phillyphonka
New member
Hello all!
I am new to the forum, been lurking on here for quite some time for various topics but recently decided to sign up.
So, it turns out, for my debut post I'm asking for some repair advice. :\ I had originally planned on asking about tires as my first post, but that will have to wait. I apologize for the lengthy post and truly appreciate your input.
Background: Bought a 97 4Runner SR5 about a year ago with 186,3xx on the odometer. It has been an excellent and solid vehicle for the past year and have loved it. I've had a couple minor things that I've needed to replace, but I haven't ever regretted getting it. My dad has a 96 with 250k+ on the odo, still running strong.
What I've had to replace: most recently, the thermostat. It was overheating in slow/stopped traffic. Living in AZ, I am sure glad this happened in late Fall, when it's a bit cooler. A few months earlier, the idler control valve had corroded through, from what I'm assuming was hard water in the cooling system. So, it was leaking coolant and the engine had gotten hot then as well. Neither of these times did the temp get into the red, though it did get quite close a few times.
The current problem: It's safe to say this vehicle has had its share of overheating issues recently. This past weekend my girlfriend and I were on our way up to Prescott where we were going to stay for a day, then up to Flagstaff for a couple days. About 15 mins outside of Prescott Valley, the temp started rising again (about 3/4 way up when I saw it). I immediately pulled over to let it cool down. We were fortunate enough to be rescued by her grandfather who lives close by and brought us some water.
Put about a half gallon in and we were able to limp it up to his home where we stayed for a little bit, then continued into Prescott where we were gonna be staying with her mother. The next morning, it ran rough for about 30-40 seconds, then smoothed out while driving it locally. Same thing would happen, although for shorter time periods, the next few times I started it up. Took it to a local shop who looked at it, and here's where the bad news came...
Apparently (and I'm still quite skeptical), it passed a cooling system pressure test, though they mentioned it having some leaking hoses. They claimed to have put another half gallon of coolant in, and when they ran a block test, it apparently failed. They then quoted me what I consider an outrageous price ($3300+tax) to replace the head gasket, inspect and machine the heads if necessary, as well as replace the timing belt & water pump. The head gasket set they were to use was $845 and the timing belt/water pump kit was $571. The rest was labor and miscellaneous necessary repairs such as coolant system flush, oil change, etc.
It sat for a couple days while my girlfriend and I continued to Flagstaff and when I started it upon return to Prescott, it ran smooth as it always has with no obvious tell-tale signs of head gasket issues (white smoke, loss of power, misfiring, etc)
Currently, it is at my girlfriend's mom's house until I can tow it down, hopefully this weekend.
So, here are my options:
1) Pay for them to repair it per their estimate.
2) Sell the vehicle for a low-ball price
3) Tow it home and have it repaired locally
4) Drive it home and have it repaired locally, assuming I make the trip successfully
So, for the questions:
1) At 195k, is it worth it to try and open up the motor and repair the head gasket/heads?
- I haven't received a quote from my local shop yet, but I assume it will be cheaper, although probably not by a ton.
2) If not, would the better option be to try and find a used motor with less miles to swap in for the current motor?
- I spoke with a local salvage yard and got a rough estimate of $2800 to swap for a motor with a claimed mileage of 135k
3) Is it possible that this might not be a head gasket issue?
- I got the vibe from the shop that they might have just quoted me an outrageous price in hopes I just sell it and they would gladly have bought it from me.
I am determined to keep this thing goin', but I'm just significantly torn between the two options as both are pretty heavy and incur painful damage to my wallet. The vehicle definitely has great potential for long life and I'm willing to keep it alive as long as I can.
I've read mixed answers to similar questions on this and other threads and am hoping to get some feedback.
Again, my apologies for writing a novel. Thank you very much for reading it or skimming it! If you have suggestions I am open to hearing and discussing them.
Thanks!!
I am new to the forum, been lurking on here for quite some time for various topics but recently decided to sign up.
So, it turns out, for my debut post I'm asking for some repair advice. :\ I had originally planned on asking about tires as my first post, but that will have to wait. I apologize for the lengthy post and truly appreciate your input.
Background: Bought a 97 4Runner SR5 about a year ago with 186,3xx on the odometer. It has been an excellent and solid vehicle for the past year and have loved it. I've had a couple minor things that I've needed to replace, but I haven't ever regretted getting it. My dad has a 96 with 250k+ on the odo, still running strong.
What I've had to replace: most recently, the thermostat. It was overheating in slow/stopped traffic. Living in AZ, I am sure glad this happened in late Fall, when it's a bit cooler. A few months earlier, the idler control valve had corroded through, from what I'm assuming was hard water in the cooling system. So, it was leaking coolant and the engine had gotten hot then as well. Neither of these times did the temp get into the red, though it did get quite close a few times.
The current problem: It's safe to say this vehicle has had its share of overheating issues recently. This past weekend my girlfriend and I were on our way up to Prescott where we were going to stay for a day, then up to Flagstaff for a couple days. About 15 mins outside of Prescott Valley, the temp started rising again (about 3/4 way up when I saw it). I immediately pulled over to let it cool down. We were fortunate enough to be rescued by her grandfather who lives close by and brought us some water.
Put about a half gallon in and we were able to limp it up to his home where we stayed for a little bit, then continued into Prescott where we were gonna be staying with her mother. The next morning, it ran rough for about 30-40 seconds, then smoothed out while driving it locally. Same thing would happen, although for shorter time periods, the next few times I started it up. Took it to a local shop who looked at it, and here's where the bad news came...
Apparently (and I'm still quite skeptical), it passed a cooling system pressure test, though they mentioned it having some leaking hoses. They claimed to have put another half gallon of coolant in, and when they ran a block test, it apparently failed. They then quoted me what I consider an outrageous price ($3300+tax) to replace the head gasket, inspect and machine the heads if necessary, as well as replace the timing belt & water pump. The head gasket set they were to use was $845 and the timing belt/water pump kit was $571. The rest was labor and miscellaneous necessary repairs such as coolant system flush, oil change, etc.
It sat for a couple days while my girlfriend and I continued to Flagstaff and when I started it upon return to Prescott, it ran smooth as it always has with no obvious tell-tale signs of head gasket issues (white smoke, loss of power, misfiring, etc)
Currently, it is at my girlfriend's mom's house until I can tow it down, hopefully this weekend.
So, here are my options:
1) Pay for them to repair it per their estimate.
2) Sell the vehicle for a low-ball price
3) Tow it home and have it repaired locally
4) Drive it home and have it repaired locally, assuming I make the trip successfully
So, for the questions:
1) At 195k, is it worth it to try and open up the motor and repair the head gasket/heads?
- I haven't received a quote from my local shop yet, but I assume it will be cheaper, although probably not by a ton.
2) If not, would the better option be to try and find a used motor with less miles to swap in for the current motor?
- I spoke with a local salvage yard and got a rough estimate of $2800 to swap for a motor with a claimed mileage of 135k
3) Is it possible that this might not be a head gasket issue?
- I got the vibe from the shop that they might have just quoted me an outrageous price in hopes I just sell it and they would gladly have bought it from me.
I am determined to keep this thing goin', but I'm just significantly torn between the two options as both are pretty heavy and incur painful damage to my wallet. The vehicle definitely has great potential for long life and I'm willing to keep it alive as long as I can.
I've read mixed answers to similar questions on this and other threads and am hoping to get some feedback.
Again, my apologies for writing a novel. Thank you very much for reading it or skimming it! If you have suggestions I am open to hearing and discussing them.
Thanks!!
