I'm looking for a new truck and I was just wondering if the 80's 3.0 have the headgasket issue? Thanks

 

all 3.0s have headgasket problems

 

Not so much the pre 91s. The pre 91 3.0s had a fairly good HG with asbestos that are not nearly as prone as the 91-95 HGs are to failure.

 

Ya. The correct answer is "not really". The gaskets were stronger, so they didn't blow as easily.
Iron block / alu heads can always pose a problem, but they are nothing to worry about as long as the temepratures stay within a sane operating range.

 

i heard that in the 88 and 89 versions they were allowed to use asbestos. so they did not blow HGs like the 90s when they were not allowed to use asbestos. i also heard that there are 12 different generations of HGs cuz they could never get it right. thats crazy.

 

Late 80's did have that problem , due to the change in the asbestos laws. Nowadays, you can get a pretty good fix with the slipperplate style steel gasket made by Rock Gaskets. My 1992 3.0 had the gaskets done , some thime around 95, i think. The engine had about 35,000 miles on it at that time. Not sure if it blew, or if the owner just took it in on the recall notice.

Mine has 183,000 on it, now.

Mike in AR

 

I'll probably just play it safe and stay away from the 3.0's. I'm living in Texas right now and it's hard to find a good 1st gen with a 22re or any decent 4WD with a 22re for that matter!

 

Mine had the head gasket replaced when the recall first came out. I now have over 230,000 miles on it with no problems

 

Those crappy gaskets were recalled. The 3.0 has more power and torque. I say get a 3.0 and check to see if the recall was done on it. If it was, you are good to go. If it was not, bring it to your dealer and put it on Toyota's bill.

 

I had a 3.0 with 169k on it when I got the recall notice in the mail. I figured I would get it done when I could. A month later it blew and wrecked my motor. Toyota put in my truck a brand new motor out of the crate. Now that is service! Everyone with a Toyota know that no domestics would do that.

 

I have an '89 Pickup with a 3.0 and Toyota sent me an "extended warranty" notice for the HG. The notice basically said that if the HG failed within 5 (or 7, I can't remember) years of the date of the notice they would fix it for free. I have never had any problem with the original HG (I only have approx 135k miles on it) so I never took them up on their offer.

So I guess the short answer is that Toyota apparently has some concerns about the HG, but not so much that the truck was subject to the full recall that others were.

Hope this helps.

-Scubaduck

 

So do I need to be super careful if I am doing gaskets because of the asbestos?

 

I don't think it's a big threat as long as the gasket is still intact. Don't think you want to tear it during a rebuild. If you can make the gasket wet after you get the head off, it should help keep any loose asbestos fibers from becoming airborne and getting in your lungs. The particles are VERY small -- on the order of a few microns. They'll go right through a dust mask. Have a couple of plastic trash bags handy and get the gaskets inside and seal them up with duct tape.

Then use a Toyota factory gasket or a Rock Gasket. Both are of the slipperplate / steel design. DO NOT USE FELPRO as a replacement.

MIke in AR