I have a pretty annoying leak from what I believe to be the head gasket. Has anyone done this fix themselves? If you have, just how hard was it and how long did it take?
Or if you have had someone do it for you, how much was it?
Thanks
Kent

 

first off, what engine are you working on?

 

That might help clear things up


I have the 3.0 POWERHOUSE!
I know that the headgasket leak is fairly common, and mine has 245K miles on it. I guess I shouldn't gripe too much about having the leak now. I would like to do it myself, since Christmas is so near and dough is low.
Any info might help.

Thanks
Kent

 

not hard, disconnect all the electrical and vacuum and fuel lines and label them then pull the intake, manifold timing cover and heads. The exhaust can be a bitch but nows the perfect time to put in headers. Make sure you get new head bolts and I'd probably do the t belt and water pump while i had it all apart, clean the block and head really well so you get a good seal with the new gaskets then put her back together. Remember to torque correctly on the head bolts i.e sequence and torque specs

 

All I can say is....
HAVE FUN

Or swap it out for this juicer...http://proformanceunlimited.com/spec...350dropAL.html

Thats what I'm eyeballing

 

oooh, 347. those are some sweet engines -- a co-worker of mine built one for a '65 mercury cyclone he used to have. he only drag raced it once, as he had an auto tranny and it grenaded the transmission when it hit 2nd gear. it was estimated that it would have done an 11 second 1/4 mile if the tranny held together. he swapped in a 4 speed shortly after.

 

I'd definitely spend the money ($200 or so at a machine shop) to get the head(s) pressure tested and resurfaced. That & the upper end gasket set is pretty much all the major cost. I agree with Silver_Truck, you should do the Timing belt and water pump. Also, SPEND THE $11 FOR A NEW KNOCK SENSOR WIRE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!! I never heard about it before, and believe me, I wish I had. I don't think you really need new head bolts, but that's just my $.02

 

o ya good thinking i forgot about that dam wire, but you do have to replace your head bolts, as they are TTY so they'll stretch the first time they're torqued ( at the factory) and they won't hold the right torque accurately after that.

 

Yes you do need new head bolts. They are a TTY bolt (torque to yield) which means they stretch when you torque them down them additional 90*. Order your kit from engnbldr and any other parts like knock sensor wire and maybe new fuel injection seals (washers) then order them from strap22. Most inexpensive route by far.

 

Yes they are sweet...

 

The A-Hole at the Toyota Dealership said they weren't TTY bolts, and I didn't need new ones. I thought otherwise, but followed his advice anyway. I guess I'm an idiot.

 

wow...yep he is an idiot for telling you that. Sounds like he wants a repeat customer!

 

actually 22R bolts are reusable. there is nothing in the FSM about replacing them after being torqued, like the 3.0.

however i replaced mine when i did a head gasket/timing chain job, as they were quite pitted. didn't help that i snapped the head off of one. make sure to use antisieze on them when re-installing!

 

Everyone I know who rebuilt a 3.0 has nothing good to say about Toyotas anymore.

 

Thats why most swap it out after it goes...well the smart ones.

 

that's like saying everyone who's worked on a 2.8 chevy V6 has nothing good to say about chevies anymore.

well, then again...

 

Why bash your ride? I just did the 3.0 VZE head gasket job and took it on out of necessity for my daughter. I learned one hell of a lot and see no reason to bad mouth an otherwise reliable engine. Other than the knock sensor wire problem, I can't see badmouthing this engine.

Am I missing something here? I actually enjoyed the project. It was however a little cramped to get to some of the bolts. Grinder is a lifesaver on the exhaust crossover. Total cost for job was $150 to engnbldr.com and $150
to machine shop +/- $50 bucks for misc. parts. This forum can guide anyone through the process. Keep in mind the original estimate was for a new engine installed price of $6500. I said you've got to be kidding. The mechanic said he didn't think I'd be happy with a 2 grand headgasket job six mos. down the road.

So do it yourselfers, enjoy.

Alls well that ends well.

 

Why bash your ride? I just did the 3.0 VZE head gasket job and took it on out of necessity for my daughter. I learned one hell of a lot and see no reason to bad mouth an otherwise reliable engine. Other than the knock sensor wire problem, I can't see badmouthing this engine.
__________________________________________________ ___________

>>>*Well, some will say I am out of my mind but I do tend to agree. I think folks today are a little spoiled and have forgotten the lessons of the past. (Well, some of you younger folks anyway, there are a few old coots like me hanging around these boards that I will bet remember the magic 59,900 miles, time to dump the rig

*Almost not resalable AT ALL with such "high" mileage....*LOL**.

Along comes better metals, better materials, better systems controls, better machining techniques, on and on.

Now somehow "only" and "150,000 miles" actually fits in the same sentence???

I got to poking around inside the 3VZ a few years ago, it interests me in some ways because for one, the vehicle will outlast the engine. (Which means there is a market for what folks like me do..) The "outlast" part comes in around 150,000 to 200,000, sometimes more for those who actually DO change oil/service regularly. An engine overhaul is now down to the $1500-1700 range if you can install it, and getting better daily as more suppliers join the fray for engine replacement parts. Just think, if you only got 17,000 miles more, that is a dime a mile. Now if she goes "only" 100,000 more?...Well, best to not gripe.

I would like to see better fuel economy, I would like to see better power output to weight. Still, the 3VZE engine offers good service when we consider dollars per mile as opposed to miles per gallon.

But the fact is, compared to a LOT of the competition, the 3VZE engine is hard to top for reliability and durability, a nice workhorse for those looking for that. Plus 1988 model rigs still look good and have years of service left.

I say worth repairing when the time comes, good service and adjust those valves annually helps keep the mechanic at bay.

Want to race? *Well.....*LOL**...Wrong machine usually.....*EB

 

Hey folks: You can't beat engnbldr.com's expertise and downright great pricing on his rebuild kits. His son Todd and he share freely the tips needed to get your 3.0 up and moving again and have repaired many of these.

Question is how many 3.0's make it another 100 K after the rebuild of the head gasket/top end? Just curious.

94 4 runner going down the road again. Proud of it. If you have one of these 3.0 vze engines that you have breathed life into again, log on and share your "born again" mileage. I'm curious about the personal experience information that's out there!

 

Just rebuilt my top end...now bottom end is going. Maybe if you just replace the head gasket and leave the old heads on without rebuilding them then it maybe works. But since I got my top end tight and my bottom end had mileage on it then they just fought against each other.