I keep beating the Felpro drum
I have not see every gasket type available, handled four types, but I much like Felpro's current offerings (about $140 for a full head set).
You could save a couple beans by going with no name ebay sets but who knows what you get. I dont like to save money that costs me money later.
Factory is never a bad choice but horribly inflated, guessing 300~400 for a head set ?
IF you have to go factory ( the timing belt is about the only thing I insist as Toyota, and thats probably just habit) a good price checker is here
Toyota 13753-65740 Shim, valve adjusting - Toyota genuine OEM part, replace the part number with the new item.
Felpro head gaskets imply they go on dry, but I have this Chrysler gasket dressing a spray can , some v.fine red sealer, that seems good for microscopic passages. I would not use those old copper sprays.
Other advice;
Do the valves ( machine shop work). opps I just saw you comment to save the advice. I wouldnt bother with a high mile head job without the extra trouble of a valve grind & lap in. Check the resulting seat seal ( leak check assembly with solvent ). Check the springs for dimensions, if not actual spring force.
Check the block deck for flatness. Sorry if it don't pass muster. Better to know now ...
Check your cams for wear grooves where they run in the seals. If there is a marks, good chance it will cause an aggravating seep or leak behind the belt, mucking all that up. If worn, National makes "seal savers" or somesuch name, its a stainless sleeve that hammers down to refresh the seal interface without having to go to a different seal ID. They make these in lots of sizes, I put them on this motor on both cams, both crank seals, and the torque converter.
There is a PVC union down at the HDepot that will just fit over the cam to use as a seal driver. May have to sand it out a bit so it does not get stuck on the cam . Lightly oil the seal outer face to slide it in easier w/out cocking, just straighten it out of it does, it should recover unless its really bent up. Sometimes I try a LITTLE sealer on the outer face instead. Seal the rear plug too. Put some lube in the cavity between the seal flanges, dont put it on dry.
USE NEW HEAD BOLTS every removal, these are deforming bolts that stretch at spec. So are the crank girdle bolts fwiw. Im sure lot of people ignore that, but it would take me about one broken head bolt ( or worse, a under clamped & totally unknown to the builder) to skimp on that $30 like never.
Theres more to torquing head bolts than just a number, but briefly the FSM says torque the 8 bolts in rounds up to 44Nm / 33ftlb, then another 90degrees ( use paint marks to check that deg) , then ANOTHER 90degrees , on a CLEAN (I mean NEW) LIGHTLY OILED bolt ( threads, washers and heads) in a clean ( chased ) hole.
FSM says install all the brackets and particularly exhaust manifold BEFORE installing the head, this is to deform the head BEFORE torquing down, to avoid shear stress on your nice new seal interface.
Check your ex manifold for flatness, these seem to erode bad as any Ive seen , and a out of flat iron manifold can warp your expensive and careful head prep.
Get the damn manual. You can often get them cheap from some one who didnt read it and now has a useless truck.
Again while I like Felpro, and their stem seals too ( ex and in are different mat'ls) , but check those even, I just found one that was mis-molded, had a little mold flash in the hole making it out of round, no way would it have sealed well.
Set the valve gaps. Carefully. A proper valve grind (seats, faces and even tips) should change all these settings, most likely decrease them since the valve moves into the head. Aim for high spec particularly on the hot cylinders , 6 & 5 , particularly the exhaust gap.
I just did gapping on the bench
using v.light weight springs , there is a spring at Ace Hdwr that works great on lots of motors, and I dont want to own the special tool to release the shims from the regular springs.
A little puff of air sometimes works where a sharp pick wont for popping the shims out of the bucket.
I just so happen to have bunch of perfectly good shims available in common sizes that someone might benefit from, imagine that ? They are at least 8 bucks at any dealer, and who cares if these are worn polished, your cam will accomodate just as well as a new one on an old cam. Basically you use feeler gauges to check gap, and pick a thicker or thinner shim to correct.
The FSM has no special word on cam sprocket removal, should be a nice slide fit. Treat it like a woman; persistent jiggling gets those stripped.
Lastly - Toyo seems to absolutely LOVE to use specific bolts everywhere on this beast. I am picking up the pieces of long stalled project that got a little jumbled, so I got that going against me, but when dismantling, card or mark very specifically what bolt came from where. I am finding bolts a couple mm's different length; use the wrong one and you might punch thru some casting, bottom out before clamping, or skimp on the thread engagement.
