TOY: RE: Head Gasket? - Valve Seals?

["Payne, Mike K." <MPayne1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well, I hadn't gotten any replies on this yet.  So I called the local Toyota
dealer, to see what they thought.

The guy seemed pretty convinced that it was either a blown head gasket or a
cracked head.  He couldn't explain to me why it was detonating though.  He
mumbled something about hot rings but I wasn't convinced.
He also said they would do a head gasket job for around 900 bucks, and I bet
they would too... I would do a lot for 900 bucks!!

I figure I will have to tear it apart and see, and maybe I will replace the
ex manifold with an LC header while I am at it, using the justification that
it would be cheaper than having Toyota do the gasket.

Any ideas would still be appreciated... especially about the Head Gasket and
detonating part.