Hi Folks,
I am replacing the head gaskets on my 89 Toyota P/U. I bought her brand new in 89, She's never been to the shop (just me), and I FINALLY, at 417,000 miles, blew the head gasket, not in a dramatic way, it was a small coolant leak that got worse, back of the engine, drivers side. Anyway, I am at the point in the tear down where I need to remove the cams, if I have to. That is my question. Do I have to remove the camshafts in order to remove the heads? I can get a socket on all of the head bolts by rotating the cam, kind of pain, but I would rather not disturb the cams if I don't have to. Thanks!

 

Don't have anything to offer as mine is a 22R, so I don't have any experience with the 3.0, but have to same that it's damn impressive to see a 417k mile 3.0L, as much as everyone trash talks them here.

 

No you don't have to remove the cams, You have to rotate them as you go and there is a sequence order to loosen the bolts or you will crack/warp the heads.
Suggest get the heads shaved.
If you heated them to much there is a high chance the heads are already cracked between the valves.

 

I've read that if you've had a coolant leak into crank case and run it. It'll weaken the other bearing and cause an early failure 20-30,000 miles (30-45,000km) down the road. Just what I've read.

 

Possible, but I had coolant mix in the oil of my old Monte, and after I cleaned it all up, I ran well past that with no issues

Depends on how long it's run like that.

 

As I said only read about it.

Besides you seem to have like freakish good luck with engines. almost 280,000 miles. Did you check for factory recall. Should be one on your truck and like you said your the only one that's worked on it.

 

I would strongly suggest using the manual when removing heads. http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...sm/engine.html Where else are you going to get all the torque values? The manual does suggest removing the cams first, but it is not necessary.

But I would suggest you consider getting the heads (3VZE?) to a machine shop to have them checked for flatness, pressure tested, and a valve job. Then, they'll have to have the cams out anyway, which will obviate any need to remove the heads with the cams in.

If the heads are a little out of flat, the machine shop can kiss it with a mill to get it perfectly flat. (I wouldn't call that "shaving" a head, which I understand means removing enough to actually change the compression.)

DO check prices first; one poster on this site found he could buy a replacement head from Engnbldr for only a little more. Depends on your locale.

There is NO recall on the headgasket, but there was a Special Service Campaign. It's worth a call to a Dealer with your VIN to see what they have to say.

 

Thanks all for the replies.. I am using the FSM, and it does say to remove the cams, but often they give information, being assumed that it is for an engine tear down, not just replacement of a blown head gasket. Since I first posted this question, I visited the dealer's service dept. asking their advice, the tech informed me that I could reach the bolts OK without removing the cams, BUT, I would not be able to get them past the cam due to the flange that is formed under the bolt heads. So, his answer was, "Yep, ya gotta take 'em out". I thought about taking the heads to the shop, but with as many miles as I have on her, I thought I would just replace the gaskets, put it back together and hope for the best. The head gasket leak was only external, no coolant made it into the crank case or vise versa (oil in coolant), and, it never ran low on coolant or over heated. However, having said all that, I will check for cracks and do a flatness check. I have kept the valves adjusted regularly and the engine still runs strong and smooth, amazing for 417,000 miles so, I thought "fix the leak as inexpensively as possible, and drive the motor on into the sunset" I may or may not get away with it, I will keep you posted. The '89's got dropped from the recall campaign (anything before 1990) a long time ago, I just feel damn lucky I made it this far without a coolant/compression leak till now.

 

What are you all paying for a head gasket set for a late 80s 22RE? Does $378 sound about right?

 

Japanese made gasket set for 22re on Ebay:

$128.95 Same seller has full overhaul set for $10 more.

Similar sets for 3vze cost a bit more.

The Stone gaskets are high quality Japanese made- good as any.
No comparison to the cheap stuff like Evergreen and such.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/85-95-Toyota-4Runner-Pickup-Celica-22RE-Head-Gasket-Set-/390202525953?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5ad9e20901&vxp=mtr

 

A local shop quoted me $378.54 for a head gasket set, and at the same time I can get it for $30 wholesale. Wondering why/how the markup is figured.

 

$30 is hella cheap. Gotta be chinese slave labor goods.

 

Probably. Basic head gasket set at AutoZone retails for $85-103 here. (Felpro) That $378 is some amazing markup, tacked onto $800 for labor.

 

Check online at Rockauto