which is better

[jon_570]

as of right now i have a 1997 toyota corolla and a 1987 supra turbo 5-speed

im surrently in school for the next nine months. i am debating on weather i should leave the supra at home and take the rolla and while im away have the HG replaced and then when its done come back and get it. heres the delima

i have heard toyota redesigned the OEM headgasket and if youre keeping the boost levels below the fuel cut then the OEM gasket is fine. which i will be keeping the car stock till i come out of college. lets say i go to a reputable shop and have a ARP head studs installed and a new redesigned toyota headgasket installed with a 100K miles motor. how long will this motor run fine till about 160 170 thousand miles with good preventative maintanence or do they not typically last that long. the problem is i dont have enough money for the metal headgasket and all the maching and labor costs but i would have the money for the OEM gasket and arp bolts and labor to put them on. i wont be racing or anything but RPM will be kept below 5 grand like 6500 is the redline. i guess im asking is it an alright idead to do the oem idea if i wont be modifying for a long time.. then when i modify i am actually gonna get a JDM 7mgte and still drive my supra and when i dont work work on the extra 7mgte and when i have it all ready just do a little swap. hopefully someone here can give me some good info. but thanks to all who help

[jon_570]

nobody knows??

[bgrieger]

With a new gasket, 70+ foot-lbs of torque and proper work done to ensure the decks are fine, you should be able to drive on it until something much more catastrophic happens or the engine needs an overhaul from age/rings etc....with proper maintanance, I see no reason it cant get the miles you are looking to get to...

[jon_570]

alrigh thank you. i asked this on another forum and they got a little bitchy. but once again TN comes through. lol yes the head and blocke will be cleaned the best i can so the gasket contacts good. all the "top end" gaskets will be changed as well. the engine runs GREAT turbo spools up nice and smooth no weird noises or anything..but you never know about the HG.

also when i take the head off. does anyone have a diagram on how to time the 7MGTE?? i would appreciate a picture r something..thanks

[bgrieger]

cam timing: 2 match marks above the pullies on the rear timing cover (attached to the head behind the pullies) match 2 notches in the cam pullies. If you put everything back in correctly (or don't remove the cams), line em up and get the belt on. Depending on whether your machine shop needs to mill the head or the block, it may not be a perfect alignment, but should be pretty darn close. If it is out more than a degree or 2, you can try removing the dowel pin from the pulley and put it in another of the three holes. This allows a small amount of timing adjustment, but is generally not needed. Crank should be at 0.

Engine timing: you have to jumper a couple of terminals in the diag block, but I can't remember which two off the top of my head (too early, too little coffee). Set to 10 degrees and remove the jumpers.

[Jeeves]

If all your are going to do is clean the block surfaces, I don't think that a stock will do. "Cleaning the block" is not comparable in any way shape or form to a good lapping. I did similar and the HG was showing severe signs of detination when I pulled it out for replacement.

In my opinion there is NOT a good enough reason to have the block/head apart and not do it properly. You've got the corolla which is a fine daily driver. Having a daily and not doing the HG right will come back to haunt you. It did to me and many others.

[jon_570]

well.. ima wait and see what my money situation is here in about a week or so and possibly ill have the MHG done.. hopefully i get the money to do it right.

[Jeeves]

The trick is pulling the engine and head and delivering them to someone who can do the machining properly, that was my biggest headache.

[jon_570]

do you think this is a good quote. ima buy my own OEM gasket kit and the ARP bolts..shopuld i get studs or bolts? and a shop i trust and one guy there knows abut the supras and he said for $750 he would replace the HG have the head machined just a little bit and clean the block up.. what do you think about that.

[bgrieger]

That sounds like a fair price for that. The stealership will charge you double.

Have the rubber hoses behind hte head and block replaced while he is in there...may be $100 extra, but trust me you don't want to remove everything again just to replace a hose...

[Jeeves]

ARP Head Studs > ARP Head Bolts.

In my experience it's the block that needs more lapping than the head. I'm just saying, don't skimp. Having skimped myself and blown it again later, it's not something you want to worry about.