EMTtech

cool, I'm going to the gaskets. thanks for the torque settings as I have yet to purchase the BGB a few other questions; 1.)how hard is it to swap out the rear valve cover gasket? 2.)while im at it, how much harder is it to get to the head gasket as those have a nasty tendency to fail on these or should I hold off on those. 3.)do I have to take off the intake manifold plenum to get to the back? 4.)is there anything thats hard to remember where to put back? 5.)should I swap out the PCV valves on the heads as my car is 131k young? 6.)my timing belt was last changed at 67K miles, when should that be done and how hard is that? 7.)anything else if I'm gonna be in there Thanks, -Erik

yeah, the 3VZ-FE if that makes a diff. I have a decent torque wrench, it goes up to 150 lb/ft. I can get a putty knife for the old gasket. how many lb/ft should I put on the bolts? wheres the best place to get a new gasket? Thanks, -Erik

alright, So I wiped down the side of the block as well as I could, and it is leaking... a little quicker than I thought, so I am contemplating doing the valve cover gasket. Is that relatively easy to do even if it might be time consuming? any specialty tools needed? should I drain the engine oil or coolant first? any other pointers? Thanks -Erik

I live in Medicine Lake (plymouth) but commute to Edina, you -Erik

Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it -Erik

sounds pretty straight forward, will i need any un-conventional tools? also how tight should the oil filter be? Thanks again! -Erik

I've never actually put oil in this car as I just bought it. I kinda figured it was a valve cover gasket, but hey, as long as my head gaskets hold up i'm all good. but I'll start checking oil level more often. as for oil burning smell, nothing when I open the hood no, it hasn't changed looks wise since I got it, I think the leak is small. I'll verify by wiping down all the oil on the block and keep an eye on it to see if there is anything fresh that comes out. Thanks, -Erik out of curiosity, how hard is it to change your own oil on the 3VZ?

Im curious if this is anything that needs to be addressed quickly.(See attached pic) there seems to by a fair amount of oil residue on the front of my 1992 5-speed's engine and first of all im just wondering how quickly this should be fixed, and also what it's leaking from? the valve cover, the head? etc. the oil level seems to be fine, and the car still drives like a dream, just curious and thought I'd check with the experts of the 3VZ-FE on this site first :) Thanks in advance -Erik

as long as you have the engine out of the car, and you dont see any visible damage, or excessive wear on the pistons, bearings, rods, piston rings, etc. and the heads only have 30K on them. get cryo'd lift bolts. and that engine should be good for 400HP/400TQ without too much compromise on reliability as for the trans. I have no idea what thats rated for. that 3VZ is one overbuilt engine from the factory and thats why I love it! hope that helps a bit! -Erik