2004 Limited 4wd
125k miles
all regular maintenance performed by me or at a dealer.

Driving to work I look down and notice that my temp is almost to red. Immediately turn off A/C and pull over as soon as possible. As soon as I turn off the A/C the temp drops like a rock back to the normal position on the gauge. Towed to dealer. Dealer calls and says they checked thermostat (good), water pump (also good). They find oil in the coolant and conclude a blown headgasket. They want $3800 to put in a new gasket. I'm going to call a few Toyota specialists around town on Tuesday. $3800 for a headgasket seems insane.

Any advice on new gasket vs. new engine? I don't want to spend $3k on a new headgasket to learn that I in fact have a warped block. Any other possibilities?

I recall there being an issue with the radiator that could allow oil in the coolant line somehow. Something to do with the oil cooller being built into the radiator. Just a thought.
Yep, that price seems steep. May want to check into a independant shop that specializes in imports. Hope all goes well for you.

on shopping around, $3800 is insane!

Burt's point about the radiator is valid, sort of... Especially the the 3rd gens seem prone to allowing the transmission fluid and the engine coolant to co-mingle (a bad thing).

V8 or V6?

V6.

I'm definitely going to call some independent shops tomorrow.

If its really a blown or leaky headgasket, and if its $3k to repair, I figure I have four options.

1. Do nothing and sell / trade 4Runner
2. Replace headgasket and sell 4Runner
3. Replace headgasket and keep 4Runner
4. Replace engine with low mileage engine or rebuild and keep 4Runner.

When I bought this car in 2004 I had every intention of keeping this car until 250k miles minimum, Now, I'm not so sure. If I keep it, I'll probably sell by 200k to avoid another gasket issue.

I never saw the obvious tell tale signs of a blown headgasket. I blew a gasket in my 1990 4Runner (pre-recall) and I had the billowing white smoke, milky oil, etc. At roughly 70k miles, I got a new engine (paid for by Toyota) and I drove the 4Runner until 230k without any other engine issues. It never even needed another headgasket.

The dealer said it was a "leaky" gasket. I guess this is different than totally blowing out the gasket. I did not ask if they had pulled any codes from the computer. I read the sticky where "the Josh" had a warped head and block. It seemed like he was throwing misfire codes, etc.

KBB is $13k to $14k although last month I bought my girlfriend a 2004 Beetle Turbo S for about $5k under KBB.

I don't read about very many 3.4's blowing their head gasket. I don't think it's very common at all . I was looking at some link recently posted here to re manufactured engines and your quote is almost a rebuilt long block. I would also make certain that it's not a rad failure causing trans oil to mix with coolant and them 'guessing' that its a h/g leak . Good luck man .

I'd choose option 4, but that's just me. You can buy a 1gr dirt cheap ($1500) and drop that in as easy as replacing the headgasket and have a low mileage engine. That's just me.

I looked into the option when looking for an engine to drop into my friend's MR2. Turns out the dimensoins on the 2gr worked better, but the 1gr was cheaper.

I found an engine with 31k on it for $2500 shipped. Any guesses on labor?

No the tranny lines do run through the radiator.

For 2500 skins I'd get another motor and be happy with it for another long haul. A guy that goes by The_Josh over on T120 did a motor swap himself and hasn't had any problems. I would try and get ahold of this guy for some insight.

Edit: I found the link to the writeup...

http://www.toyota120.com/forum/showt...ht=engine+swap

You need to find someone that will swap it on the side and it'll be less than $1000 to get it in. I'm about to help swap a 2zz into a MR2 spyder for $400 if you were only closer...

Natchez Salvage in MS has an engine for 900 with 67k on it. Bonhanon has one with 80k for $1500. Check car-part.com as they have tons on there. It shouldn't be more than $200-250 to ship it if you have a place with a dock to ship to.

If you're not worried about mileage it will be cheaper to do the headgasket ($700 or so I'd guess)

Before you get a new motor, make sure you read The_Josh's thread on his engine swap. The Engine Is A Goner, Warped Head And Long Block!!

Make sure you are getting one out of a 4Runner, preferable the same model year.

Thanks for all the replies.

Talked to the dealer. He can do headgasket for $3800, used engine for $5300. If I choose to only do the gasket and it turns out I have a warped head or scorched valve, he will apply the $3800 to a used engine.

Sdtruckshop.com
Talked to James. Granted, he hasn't seen the truck so these are total guesses. $2000 for a gasket. Guessing $500 additional machine shop charges which would apply if the head needs work. He said for $5300 he could put in a remanufactured engine.

Any additional questions I should ask the dealer while the car is there? His main diagnosis was based on finding hydrocarbons in the coolant, pressure testing the coolant system, SMOG check. Coolant level was low when it was towed in.

Any advice or other shops in town to call?

Yeah, WHY IS THE CAR AT A DEALER?!?

Dude, find an independant shop and you'll cut the cost a ton. A lot of times the dealer uses engines from the scrapyards if they're good (around here they use massey's allt he time) and you're going to get that engine. The other thing is anything internal they pretty much avoid doing and make you choose the new engine route... call around at the import garages and they'll let you know what they'd want to swap out the motor if you supply the new motor and also a cost on the headgasket. $2000 is REDICULOUS!!!

Car is at dealer because this happened at 430 on Friday. Everyone else was closed for the weekend. I also just moved here 3 months ago so naturally a dealer was an easy first tow.

$3800 is the dealer estimate for new headgasket.
$2000 is an estimate from an independent shop

I think I'm going to put in a Toyota remanufactured engine. The SD Truck Shop is going to call me back tonight with a better estimate.