Hi all, last week I got screwed by my local toyota dealer. Here's the story, it may be long. I was doing an intake gasket and 8 injectors ( leave that story for another day). While it was apart I decided to do the bad timing belt pulley as it was noisy. During the removal the cams moved, I thought I got them back in time but I didn't. So I sent it to the dealer about 2 miles from me. They retimed it, I picked it up a day later drove home and parked it. Went out the next day and found antifreeze on the ground and all over the engine compartment. Looked for the culprit and found the right side rad hose off and the clamp moved down the hose. Called the shop and they sent a tech to my house. We put in about 1 gallon in and waited for the thermostat to open, when it did, it came back out like a geyser. Shut it off and toyota called a tow and picked it up. They did a compression test on all cylinders and all were within spec, all but one ranged between 190-200 psi. # 6 was 170. So they said all ok and had me pick it up. I came home and did my own tests. I did 2 cooling system checks. First test went from 16 psi to 5 in about an hour, 2nd test went from 16psi to 8 in about 1/2 hour. Then I pulled the plugs, bank 1 was burning fine, bank 2 the insulators were all white. That confirmed I had a bad head gasket. The engine is also knocking. So I discussed this with the service Mgr. He straight out said he will not put another engine in. Then w/o using exact words he said it was my fault that i didn't check the temp guage in the 2 mile drive. Called corporate, and was told that they were going to agree with the shop. WTF!!!! in the mean time I can't drive it.

Toyota discontinued the 4.7, and I'm not comfortable getting used as I don't know how it was maintained. Anyone know a good rebuilder service or a good rebuilder company?

I've already contacted my lawyer and I'm also considering blowing up social media on this. BTW i have pics of the hose off and the compression test being done.

What do you think?

Sadly i think you have a problem that is only going to cost you more money then a lawsuit will recover, the mistake you made was dealing with your local Toyato stealer dealer, it's well known that Toyota Corp will always back up their dealers even when thay know it's the dealer who caused the problem by not understanding the original problem.

Don't know the milage on your 08 4runner but if it's high it might a better choice to scrap it and find another 4runner.

It's in perfect cond, 123k on the odometer, frame in perfect shape.

I am wondering if it could be converted to a V6 as Toyota has dropped the V8s, and the V6s have been updated with great power and much better gas milage.

Try to look for a mechanic that specializes in Asian imports. I've seen our V8s go through a tremendous amount of neglect and abuse, and still run for years and years after being fixed.

Worst case scenario, you have to rebuild it. With the condition your 4Runner is in, you won't find a better value on the new/used market today, even after rebuilding your engine.

Do you think they did something to cause a head gasket to fail? You didn't mention anything about it overheating. The hose being off doesn't seem to have caused a severe overheat, as there apparently was still a lot of coolant in the system that leaked out after sitting.

I think you need to forget the dealer part. Throwing money at a lawyer and going after them on social media is just gonna stress you out and cost more than moving on.

Now it sounds like your 4Runner is in excellent shape? Find a good independent shop and have them diagnose knocking and repair your engine.

Toyota still sells a new V8 "short block", then all you need to do is have a machine shop rebuilt the heads and someone to install them on the short block and swap it out.

Short Block Assembly - 2008 Toyota 4Runner

Wow! Good research, $5K for a 4.7L short block is a steal IMO.

After they fixed the timing they put it outside and let it run for 2 hours with the hose unattached. They even wrote on the invoice they let it run that long. I've got so much let's say evidence that they screwed this up. On top of all this they charged me over 800.00 to fix the timing.

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First, I'm on your side.

Second, that picture, I assume, is taken from home. They would argue that you disconnected the hose yourself and that it was attached when you drove off the lot.

Third, if you really want to get a lawyer involved, I would personally get the vehicle repaired elsewhere and then go after the dealership for the cost of the repair.

Thanks for all the replies everyone,

They already did that but I countered with two things, 1 - why would I do a TB, all the TB pulleys, water pump, fan holder, starter, 8 injectors, crossover gaskets, airpump hose, intake gaskets, hardware etc.. and then sabotage my engine. A few parts even came from them and then spend roughly 800.00 to fix it. Plus all the AF spray all over the engine, it could not have gotten that hot yet in a roughly 2 mile trip. It was there prior to me picking it up. As soon as I brought that up the serv Mgr. Got quiet.

I hear what you are saying. I am just preparing you for what a Toyota lawyer will say.

Yes, your odometer only ticked two miles. Can you prove that you did not idle the engine for a time before or after driving your two miles to get the engine up to temp? The dealership wrote down on the paperwork it idled your vehicle for two hours. That could be argued that your vehicle was in perfect operating condition when they handed you the keys and whatever happened happened outside of their control.

Tripping up a service manager is one thing, having your lawyer beat a team of Toyota lawyers who do cases like this all year long is something else. Defaming Toyota on social media may have a financial repercussion if you end up losing the battle. Hotel chains have successfully sued customers over bad reviews.

I just don't want your situation to get worse. Please be careful.

Ok, need a poll.

I am going to have to get a used engine, but what would your choice be:

Tundra 4.7 with 43k on it for $5k.

Or

4runner/ lexus 4.7 with 83k for $ 3200.

I have read that the Japan 4.7s have a better rotating assembly and have less problems than the US built 4.7s. Is that a myth? I may put boost to it down the road so the japan built would be the better choice.

What do you all think?

Other than the mileage, what else do you know about those engines.
I'd lean toward the $3200 option as it's closer to your spec.