3rd Gen 4runner head gasket issue??

F

Fresh727

New member
Hey folks,
So I've been following a number of posts since I bought my beloved 99 4runner 6cyl 4x4 last year with 180k miles and wanted to get some advice. Over the last 6 months it has started burning coolant at a rate of about a gallon every 7k miles. It has a short bout of bellowing white smoke upon start up but stops after the engine warms up. I haven't had any other symptoms until last week when it started misfiring. I took it in and the code read misfire on cylinder 3. I had just replaced the plugs and wires so the mechanic replaced the coil and I was off and running. Fast forward one week later and it is misfiring again upon acceleration...and runs a little rough at any speed.
I just love this vehicle....when I got it I went through the whole thing replacing: timing belt, water pump, all belts, all hoses, both valve cover gaskets (though one of them is leaking between cylinders 1-3 again) I replaced all plugs and wires. Then I replaced the fuel filter, fuel pump, alternator, front brakes and even put a nice set of 2011 rims and tires on it! Bought this thing for $4k and wanted to be sure it was truly road worthy as I travel alot. The above replacements cost me @$2k over the last year and I scored on those wheels at $400 for the set with 75% tread left on some great tires.
Anyhow, I'm feeling pretty certain that my head gasket is going and I'm sooooo not ready to reach that deep into my pocket to fix this at what sounds like a $3k cost. Any suggestions. I live in Palm Springs area and looking to see what my options are. Thanks for the support fellas...
 
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I'm not an expert but it definitely sounds like a head gasket. Have a leak down test done to confirm. Due to the age, you might get lucky and find a junkyard motor for cheaper than it would cost to have the head job done. Esp if you can do the switch yourself.
 
hearno said:
I'm not an expert but it definitely sounds like a head gasket. Have a leak down test done to confirm. Due to the age, you might get lucky and find a junkyard motor for cheaper than it would cost to have the head job done. Esp if you can do the switch yourself.
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Yeah...I'll have to get that test done...considering worse case scenario, I wonder if anyone here can recommend a mechanic who specializes or just loves working on these things? Again, I'm in Palm Springs area and could probably drive her to San Diego or Orange County. The rebuild and swap are way over my skill set.
 
Head gaskets

Hey there sorry to hear about the gaskets, I recently had the same problem and my buddy who's a great mechanic came over and helped. There's a machine shop here in Modesto, CA. has all the gaskets, and will put them on for cheap. I also found gaskets online for $290 bucks. Because a shop had quoted me 3k to do them.
 
Kafka15 said:
Hey there sorry to hear about the gaskets, I recently had the same problem and my buddy who's a great mechanic came over and helped. There's a machine shop here in Modesto, CA. has all the gaskets, and will put them on for cheap. I also found gaskets online for $290 bucks. Because a shop had quoted me 3k to do them.
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Well...looking for a little feedback based on the symptoms described but it seems pretty grim. I put awesome high quality replacement parts in with all the work done. I appreciate the info on the gasket kit for $290. I'll look into that....still not sure if test confirm whether I want to have it done or swap an engine or sell my rig...ugh...I just love the damn thing!:crybaby:
 
Don't sell it because of a HG. You can get the HG kit either from a place like RockAuto, which is cheaper (but I've never had a problem with the quality of their parts), or you could go OEM. Go to a machine shop and get a quote on how much they would charge to resurface the heads, and while you're in there get them to change the valve seals and get them seated as well. I had an old Jeep and learned to rebuild the 304 V-8 on it, and honestly it wasn't very hard, just tedious. I ended up finding a good rebuild manual with all of the specs in it, and had a mentor-type person help me with the assembly as well. Pay close attention to your torque specs.

OR you could do as others suggested and see how much it would be to just throw a junkyard motor in there. Thing with that is you have no idea what type of reliability you will get out of it, or if you will have similar problems later on down the road. I used to have a '91 Toyota Pickup and the headgasket blew (famous 3VZE engine) and my mechanic charged me $1600 to do the entire HG job. It was still a hit, but MUCH less than the $3k pricetag you are looking at. Shop around a bit..I'm sure you will find a good deal. Or, if this can be able to be put on the backburner for a bit (ie not your DD), then tear into it yourself, get your hands dirty, and learn as you go. You could at least go to a machine shop and see what they'd charge you for the head work, as well as what they would recommend doing while they are in there.

Good luck to you, whatever you decide. I just got a '98 4Runner and love it. I will definitely rebuild before replacing. I can't ride in one of these newer spaceship-looking cars! Not for me!
 
Thanks for the tidbit...I wanna keep her and if I could get the whole thing done for under $2k I would for sure do it...rebuild sounds more promising than a swap plus I can pick the parts I want to use. Anybody got a good mechanic for a rebuild project in San Diego, Riverside or Orange County??...there's a fella named Brian around here that is a wealth of info and he is from San Diego...I'd like to pick his brain on my issue and local mechanics in the area.

Like you....I can't drive a space age car either!
 
I think head gasket as well. Sounds like you run it a while in that condition. I would be afraid of cylinder & bearing scoring in the leaky cylinders.


If it were mine, I would try to find a fresher accident victim motor rather than getting into a full rebuild with possible oversize stuff and a very pricey job.

Another engine could carry you another 200k if you maintain it.
 
An accident donor...That's another fine idea. Yes, it's my daily driver and while I go easy on it, I'm sure I'm not helping the situation. So, the consensus is head gasket! Now, I need to find a reputable mechanic who could take on the job. If $2k would get it done, I'd be elated.
 
Fresh727 said:
An accident donor...That's another fine idea. Yes, it's my daily driver and while I go easy on it, I'm sure I'm not helping the situation. So, the consensus is head gasket! Now, I need to find a reputable mechanic who could take on the job. If $2k would get it done, I'd be elated.
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The way I see it is with a bad HG you can't sell it for anything. Probably can't get your4k back. And if you love it why not fix it. Your stuck in a hard place either way your losing a shit ton of money but if you fix it you at least have a rig
 
Grenvilleter said:
i'd hope you can find a decent engine for less than a grand. Finding someone who can change it for a few hundred should be easy.
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This is about right. I'm betting you can get a good engine and do the swap for under $1500. Although other members have had good luck with these JDM engines, I'm not sold on them. No way to verify the mileage, Japan got hammered with that Tsunami, it just doesn't give me an easy feeling to buy one of them. I think you'd be better off finding a part out or even buying a running but wrecked 4Runner and going that route. My $0.02
 
PitbullRescuer said:
This is about right. I'm betting you can get a good engine and do the swap for under $1500. Although other members have had good luck with these JDM engines, I'm not sold on them. No way to verify the mileage, Japan got hammered with that Tsunami, it just doesn't give me an easy feeling to buy one of them. I think you'd be better off finding a part out or even buying a running but wrecked 4Runner and going that route. My $0.02
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As someone with a JDM engine - I would NEVER recommend buying one you cannot pick out yourself. The JDM distributor I went to had a bunch that looked great and a pair that were full of sludge and rust under the covers(One was also obviously on it's 2nd timing belt so NOT low miles). The years also ranged from 1999 to 2004. Needless to say I walked out with the cleanest 2004 block I could find.

The distributor doesn't know ANYTHING about these engines or their history. If anyone is telling you that they can "guarantee" low miles - they are full of shit. They buy shipping containers full of engines, pull them out with a fork lift and stick them on eBay. The profit margins are pretty slim, so you won't find anyone who'll be willing to do a leak down test on a JDM engine for you without you paying for it.

Also keep in mind that the JDM engines are NOT out of 4Runners. They are out of minivans. You need to swap pretty much everything outside of the block itself including the oil pan. It's not hard, but if you are paying someone else to do it, expect at least 3 hours extra labor.

I have zero regrets with going JDM - but it would certainly be easier to drop a direct replacement 4Runner engine.
 
You fellas are an awesome source of info and I appreciate it. So an update here...been pointed to a very reputable toyota specialist about an hour away and over a small mountain pass....so before I commit to heading over there. I wanted to do some tests. First, was a Block Test today...it was negative after 3 separate tries...so tomorrow I will be getting a Leak Down test and cylinder compression test just down the street. I'll share the results here and then get a consensus on whether or not I should drive her over the low grade pass to the Yotamasters shop to have the work done. With a negative block test could this possibly be an ignition or injector issue? With all symptoms pointing to HG issue...perhaps I have unsuspecting exterior coolant leak and ALSO a injector problem. Geez, this almost 200k beast is becoming a headache. Can't wait to get testing tomorrow!
 
Similar symptoms on 2000 SR5

First time poster, long time lurker -- you've all made an awesome resource, so thanks right off the bat.

Bought a 2000 SR5 4x4 about 10 months ago in upstate NY aka ridiculous amounts of salt used in the winter --> RUST...I'll admit it was a bit of an impulse buy as I've always wanted a 3rd gen and this one was "pretty good" and in my price range. Truck currently has about 177,000 miles and I'm starting to believe it was a big mistake to buy it.

~6 months ago I fire it up and it's idling rough for about 5-20 seconds when the motor is cold...throws CEL, which has been intermittently on/off to date. CEL code is for 'random misfires'.

Since then, it does the same thing upon cold start about 90% of the time, misfires only when at a stop sign (never when accelerator is depressed), does not smoke white until about 1/4mile down the road, has never overheated, does not feel like it's lost any power, but DOES go through coolant scary fast. In addition to going through coolant, the overflow looks pretty dirty and it changes the clean yellow coolant into a dirty brown/pinkish (NOT pink milkshake pink, just kind of a tint)
*^^See attached picture of color and high level of coolant in Radiator*

Replaced plugs & wires 3mo ago and previous owner had timing belt/water pump done ~20k miles ago at Toyota dealer.

So here's the deal...
I need to make an 850 mile trip back home to Michigan from NY at the end of next month. I need input from you guys on:
a) Which dx tests should I have done (block, compression, leak down, etc.)
b) Your thoughts on driving it in this condition the 850mi since it's been holding steady symptom-wise for the past 10,000 miles
 

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Fresh727 said:
You fellas are an awesome source of info and I appreciate it. So an update here...been pointed to a very reputable toyota specialist about an hour away and over a small mountain pass....so before I commit to heading over there. I wanted to do some tests. First, was a Block Test today...it was negative after 3 separate tries...so tomorrow I will be getting a Leak Down test and cylinder compression test just down the street. I'll share the results here and then get a consensus on whether or not I should drive her over the low grade pass to the Yotamasters shop to have the work done. With a negative block test could this possibly be an ignition or injector issue? With all symptoms pointing to HG issue...perhaps I have unsuspecting exterior coolant leak and ALSO a injector problem. Geez, this almost 200k beast is becoming a headache. Can't wait to get testing tomorrow!
Click to expand...

Well, what happened with the engine?
 
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