Just bought a 1992 Camry V6 LE Sport ( Head Gasket?)

[LaHaver]

Hello All,

Small preface, I've been driving a 92 V6 LE Auto for about a year now which is my first Toyota.(love them) I got a parts Camry with 383xxx kms.

THEN I found in Amherst, NS a 1992 LE Sport 5 speed with 250,xxx on it for 800 bucks with 500 bucks of parts in the trunk. I attempted to drive it home to Bridgewater area and I made it only 20 kms when it over heated. The guy who had it before had replaced the radiator, thermostat,water pump and did a special way of putting rad fluid in without air via a pump. So I figured somehow it air locked which I've fixed after i got it home via trailer( a brake line went too so i had to get it towed), I get hot air now through the vents and the temp stays below half on the gauge.
I figured it could of air locked again because the inner head gaskets are going and that the air is coming from there. along with white smoke still coming out of the exhaust and a slighty inconsistent idle after putting new plugs,wires,cap, air filter in.( was some of the parts in the trunk)

The timing guard label says it was last done at 130000 so I need to do that too so I don't mind doing pulling the head but i'f there is something that could save me from doing it I would really appreciate your ideas.

[EEngineer]

^wow, quick a deal! good to see someone who share the same love.

however, if white smoke is coming out...it's pretty obvious coolant is getting into the cylinders and getting burnt.

there is a great fix for it though. trd4life (gabe) on the forum just had a batch of copper head gaskets made for the 3VZ-FE and he's selling a pair for around $200 US. which is a great price. metal head gaskets will outlast the graphite composite OE ones for sure. so give it a shot

[LaHaver]

Thanks for the info! I'm going to price around the local shops and see what I find and i'll go from there. I figure I need a complete gasket kit and a few days of patience.

[camry6]

I replaced my headgaskets in my 3VZ-FE 4 years ago. I used a genuine TOYOTA master gasket set, and replaced all gaskets and seals (I took my engine out). I priced the master gasket kit through after market first and found prices from $672.00 to $1189.00 !!!??, then I thought - "How much do Toyota want for genuine gaskets if the after market had list prices as high as $1200.00??!! So, for "shits and giggles" I checked out TOYOTA PLAZA here in St. John's Newfoundland, and they were only $327.00.......Then I thought WTF? So of course I bought the Toyota kit. I later found a guy on eBay by the name of "DOMESTICGASKETS" who had the same Master kit (Aftermarket) for only $68.00 US, plus shipping. I ordered the kit from him and got it here for $89.00. I opened it and found some nice, good quality gaskets inside. They actually look IDENTICLE to the TOYOTA gaskets I had just used, same material, colour and precision. Looks like a great buy. (I have another 3VZ-FE to Gasketize)

[LaHaver]

Right on, Well I found a website through this site and it was around 60-70 bucks and I've stripped apart the intake manifold and the part between the cylinders. To practice on and I'll take some photos

From just going on Ebay quickly to get a photo , Do you think I could get away with putting those copper looking ones on and seeing if that fixes it? I have a really good set off the parts car now. I would rather keep the head on as I need one of those hex sockets the size of a 14mm then I gotta screw with the timing. BUT I do need to switch the timing belt so I may as well suck it up...Still undecided

http://cgi.ebay.ca/92-93-Camry-ES300...item1c10994b1f

[camry6]

Originally Posted by LaHaver

Right on, Well I found a website through this site and it was around 60-70 bucks and I've stripped apart the intake manifold and the part between the cylinders. To practice on and I'll take some photos

From just going on Ebay quickly to get a photo , Do you think I could get away with putting those copper looking ones on and seeing if that fixes it? I have a really good set off the parts car now. I would rather keep the head on as I need one of those hex sockets the size of a 14mm then I gotta screw with the timing. BUT I do need to switch the timing belt so I may as well suck it up...Still undecided

http://cgi.ebay.ca/92-93-Camry-ES300...item1c10994b1f

Any NEW gasket should be fine, a copper gasket is technically better as it will be less prone to blowing out. Having said that, a new composite gasket will probably last another 250,000 - 300,000 KM's, at which point and time, the car will probably be down for the count. A copper gasket is a good choice if you are planning on a turbo build. If you don't already have one, Get yourself a Hanes service manual, as there are a few things that you have to do (like pre-loading the cam gears) when you are re-assembling the heads. It also takes away any guess work. A word of warning, even if a known good head gasket that is removed from another engine looks O.K to use again, it will not work. A head gasket can ONLY be used ONCE and will not seal when re-used. It will be a total waste of time to try it.

[LaHaver]

Thank you Camry 6, I'll buy a new set of gaskets and go through the lengthly manual I have downloaded from here or another similar site

[camry6]

Good luck!