Reinforced cylinder head gasket Toyota Camry Windom Scepter 3.0 3VZ-FE

The Toyota engines covered

The Toyota 3VZ-FE, a 3.0-litre V6, powers the Camry, Windom, Scepter and 4Runner II listed below.

Toyota does not publish the bore, the thickness or the construction of the original gaskets of this engine, numbered 11115-62060 and 11116-62060. They are designed for the standard combustion pressure: when it climbs, the clamping load eases, the head lifts and coolant seeps into a cylinder.

Reinforced cylinder head gaskets

Sealing does not depend on the gasket alone: the fasteners that pull the head onto the block contribute just as much. The CFM-20 combines a galvanized steel core with an asbestos-free compound on both faces, and each cylinder bank receives its own gasket, tightened to the engine manufacturer's specification.

This page describes the part numbers from the American maker Cometic, a specialist in competition gaskets, in a single construction: the CFM-20. The bore is 88 mm and the thickness 1.5 mm. Each part number exists in a left-hand and a right-hand version, one for each cylinder bank. By convention, the gasket bore exceeds that of the cylinders by at least 0.5 mm. The gaskets are sold individually, one per bank.

Technical specifications

The gasket volume is the hollow it leaves above each cylinder. This hollow adds to the combustion chamber: the larger it is, the lower the compression ratio. Only compare these values between gaskets of the same bore.

Preparation and fitting

Before fitting, check the flatness of the head and block faces with a straightedge, and have them resurfaced if needed. The CFM-20 is supplied already coated with its compound: do not add any gasket sealant.

Technical guide

The construction offered

Choosing bore and thickness

Gasket bore. The Cometic CFM-20 is offered in 88 mm only, in a left-hand and a right-hand version.

Thickness. No thickness is published by Toyota for the original gaskets of this V6. 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 above the block deck: it shows the clearance left between piston and head with a 1.5 mm gasket.

The brand

Cometic Gasket, Inc. is an American company founded in 1989 in Concord, Ohio, which designs engine gaskets and sealing solutions. It cuts its gaskets to order, to the bore and thickness required. All manufacturing remains in the United States, using 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 88 mm bore of the gasket 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: 11115-62060 and 11116-62060.

Important: the gaskets on this page are listed for the 3.0-litre Toyota 3VZ-FE V6 in the table (1990 to 2001). For any other vehicle, note the engine code before ordering.

Why switch to a reinforced gasket?

When the original gasket reaches its limit, the CFM-20 takes over: its galvanized steel core keeps its shape under combustion pressure and the asbestos-free compound seals the joint between head and block.

Fitting a turbo or a supercharger, or raising the compression ratio, makes the head gasket the weak point of the top end. A reinforced gasket is not a luxury but a safeguard: it prevents the leak and the head removal that follows.