Head Gasket Replacement - cylinder head is out - how to find a good machine shop?

Soak the pistons Do you got the car down this far You might as well take the girdle off the bottom of the oil pan and push the pistons through the top take another two days of your time to tank those put in the new rings supposedly that are available for this setup and all of that. I see this is New Jersey so I'll just leave that you'll be back here in 4 months with well won't be pretty I don't think anyway good luck my friend wow

 

Head gasket usually fails at the adjoining wall between cylinders one and two. It could be you’re misreading the appearance, that cylinders three and four are more the usual, while cylinders one and two have been kept clean due to coolant getting past the head gasket.

The main reason for a machine shop intervention would be to check for and remedy warpage of the machined faces. With a machinist’s straight edge and feeler gauges you can check this yourself. In lieu of proper machinist’s straight edge, it wouldn’t hurt to try with the best you’ve got, say a near-new metal level, slotted-angle or what have you.

the last link in my signature is the engine section from the repair manual, has the flatness specs. On a phone turn it landscape to see signatures.

there’s also a couple of head gasket repair links in my signature; the “critic” thread in particular details using a machine shop.

 

How many miles on the engine? That's important. How often have you changed
the oil? 5000 or 10,000 miles? It looks like it's burning oil, a lot.
Don't let anyone fool you into believing "soaking" the pistons will help.
The very LEAST you should do is remove the pistons, remove the rings, clean them and
clean the piston grooves. 2nd best is to replace them with the updated versions.

But, before this, look at the cylinder walls, is the wear even?
If parts of the wall looks different, it's likely that the cylinders are no longer evenly round.
You could get a 3 sided hone and do a light honing and HOPE it's enough to clean them up.
But, it's probably time for a remanufactured engine. Hydrid Pit has them starting at $2000.

You could get by with a short block from Toyota, about $2000.
You can check for leaking valves, clean the head and valves, then dry the head/valves.
Then lay it flat and spraywd40 or other light oil in each valve, intake/exhaust.
Wait about 10 minutes. The tilt the head up and look for leaking valves. If any are leaking,
you have to seat in the valves.
And change the valve guide seals since you have the valves out.

A lot depends on your finances. And what you want your daughter to have.

 

Toyota offers a gasket kit, has head gasket and all the seals, including valve stem seals. Attached has some part nos, that kit, and revised pistons/rings.

 

Finding good machine shops isn't that hard- ask how long they've been in business.

Bad ones do not survive long.