Whats involved in replacing a 3SFE head gasket?

[Montanahelp]

I have a 87 3SFE with 165K that is blowing steam out of the tailpipe. I bought the car as a project and replaced the water pump and timing belt - the water pump was destroyed! Water is not getting into the oil and oil is not getting into the water. I have never replaced a headgasket on a Camry. Trying to get a feel for how big of a job it is? Removing the exhaust looks easy enough, but the intake side of the head looks very tight. Are there any special tools required to remove the intake and headbolts? Are these heads usually able to be resurfaced or do they the they warp or crack beyond repair? Trying to decide if I should tackle the head job or just put another engine in.

[marc780]

Its a pity you couldnt have posted this when you had the timing belt off cause now you get to remove it again - oh well. If you have the skillz to do the t belt you can go the rest of the way and do the head gasket. The factory manuals click below. Some tips for doing this

1. Engine must be cold cold COLD. As in overnight cold. Never remove a head thats even faintly warm, it will warp and be ruined.
2. Since you are going this far, why not send the cylinder head of this 165,000 mile engine out and do a valve job too? Or you can just do what i usually do, swap it for a remanufactured one - it is usually cheaper. Unless you are planning on dumping the car in the next year or so, it might be worth it. Because the bottom end of the engine can go on for many miles if the oil's changed.
3. Observe the torquing sequence to the head to the letter, it is critical. Clean out the bolt holes in the head with compressed air and solvent even if you have to rent a compressor to do it. Clean the head bolts like new or better yet, just change em all! Same goes for cleaning the gasket surfaces - use acetone and a razor blade if needed to get it cleaner than new. Also stuff rags in the cylinder holes and otherwise try to keep the pistons and cylinders clean - use shop vac to clean out piston holes and DO NOT score the cylinder walls Heres some factory manuals abobe

http://oregonstate.edu/~tongt/camry/

[timebuilder]

AND....

position the cams properly BEFORE you remove the cams. If you do not, you can have a major expense.

[nogard]

I went to a local autoparts store called Automotive Supply, not sure if they have one in your area. I changed the head on my '90 Tercel, that being my first it went pretty well. I wouldn't waste your time trying to get the head gasket off with a razor blade, you also risk the chance of scratching. I think it is 3M, but they make these disks with little rubber fingers on them. My are green and white. They have metal impregnated in them. One is made for steel and the other for aluminum. They have a small threaded nipple on the back that threads into a "arbor" with plastic backing. The arbor shaft mounts into a right angle die grinder. They work really slick. You use the razor blade to get most of the gasket off. But the parts that are stuck, and sometimes there is a faint ghost film of the gasket. These disks work great to remove that. It leaves a bright metal finish. Like I said these are a must, if I get a chance I will post a pic.

[timebuilder]

That's called a roloc disc, and is generally not a good idea to use one on a precision machined surface. Sometimes people get lucky, or they have a natural affinity for using a roloc cautiously. Many people do not.

A metal gasket scraper is better, used judiciously with solvent.

[Montanahelp]

I knew the head gasket being shot was a possibility when I did when I did the water pump, but I was hoping for the best. Oh well. I wonder what the time difference is between doing the head gasket and putting in another used engine? I can get a used engine for about $250.00 and I figure trying to fix the current engine with gaskets and minimal machine shop work (pressure testing and shaving if needed) I'll be in it $150.00.

I wasn't going to mention it, but last night I put in the radiator a can of KW Block Sealer in an attempt to seal the gasket. I need to let it sit for 24 hours before I flush and refill the system. NO CRUEL COMMENTS PLEASE!

[timebuilder]

If you put block sealer in, go for the low mileage engine, and be done with it.

You can transfer over the pump and timing belt before you drop it in, with no money lost on those parts. Put the old WP on the core engine.

[nogard]

this is more of a get by fix. But if you have to seal the cooling system from a leak a tablespoon of black pepper will do the trick. I was driving my '85 Corolla AE86 to work one day and when I stopped at a light I noticed it was steaming. So I pulled into a gas station that had a burger king. Grabbed a few pepper packets and dumped them intot the radiator. I was late for work so for the next 10 minutes I was reving between 4k and 5k rpm on the highway in 5th gear. Later that night I drag raced it 9 times down the drag strip and left the car that way until I sold it. Believe it or not I never had a problem, I didn't ever find were it was leaking from. I tighten everything in the area of the leak. But nothing was really that loose?

[fredk]

lo mileage motor is probably the best bet, if it got real hot the rings might be wiped and it will drink oil

[Tommy]

you dont replace the head gasket unless you need to, its not a maintance item. when it blows, it blows.

[rustySFE]

wow, $250 for a complete motor?

Might be worth that . . . it took me a day and a half to replace a head and time the cam in my CRX. Of course I did a lot of extra stuff, like port the intake and sandblast/paint the valve cover, clean the engine compartment but I had the tools to go quickly. The car was on a lift and I had air tools. Then started in and drove it the 10 feet to put it on the dyno and tune it.