Cressida 7M-GE Engine Questions

[SVD115]

Hi all, my name is Jason, only just recently bought my self a Toyota after owning about 4 Nissan's and decided it was time for some cheap good luxury.
All has been well and good for the first few days of owning my Cressida, but unfortunately yesterday on the freeway blew the head gasket on it the motor has done about 275k km's and it looks completely stuffed, no water in the radiator anymore and the oil looks like the foam i would tend to find on a coffee top! if it was a Nissan motor i would be right on it changing the gasket and freshening the motor up, but seeing as though this is my first Toyota and Toyota motor, im not sure i should . Ive done a search but wasn't able to come up with the answers i was looking for although i found some good threads on repairing the BHG

My questions are these:
1: I've heard these motors (once the head gasket goes) are no good anymore and not worth repairing and also due to my high km's should i repair it?
2: would it be better and cheaper in the long run to just put in a good low km second hand motor?
3: how much would a good second hand 7M-GE be worth and where would i get one in Melbourne south eastern suburbs?
4: is it worth fixing the car seeing as though rego is due in November?

so thats it, just trying to get the best opinion on what i should do with it, its a beautiful car with everything i could want, the gearbox is smooth and it ran beautifully before and I'd hate to junk it but don't wanna waste my (very little) cash on it if im just gonna keep on having problems now.

Thanks so much Jason.D.

[RObErT_RaTh]

You could probably pick up another good condition 7MGE that has had the HG fixed properly before or you could buy a reco one from somewhere?

You'll get lots of people on here telling you to do an engine conversion and the most common thing people do is chuck in a 1JZ (2.5L Twin Turbo I6) but I couldn't give you a comparison of the cost of that vs a good condition 7MGE I'm afraid.

If you don't need / want power just get another 7MGE or get the HG fixed properly. If you want a fast sleeper than look into putting in a 1JZ.

/my two cents

[SVD115]

The JZ conversion is the first on the cards, in 4 years, because ill be off my p's but for now its 7M power are there any foreseeable issues that could arise after doing the HG??? or are the 7M's good once that's done?

[RObErT_RaTh]

Well if the block is fine and all other parts are ok and you don't cheap out on getting the head machined and you get it torqued above factory spec (something like 68ftlb or 70?) then she'll be apples. But like you said the engine has got a few k's on it so perhaps grabbing a lower k motor, replacing the HG regardless and maybe even get the block decked before it goes in and should run fine as long as you don't drive it like you stole every minute of the day.

[SVD115]

Well if the block is fine and all other parts are ok and you don't cheap out on getting the head machined and you get it torqued above factory spec (something like 68ftlb or 70?) then she'll be apples. But like you said the engine has got a few k's on it so perhaps grabbing a lower k motor, replacing the HG regardless and maybe even get the block decked before it goes in and should run fine as long as you don't drive it like you stole every minute of the day.

Cheers for the advice, what sort of price should I be looking at for getting the head machined etc, taking on the worst case scenario. What's the damage going to be to get the car back on the road?

Cheers JD

[RObErT_RaTh]

Cheers for the advice, what sort of price should I be looking at for getting the head machined etc, taking on the worst case scenario. What's the damage going to be to get the car back on the road?

Cheers JD

I'm afraid I don't have any prices for you on that one, hopefully someone else can jump in here and post

If that fails, pick up the phone and start calling around some shops and see what they'll charge.

[NORBY]

i did my HG fix at home, including all
parts and getting the head properly fixed up it was about $700

[andrew_mx83]

its really not that big of a deal:

head gasket on its own $100 OR
complete vrs kit $under 200
deck head $50

advisable to use arp head bolts ~$150
advisable to put a timing belt on it $i forget

and a day/weekend work depends how quick u go. i took the head off complete last time (inlet man., cams, alternator, etc) it was heavy but a lot less taking things off and reinstalling them.

put a 2nd had 7m in and it will likely blow another HG over summer.

try toyotacressida.net for more info anyhow....

[SVD115]

Cheers guys, will get straight on it

[jimmmayyy]

yeah i've done this before. you should be able to get away with under 1k easily if you it yourself. plenty of cheap motors about, but most have rod knock so watch out.

in your case, i'd just go and buy a good cond short motor and have your head checked and skimmed.

new timing belt
arp studs
vrs kit.

piece of piss. if you get arp studs though (compulsory if you wan it to last!) you'll need a thin walled socket that will fit in between the bucket housings. stahlwille make one that fits and certain kincrome ones too.

[indeecent]

Ok, we've just got all the parts for a 7mgte to go back together, with new bearings, rings, full seal kit, arp studs etc etc

price so far is at $850ish

the head machining was $66, was meant to be $100, but the guy didnt realise that he had to take the cams out.

When I did the 7mge HG the other year, i think total cost was around $400-500 doing it myself - except the machining of course.
Just remember to torque the HG down properly - unless someone has proved that wrong by now? its been a while since i've done it... haha

[Slim]

Make sure that the surface of the block is clean and flat. Everyone recommends to deck the head but no-one seems to point out that the block should be checked too. If it's all uneven or pitted/corroded then you'll be wasting your time trying to get the next HG to last.

When, or if, you do the head gasket i would be flushing the cooling system thoroughly and replacing the coolant with Toyota red coolant, rather than the green glycol stuff. It's better for preventing corrosion which should help with preventing future BHG's.

You should be fine so long as nothing is warped, cracked or corroded and yo don't take any shortcuts with the 7M headgasket repair

[andrew_mx83]

the head machining was $66, was meant to be $100, but the guy didnt realise that he had to take the cams out.

he must have been pretty switched on then. i always get my heads machined with the cams in and the valves open. works so much better

[indeecent]

yeah i dont pay too much attention to him... so he coulda said something completely different, but there were differences that made it more time consuming to machine, main thing is its back, ready for new stem seals and things are coming together

[wilbo666]

Geez $1k goes a long way towards a 1jz conversion...

Why not get 1JZ, take turbos off while on P's.. (run exhaust from where the turbos bolt on ).

And then later, put turbos back on, install intercooler and zing!

Cheers
Wilbo