WestCoastMoose

Wondering about the average life (mileage)the 3.0's get out of their head gaskets after a repair or the recall? Or are they now "fixed"?
I am a stickler to changing fluids and keeping things in top shape. So thought it would be a good question for you folks running the 3.0 who also keep up with regular engine fluid changes.

Elton

im almost 100% sure my friends 89 see sig has almost 300k on the stockl head gasket he takes pretty decent care of it and doesint drive it hard

CoedNaked

There are a lot of theories about why the headgasket blows but it's tough to get any real "research" done to figure out what the problem may be of those who have had it go as you don't often get full/complete answers when you survey people on here. Some speculate it's heat from the crossover - some say it's the cat getting clogged. Others say it's the fact the original gasket was an asbestos type and the replacement after asbestos was made illegal wasn't up to snuff. There are some who speculate that it could be related to the type of coolant you run, and some speculate that the head gasket going is indicative that your cooling system is in poor shape i.e. you need to be on top of your coolant level - any leaks in the rad? how's the water pump, how's the t-stat, etc? I personally think that if you stick with stock coolant, and keep your cooling system in top shape you will be doing nothing but promoting a long head gasket life. If you run good oil, which is also important for cooling the engine, that also helps I'm sure.

Then there are the guys who have replaced their head gaskets on these engines and they blow again. Then they go on a tyrade about how crappy the 3vze is, when I'm sure fault can be found in their head gasket repair. What type of gasket did they use? Did they get the head machined and/or was it true before putting it back? Did they torque/retorque the head bolts properly, Did they reuse head bolts, etc, etc. etc. Or did they just slap in a new head gasket without doing it properly?



I can tell you that techs I know who service dozens to hundreds of 3vze's a week at the dealership a family memeber of mine works at don't see nearly as many head gasket issues as one in here would lead you to believe.

WestCoastMoose

Coed-
Most of what you brought up as possible related causes to the infamous head gasket is the reason I asked the question. If anything,the crossover pipe would be my main concern.
I can't get any info on the engine from the PO, so all I know is the gaskets,belt pump,tensioner were just done before I bought it.

Elton -that gives me a sigh a relief and some life in the old beast.I don't drive 'er hard, but often, with the odd wheelin every second weekend.

MonsterMaxx

The HG design on the 3.slow is borderline to begin with. Proximity to ports and lack of separation between cyls is high on the list. As is the change form asbestos.

All the planets need to align for a HG to survive and documentation on what needs to be done is not there. For example, Toyota will NOT replace the bolts, which are a yield design and should only be used once. Another big problem is the alum head to steel block, these move like crazy and if the surfaces aren't glassy smooth it chews up the gasket.

Combine this with heat problems and the head gaskets will fail.

You can't do any kind of forced induction or the head gaskets will fail.

Some have gone their whole life w/o problems. Some don't make it a month. Two of the times it was done for me was by Toyota Factory Techs at a dealer and both failed (different states, different dealers, different mechanics and different trucks 91&94.)

It's a marginal design that's been bandaided. You may get lucky, you may not, no way to predict.


Your best bet is to do your maintenance and hope. If it does start leaking, catch it early and repair them otherwise you take out the bottom end too.

Steveh29

I've got over 220K miles on my original head gaskets and I bought the truck new. I don't rev it past 3500K when shifting up through the gears (5 speed) and I typically cruise around 3000 RPM about 70 miles per hour. But other than that I've never babied the truck. It's spun up near redline several times in mud and sand. Guess I'm just lucky.

jeffy67

256k kilometers still going great on original!

SEAIRESCUE

Heat kills the engine. Never allow it to overheat. Don't recommend towing anything other than a light trailer.

Have you noticed all the aluminum block engines hitting the market? Yes, helps with mileage but also eliminates the aluminum head walking all over the iron block dissimilar metal expansion rate problems which contributes to the 3vz gasket problems plus the really "stoopid" exhaust design.

Do you see/hear any head gasket problems with the Lexus? No. Why, look at the 3.0 engine design in their SUV's.

My $0.02

toytech76

The first 3.0's in the 88's were the asbestos gaskets. Thats why they wernt included in the official recall. Its a poor design and even worse H/G design. The newer gaskets have a better design but still see them fail. A big factor with the repair/recall longevity is surface prep. Cleaning and surface flatness/smoothness is critical. The crossover pipe and exhaust heat are not the factor that everyone believes. The common cylinders to blow are 1 and 6. 6 is by the exhaust but #1 isnt. The heads are both cast from 1 mold and are interchangable. That right there should tell you its a design flaw. Overheating the 3.0 contributes to that bad design and will blow a gasket in no time. The 3.0's also have high failure rates on the exhaust valves as well. The bottom ends are pretty strong. Its just the top ends that are extremely weak

WestCoastMoose

Ok
So from what I gather, it could go tomorrow, or never.
Luck is usually on my side, so should be a long life.
About the blocks and heads.Almost every major car manufacturer did the same thing. Iron block,alum head(s) . My previous B2000 the same. Must have been some kind of conspiracy.They must have known in the 80's that putting 2 different kinds of metal together,heating and cooling them will give nothing but trouble.
Thanks all for your input.

Firebb15

Good question, i also wonder what the average life is out of our HG's. I have 207K with the recall done around 90K. Still runs great and did a lot of towing floored in 4th at 4K rpm.

CoedNaked

I think the 3vze's head gasket issues are also in a lot of peoples heads. Sure, my head gasket could go tommorrow, but the few, who feel the need to amplify the problem on every internet discussion thread aren't giving you a true representation of the number of them that go versus the number of high mileage 3vze owners without issues. For example the guy who put 1 million miles on his 1991 Toyota 2wd pickup had a 3vze.

I also don't know of many people who have put forced induction on the 3vze other than a few, and it's just hearsay at best to speculate that forced induction causes the headgasket to go. I could say that maybe the headgasket is really strong and certain types of coolant are abrasive to the headgasket and that causes it to go and I would be about as right as all the other speculation out there.

Like I said there are a lot of theories out there but the best you can do is use good quality, preferably stock Toyota coolant, keep your oil changed regularly, and your cooling system components/parts/accessories in top shape.

Sure the differing metals out there between the block and the head aren't the perfect mating of things, but how many other engines does Toyota have with aluminum heads and cast iron blocks? The 5vz-fe has aluminum heads?

3.0pickup

Hello, new here...

My 1990 just went out at 220000.

I wasn't aware of the recall

I'll calling the dealershop tomorrow to see if it's been done.
I'm guessing not.

Thanks for all the info
cheers!