wcasey5

Just finished the head gaskets on my son's 94 3vze. It ran great for about 15 miles, then it overheated and bubble bubble in the overflow tank. Is it possible the new gaskets blew again? I used the cheap e-bay ones, maybe I should have gone oem. Think I cracked a head? The thing overheats in less than a mile. Any advice would be good, although I really like the truck, I don't have the time to tear it apart again.

z31freakify

did you burp the cooling system? have you done a compression test on all six cylinders with all the spark plugs off? water pump, thermostat, are the heads torqued right, radiator, hoses,

wcasey5

i did a compression test, no plugs, open throttle. got 190psi on 1,3,5 180 psi on 2,3 and 165 on 6. I put a new thermostat in it, never touched the waterpump. Before the head gasket change, it would go about 2 weeks and lose coolant and overheat.

TNRabbit

Did you check heads & block for warp?

I highly recommend resurfacing AT LEAST the heads when yoj do a HG job.

Where in MD are you?

wcasey5

I'm in Westminster. I checked the heads with a straight edge, for all that was worth. Maybe I screwed up with the head torque, I will say that I've seen more of the inside of a 3vze that I thought I would. And I almost understand where all those vacume lines go.

TNRabbit

OK, let's define "straight edge".

There are ones you use in school (wrong one) and there are ones made specifically for checking head/block/etc. The ones for engines are guaranteed to be straight within like .002" per foot. They are very heavy/thick.

wcasey5

I used the wrong one, definitely.

Is it possible I put the head gaskets on the wrong side? upside down? I guess I need to tear the sucker down again and have the heads checked by a shop.

MudHippy

Upside down, no. But you could have installed them on the wrong side heads(right cylinder bank vs. left cylinder bank).

wcasey5

that sure sounds like what happened, but I went out and checked and it looks like I got them right. It was the right bank that I replaced last, left bank first. The last gasket container had an R at the end of the part number. I think I matched the head gaskets up before the install. I did find, maybe, another issue. When I marked the head bolts, I put a white dot facing the front of the vehicle to indicate the 2 90 degree turns for final torque. so all the bolt marks should be facing the rear. One bolt was facing the passengers side, and one was facing the front. So I may have over or under torqued the head. which means the head is cracked (bad) or it just blew a gasket.

MudHippy

May have?

I'd say you did.

Or the head and gasket are fine(possibly). But there was never sufficient pressure applied to the head gasket to establish an effective seal. Meaning the head gasket was leaking from the get go.

Oh well...start over. Now you know what not to do...

wcasey5

I think I'll give it one more try. I'm not looking forward to tearing it apart again. Those wires and hoses are really brittle.

z31freakify

IMO always have the heads resurface when a vehicle head gaskets go, never trust your eyesight it could throw you off it might not even be visible but it happens,

TNRabbit

...and DEFINITELY go OEM Toyota on the Head Gaskets....

wcasey5

I got her torn down again. The head bolts were way easier to take out than the originals, so I am assuming I didn't torque them properly. I bought a new torque wrench, and just to make sure it is 33ftlbs in the correct pattern, then 2 90 degree steps? Thanks

a4runnerfreak

You didn't re-use the old headbolts, did you? IIRC, I've read on here, that the headbolts are TTY (Torque To Yield), are shouldn't be reused at all. I could be wrong, and I'm sure MudHippy or some1 who has done a head gasket job on our engines can confirm, or correct me if I'm wrong.

But just to be safe, I'd buy new headbolts

HighLux

Why even attempt a job like this without researching it first?

oem gaskets. proper torque. Its not rocket science.

If I were to end up with a 3.0...by some freak of nature...I'd want to alot of research seeing as this engine is Toyota's black sheep.

wcasey5

I did the research, I have the OEM gaskets, new head bolts, I'm all set to go.

rworegon

Do you have a copy of the FSM for all the torque specs?

wcasey5

No I don't, But they were posted here so I assume they were correct. But noe I have discovered a new problem, there is a dent/something on the surface of the head. I can feel it with my fingernails when I go over it. It doesn't go all the way to the combustion chamber, But I am afraid it looks like a crack. Any opinions? I will be calling the machine shop monday. Anyone know if I have to remove the exhaust manifolds to get the heads tested?

wcasey5

I finially got this thing running! Yippee. Had the heads tested and re-surfaced. The local machine shop did a great job! Cleaned, resurfaced, and tested for $316 total. Used OEM gaskets for the heads, cheapo ones for the exhaust and intake. I would also like to thank vasinvictor for saving my ass on the cam pulley. The first time around I used the ebay ones, which are built upside down compared to the OEM (Metal against the head instead of against the block. Third time is a charm, I put about 60 miles on it yesterday and she is running like a dream. No overheating, no codes. I think the original problem was my incorrect torquing of the left head, and me no taking enough care cleaning the head mating surfaces. Here are some pics and a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0yYf...ature=youtu.be

Here are the heads after service




After the third teardown




partially assembled





almost ready