hey yall,

just got my hands on a 94 3.0(slow) 4runner and can't wait to start doing some mods to. but first i need to do the head gasket. i did some searching on hear and found the shop manual, witch was sweet but i also wanted to see if anyone had some hint's or tip's on this. i do have a few questions, do i need to replace both head gaskets or just the one? and what's a good brand to go with since this is a common problem with the 3.0(3VZ-E???) is there anything else i should do/change-out during replacing the gasket.
the runner has 135,xxx miles and has had the head-gasket re-call done (i don't know the date or millage) also has a new radiator..

thanks....

 

change both!!!! take your time take pics,mark everything with blue painters tape and a black sharpie. any brand will work i think alot of the guys on here are going to say felpro so i would go that route. i cant stress enough to just take your time and look on here and search some and there are lots of 3.slow build threads and they are filled with pics. good luck and above all else
WELCOME TO YOTATECH!!

 

I just finished doing the HGs on my rig. Took me about a month of easy workin. Getting the intake off is the hard part, you can unbolt all of the sensor blocks off the fender and take everything off as 1 unit.

You NEED new head bolts.

I ordered my HGs from this dude. http://www.store.partsdinosaur.com/page28.html

There are several threads about the head gasket replacement, do some searchin lol.

 

1. Do both heads while you are in there
2. Get new head bolts
3. Check the heads and block to see if they are still straight
4. Might be time to get to a couple of other items while you are in there such as the water pump and the idler pulleys
5. It's a really good idea to have the heads and valves checked out properly at this time. If you bring them to a shop to have it done, make sure you bring them to someone who know how to finish the head surfaces properly and the right way.
6. Just go OEM with the gasket and the bolts. You get what you pay for.

 

Yes, and timing belt, and check the oil pump according to the FSM too.

 

And lastly there's a few mentions of the knock sensor wire, which is between the cylinder banks, getting baked in there and becoming very brittle. The insulation flakes off and ground out, causing the engine to retard timing. Check yours and replace that section of wire as needed (simple cut and solder replacement).