Blown Head Gasket advice

[trublucali]

I have a 05, 4x4 with 180,000 miles, and a few months ago the engine light came on. I took it my local indie shop and he swapped a coil pack and then it ran fine for another month or two. Then the engine light began coming on more often, so I took it back to him and he dropped the ball and misdiagnosed the issue.

I took it somewhere else and they verified blown head gasket on #4. At this point I'd been driving it for several months with the issue, not knowing it.

I just took it in recently to (a new shop) to have the HG fixed and the mechanic just called and said the engine might possibly be damaged from running it for that time period, and recommended a replacement engine, and offered me several alternatives.

I asked him to go ahead with the HG repair and check the cylinder out and advise at that point. He said he would.

I'm just hoping he's honest. Any other advice? Engine runs great and uses no oil.

 

[The Yin]

From what I understand (which is very little) if your engine was not over heating, there shouldn't be any damage. Right?

Even with it being ran for some time, if it wasn't burning oil or losing coolant I'm not sure what else could be happening to cause engine damage that would facilitate replacing the whole thing.

 

[raws684]

Fingers crossed, I didn't buy a lemon

Can anyone help me? Just purchased my first 4Runner two days ago (05 SR5 v6 / 149k miles) and today the check engine light came on along with the VSC OFF and TRAC light. According to other people on this forum with this issue, it seems that they most commonly resolved it by replacing an 02 sensor (not sure which one). I decided to take my car to AutoZone anyways to run diagnostic and the code that came up was P0306 "Cylinder 6 misfire detected." However based upon this diagnostic code I looked up, it seems that it could be something as simple as a spark plug or more serious like an early sign of a blown head gasket. Not sure what do to. Any advice would be amazing. Thx

 

[duffdog]

Can anyone help me? Just purchased my first 4Runner two days ago (05 SR5 v6 / 149k miles) and today the check engine light came on along with the VSC OFF and TRAC light. According to other people on this forum with this issue, it seems that they most commonly resolved it by replacing an 02 sensor (not sure which one). I decided to take my car to AutoZone anyways to run diagnostic and the code that came up was P0306 "Cylinder 6 misfire detected." However based upon this diagnostic code I looked up, it seems that it could be something as simple as a spark plug or more serious like an early sign of a blown head gasket. Not sure what do to. Any advice would be amazing. Thx

cyl 6 misfire could be something as simple as a bad coil pack on cyl 6. Try replacing that coil with a factory denso coil, it takes about 5 minutes and is only 1 bolt.

 

[Nostromo]

RAWS684,

Not to be the bearer of bad news but it's your head gasket. A simple search will verify this. This engine has a weakness associated with #6 cylinder and the head gasket. Many of us, myself included, have been through it. My 4Runner had the same code and it was the head gasket.

OP,

I have a 2005 SR5 V6 with 200k +. If it didn't overheat there is no engine damage. I drove mine for 3 months with the same issue. They will want to mill the head which is fine. While they are in there have the water pump replaced, it's due anyway.

 

[Sporin]

cyl 6 misfire could be something as simple as a bad coil pack on cyl 6. Try replacing that coil with a factory denso coil, it takes about 5 minutes and is only 1 bolt.

Do this first. Everyone here assumes this is automatically a HG but it isn't always unless there are other bad-HG signs.

A. If you swap the coil and the misfire moves with it then it's the coil (or a plug).
B. If you swap the coil and the misfire stays put then it might be the HG

Mine was A.
New spark plugs (because it was due) and a new coil and I've been just fine since. In fact, it runs noticeably better which just means my coil was going bad for a while now.

Will it go down the road somewhere? Who knows, but I put myself in a Head Gasket panic for no reason.

This forum is HG Horror Story central, and they are often right, but don't jump the gun without trying the easy, cheap option first.

 

[YotaDriver]

Can anyone help me? Just purchased my first 4Runner two days ago (05 SR5 v6 / 149k miles) and today the check engine light came on along with the VSC OFF and TRAC light. According to other people on this forum with this issue, it seems that they most commonly resolved it by replacing an 02 sensor (not sure which one). I decided to take my car to AutoZone anyways to run diagnostic and the code that came up was P0306 "Cylinder 6 misfire detected." However based upon this diagnostic code I looked up, it seems that it could be something as simple as a spark plug or more serious like an early sign of a blown head gasket. Not sure what do to. Any advice would be amazing. Thx

Whoever sold you that 4Runner knew it had a blown head gasket and sold it to you anyway. Honestly, I'd track them down if I were you. Dig a shallow hole somewhere and plan to dump them in it.

 

[Ralph Blake]

Since it did not over heat,i feel you will be good to go with the HG fix.

 

[Nostromo]

Do this first. Everyone here assumes this is automatically a HG but it isn't always unless there are other bad-HG signs.

A. If you swap the coil and the misfire moves with it then it's the coil (or a plug).
B. If you swap the coil and the misfire stays put then it might be the HG

Mine was A.
New spark plugs (because it was due) and a new coil and I've been just fine since. In fact, it runs noticeably better which just means my coil was going bad for a while now.

Will it go down the road somewhere? Who knows, but I put myself in a Head Gasket panic for no reason.

This forum is HG Horror Story central, and they are often right, but don't jump the gun without trying the easy, cheap option first.

OK, I'll give you that. Caution and thoroughness wins the day. Owning two high mileage 1GR-FE engines has beat me down and removed all hope.

 

[iBison]

Do this first. Everyone here assumes this is automatically a HG but it isn't always unless there are other bad-HG signs.

A. If you swap the coil and the misfire moves with it then it's the coil (or a plug).
B. If you swap the coil and the misfire stays put then it might be the HG

Mine was A.
New spark plugs (because it was due) and a new coil and I've been just fine since. In fact, it runs noticeably better which just means my coil was going bad for a while now.

Will it go down the road somewhere? Who knows, but I put myself in a Head Gasket panic for no reason.

This forum is HG Horror Story central, and they are often right, but don't jump the gun without trying the easy, cheap option first.

If you do this and you think it's the head gasket find someone with a borescope. Let it sit overnight and in the morning before you start it inspect that cylinder. That's how we diagnosed mine, although I was confident enough already. We testes the radiator for exhaust and it passed the test.

 

[iBison]

I have a 05, 4x4 with 180,000 miles, and a few months ago the engine light came on. I took it my local indie shop and he swapped a coil pack and then it ran fine for another month or two. Then the engine light began coming on more often, so I took it back to him and he dropped the ball and misdiagnosed the issue.

I took it somewhere else and they verified blown head gasket on #4. At this point I'd been driving it for several months with the issue, not knowing it.

I just took it in recently to (a new shop) to have the HG fixed and the mechanic just called and said the engine might possibly be damaged from running it for that time period, and recommended a replacement engine, and offered me several alternatives.

I asked him to go ahead with the HG repair and check the cylinder out and advise at that point. He said he would.

I'm just hoping he's honest. Any other advice? Engine runs great and uses no oil.

It's probably a good idea to have a machine shop verify the head surface is in spec. I did and they had to mill mine .003, (never overheated). I also had them replace valve seals.

 

[raws684]

bad head gasket

RAWS684,

Not to be the bearer of bad news but it's your head gasket. A simple search will verify this. This engine has a weakness associated with #6 cylinder and the head gasket. Many of us, myself included, have been through it. My 4Runner had the same code and it was the head gasket.

OP,

I have a 2005 SR5 V6 with 200k +. If it didn't overheat there is no engine damage. I drove mine for 3 months with the same issue. They will want to mill the head which is fine. While they are in there have the water pump replaced, it's due anyway.

I was told to performa a 'leak down test' did you do that?

 

[Nostromo]

I was told to performa a 'leak down test' did you do that?

No, I knew what it was from the shape of the plug and the slight loss of coolant. When the heads were pulled it was confirmed.

A leak down test is a good idea but you'll need to perform it on another cylinder for comparison. I've had buddies who found a good shade tree mechanic who did it for a reasonable price. I think I remember one telling me $800 for just the head gasket.

This is a great vehicle and though I now own a FJ I will not part with my runner. Good luck.