Got a coolant leak at the back of my 3VZE. I'm in the process of replacing all the rubber hoses back there, but I have a bad feeling that the coolant may be coming from the head gasket.
If the head gaskets need to be replaced, is one brand of gasket better than another. I've heard FelPro gaskets are good. How about new head bolts and adding washers for more even pressure?

 

no no no no no no no no no non o no no no nono

and did i say stop what your doing

theres a recall on the head gaskets call your stealership and give them your vin see if its been done if not then it will be fixed for free!!!!

if it has and they wont do it then id stick with toyota gaskets for that one

 

I put FelPro on my old 4runner. They worked fine, my only compaint was a tad loss of compression. Get new head bolts but don't do washers; they can throw off your torque specifications.

 

I have a '95 3vz-e but when I called the local Toyota dealership they told that my head gasket needed the recall, it had not been done to mine, and that Toyota was no longer paying for the recall

 

Yep, I asked the local Yota dealer about the head gasket recall and they told me that it was over.

 

They'll honor the recall if it hasn't been done before, but only up to 100,000 miles....which pretty much means they aren't doing very many at all since everyone has more miles than that by now.

I assume you can't see the leak....here's what I've run into in the same spot:
There is a small bypass hose that looks like a horseshoe which is a popular leak spot. Also, I've seen freeze plugs rust out on the back of the heads. The ones on the heads means pulling the heads off, so HG replacement too. I had one that had been sitting for a while, and a metal bypass line that runs under the lower intake right above the block rust through and leak. It doesn't require pulling the heads, but just about everything else on top.

Happy hunting.

EDIT: the info about the recall came from a good friend that works at a dealership. Just talked to him about this a month ago...

 

I was wondering about that metal bypass line under the intake manifold. It does seem the water is running off the top of the engine on to the bellhousing. I would think a leak from a water jacket past the head gasket and out would be more of a mist than a stream of water.
By the looks of the 4Runner I have, it may have been sitting for a while, that bypass pipe might be worth checking out since I have most of the top end apart.

I also heard the deal about the 100K mile limit on the head gasket recall. That would pretty much cover every eligible Toyota.

 

There are 2 metal bypass lines...one attatched to and under the plenum, one under the lower intake.

The hose I mentioned is only as big around as your finger. If you have it torn down to that, might want to replace it. My friend at the dealer says they sell alot of those.

I had a friend give me a '89 2wd with the 3vze. It was the one with the freeze plug rusted out. I thought it was a head gasket at first too. You could barely see a water trail by looking up and forward from underneath. I could just touch it with my finger, after the plenum was off and I crammed my hand behind the head and between the exhaust crossover.

 

I thought about ripping the intake manifold off to check out that bypass hose. Instead, I plugged the open water outlets and blew air through it to see if it would leak. I didn't see any leakage so I replaced all the visible hoses and am putting the plenum back on.
If it still leaks, I'll rip the motor down to the block and replace the head gaskets along with anything else that needs fixing.

 

hey yall, im in the middle of doin a head gasket job on my 3.0. i got the intake off and everyhting else and then got my head bolts out and i cant et the head off it. any ideas? anybody got any tricks to prying off the head itself? im stuck at this point for now. please let me know any useful info.

 

Make sure you didn't miss any bolts and if you're sure then use a rubber hammer to jar it loose.

Rob

 

You can use something to pry the heads off the block, just be careful not to gar the mated surfaces, especially the aluminum heads.
I usually get started with a thick putty knife then migrate to a large screwdriver.

 

don't forget that single bolt behind the head .

 

There's a gasket beneath the "water bypass outlet" (the fist-size chunk of aluminum with multiple hoses and sensors). If that one is leaking, it will be very close to the head/block interface. Unless you've got a good reason to replace the head gasket anyway, you might want to check that out.

It won't be easy; as you've already discovered it is hard to see anything back there.

 

I was stoked to find out that it was one of the heater or bypass hoses that was causing the leak. I think the hose that goes under the air intake might have come loose somehow and was spewing water on the intake manifold and down the back of the engine. I had just bought the 'U' shaped bypass hose for $20, that was OK, I used standard issue Gates water hose for the rest of the hoses, grand total for hoses and new clamps was about $20.
I think I might stuff some fiberglass insulation between the crossover pipe and the engine block to keep some of the heat away from the back two cylinders, perhaps that my prolong the life of the head gaskets.