Part Reccomendations. - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

turtle93 · 01-06-2012, 07:29 AM

Think I will have to change the head gasket on my 93 3E-E.Would you use Toyota or Fel- Pro?

Also, does the thermostat do best from Toyota, or will Stant work.

noahthefrog · 01-06-2012, 05:03 PM

I would go for the OEM Toyota head gasket. I've heard horror stories about 3rd party head gaskets failing or causing the engine to overheat due to lack of correct thickness of metal for heat spreading. I'm not sure if the Tercel is that sensitive, but it's an involved enough job that you may as well do it right instead of risking having to fix it twice.

For the thermostat it doesn't really matter so long as it's the "fail-safe" kind designed to get only get stuck open whenever it fails and is the same temperature rating as OEM. The really cheapo ones will just get stuck in whatever position they feel like upon failure and if that happens to be closed, overheating happens.

***96paseo*** · 01-10-2012, 12:59 PM

I've used Fel-Pro HG's twice now and have been impressed with their quality. Hard to tell the difference between them and OEM. Neither HG has had any problems after replacement either. Don't forget to get a new set of head bolts for the job.

The rock has Fel-Pro upper gasket sets for a good deal. If you do go with Stant for the t-stat, get the OE design. They cost a bit more but are worth it.