Hey guys I recently bought a 95 4 runner And its haing some issues. Its using coolent and oil is mixing in in the resivoir so I'm thinking it needs a head gasket. I know the 3.0 is known for this issue. Its got 170k on it so I'm wondering if I can get away with just replacing the head gasket? The body and frame are extramly clean which is the reason I bought it. Its really rare to find one not all rotted out up in Maine. Another question I have is will a 3.0 with a 5 speed swap into to mine with an auto? Its my first 4runner so any advice will be a great help. Thanks guys in advance.
new 4runner owner with a question
- Thread starter mark207
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thatoneguy
New member
Welcome! Unfortunately, many 3.0 owners seem to have problems right at the get go after the purchase. A shitty way to lose money quickly, for sure.
As for the auto-to-5speed swap, I have seen it first hand, and helped out. It really sucked, I know the owner would not redo the process all over again. The interior wiring harness in a 2nd gen is really involved. The manual is nice to have, and gives the 3.0 some much needed grunt, but I would not say its worth the effort. There's other difficulties involved in the swap, which I'm surely forgetting. I just remember the shitty ass interior harness.
If it's thaaat rare to find a clean bodied 4runner in Maine, I suppose it might be worth it to fix the headgasket. It sounds like you are gonna do your own work. The general rule seems to be get the head checked before you go the gasket-only fix. Putting a fresh headgasket on a head you didn't know was warped would sound shitty.
Erm, welcome to the 4runner life!
Thanks for the advice man. I'm not sure if im gonna do the head gasket my self quite yet. I have some mechanical knowledge but I've never really worked on a yota. But I think you misunderstood me, I'm not planning on doing a 5 speed swap. I have a line on a rebuilt 3.0 for fairly cheap but the truck its coming out of was a 5 speed. So I'm wondering will that bolt up to my auto tranny?
541joseph
New member
That doesn't matter it will just hook up you'll have to take the flex plate off your engine but that's no big deal
Hyde802
New member
What year is the donor truck? Ifs its pre 92, some plugs may be different but not bad. I put a 95 3.0 from an auto behind my 5speed without any problems. Was replacing my early 92 (spring tensionser) I had to swap a few plugs, but wasnt bad.
It may also be a good idea to do headgaskets/valvecover gaskets on the donor motor before it goes in, Unless you know theyve been done recently.
It may also be a good idea to do headgaskets/valvecover gaskets on the donor motor before it goes in, Unless you know theyve been done recently.
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How much would you want for the motor? Was the head gasket redone? If its a good motor and a decent price that would be cool, the other one I found is a 6 hour drive from me so it would be a lot closer.
