overheated cressida

[goodyear52]

My kid wants to be a mechanic and someone gave us a '86 cressida for him to fix and hopefully drive to work. It was overheated and has now sat for 2 years. it runs fairly smooth, has pretty good power but smokes, especially after initial warmup. The cylinders test 170,170 170, 50, 145, 170. Wet test on #4 and #5 give 90 and 275 psi. I looked at some archive postings about overheating and some say head warping or maybe a crack between valves. It sounds like the head needs to come off at the least. Is the head the most likely casualty or could it simply be just the gasket? The motor was rebuilt once and has 110K. Is this motor worth repairing?

[REN69]

If he's gonna be doing all the work, its probably worth it.. but I would rather do a motor swap to it. Either find a replacement motor from another Cressida, or swap a 7MGTE from an 86-92 Supra Turbo.

[repinS]

Most likely the head gasket. Replace your valve stem seals while you're at it, sitting for 2 years can't possibly be good for them.

That is, if you're going ahead with the HG job.

Not to spam or anything, but if you follow the link in my sig, you may find a greater wealth of info. (remember: search first, post later!)

[knuckleduster]

i always really liked the cressidas. you dont see them very often in sc, so please do whatever it takes to get it back on the road.

[Yrrej]

Vacuum leaks in the heater/air conditioner control hoses will cause overheating in the Cressida. Happened to me twice when my 85 Cressida was just a few years old.