Blown Head Gasket

[Skywalk]

Im very new to this forum and to first gen 4runners so please bear with me. I was informed that I have a blown head gasket and that a new engine (or a rebuilt one) is going to be needed. its an 86 with 216,xxx. It has a brand new radiator. The clutch, rotors, pads, lines, timing belt or chain and guides were done within the last 5000 miles. To tell you the truth, it was running great until this happened on Saturday. I mention all of this because i am not sure how to proceed.

I would like to keep the car, but its probably going to cost me more than what I bought it for. what sort of suggestions do you guys have? trustworthy shops in long island?

thank you very much for your help.

 

[92-SR5]

A new/rebuilt engine is not necessary if it is just a HG failure. If i were you you I'd just tear it down and throw a new HG in it. Did it get hot at all? Also make sure to get your heads to a head shop to have them machined. It will prolong the life of your new gasket.

 

[KidVermicious]

A blown head gasket doesn't require an entire engine rebuild. A catastrophically overheated motor as a result of a blown head gasket might, so we're going to need more details before we can give you good advice.

First you need to verify that you really did blow the gasket. Did the truck overheat? Are you losing coolant? Is there oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil? Has somebody done a compression or leakdown test on each cylinder?

Whatever happened, paying a shop to diagnose is one thing. Paying a shop to repair it is another, and I don't recommend it. If you're going to own one of these old trucks, you really should get your hands on a set of tools and learn to use them. These motors are easy to work on.

 

[Skywalk]

thank you guys for the responses.

apparently the mechanic said the the gasket is gone. he did not see any oil in the coolant or vice versa. he also said that a lot of coolant was lost and as a result the gasket went. he thinks that it might have overheated but that he did not find any signs of it. no one has done a compression or leakdown test on the cylinders.

i guess his shop will not just replace the gasket because he cant guarantee the work because he says that the new gasket will create a lot more pressure than the older one and as a result I will start bleeding oil.

what do you think?

A blown head gasket doesn't require an entire engine rebuild. A catastrophically overheated motor as a result of a blown head gasket might, so we're going to need more details before we can give you good advice.

First you need to verify that you really did blow the gasket. Did the truck overheat? Are you losing coolant? Is there oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil? Has somebody done a compression or leakdown test on each cylinder?

Whatever happened, paying a shop to diagnose is one thing. Paying a shop to repair it is another, and I don't recommend it. If you're going to own one of these old trucks, you really should get your hands on a set of tools and learn to use them. These motors are easy to work on.

 

[KidVermicious]

thank you guys for the responses.

apparently the mechanic said the the gasket is gone. he did not see any oil in the coolant or vice versa. he also said that a lot of coolant was lost and as a result the gasket went. he thinks that it might have overheated but that he did not find any signs of it. no one has done a compression or leakdown test on the cylinders.

i guess his shop will not just replace the gasket because he cant guarantee the work because he says that the new gasket will create a lot more pressure than the older one and as a result I will start bleeding oil.

what do you think?

You obviously don't know a whole lot about motors, and your mechanic obviously knows this. He's expecting you to take his word on faith like 99% of everybody else who walks through his door. That doesn't necessarily mean that he's dishonest, he could just be trying to save himself the effort of a long long explanation. But based on what you're telling us, I don't know why he's gone straight to head gasket, and I don't know why he thinks the rest of the motor is in poor enough shape that the whole thing needs rebuilt. We really need more info if you want us to help you second-guess a professional mechanic. Please answer the questions I asked upthread - why did you take the truck to him in the first place? Did you overheat the truck? Was the coolant level low? Have you been using coolant over time, or was this sudden? Does the motor run now, and is it making any funny noises?

 

[RAD4Runner]

A blown head gasket doesn't require an entire engine rebuild. A catastrophically overheated motor as a result of a blown head gasket might
First you need to verify that you really did blow the gasket. Did the truck overheat? Are you losing coolant? Is there oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil? Has somebody done a compression or leakdown test on each cylinder?

Agree.

My 1986 4Runner also blew a head gasket a few weeks ago. No milkshake. Symptoms Were:

• First thing I saw was coolant over-flowing the reserve tank. This could be caused by overheating OR cylinders pressurizing the cooling system.
  
• With radiator cap off AND engine cold (meaning brand-new thermostat is closed) coolant wells over and bubbles appear when started. With radiator cap back on, same thing. I do not know of anything else that could pressurize cooling system like this. I do not think water pump action will cause coolant to overflow like that - Any other thoughts abut this guys?
  
• Harder starting. Used to start like "Ta-Da-Vroom!"
  
• Unusually more moisture coming out of tailpipe.

Whatever happened, paying a shop to diagnose is one thing. Paying a shop to repair it is another, and I don't recommend it. If you're going to own one of these old trucks, you really should get your hands on a set of tools and learn to use them. These motors are easy to work on.

Even if PO could not work on motor himself but wants to keep the truck, I agree with everyone who says to have head inspected / resurfaced.

Also, at that high mileage*, I would rather have a complete rebuild. I considered 22RE Performance in Chico, CA, because the shop does only 22RE's and I have not seen a single negative feedback on it. However, for same reason, lead-time is 10-12 weeks!

Best of luck.

P.S.
* Of course, if we only wanted to show how much longer a 22RE would run with resurfaced head and new gasket without rebuilding it's doable, but I would not spend money on that.

 

[Skywalk]

hello to all, thank you very much for your replies. Unfortunately I had to leave the country for work and just got back this weekend.
After talking to the mechanic this morning (brought the truck to a different place) he said that the head gasket is blown and thats it

do you guys know a fair price to pay for parts and labor? Im not mechanically savvy.

Is it worth it? I bought the car for cheap and im not sure if I want to dump more money into it if its going to break again.

thank you and im sorry for the super late reply.

 

[RAD4Runner]

Depends on what you value

hello to all, thank you very much for your replies. Unfortunately I had to leave the country for work and just got back this weekend. After talking to the mechanic this morning (brought the truck to a different place) he said that the head gasket is blown and thats it
do you guys know a fair price to pay for parts and labor? Im not mechanically savvy.
Is it worth it? I bought the car for cheap and im not sure if I want to dump more money into it if its going to break again.
thank you and im sorry for the super late reply.

We can't we give you any technical answer until you have answered the questions we asked, and you verified the symptoms we described above. All you told us is what the mechanics in question "told" you.

"Is it worth it" depends on your values. I value the simplicity and the robustness of the first-gen 4Runner, the fact that I can diagnose issues myself and take it to the shop so mechs can do and touch only what I tell them to.

I spent more for for complete rebuild, brand new cooling system components, radiator and hoses, brand-new clutch assembly and clutch slave cylinder, than what I paid for the truck, but to me it's all worth it.