head gasket set's. what do i need?

[decrypted]

hi. my mother in law owns a 1993 camery,le. with the 3vz.fe engine. the head gasket blew on it and im not sure if i should get a complet kit. what comes in the kit and what do i need and what can i get away with not replaceing. she doesent want toi pay $300 for a kit, any ideas would be very helpful. thank you. p.s. can some one tell me excatly what comes in the kit.

[Frodo65]

Originally Posted by decrypted

hi. my mother in law owns a 1993 camery,le. with the 3vz.fe engine. the head gasket blew on it and im not sure if i should get a complet kit. what comes in the kit and what do i need and what can i get away with not replaceing. she doesent want toi pay $300 for a kit, any ideas would be very helpful. thank you. p.s. can some one tell me excatly what comes in the kit.

On a car that's 17, I'd budget for replacing all gaskets in sight - cam cover, intake, any o-rings for disassembly, cam oil seals, etc. I'd also check/get checked the head and block for warping, and get the heads freshened up with guide seals (at least) or complete valve refresh. Also consider replacing timing belt, unless it's very recent. All depends on how long you expect the car to last after the work, and how averse you are to going back in a few months later.

[toyomoho]

Check out the photos of head gaskets and head gasket sets are www.rockauto.com. The set has all the gaskets to do a top end job the head gasket is just that one gasket.

You can buy separate gaskets such as camshaft seal, etc.

[decrypted]

sweet thank you.

[davemac2]

Practically all head gaskets for the 3vzfe are the graphite type. If you want a better gasket and are willing to pay, the Victor-Reinz MLS-rubber gasket thru Napa is the way to go. Otherwise, I think any gasket set off Ebay will do pretty well for $200. The cheaper gaskets will likely last at least 60Kmi. That may be good enough for the expected run time of this car or your mother's plans for the future.

You can get away with not replacing exhaust manifold gaskets, maybe a few other metal gaskets, but I would replace any gaskets which are going to be a pain to do later if one fails. (ie. anything buried under the intake header or air intake plenum). Don't bother removing any stuff off the intake plenum and above such as the TB. Just take it off as a complete unit.

If the valve oil seals are not leaking (ie. no blue/white smoke in morning starts), I would not bother replacing them on the heads unless you are going to do a complete head job. It's too much work and will be expensive to get done. Just check the heads for flatness and possibly magnifluxed for cracks if you want and put them back on.

Carefully inspect your hoses as well for brittleness and cracks.

As well, be careful of the electrical connectors on the sensors such as the knock sensors under the intake header. On a car of this age, they get very brittle with age and heat and are easily damaged.

I've posted some of my 3vzfe head gasket job pics at photobucket.com Just serach on 3vzfe.

dave mc

[decrypted]

thank you, i havent really worked to much on toyotas. so that should help.

[decrypted]

i have a couple more questions. how acurate is the Haynes manual and i think it might be a cooling problem that's why it over heated. but i think it blew because she drove it hot then she turned it off and it would not start im pretty sure that's why it blew. also the car has 250.000mi on it. so what in the cooling system usually goes out, so i can get an idea what to look for or where to start to look. i will give it a good flush cause the water was rust color. do you think that i should just get the kit and replace every gasket,washer and seal since it has that many miles on it?

[davemac2]

if the water was rust color then try to flush it first before you tear into it for the gasket. Use a heavy duty scale remover. If it has been that neglected, then the water pump is likely corroded which could have contributed to the overheat, so you will want to replace that + the timing belt. The plastic radiators usually develop cracks on the top, so check for any evidence of leaks.

The haynes manual is quite reasonable.

dave mc

[decrypted]

i will check that out. thanks for your help

[groovemasterodi]

Be sure to check out the new God Dethroned album whilst you repair things.

[tonyhawk]

Originally Posted by toyomoho

Check out the photos of head gaskets and head gasket set are www.rockauto.com. The set has all the gaskets to do a top end job the head gasket is just that one gasket.

You can buy separate gaskets such as camshaft seal, etc.

Yeah. They were really nice shop. when I called rockauto about the gasket set, they swore up and down it had all the things it needed.

[Gothmog3VZ]

Originally Posted by decrypted

i have a couple more questions. how acurate is the Haynes manual and i think it might be a cooling problem that's why it over heated. but i think it blew because she drove it hot then she turned it off and it would not start im pretty sure that's why it blew. also the car has 250.000mi on it. so what in the cooling system usually goes out, so i can get an idea what to look for or where to start to look. i will give it a good flush cause the water was rust color. do you think that i should just get the kit and replace every gasket,washer and seal since it has that many miles on it?

yeah, change your radiator caps and thermostat while you're there, and depending on the rad condition, might be a good idea to swap that as well my car is due for a rad, it's been running warm every now and then. Same motor (3vz), since I'm probably going to swap the rad myself, I can post a DIY if you decide to do it too