I just want to clear up what brands will work best. Any advise ? Rock, Fel-pro?

 

Aftermarket headgaskets *will* work, but I would stick with OEM. I went the cheapo route on some valve cover gaskets for my 3.0, and they didn't fit for crap. Leaked the very next day.

IIRC Toyota sells a "head kit" with all the gaskets you will need, for a reasonable price. Its much better to do it right the first time, than to go back and dig into that engine again just to save a few bucks.

 

Hi,

I too vote for the OEM gaskets. They had MAJOR problems with this engine and have apparently reworked the gaskets to hopefully solve it (but that can be argued by some).

There is a lot of discussion on this already, just scroll down to the bottom of this forum post and you'll see related topics there, it's like an automatic search without having to do any work!!!
There is a lot of info to be found there.

Dave

 

The best gaskets are msl (multi-layer steel), but you have to get both block and heads resurfaced in order to use them. So long as you install them correctly and change your coolant every two years, they will outlast the rings.

Short of that, getting gaskets from the dealer is the best bet. In fact getting their head kit gives you all almost all the parts you'll need, and most of them far superior in quality to aftermarket.

Stay clear of fel-pro head gaskets unless you like changing them.

 

Make sure your truck doesn't qualify for the head gasket recall first, though. I got mine done by the dealer for free, and they replaced alot of other parts in the engine (bearings, oil pickup tube, all gaskets, etc.) while they were in there for FREE!