I am in the process of replacing my 2010 head gasket and got a full gasket set from Amazon (Evergreen brand). The new stem seals are blue and orange, but there is no documentation as to which one goes where. Anyone have experience with which color goes on intake and exhaust? Thanks, Chris
Looking forward to knowing the answer to this... In the meantime what were your options for headgasket kits and reasoning for going with the one you did? I'm procrastinating on buying a kit for a 2013 and need to research it more!
I broke down and paid $285 for the Toyota gasket kit at my local dealer. I should have done that in the first place, so I have my self to blame for trying to save a couple of bucks. The seals are different materials and I did determine that the intakes have a small groove on the inside of the smaller diameter and the exhaust do not. I am returning the Evergreen kit to Amazon and have another Toyota head gasket that I will sell too (since my new kit came with everything anyway. Chris
While I'm fairly certain that there are way cheaper head gasket kits than OEM that are actually higher quality... You are approaching this situation intelligently by thoroughly inspecting the quality of the kit and not letting price define quality, but letting your own eyes and experience with materials design define it. That's smart! Wish people would do that more often!
FYI, it maybe too late to reply but for future reference... Toyota dealerships usually have an online store you can order and pickup, price are very from dealership to dealership but usually cheaper then retail. In my case the kit currently listed is $160.14 online, and and 148.14 from another dealership online part store... I like the OEM kit, but as head gasket itself I do feel Felpro head gasket is better than OEM head gasket... Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Also does anyone have a step-by-step instruction on how to replace stem seals...? A video would be even better but I realise I maybe asking for a bit too much.
Ideally you pull the head off and use a spring compressor to remove the retainers and access the valve stem seals, but it is possible to leave the head on. Here's an example on a corolla: Again I prefer to pull the head and do a full inspection, head gasket replacement, & valve job, but if you just want to get by with the minimum effort it is possible to leave the head on...
