Preemptive head gasket replacement? What's the vote?!

[SlimPickins]

Hey all, I have a 1998 3.5L SOHC gas/petrol Montero with 154k miles (247,830 kilometers) on the clock. She's new to me and seems in decent shape. I'm doing the timing belt/water pump/crank bolt/cam seals and MAYBE the valve guide seals. I'd rather leave the heads on to do this.. The heads don't have too much gunk under the valve covers. I didn't have any overheating issues but only had the truck a couple of months. So... What's the consensus about just doing the head gaskets preemptively? Are they bound to fail eventually or 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it?' What do you guys think?? I really like this truck and hope to keep her for the long haul!

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Do some research, head gaskets on these engines are not known to have random failures, it's not a Toyota.

 

[SlimPickins]

Do some research, head gaskets on these engines are not known to have random failures, it's not a Toyota.

I've done a ton of reading on several sites, and yep, def not as prevalent vs the Toyota. I've seen a few references to doing them at this point to avoid a venture back in there in the future but no discussion specifically related to opinions on a preemptive change. Just wanted to hear a few voices before I bagged the idea and kept on with the in situ valve seals, cam seals and buttoning everything up! Thanks!

 

[NickSchmaus]

I just did mine at 200k miles, not be cause they were blown but to do a valve job, I would say leave it.

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[plh]

Wouldn't touch those

 

[PacS14]

You can do valve guide seals without removing the head. Do the timing belt and all front seals, then you can rotate each cylinder to TDC and use a compressor with an adapter to pressurize each cylinder as you go. Easier in my book than removing the heads.

 

[Jay Ayala]

I vote YES, do the head gaskets and new head bolts too. DO NOT reuse the existing head bolts. They have elongated and will give you false torque readings when tightening.

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[ManfromSnowyRiver]

I vote no, taking heads off seems to lead to lots of trouble. These head gaskets typically require some real overheating to blow. Slap a new 3 row radiator in instead for insurance.

 

[JohnnyBfromPeoria]

I vote no.

John B.

 

[Toasty]

I also vote no, leave that factory seal. Those heads will never be that perfectly machined again. Once you break them apart there's no going back, yeah they can be machined properly again and reinstalled with no issues but there's nothing like the original seal, head thickness and flatness.

 

[SlimPickins]

Perfect, not touching that factory seal. Thanks all.

 

[RyanY]

Instead of spending money on parts and machine work to replace the head gaskets, spend it on your cooling system to prevent having to do head gaskets in the future.