Reinforced head gasket Toyota 3.4 5VZ-FE

The Toyota engines covered

The 5VZ-FE is a V6 petrol engine of 3.4 litres with 24 valves, fitted to the Toyota Land Cruiser 90 and Prado, Hilux, 4Runner, Tacoma, Tundra, T100, Hiace and Granvia models in the compatibility table below. Each of its two cylinder banks takes its own cylinder head gasket.

Two original gaskets are listed: 11116-62081 and 11115-62081. Toyota does not publish their bore, thickness or construction. They are sized for standard combustion pressure; beyond it they are crushed and a leak appears between the cylinder and the cooling circuit.

Reinforced cylinder head gaskets

The gasket is not everything: the fasteners that clamp the cylinder head onto the block provide the other half of the seal. A composite gasket settles for good beyond 100 N/mm² of stress; the 301 stainless steel of MLS gaskets holds up to 517 N/mm², 5 times more, and springs back with every combustion.

This page brings together 36 part numbers from Cometic, an American maker of competition gaskets, all in MLS construction, a stack of stainless steel sheets. The C4215 (left bank) and the C4214 (right bank) each come in 18 thicknesses, from 0.69 to 3.56 mm, with a single bore of 98 mm. One engine takes two gaskets: one per cylinder bank.

Technical specifications

Gasket volume is the free space the gasket leaves above each piston. It adds to the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio; compare only gaskets of the same bore.

Preparation and fitting

Before fitting, check the flatness of the cylinder head and block with a straight edge, and have them resurfaced if needed. Cometic gaskets arrive already coated: do not add any sealing paste.

Technical guide

The construction offered

Cometic MLS A stack of stamped, riveted stainless steel sheets. The outer sheets carry active beads around every cylinder and every fluid passage. A moderate clamping load is enough to seal, and the bore distorts little. This construction suits a tuned naturally aspirated engine as well as moderate forced induction.

Choosing bore and thickness

Gasket bore. The Cometic MLS gasket is offered here in 98 mm, for the left bank (C4215) as well as the right bank (C4214).

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

As Toyota gives no original thickness, use a dial gauge to measure how far the pistons stand above the block's gasket face, particularly if you aim for a thickness close to 0.69 mm: this figure gives the free clearance between piston and cylinder head.

The brand

Cometic Gasket, Inc. was founded in 1989 in Concord, Ohio, and specialises in engine gaskets and sealing parts. Its reputation rests on custom gaskets, cut to the bore and thickness requested, and on production that is entirely American, from local 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 98 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: 11116-62081 and 11115-62081.

Important: the part numbers on this page only suit the 5VZ-FE engine; the C4215 fits the left bank and the C4214 the right bank: order one part number per bank and check your vehicle's engine code before ordering.

Why switch to a reinforced gasket?

Once the original gasket hits its limit, the reinforced gasket steps in: with combustion pressure higher, it holds its shape rather than being crushed.

Turbo, supercharger or a raised compression ratio: in every case the head gasket is the first part to give way in the top end. A reinforced gasket prevents the leak and, above all, the cylinder head removal that follows, which costs far more than the gasket itself.