Antifreeze in the exhaust :(

[Blurr]

ugh, such a bummer. my wife was driving my 4runner home from the store and called me saying there is a ton of white smoke coming out of the tailpipe, sure enough it is the sweet smokey odor of doom .

Hopefully this is just a bad head gasket and not a crack, what else could it be?

Does anyone have a ball park figure of how much it would be to fix this? Also, am I better off going with a full rebuild? I have a 93 with the 3.0.

 

[fourwd1]

Blown HG's are common on the 3.0.
Rebuild is up to you and condition of the engine, it may just be the HG.

 

[Blurr]

Blown HG's are common on the 3.0.
Rebuild is up to you and condition of the engine, it may just be the HG.

I hope you are right, if my truck wasn't in such good shape with relatively low miles I might consider giving up on it but I love it too much. The real kicker is two weeks ago I had the valve cover gaskets and rear cam seals replaced. D'oh.

 

[fd59]

Does anyone have a ball park figure of how much it would be to fix this? Also, am I better off going with a full rebuild? I have a 93 with the 3.0.

I just replaced the HG on my 3.0 for its second time at 293k miles (First time was original owner estimated somewhere before 120k). Even at nearly 300K miles the bottom end was in great shape. I feel the reason I had to replace the HG was that the prior owner did not maintain the cooling system - I had to replace the radiator just to get the 4runner home when I purchased it - The radiator fan had exploded on him. I didn't get but around 3K on the truck before the HG went out.

If you do the work the head gaskets can be replaced for as little as $300 bucks - ~150 for the HG replacement gasket set with New Head Bolts + ~150 to have the heads resurfaced, pressure checked and vacuum checked.

 

[Blurr]

Re: Re: Antifreeze in the exhaust

I just replaced the HG on my 3.0 for its second time at 293k miles (First time was original owner estimated somewhere before 120k). Even at nearly 300K miles the bottom end was in great shape. I feel the reason I had to replace the HG was that the prior owner did not maintain the cooling system - I had to replace the radiator just to get the 4runner home when I purchased it - The radiator fan had exploded on him. I didn't get but around 3K on the truck before the HG went out.

If you do the work the head gaskets can be replaced for as little as $300 bucks - ~150 for the HG replacement gasket set with New Head Bolts + ~150 to have the heads resurfaced, pressure checked and vacuum checked.

i'm kind of in a position where it is convenient to attempt this job myself (we have a third car for a short time) but i have never done anything this complex before. does anyone know of any tutorials of a DIY head gasket job for the Toyota 3.0 out on the internet?

 

[face2six]

Im right there with ya buddy. Knee Deep in it in fact. There seems to be a lot of knowledgeable folk around here. So I thought Id give it a whirl.

So far the hardest thing has been figuring out how to loosen the bolts that hold the cam shaft sprockets on, but I just asked here and found an solution

Im hoping its just the head gasket and not a crack as well. I guess I'll know more once I get the heads off.

If you do decide to do it , get a digital camera and take lots of pics as you start pullin stuff off. The amount of hoses , fittings and little electrical doohickee connectors is mind numbing

 

[Blurr]

i just got a call back from a local shop who looked at my 4runner and they quoted $3k (including timing belt and water pump replacement which is due). :bash:

this cost includes doing a valve job, basically an entire head reconditioning. seems steep to me, what do you think?

 

[fd59]

Sorry, Double Posted

 

[fd59]

i just got a call back from a local shop who looked at my 4runner and they quoted $3k (including timing belt and water pump replacement which is due). :bash:

this cost includes doing a valve job, basically an entire head reconditioning. seems steep to me, what do you think?

Let see:
$150.00 - Head Gasket set w/ new Head Bolts
$150.00 - Heads Resurfaced, Pressure Checked, and valves vacuum checked.
$55.00 - Water Pump
$30.00 - Timing Belt
$125.00 - Timing Belt Tensioner & Idler (You want to replace these while you are there)
Total Parts = $510

If you want to save $2500 then DIY. Otherwise, its going to be high $$$ anywhere you go. Just my $.02.

BTW - I wouldn't worry about having the heads completely reworked unless a problem is found when they are being check out. I just had mine check out and they were fine, even with 293K miles.

 

[fourwd1]

i just got a call back from a local shop who looked at my 4runner and they quoted $3k (including timing belt and water pump replacement which is due). :bash:

this cost includes doing a valve job, basically an entire head reconditioning. seems steep to me, what do you think?

You could drop in a remanned motor for $3k, or less.

 

[K_Labs]

i just got a call back from a local shop who looked at my 4runner and they quoted $3k (including timing belt and water pump replacement which is due). :bash:

this cost includes doing a valve job, basically an entire head reconditioning. seems steep to me, what do you think?

I'm sorry $3k? Wow!!! Did he tell you that with a straight face? Does that price include a full on rebuild? If not you should have some1 call that shop and ask. A rebuild doesn't require a diagnostic. I bet it's almost the same ammount. I think you could buy another T4R for that kind of money. I purchased a japanese motor and trans for $1,850 Delivered! Installing it all myself and I am very close to being finished. Make sure you take tons of pics and label everything. I took a huge stack of post it notes and ziplocks and labeled all the bolts and screws, everything! It may be time consuming but it's better than finishing the project with extra screws and parts.