3000GTVR4

So the head gasket with on my 91 SR5 pickup. It is the 3.0, and currently has 199K on it. Gasket was done under "recall" at the dealership back when the truck only had 36k!

There is coolant in the passenger side front cylinder (#1 i think?) I dont think the truck over heated, and i'm pretty sure i cought it right after it happened. Truck sees rpm's close to 5k somewhat frequently...

Anyways i'm trying to weigh out my options:

Option 1: My cousin is a Toyota tech and can get OEM parts for pretty cheap. He also does side work and i'm leaning towards having him do the work for me. (He will be calling me with a price tomarrow after getting a cost of parts from work)

Option 2: Have my cousin get me the parks and do it myself. I am mechanically knowledgeable, but really have no motivation behind me to do it. Is there a step by step guide somewhere on here if i decide to do it myself?

Option 3: pay a dealership. What would this cost? $700? $1000? $1,500? i really have no clue.

Option 4: I havent looked into this option, but have seen it mentioned a few times. That would be the 3.4 swap. Cinsidering i do it myself, whats the cost for this option?
After a little more searchin, 3.4 is no longer an option!



Leaning towards option 1, but could use some extra HP. This trucks a dog when I have my 800lb ATV in it....


If you were in my shoes what would you do? I am a recently graduated college student, working park time so fund are limited!

peow130

3.4 swap.
only thing hard about it is the wiring.

Tubbyfatty

I just did the whole HG thing on my truck. I think I ended up spending around $250 for everything. I did not send out my heads tho. I checked them with a straight edge. I didnt let the truck over heat. I used Rock Head Gaskets from parts dinosaur.

Dealership $2000-$2500

3.4 is where its at but you need around $3k to get the job done. Check out the 3.4 swap area.

tried4x2signN

Ouch! Great post, Tubby. Check the FSM on making sure your heads are good, unless you send them out. Do not put bad heads on new gaskets and labor. As hard as that job is, it's definitely a no no.

The easiest and fastes way to get you going is to redo the head gaskets.

The slowest, costliest and most time consuming is to do the 3.4.

You need a plan, man... Do the gaskets on the engine you have now and drive it till you acquire the 3.4 swap parts? That'll also give you time to properly research the idea...

Tubbyfatty

x2 on just doing the gaskets and getting her back on the road till you can do a 3.4 swap. What takes the most time is putting all the little stuff back on, it only took me a few hours to get my heads bolted up. The time is in the little things.

When you throw your heads on the new gaskets, make sure everything is clean. I sanded my block and heads with 250, then 600, then finally 1200.

3000GTVR4

After a little more searchin, 3.4 is no longer an option!

CappyKD

Go with option 1. If you want more power regear.

mmcpeck

If your cousin knows what he's doing and can get it done in a decent amount of time for you, then I'd go with that option, especially if money is tight.

mt_goat

Option 1 sounds pretty good, but it all depends on your cousin. I've got some cousins that I'd trust my life to, but one I wouldn't loan a screw driver without getting a cash deposit of equal valve. Apparently to him the word "borrow" and "give" are the same.

Or option 2 with the cousin as a backup sounds like a really good learning experience.

Magnusian

"Borrow" means "give" to your cousin? Sounds like to me, you need to "borrow" everything in his garage.

mt_goat

There is the FSM free online here: http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...fsm/index.html

There are lots of write-ups others have done. Warning with that many miles you are going to face a ton of "well while I'm at it I might as well dos".

mt_goat

When it comes to giving to others he doesn't even understand the concept lol.

3000GTVR4

This is one of the cousins that I actually trust. He has done quality work on my father and sisters vehicles for more than reasonable rates!

Still waiting to hear back from him on a cost tough. Dealership quoted me at $1,600 that was 14 hours labor and just over $300 in parts.

3000GTVR4

So my cousin said he can do the labor for $400 which i dont think is really too bad.

Now is OEM gasket kit the only way to go or is a quality felpro kit a good secondary option?

CappyKD

Spend for OEM. PM me I have a hookup.

saechao_ou

My headgasket just went out on my 89 pickup. The parts store wants about $300 for the gasket set and head bolts. Its not even oem. I've seen some on ebay for under $100. Are they worth it or should I just pay for the higher price ones? Which gasket would be the best?