Advice on 4runner v8 Head Gasket leaking

[Whytey]

I also posted this thread in the 4th gen 4runner section but I hope posting here for some more advice is all good.

A friend of mine just purchased a used 2006 4runner v8 about 3 weeks ago. 212,000km (131k miles). I went with her to test drive and purchase. All seemed great, little bit of rust but look pretty good considering the age and came with a few extras (3” Lift, new stereo Head Unit, Sub and amp. She got a good deal as the rear tailgate is rusted out and will need replacement.
I happened to take a look under the hood last week and noticed the coolant reservoir was pretty much empty. We topped it up and it continued to disappear. I briefly looked for a coolant leak and could not find any. Did not remove skid plates for a closer look but I could not smell any coolant as well. Mine had a leak and it was pretty apparent just by the smell. Anyways, dropped off at mechanic and his response is Head Gasket is leaking/blown. He has quoted about $3000 Canadian ($2300 USD) for “machining, spark plugs, timing, labor and gaskets.”
Being the weekend I have been able to get a batter description of some of these items but my friend thinks he quoted for replacing the timing belt and water pump while in there. The timing belt and WP were replaced about one year ago by the PO. The PO seems like a trust worthy guy and has been in touch about this issue and says he never had this problem. My gut believes him, but yes I know sometimes people lie. But for arguments sake let’s say this is a new issue.
The mechanic says this is probably the minimum amount and will not know more until he opens the head up. This mechanic owns a specialty shop in town that deals with Land Rovers and such (friends previous car was taken there too regularly.) Helped talk her into switching to a 4runner and now I’m feeling pretty aweful considering the situation.
Now my friend has not noticed any spike or irregularity in the engine temp so I’m hoping we caught this early enough that no damage was done. I do not recall seeing white smoke come out of the exhaust but never really looked for it. And the vehicle ran great and gave no sign a cylinder was misfiring or anything else. Just happened to see the coolant was low. Which again makes me hope that we caught it early enough.


Does this quote seem accurate?
Do these items seem necessary? (Will update when we can talk to the mechanic again on Monday as to what exactly he’s suggesting)
Should we get a second look from another shop?
Is machining the heads necessary/recommended?
She’s thinking of waiting on the Timing belt and WP to save money at the moment as that would really only buy an extra year with it.

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Seymore Butts]

That sounds like a bargain price by US standards. Yes, the heads have to be machined flat. How many miles are on the current timing belt and water pump? If you don't have a receipt for that work, don't trust the seller's claim and just get the belt and pump replaced.

 

[progress4m]

TO OP, Agree with “Seymore Butts” that quote is bargain price by US standards.

However, I would recommend taking a second look to make sure it is a head gasket… I used to own 4th gen 4runner with V8 and I know that engine… if it is HG that would be very very very unusual for that V8… unless it got really overheated at some point of its life…

You mentioned timing belt and WP were replaced about one year ago by the PO, maybe WP was not installed properly and leaking…? Or PO used aftermarket (Chinese) WP and it is already falling\leaking?

Does the 4runner have other blown HG symptoms -coolant in the engine oil, engine misfires or hesitation during cold start, foggy\watery exhaust, exhaust gas in the coolant (bubbles in the radiator) etc.?

Also, considering that mechanic deals with Land Rovers (and those are known for HG issues)… so maybe he just jumped to conclusion to early…

 

[Mondo4Run]

Am very interested to hear what you end up doing, Whytey.

I had the HG replaced in December 2018 on my '03 V8, I was at about 259k miles at that point. Did not have the spark plugs done and still paid more than $3000, so $2300 seems like a good deal. Occasional cold start hesitations were my only symptom going into it, the issue was discovered during an oil change.

Now at 262k miles, trying to decide how much more money to put in when the time comes...

 

[runnersT4R]

Agreed that the timing belt & WP can and should be done while they have the engine opened up. Those parts are cheap compared to the labor of R&R them all by themselves. WP has maybe 20 mins additional labor but the timing belt should have virtually none. They'll have to remove the timing belt anyway to even get the head off.

The head needs to be measured for warpage. If warpage is within specs, it does NOT need to be machined necessarily. That said, I'd estimate that over half the time they are out of spec. But I'd ask the mechanic to show the actual measurements & then compare them to the specs yourself. Sometimes a mechanic will push you towards machining the head because they're being lazy about removing the old gasket material. Not saying anything about your mechanic, only saying it does happen sometimes. Now, if the head is "borderline" then it is up to whether you want to keep it a long time or not. If you do, I'd get the borderline head resurfaced. Hope this helps.

EDIT: Almost forgot to say, you should do the head gasket on BOTH sides of a V8 or V6, not just one side. And if the head on ONE side needs machining, then I'd recommend machining them both. If you only do one side, then you'll likely end up needing to have the other side done within a short time, and will cost more in the long run.

 

[MSRP.]

Probably not a popular view, but does the "leak" stablilize at a specific level?
Bought my 03' v8 with 155k miles (~250k km) that I also thought had a "leak".

Picking up, it was just a CM or so below the "low" mark. Filled with Toyota LL coolant, and on the 6 hour drive back home, it had returned to the same mark.
No obvious signs of leak, it is SOMEWHERE, maybe a cracked rad?.. but it stays there on the money.

Changed timing belt/WP and issue is the same, top it up, drops back to that identical level.
FWIW, I have just ignored it. Driven an additional 70,000km since without skipping a beat, including high speed runs to Florida through the mountain passes of north and south Carolina, no overheating, strong as a bull.

 

[bdjcl]

Probably not a popular view, but does the "leak" stablilize at a specific level?
Bought my 03' v8 with 155k miles (~250k km) that I also thought had a "leak".

Picking up, it was just a CM or so below the "low" mark. Filled with Toyota LL coolant, and on the 6 hour drive back home, it had returned to the same mark.
No obvious signs of leak, it is SOMEWHERE, maybe a cracked rad?.. but it stays there on the money.

Changed timing belt/WP and issue is the same, top it up, drops back to that identical level.
FWIW, I have just ignored it. Driven an additional 70,000km since without skipping a beat, including high speed runs to Florida through the mountain passes of north and south Carolina, no overheating, strong as a bull.

that seems really bizarre. you never get a strong coolant smell anywhere?

 

[MSRP.]

No smells ever, no white exhaust smoke.. either doesn't exist or I don't have a nose for the scent.
Like I said, coming up on nearly 60,000k miles with a "stabilized leak".. radiator and trans cooler both look fine, and since I don't tow heavy loads, not paid any futher attention to it.

 

[BikeIdiot]

No smells ever, no white exhaust smoke.. either doesn't exist or I don't have a nose for the scent.
Like I said, coming up on nearly 60,000k miles with a "stabilized leak".. radiator and trans cooler both look fine, and since I don't tow heavy loads, not paid any futher attention to it.

I may have the same issue. I was going to try this tester first:

Amazon.com: Block Tester BT-500 Combustion Leak Test Kit - Made in USA: Automotive

Anyone have any luck or is this voodoo black magic that doesn't work?

 

[BikeIdiot]

No smells ever, no white exhaust smoke.. either doesn't exist or I don't have a nose for the scent.
Like I said, coming up on nearly 60,000k miles with a "stabilized leak".. radiator and trans cooler both look fine, and since I don't tow heavy loads, not paid any futher attention to it.

I may have the same issue. I was going to try this tester first:

Amazon.com: Block Tester BT-500 Combustion Leak Test Kit - Made in USA: Automotive

Anyone have any luck or is this voodoo black magic that doesn't work?

 

[Dillusion]

Only works if exhaust gasses are getting into the coolant.

Not 100% but its a start and easy for most DYIers