2004 head gasket #6 (gasket treatments work?)

[ingrjc1]

Has anyone had any luck with using coolant additives to seal the head gasket around #6? Sorry if I missed this in the thread search. Just trying to see if this is worth trying. Mine is not overheating and losing a little coolant per week. Enough to cause a few rough cold starts. Diagnosed today as leak around #6. $4K quote from 3 different places

Thanks.

 

[rumfoord]

Had same issue, did a bit of research on the treatments a found a lot of mixed reviews, some of which confirmed my fears of it gumming up areas it shouldn't... Wasn't worth the risk in my opinion for a potential short term fix. Ended up committing to my vehicle and paid for the head gasket repair and happy I did. 4 grand sounds quite steep... is that to just replace both head gaskets and have heads machined or rebuild whole engine? Had mine replaced for just over 3 grand and that's CDN.

 

[ingrjc1]

$4K was to do both heads and check for cracks and machine if needed. also doing water pump and new plugs. Got quoted $350 for gasket kit, $85 for gasket bolts, $250 for water pump and plugs, and 22 hours of labor. 3 different places all same price. For $2.5K, I was willing. Not doing it now. My 4 Runner has 181K miles but my 4wd is also non functional. most everything else good.

Thanks for input on gasket seals. I assumed if it was this easy, everyone would do it.

 

[capri_auto]

$4K was to do both heads and check for cracks and machine if needed. also doing water pump and new plugs. Got quoted $350 for gasket kit, $85 for gasket bolts, $250 for water pump and plugs, and 22 hours of labor. 3 different places all same price. For $2.5K, I was willing. Not doing it now. My 4 Runner has 181K miles but my 4wd is also non functional. most everything else good.

Thanks for input on gasket seals. I assumed if it was this easy, everyone would do it.

I had a Land Rover Discovery 2 with a bad HG. Would start to run hot on a short drive. I used Kseal and it held for years. The 4unner HG leaks are so slow, I'm sure it would work fine. In my case it was a $2500 truck so there wasn't much to lose. Lots of LR guys swear by the stuff.

 

[woodman60]

Has anyone had any luck with using coolant additives to seal the head gasket around #6? Sorry if I missed this in the thread search. Just trying to see if this is worth trying. Mine is not overheating and losing a little coolant per week. Enough to cause a few rough cold starts. Diagnosed today as leak around #6. $4K quote from 3 different places

Thanks.

I had about the same conditions you're seeing at similar mileage. Decided to bite the bullet and it cost me a little over $3K. 20 labor hours at the dealer. Everything else on mine works, however. If I had another few grand to get the 4WD working I'd probably just drive it until it dies. There are some threads where people have claimed to drive it a long way with the minimal leak you have now.

Some say sealants work, but I think they are just as likely to cause long term problems.

 

[djpope09]

$4K was to do both heads and check for cracks and machine if needed. also doing water pump and new plugs. Got quoted $350 for gasket kit, $85 for gasket bolts, $250 for water pump and plugs, and 22 hours of labor. 3 different places all same price. For $2.5K, I was willing. Not doing it now. My 4 Runner has 181K miles but my 4wd is also non functional. most everything else good.

Thanks for input on gasket seals. I assumed if it was this easy, everyone would do it.

Could you replace the headgaskets yourself? There's a good thread on here that I used and the service manuals are also on here. I had never replaced headgaskets before and I was able to figure it out. I think total cost for parts/supplies/machine shop/a couple tools I didn't have was around $1500. I made a few mistakes along the way and it was still cheaper than having a shop do it.

You may need another vehicle for a while though. If you take your heads to a machine shop to be cleaned/inspected it could take a while to get them back.

 

[gaber6]

I had the sealer for a temporary fix for 6 months until I could do the job myself. Worked ok. It wasn't gummed up when I opened it up

 

[Captsolo]

I have a 2005 V6 4runner (145,000). I check my coolant overflow tank regularly after reading this post. It's currently at the exact level it was two/three months ago, so I don't worry about a lot of things, including blown HG.

I wonder what the percentage of HG failures are in the 2005-2009s.eace:

Best and cheapest way to check HG is to check the overspill coolant canister for level. If it stays the same, the HG is OK IMO.

I've never had an overheat or check engine lite since I bought the car new in 2005.