Blew The Head Gasket! What Should I Do? Please Help!

[don_juan_miami]

ok so this is my problem... I have done a search on this, and i dont think there has been anyone in my shoes yet but please help with any info you can give.

I have a stock 93 sc300 with 97,000 miles. Low, yes i know... The car stayed in a warehouse for 3 and a half years ( was not touched, moved, cranked.... nothing...) because my friend bought a new M3, and left this one to rot. 3 1/2 yrs later i buy it, fall in love with it.... break it. I blew the head gasket. My question is... should i invest the 2000.00 dollars in fixing the current engine, or save up for the 2JZ-GTE coversion, as i have seen many on the internet ( engines )for around the same price. I know install and shipping will make the total cost more, but im talking about fixing an engine that has been sitting for a long time, could cause more problems because of that, or spending 3500 or so for the engine and install ( my estimates on parts and labor) and end up with a better higher horsepower engine. To me it sounds good, but i dont want to sink and time or money in something that could have a cheaper fix. Please help.

also if you know anyone selling 2JZ-GTE's w/o trannys, please let me know.

ANY HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

[jzz30]

2 grand for fixing the head gasket? that seems super high! you might want to go get other quotes.

[2JZ_SC]

First off, 2k for a headgasket is a little much. As for a 2jz-gte of a 1jz-gte swap there is nothing to keep this from hapening on one of them. I have worked for toyota for 9 years and one of my techs has for 25 years and this is the one week point on the I6 toyota motors. From before the 5mz-fe and the landcruiser this has always been a prolbem. Some pepole are using metel headgaskets to fix this. I have talked to techs that are torqueing the heads down to 100ft with out any prolbems. My head kit is sitting and waiting for mine to pop.

[jzz30]

i dunno about the 2j but the 1j comes metal head gasket from the factory

[1jzgtesc400]

2k is wayy to expensive for a headgasket, go shoppin around

[mehullica]

Just do the head gasket yourself. Really easy motor to work on.

[93shifter]

A reputable local shop quoted me 1200.00 for the head gasket - I'd do that before the engine swap, but that's 'cause I'm cheap and timid. Love to hear how your 2jz-gte swap goes... for when the engine in my '93 finally dies.

[JIBBBY]

Well I am not a mechanic, just and average guy who can turn a wrench and read instructions pretty well.. and I would simply remove the heads carefully and purchase a new head gasket and have the heads resurfaced at a local head shop, then reinstall....Lextreme.com and Club lexus.com has write ups on how to....Or take it to a mechanic and not the dealer, and pay anywhere from $500 to $1200....Doing it yourself $150 tops is my guess with gasket and resurfacing.....Good luck... Oh and anything over $1000 is a rip off in my book....For 2 grand you can get a great replacement engine off ebay with low miles...What a joke...

[UCF3]

The maximum you should be spending is about $1500. That's for a short block. I'd suggest getting a quote from a Toyota dealer or if you know of a Toyota Master Mechanic have him/her to do it.