95 notorious head gasket

Hi there, no surprise I’m looking for some wisdom on the 95 head gasket issue. Just bought a 95 with 174 000 km (100k miles or so, I’m in Canada). Obviously the 3.4 would be a better way to go, but I wanted to see if anyone changed the head gaskets. Which brand is reliable? And what else is smart to tackle while doing this job. Basically looking for a lot of advice besides swapping for a 3.4. Thanks in advance!!

 

Not on my 4R but I've always used Felpro or OEM.

Never kept the vehicle long enough to see when it would fail again but never had issues.

If it your first time I'd find a repair manual just in case. And please get new head bolts.

 

Thanks.
Is there any manuals you or anyone knows that are preferred and where to buy ?

 

Citadel,
I am at 37k miles since I rebuilt my engine in 2019 (240K then) and went with Green-Lee MLS head gaskets, ARP head studs and had the deck machined for MLS and then went and hand lapped the deck and heads to near mirror like finish by my own hand. The Feld Pro HG that had failed was on cylinder #1 and was likely the gaskets that had been replaced when the warrantee replacement was done many years ago. Still they stood the course for what I figure was the better part of 240K miles. Hoping my 3VZ-E will last a long time or until I cannot afford to put gasoline in the tank!

 

wow just wow. what a gem of an engine you got there sir. I wish I can afford to pay you and have my 93 engine look like that! lol .....

 

Wait, I just bought a 4Runner on the count of "they run forever" or "never die" or something like that. You mean that was just a hype?

 

The second generation along with other vehicles do sometimes require this type of repair. Different engine/drive trains are used between these year models.

Your 5th gen should be good to go for a few years before needing to worry about this sort of thing with required routine maintenance.

 

Head gasket failure is a MAJOR issue and cannot be avoided by routine maintenance. There is nothing to maintain. The poor Vega is still paying the price for nearly bankrupting GM.

 

Good information. Thanks for updating. Will be sure to stay away from any Vegas in the future.

 

Not exactly. Good maintenance of your cooling system will help reduce the chance of a blown head gasket. Tons of stories of people letting their neglected Toyota get low on coolant, (or a bad waterpump) then it overheats and while the HG doesn't blow immediately, months down the road they have a HG to replace.

 

Wrong. If it was replaced properly back when they had the TSB, wasn't exactly a recall, or after and the cooling systems was maintained properly as negusm said, it is not a big issue. Mine was replaced back in 96 and has never had an issue since and I do maintain the coolant.