01-03-2022, 06:10 PM
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#1
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Location: Rawlins, WY
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1997 3rd 4Runner: exhaust gasses in coolant
1997 3rd gen. 250k on the clock. Does not burn oil. Started getting gurgling sound in heater core. Exhaust is a little more steamy looking than normal. Noticed low antifreeze in radiator. My untra gauge has never shown high temps. Parked one day after coming home for lunch, and when I fired to back up scan gauge showed 210*f.
Assuming cracked head between valves. Should I rehead it or new motor it? I’m in southern Wyoming. Don’t trust any shops here. Likely closest good shop is in Colorado. Any recommendations on a shop? Recommendations on a motor? Recommendations on heads?
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01-03-2022, 06:12 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coues7
1997 3rd gen. 250k on the clock. Does not burn oil. Started getting gurgling sound in heater core. Exhaust is a little more steamy looking than normal. Noticed low antifreeze in radiator. My untra gauge has never shown high temps. Parked one day after coming home for lunch, and when I fired to back up scan gauge showed 210*f.
Assuming cracked head between valves. Should I rehead it or new motor it? I’m in southern Wyoming. Don’t trust any shops here. Likely closest good shop is in Colorado. Any recommendations on a shop? Recommendations on a motor? Recommendations on heads?
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What makes you say cracked head and not a failed head gasket? Failed head gasket is much more common than a cracked head.
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01-03-2022, 06:19 PM
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#3
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Rawlins, WY
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I'd say it has to be one of those two things. No codes....yet. I bought an exhaust gas in coolant test kit. Immediately upon startup, it went from blue to yellow. I could see bubbles coming in when I revved the engine. I hope I understood your question correctly.
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01-03-2022, 06:20 PM
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#4
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Join Date: Jan 2021
Location: Kentucky
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Head gasket. Now your task is to figure out which one!
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01-03-2022, 06:22 PM
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#5
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Any recommendations on how to do that? I'd assume checking spark plugs. Any recommendations on who to get heads from?
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01-03-2022, 06:32 PM
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#6
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I would do a compression test then a leakdown test on whichever cylinder(s) fail the compression test. If it was me I would remove and inspect the head before making a decision to replace the head or just do the head gasket.
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01-03-2022, 06:50 PM
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#7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bad Luck
I would do a compression test then a leakdown test on whichever cylinder(s) fail the compression test. If it was me I would remove and inspect the head before making a decision to replace the head or just do the head gasket.
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Sadly, I don't know that I'm setup to do any of that. It's the middle of winter here in Wyoming so I can't move my vehicle into the garage for 2 months. It'll have to go to a shop.
Anyone know of any good shops in northern colorado.
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01-03-2022, 09:23 PM
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#8
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What is the best way to determine whether a new motor is better than just heads?
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01-04-2022, 01:39 AM
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#9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coues7
What is the best way to determine whether a new motor is better than just heads?
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That's entirely dependent on your situation and how much you value your own time and convenience. Many would definitely scoff at the idea of replacing the whole engine, but others wouldn't hesitate to ditch the car in your situation. For reference you can get brand spanking new 5VZ's from Yota1 that are very pretty, very high quality and ready to drop in but run upwards of $4k, and if I'm not mistaken low mileage crate motors from Japan usually run about half that around $1.5-2k - but I may be speaking out of turn here since you're far more inland than me so shipping may or may not be a pain, and it's been a while since I checked price/availability. Most people with head gasket failures usually end up spending $1-1.5k it seems, if they need a teardown and resurfacing - if I'm not mistaken a pair or new heads runs in a very similar price range and would probably save you some money in labor, but I wouldn't expect much as they still need to disassemble and reassemble them on the block. Keep in mind here I didn't mention any labor cost with replacing the motor, which would surely be up there. So I would juggle those numbers personally and think about works best for you, as I imagine you'll get 5 different answers from 5 different people here. On this site it'll probably be heavily in favor of doing it yourself since labor will be the biggest bill
I do understand the predicament though. I want nothing more to move to Wyoming but any and all industry is so damn scarce it's downright intimidating (aside from coal and oil that is.) I've often wondered how difficult it would be to get spare parts for wheeling or an emergency, or have decent work done to your vehicle, etc.
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01-04-2022, 01:51 AM
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#10
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If you’re comfortable driving it to another state to get fixed, maybe you can wait until the spring and do the work yourself. If it was me, the plan would depend on time available. Pretty sure that head gaskets require a motor pull, so that labor time is a wash. Donor engine still requires accessories to be swapped over, but would be overall quicker than waiting on a machine shop to resurface 2 heads.
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01-04-2022, 08:42 AM
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#11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cas5259
If you’re comfortable driving it to another state to get fixed, maybe you can wait until the spring and do the work yourself. If it was me, the plan would depend on time available. Pretty sure that head gaskets require a motor pull,
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Pretty sure that's not true, I can suggest at least one video that shows the procedure.
Quote:
so that labor time is a wash. Donor engine still requires accessories to be swapped over, but would be overall quicker than waiting on a machine shop to resurface 2 heads.
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How long does it take in your area to get 2 heads resurfaced?
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01-04-2022, 09:01 AM
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#12
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With that milage I’d want piece of mind. I don’t want to spend the money and time replacing head gaskets. Only to loose the bottom end 50k later.
I’ve done a head swap at 140k on the Limited Puppy Hauler for what I thought was a bad head gasket but ended up being the intake manifold gasket. I had a spare set of heads freshened up.
On my 97 SR5 project I rebuilt the engine. I didn’t keep receipts but I had around 2k into it and I installed the rebuilt heads on the block myself.
If you’re keeping your rig for any length of time, I’d put a fresh engine in it.
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01-04-2022, 10:07 AM
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#13
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Join Date: Feb 2010
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Last night I found a complete 2001 4runner for $2500. The person claims it has a rebuilt motor in it with only 50k miles. The vehicle has a total of 262k on it. I figure I will find someone to pull the motor and put it into mine. That or as suggested I'll wait until Spring and do it myself. Not sure how to verify anything about the 50k miles motor, but open to suggestions. I figure I can get parts off the 2001 and then dump it.
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01-04-2022, 10:35 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Feb 2019
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Senior Member
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coues7
Last night I found a complete 2001 4runner for $2500. The person claims it has a rebuilt motor in it with only 50k miles. The vehicle has a total of 262k on it. I figure I will find someone to pull the motor and put it into mine. That or as suggested I'll wait until Spring and do it myself. Not sure how to verify anything about the 50k miles motor, but open to suggestions. I figure I can get parts off the 2001 and then dump it.
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Receipts would be the only way to confirm what was done and when. There's a lot of different "versions" of rebuilt. Was it just a head gasket, a full regasket/reseal, pistons/rods/crank, new head/old head, etc.
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01-04-2022, 10:41 AM
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#15
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Junior Member
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Join Date: Dec 2021
Location: Billings, MT
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Real Name: Brad
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Devbot
That's entirely dependent on your situation and how much you value your own time and convenience. Many would definitely scoff at the idea of replacing the whole engine, but others wouldn't hesitate to ditch the car in your situation. For reference you can get brand spanking new 5VZ's from Yota1 that are very pretty, very high quality and ready to drop in but run upwards of $4k, and if I'm not mistaken low mileage crate motors from Japan usually run about half that around $1.5-2k - but I may be speaking out of turn here since you're far more inland than me so shipping may or may not be a pain, and it's been a while since I checked price/availability. Most people with head gasket failures usually end up spending $1-1.5k it seems, if they need a teardown and resurfacing - if I'm not mistaken a pair or new heads runs in a very similar price range and would probably save you some money in labor, but I wouldn't expect much as they still need to disassemble and reassemble them on the block. Keep in mind here I didn't mention any labor cost with replacing the motor, which would surely be up there. So I would juggle those numbers personally and think about works best for you, as I imagine you'll get 5 different answers from 5 different people here. On this site it'll probably be heavily in favor of doing it yourself since labor will be the biggest bill
I do understand the predicament though. I want nothing more to move to Wyoming but any and all industry is so damn scarce it's downright intimidating (aside from coal and oil that is.) I've often wondered how difficult it would be to get spare parts for wheeling or an emergency, or have decent work done to your vehicle, etc.
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I just relocated from Central WA to Billings MT. You don't know how good we had it there with all the parts floating around. Between both junkyards here I've picked apart all 8 4runners I could find. Next nearest yard is in Missoula that has a 3rd gen in it. 4 hr drive. In WA parts are everywhere and not rusted to shit.
I would R/R the entire engine. Faster and then do Head Gaskets on old motor when its summertime and sell it off.
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