03-05 head gasket isssue ?'s

[firebirdguy]

im searching for a new to me 4th gen 4runner V6. ive read the V6 head gasket thread on here & other places. i understand that after 12/05 build date its not as common & 06-07 4runners dont have the problems like the earlier year 4th gens.

my question is how serious of a concern is the head gaskets on 04-05 4runners? i see tons of clean nice looking 04-05 4runners for sale & cant imagine they all have problems, you usually only read about the ones that had a problem & no telling what may have caused it, abuse, poor maint etc.

in reality there were 10's of thousands of these years produced & only a small percentage had issues... so should i avoid these 04-05 years or if the price is right are they worth the gamble? im looking at a 04 sport with only 117k miles for around $6k, seems too good of a deal to pass up. any input is appreciated. thanks!

 

[4thGen4.7]

I bought my 04 in June of 2014 with 154k. It had the infamous toyota tick and it's currently sitting with 195k and it hasn't gotten any worse. It will tick for about 5-10 minutes until it's hot enough to seal up that crack. Never even notice anymore.

EDIT: My apologies - I read head gasket and thought exhaust manifold. Have not had any head gasket issues

 

[tom4416]

Read through the sticky here about the issue, it contains summaries (last one in 2016) of reported failures ON THIS FORUM. You have to remember this forum is only a microcosm of actual owners (generally, enthusiast focused forums have about 10% of the total ownership as members, about 25% of those are active members) so you would need to extrapolate the data out to the general population.

Looking at the compiled data, few instances among 03 vehicles, huge spike in 04's, tapered off in 05 and pretty much fixed in 06. I don't know why 03's were so low as they should have the same construction as an 04/05 but apparently did not (or there are reasons I'm missing completely).

It's hard to detect if it's a pending problem - I do a compression test and leak down test on my 03 about once a year and all numbers are perfect but it could blow out that little gap at the #6 cylinder tomorrow. Keep the fluids changed regularly, proactively change out the t-stat, maybe the radiator and water pump (I did at 120K) just to insure the cooling system is working at optimal capacity.

 

[firebirdguy]

thanks for the info. i read through most all of the head gasket sticky thread here & other places about it as well.

im holding out for at least an 06 but they can be hard to find meeting my budget & other requirements like mileage & location etc. but i have been seeing a lot more 04-05's for sale & tons of em on the road still, just curious what others opinions are on having a head gasket issue on 03-05's.

 

[4RunnerMexico]

I have an 03 V6 with 209k, no head gasket issues.
A guy who lives down the street from me has an 05 V6 with 302k, never had any head gasket issues. Just seems to be sort of random on which ones go and which ones are fine...

 

[gaber6]

I'm fixing mine right now. Build date was nov 2005. It was a slow coolant disappearance. Stop leak worked fine over the winter to hold it but I wanted it fixed right. It is good piece of mind to see the clean insides of the motor and may as well have new valve seals on any engine with 150k + miles. The job is a real pita, but take time and it is all good.