Reinforced head gasket Toyota 1.5 3E-E

The Toyota engines covered

The 3E-E petrol engine of 1.5 litres powers the Toyota Corolla II, Corolla Liftback, Corsa and Tercel, detailed below.

The original gasket carries part numbers 11115-11010 and 11115-11060. Toyota publishes neither its bore, nor its thickness, nor its construction. Sized for the original combustion pressure, it is no longer adequate once that pressure rises: the clamping force falls, the cylinder head lifts slightly off the block and coolant passes into a cylinder.

Reinforced cylinder head gaskets

Sealing does not depend on the gasket alone: it also rests on the fasteners that clamp the cylinder head to the block. Pure copper at 99.9% resists corrosion, deforms without breaking and carries heat away well, without becoming fragile at high temperature.

This page presents the three part numbers of the American maker Cometic, a specialist in competition gaskets, in a single construction: copper. All have a 74 mm bore; the thickness is 1.27 mm, 2.03 mm or 2.39 mm. The gasket is drawn slightly wider than the cylinder, by at least 0.5 mm on the bore. Each part number is sold individually, one gasket per engine.

Technical specifications

A gasket's volume is the free space it leaves above each cylinder. This volume adds to the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio; only gaskets of the same bore are comparable.

Preparation and fitting

Before fitting, check with a straight edge that the cylinder head and block are flat, and have them machined if needed. Cometic checks the flatness of every copper gasket it produces.

Technical guide

The construction offered

Choosing bore and thickness

Gasket bore. The Cometic copper gaskets exist in 74 mm (C4109-050, C4109-080 and C4109-094), with no other bore.

Thickness. Toyota gives no thickness for the original gasket. A thicker gasket enlarges the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio; a thinner one reduces it and raises the ratio.

With no published original thickness, use a dial gauge to measure how far the pistons stand proud of the block face, especially to aim for 1.27 mm: this figure reveals the clearance left between piston and cylinder head.

The brand

Founded in 1989 in Concord, Ohio, Cometic Gasket, Inc. designs gaskets and sealing parts for engines. Its reputation comes from the made-to-measure gasket, cut to the bore and thickness requested, entirely manufactured in the United States from American raw materials.

Advantages over the original gasket

When a reinforced gasket becomes necessary

• Adding forced induction, or raising boost on an already turbocharged engine
• Cylinder rebored beyond what the 74 mm bore of the gaskets offered covers
• Looking for a compression ratio different from standard, higher or lower
• Engine that has already lost its gasket, or is consuming coolant
• Competition use, where the gasket goes through repeated temperature rises

Vehicle compatibility

OEM part number: 11115-11010 and 11115-11060.

Important: the part numbers on this page suit the 3E-E engine: check your vehicle's engine code before ordering.

Why switch to a reinforced gasket?

When the original gasket reaches its limit, this copper gasket takes over: pure copper keeps its ductility when hot without turning brittle, and the seal between head and block is preserved.

As soon as you add a turbo, a supercharger or raise the compression ratio, the head gasket is the first part of the top end to give way. A reinforced gasket avoids the leak, then the cylinder head removal it forces, a job far more expensive than the part.