randal

My son just bought a '92 ES300 with (perhaps) a blown head gasket for $600. I am helping him take the upper half of the engine apart to replace the gaskets and we will put in a new timing belt, water pump, pulleys, etc. while in there.

So far, we have taken the intake plenum off and pulled the spark plugs. All plugs look fairly normal except the one on the front-drivers side (would be #6, I believe). That plug(far left) looks like it is wet with coolant so I am thinking the LH head gasket is shot. I plan to pull both heads anyway as it would be foolish to have it apart and leave the RH bank alone (right?).

The guy who sold it said a mechanic told him it was a head gasket. Personally, I saw steam coming out the exhaust pipe so I really have no reason to doubt that analysis. I am actually hoping it is just a gasket and not a cracked head or block.

Any thoughts on the look of the plugs?

Bdub215

iTrader: (1)

First plug on the left. not only is it wet the friggen electrode area is red with coolant. case closed. the rest look fine. i'd say you could get away with doing one bank (where ever that plug came from that side)

BigDaddy59

My son did something similar, bought a '93 es300 with a bad head gasket. Same story, no. 6 cylinder. The water passage at the end of the block is real close to the cylinder bore, and any detonation from bad gas can push the seal ring over far enough to cause a leak. Victor Rienz Turboseal headgaskets are supposed to be the best that you can get for this engine(3vz-fe).

randal

Thanks for the replies. The #6 plug does look like the insulation is tinted red, yet the engine had green coolant. I think the engine did have the Toyota red (pink) coolant in it for most of the blown gasket time, then the owner put green in it to sell. Good observation, Bdub.

The Victor gasket set looks good but is pricey...upwards of $300. My son does not want to put that much into her so he is ordering a cheaper set that comes with head bolts. Did you or your son also change the RH cylinder gasket or just the front bank, BigDaddy? It is tempting to just do the easier one but years of experience with Mr. Murphy tells me to change both while the top end is torn down.

Here is gasket set ordered -> http://www.ebay.com/itm/92-93-Toyota...#ht_2761wt_907

JSM

Make sure u change oil ASAP. I would do it twice in less than 500 mile interval.

randal

Well, got the timing belt off and ready to remove cams and heads. However...the rear head(RH) looks like it is going to be a total beech to get the exhaust manifold removed. There is almost no room to move either from the top or bottom. Lexus canted the engine toward the back making it even harder to get any thing on the back side of that RH head. Short of pulling the engine, it looks like a job for a very patient contortionist.

So, against my basic logic, I am leaning toward leaving that rear head as is and just replacing the front, blown gasket.
Anyone have thoughts on this? Bdub, I may do just as you mentioned.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

You are absolutely correct. Your options would be to pull the engine and work on a bench, or just do the front. It's up to you.

Bdub215

iTrader: (1)

Like i said before all the other plugs look fine except for one. If you want to be certain on your move, compression check the motor. You should have at least 4 good readings. The fouled plug and the cylinder next to it are probably going to be low. However if you have less then this, do both banks and call it a day.

BigDaddy59

We did both gaskets, also you could just get the Victor Turboseal head gaskets and then just use the other gaskets from the ebay set.

randal

The ebay set was crap...Evergreen brand. So, we are sending them back and getting Fel-Pro instead.
Did you pull the engine to get the rear head? If not, how???

randal

Here's an update. We pulled the LH (front) cylinder head and pinpointed the gasket failure to cylinder #6 as suspected. The lower, right side of the close-up shows the metal gasket ring is torn/broken. You can also clearly see which cylinder is leaking from the shot of the cylinder head. The coolant turned-to-steam really cleans the carbon deposits. Pics attached.

LeX2K

Thanks for the pics. Typical gasket failure on the 3VZ unfortunately. The good news is clean up the block and cylinder head and slap in a new gasket and you're good to go. My theory is cheap coolant contributes to this failure, so use Toyota coolant going forward.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Shouldn't you check the head for any leaks or warping, before putting them together? That's a yucky looking engine.

randal

Yes, you are absolutely correct. I need to get the heads and block cleaned up and check for warpage before putting it back together. And it is "yucky" looking, almost abused looking. If you take a close look at the other cylinders, the head gasket is distorted but not busted or leaking...yet. Makes me want to remove the rear head (RH) but...that head looks like a real PITA to get at. I am going take another look and see if I might remove an engine mount and rotate the engine forward by placing a jack under the back half of the engine.

randal

The green coolant that is showing is a result of the previous owner throwing Prestone in there just to sell it. It did have the Toyota "red" coolant. And I have to agree, I will flush the Prestone and only use Toyota fluid when it goes back together. I also think that cheap coolant helps break down the seal on the water pump and could cause premature failure of the pump.