zanko

Okay, so I had the recall work done I think in 1996 at 50K and I am at 205K and looks like she blew again. At this time I am loosing anti-freez from the burp tank, not over heating, no steam from exhaust, no misfire. enging still runs very normal, loosing about a cup or so for every 100 miles driven. I have seen some rubber like material already floating in the opening of the radiator and it looks like head gasket material to me. When engine is cold and the radiator cap is removed there is pressure left in the radiator and gets out via the burp tank once cap is removed. From all that I have read on this site and others it is pointing to a blown head gasket. I am no longer driving it and there is no signs of water in the oil. Exhast does smell a bit sweet. I have been filling the radiator everytime I had driven the car so it never really ran out of coolant.

So I am getting ready to take it apart this weekend and with some help from a mechanic will be replacing it.

I was looking for some tips to make this go easy from the ones that have done this before, and what to look for and what not to do.

1-I have located a manual for a 93 3vze and I am wondering if they are identical in design, can anyone recommend an online manual for a 94?

2-I am not planning on taking out the valves or springs, so can the head be removed with the valves intact? shimms ? shoudl i replace them or use them? they were replaced at 120

3-Does the radiator have to be removed all the way" or can this be done with the radiator in place? maybe get by removing the fan shroud and TB cover and fan unit? might remove it as it is not that hard and get a chance to get anything out of the block that doesnt need to be there.

4-how many hours would this take 2 very mechanically inclined people?

I would like to thank anyone and all for some good suggestions and tips, and great site BTW..
Love the truck, been driving for 15 years hate to see it go, been a good little work horse.

83

Not sure with a V6...for the four cylinder, you don't have to take out the radiator but it sure helps a lot for space to work in. And it's really easy.

Test the compression before you go tearing into it..sounds like it's probably the head gasket but make sure.

Some people with v6 experience will hopefully speak up, but at least on my engine, the head is one complete unit, so yes, you remove the entire head and all the valves/spring etc come with it intact. If you have help from a mechanic, he aught to know all this stuff, though...

For an experienced person, it should be an easy 1-2 day job. For a not so experienced person, keeping in mind possibly runs to the parts store etc, (because who knows what you might run into that needs replacing) it could be a week. But that's the longest I could see it taking unless you end up deciding to replace a lot more.

zanko

ZACK,

Thanks for the reply, yes I need some V6'ers out there to comment. I honestly cant think of it being anything else that would cause that much pressure into the water system to blow water out the burp tank. The person helping me has done many head gaskets in the past. Assuming there is no head warpage, and pulling gasket scraps from radiator top, mmmmmmmmm.

83

I agree.

Yeah, hopefully since you haven't overheated at all there's no warpage. Make sure you use good quality parts!! And check the head AND block for warpage the way the FSM describes. It would really suck to do it all and not get the head gasket to seal because of uneven or pitted surfaces. After 200k I would think it might be time for some machine work, but it is a Toyota!

airmen65

I helped my buddy swap a new 3.0 into his 90 this december, took use several weekends, lol, but we were unexperienced and not always very focused. lol. I would say you'd be hard pressed to get much of anything off the front of the motor (not sure what would need to come off) with the fan shroud in there. might be able to keep the radiator in.

all i can say is that engine bay is tight and i hated working on that thing. lol. Another reason to love my 22R!

redsr5

Hey Zanko,have you started your project yet and if so hows' it going?I'm in the middle of 3vze hd gasket replacement myself.

DWEINBERG01

I had the same issue last year. Basically,i'd say yes. The radiator has to come out ( I punched a nice hole in mine trying to just pull the fan).

Somewhere on here is the factory service manual for the 94 3vze. Find it and learn to love it. It will be your new best friend.

Find someone who loves to take pictures. Everytime you take something off or move it from it's original position, take a before and after picture. Make it into one of those flip books j/k.

Label every hose and port you come across: A-A, B-B,C-C etc. You will go beyond Z-Z so start using numbers at that point.

Find some good quality MLS (multi-layer head) gaskets and get ARP head studs. Once you pull the old head studs, they are no longer good.

A good source for the parts, is engnbldr.com.

You will also need new O2 sensors and a new Catalytic convertor. If you have been putting antifreeze through those things for a bit, they are shot.

Good luck. Keep us updated on the progress.