ok, heres the situation. i picked up a 91 4runner with the infamous HG issue for $1500. the motor was rebuilt about 60k ago according to the previous owner but i will inspect the block once the head is off. so heres the million dollar question

which head gasket should i go with? OEM or aftermarket?

my parts place gives me a whole sale price on the entire head gasket set for 250 or so, give or take. however its not OEM

i've read a few threads that said the OEM HG has been redesign twice yet it still blows, so im wondering if i should go with the stockers or the aftermarket? if the redesigned gaskets are prone to blow as well i will go with the aftermarket to save some money, and if it blows later down the line i will to a entire overhaul to rebuild.

please give your input from experience

thanks

 

The problem was supposed to have been solved when my '95 was produced. However, the HG blew anyway. I chose to go with OEM HG's and they were very different than HG's that were on my rig originally. They appeared to be made of a different material. I can not attest to thier quality as they have only been on my rig for 1000 miles. But I can tell you for certain that they have been redesigned since '95.

 

please bare with me on this as i am new to the toyota camp. isnt all of the 3vz-e all the same from 1990-1995? therefore the new generation of HG are the same?

 

I'm currently in the middle of my rebuild of my '91 3.0 4x4 truck. I went with the recommendation I recieved on the board to order from partsdinosaur.com . Their pricing was great, shipping was quick, and Bruce was awesome in answering my questions and placing an order of mine on hold until he could confirm that I needed the part (I didn't know it was included in the gasket set I bought the day prior.) When he pointed this out and we discovered I didn't need it he cancelled the order without any problems. That whole situation took approximately 25 minutes to resolve from the time I placed the order to the cancellation. Parts look good and I've had no issues with the fit. I'm no mechanic but I'd recommend them.

-=Morphine=-

 

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking but the HG's I just put on my '95 will fit your '91. They are just produced out of a different material and the metal rings for the pistons have been reinforced.

 

thanks for your reply....i will take a trip to the toyota dealer after i rip the head apart tmr.

 

If you decide to go with OEM, you should give this place a call. conicelli toyota . They give thier internet customers quite a discount. I got my HG's and head bolts from them for considerably less than my local stealer wanted for them.

 

i will do so....thanks for your help once again.

 

My Uncle has the exact same truck as mine right down to the colour, only his is a 95. I have a family member who works @ a dealership and I was told that according to a VIN search my uncles truck was one of the last couple thousand of the 3rd gen pickups that were ever produced for North America (up until mid 95 when they switched over to the 95.5 Tacoma and started making them in the USA as opposed to my Uncles which was made in Japan). I believe my Uncle's truck was outfitted with the right headgasket as he essentially ran his truck up until 300,000 km (roughly 188,000 miles) and where he then rebuilt the motor. I was told that essentially the 95's were the only generation of trucks that got the improved headgasket right from the factory - probably why his lasted. My truck had the head gasket recall done way back at 90,000-ish km's (56,000 miles) and it has run extremely strong ever since right up until now where I have 247,000 km's (roughly 155,000 miles) and I expect it to run strong for still quite a while (knock on wood).

The one thing that I think is amazing is how extremely well the clutches last on these trucks. I just had my clutch replaced a few days ago, but I know for a fact I could very easily have probably gotten my original clutch to go another 10-15,000 km's most likely. My uncles original clutch lasted pretty much trouble free until he rebuilt the engine @ 300,000 km/188,000 miles (as I mentioned above) where he then had it replaced. The new OEM clutch sure is smooth!

 

unfortunately i have an auto. in way it is kool though, my girl could now drive me around as oppose to me driver her in my hatch all the time(she refuse to drive it because of my 4 puck coper kevlar disk). maybe some day i'll sell this runner for a manual.

now with the HG question, should i go ahead and order a 95 3vz-e HG? or is the 91 just the same?

BTW, does anyone have the link to download the helms manual? i lost mine in the process of reformatting my comp. i tried searching but i cant find anything. thanks!

 

The 95 and 91 HG should be the same. Call the dealer and ask them to check the part numbers for both just to be sure. If you would like a copy of the FSM, PM me with your email address.

 

IIRC...they are NOT the same. There are several minor differences, which make them incompatible. The one that comes to mind is the oil return galleys on the pre-92 3.0, in that, if you were to take a HG from a later model, the HG would cover these significant holes. I came across this info when going through the HG campaign...the VEHICLE was eligible...it was a '91. The dealer wanted to balk, because the ENGINE (doner) was a '90. Had it been a 92, the spec. HG is a little different, and the dealer MAY have been off the hook. And for this reason I can safely say, no, they ARE different. But I'm open to other sides of the discussion...

 

thanks for the heads up, i guess i should just stick with the 91 3vz HG. wow, what a world of difference between two years. with the B series blocks, you could pretty swap gaskets as long as they were from a B vtec to another B vtec motor.

no word on the link for the helms?

 

btw - replace your head bolts at the very least.... I'd recommend head studs though....

TTY bolts are for the birds imo....

 

Head studs from who?

 

I know DOA Racing sells head studs for the 3.0 which are made by ARP, I think.

My brother is in the middle of doing the HG on his 3.0 Runner and had me order the necessary parts yesterday. I paid $173 shipped for a complete engine gasket set, timing belt and headbolts from www.engnbldr.com

 

I strongly suggest that you read this before buying anything from DOA.

 

I have yet to hear anything good about DOA. I don't understand what advantage the studs are suppost to have over bolts.

 

damn.... You know I havent seen any good reviews for DOA either or for head studs for the 3vze. time to go diggin on www.supraforums.com. Im 90% sure that they had great success with studs....

Studs should allow you to torque to a specific level (which should be higher than stock tty bolts) instead of doing the whole 33ftlbs +90* +90*....

That method of tightening scares me....but then again so do normal people....

 

hey, ChickenLover, please excuse, but could i possibly chime a request in here for that FSM copy,too, if i sent you my email ?!?