Blown Head Gasket Dilemma

[DogtorM]

Hi all, I'm turning to you for some wisdom. Today my fears were confirmed by my mechanic that I have a blown head gasket. My '99 T4R has 265k on it. I bought it as a work/play truck about 3 months ago, but I've owned 3 3rd Gen T4R's in the past. I suspect, being that it had a new radiator and water in the reservoir, that the gasket was blown when I bought it, but I picked it up for $2k under kbb, so I took the gamble.

Anyway, the body is in ridiculously good shape, so here are my options.

1) Have the head gaskets repaired - Called around, and I'm looking at $1400-$2500.
2) Repair them myself - I'd need a VERY in depth DIY to feel comfortable with this (link?). I'm pretty decent under the hood, but I've never tackled anything like this.
3) Engine swap - I'm finding used engines with under 98k for $1200! How much does the labor cost?

Thoughts? Pointers?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Jc12]

ah man im sorry to hear! well how is the rest of the engine (belts waterpump) burn any oil anything of that sort? 265k is up there but when buying a used engine you can put yourself in the same situation quickly not knowing the history etc. Would you get a warranty on the engine swap? I am not going to chime in on the labour costs as that is over my head. If you had owned the vehicle forever and always kept up on maintenance id push for just fixing the HG's but with 265k and unknown history.. there is a pretty good DIY on HG, ill see if i can find it

 

[Jc12]

dont forget about the possibility of a cracked block if it ran hot.. you could consider dropping a little more on an imported JDM motor with low mileage if the undercarriage and components are up to snuff

 

[BrianSD_42]

I spent $3000 on two new heads back in 2012. If any issues come back I'm going with a used engine.

 

[DogtorM]

I called around and found a couple of decent engines. One in particular with only 98k miles on it for $1200 with a 30 day warranty. Then I called around and got some quotes on an engine swap. $1000-$1700.

I guess the question is to repair for around $1400 or replace for around $2200. Then again, I'd still be interested in seeing a DIY for the HG if anyone has a link.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[kball]

I'd still be interested in seeing a DIY for the HG if anyone has a link.

Thanks for all the help!

Here's a linky for you


http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/84683-tb-hg-photo-timeline.html