94 blowing steam and oil out the exhaust

[ben13]

Hey guys, I have a 1994 tarago (previa) 2.4GLi. Its started blowing steam out the exhaust and has watery oil coming out too.
Anyone know what would cause this and how to fix it? been told several different things by different mechanics so I dont know where to start!

[timsrv]

Sorry to hear that mate. It sounds like a blown head gasket and/or a cracked head. You will need to pull the head to get to the bottom of it, but due to engine placement, unfortunately there's not enough room to do that with the engine installed. The engine will need to be (at least partially) removed. Here's a link to a thread I made when I did that job on mine.

http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...ia-head-gasket

And here's a twist on engine removal:

http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...engine-removal

[ben13]

Thanks for the info Tim.
does the tarago only have 1 head gasket? (A mechanic told me they have 2 which i'm sure isn't true).
same mechanic also told me the piston rings are probably fried too, is this true?

[timsrv]

US markets are different from other world markets, but I sort of doubt Tarago's are that much different from the Previas (unless you have a diesel version)............even then, 1 head typically means 1 head gasket. It's a gas burning 4 cylinder....right? Might be wishful thinking from the mechanic's point of view (2 head gaskets = twice as much $$$ ).

I can't say if your piston rings are good or bad, but I wouldn't immediately think they were bad simply because a head gasket blew. If you were suffering other symptoms before the gasket blew (like excessive oil consumption or excessive blow-by) then I might suspect bad rings. How many miles are on it?

[ben13]

Exactly what i thought.
it is a 4 cyl!

when the head/gasket blew the engine idle jumps around between 1-2k while the engine is blowing steam and watery oil

[romara37]

there is a freez out plug under the oil pan if your lucky it blew . is the oil milky? drop the pan and see.

[ben13]

The oil in the header tank is nice and clear, same for the oil on the dipstick and also inside the filler cap.
when i pulled the dipstick out the oil was way above the full mark. Does that mean anything to anyone?

[romara37]

anti freeze in the oil will raise the oil level. but drain the remove the oil pan and check the freeze out plug you'll save a ton of money and effort if that's your problem

[ben13]

Thanks romara, i'll give that a try!

[ben13]

Update...
the 94 is now sat waiting to be broken for parts.
we now have an early 2000 2.4 GLi which also runs on LPG.
there's a few little problems that need to be sorted , hence breaking the 94 for parts :-)