern?

 

Your choice of RTV should be applied to the corners you mentioned.

The roll you mentioned and the difficulty to remove may be caused by drag on the alignment dowels. If it pulls itself flat without any real effort I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Thanks boss. Any point/need in putting some UG along the entire underside of that overhanging head gasket (or just in the back corners)?

 

Is there any particular reason why I might need to replace my crank shaft pulley/harmonic balancer unit?

 

As this vehicle is going back together I'm starting to worry that, I may have not resolved the water/oil mixing problem. If not, then I guess i go back in and do the head gasket. My timing cover did have a significant groove dug into it by the chain - probably a good 3/16 inches deep. There was no obvious hole there to the other side but perhaps enough of a hairline crack in the bottom of the groove to let water pass through. What have others seen/found on the worn timing chain cover - at what point does it start leaking coolant?

 

........

 

The rubber in them ages poorly. Once it gets bad enough, the harmonic balancer can spin a little, throwing a lot of things off timing.

It doesn't take much of a groove in the timing chain cover to cause real problems. Especially an oil/water mixing problem. If it were me, I would replace the timing chain cover before doing anything else.
Also, while it's apart, check the water and oil pumps carefully. Make sure the gears and so on are in good shape before you put them on.
Replace their gaskets, too, including the front crank seal in the oil pump. If you do it now, you won't have to take things back apart in the future to get it done. And you WILL eventually need to replace them.

While it's all apart, good opportunity to see if the timing chain, guide, and tensioner need replacing. They're usually done as a set. It sounds like the tensioner and guide, at least, need to be replaced.

Good luck to ya!
Pat☺

 

Yes, I did do all that - new timing chain kit, new cover, new water/oil pumps. I hope that once I get back together - (just rad, oil pan, distributor and valve cover left) - I find that the water/oil mixing is fixed.

 

I had to replace the harmonic damper on mine. When I removed it for the timing kit and cover, I did the "careful tapping" method because I did not have a puller. Yes; I knew better. Engine fired right up and ran fine when I started it. A quick trip around the block disclosed a new vibration. Suspecting the damper I ordered one from rockauto. Installed same and problem resolved.Yes, I would suspect that the rubber would become degraded after years and thousands of cycles.