Greydog
Member
I posted this over on the other thread this AM, and I agree that keeping some perspective on this is important.
My thoughts:
I've had a few other vehicles which required HG replacement, so this is not news, but a bummer for sure. Based on the pics I've seen, its a big job. I was hoping to get 200k before HG replacement but what can you do. I've had many other brand where HG jobs were needed, its almost a silent factor of ownership. Sooner of later, every manufacturer has a model/engine that sees more HG jobs. Could be the gasket, head or block quality or design.
I may also be heading down HG road, losing coolant and rough idle at start, no codes yet, 160k miles, V6, 2007 SR5 4R.
On the cost side, its lose/win situation vs having the V8 engine. If you expect a 200,000 mile service life, the V8 costs $7,700 more in fuel (3mpg diff @$3.50/gal) and timing belt jobs (2x$800). So, you're winning with the V6, even net of the HG job.
So for me, this is an unwanted expense, but the cost of a newer rig, more cash into the deal, taxes and insurance cost increases and monthly payments is WAY more than a fix that will keep my 4R on the road for another 160K perhaps.
In any event, if we keep reporting to Toyota, perhaps there will be some partial reimbursement in the future.
My thoughts:
I've had a few other vehicles which required HG replacement, so this is not news, but a bummer for sure. Based on the pics I've seen, its a big job. I was hoping to get 200k before HG replacement but what can you do. I've had many other brand where HG jobs were needed, its almost a silent factor of ownership. Sooner of later, every manufacturer has a model/engine that sees more HG jobs. Could be the gasket, head or block quality or design.
I may also be heading down HG road, losing coolant and rough idle at start, no codes yet, 160k miles, V6, 2007 SR5 4R.
On the cost side, its lose/win situation vs having the V8 engine. If you expect a 200,000 mile service life, the V8 costs $7,700 more in fuel (3mpg diff @$3.50/gal) and timing belt jobs (2x$800). So, you're winning with the V6, even net of the HG job.
So for me, this is an unwanted expense, but the cost of a newer rig, more cash into the deal, taxes and insurance cost increases and monthly payments is WAY more than a fix that will keep my 4R on the road for another 160K perhaps.
In any event, if we keep reporting to Toyota, perhaps there will be some partial reimbursement in the future.
Doesn't the 4runner come with supposedly "lifetime" WS coolant?
:iagree: This x 1000
The first thing I'd say to those of you worrying about your V6 head gasket is this:
KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON! :hippie:
Remember that message boards like this tend to magnify flaws and failures.
It's easy to understand why - there aren't too many message boards where people sign up just so they can post "Hey, I just wanted to say my vehicle has 150k on it and everything works fine!" Instead, people who have a problem sign up to post here, and they run into other people who also signed on to post about problems/issues they had.
Since there are, proportionally, so many people posting about problems, a casual reader could get the idea that the problem is more widespread than it actually is.
Many years ago, I owned a 1999 Subaru Outback Wagon with the 2.5l flat 4 motor. Those of you who have any experience with Subarus know that this motor was notorious for blowing head gaskets! I bought mine with 42k on it (before I had done the research and before I knew about the HG problem) and I was always paranoid that my gasket would blow. Any sign of less-than-perfect running would have me panicking and checking the radiator overflow tank and/or the oil.
4 years after I bought it, I traded it in with 120k on the clock and not a lick of trouble. And then I started looking around and saw that there were so many 1997-2002 Subarus on the road (including my brother's, he drives a 2002 Impreza TS wagon with the same HG-trouble-prone 2.5) that there couldn't be that much of a problem - otherwise why would all these cars still be on the road instead of in a junkyard somewhere? Surely nobody's going to throw down ~$3k to fix the HG on a 13 year old POS with 167k on it!
I've also noticed just in my city (Denver) that you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a dozen 2nd gen 4runners or 89-94 pickups (the last version of the Hilux sold in the US, I call them "Pre-Tacomas.") Most of these have the 3.0, A/K/A "Three Point Slow" that is also notorious for eating HG's.
And yet, these old, beat up, dented Toyotas are still on the road. Hell, I went to Lowe's yesterday and somebody had a 2nd gen (1994) 4runner sitting in the parking lot for sale - asking $4500!
Bottom line is that it's important to keep some perspective when you look at threads like this. A 4runner is a mechanical device, and there's no mechanical device in the world that can't break - especially as it gets older (note that in at least one recent HG failure thread the T4R in question had over 200k on it.)
I don't care if it's an T4R, a Mercedes, a LC 100, a Lexus, or a tank, if it's mechanical, it CAN break.
If a given single point failure (say the HG) happens 3 times out of every 100 vehicles instead of 1.5 times out of every 100 vehicles, that's a 100% increase in failure, but it still means you have a 97% chance of it never happening to you.
When all is said and done it's probably more likely that your T4R will get totaled by a texting driver or a soccer mom yelling at her kids, (or by you) than it will suffer a HG failure.
So do regular maintenance and don't worry yourself too much. There are way too many 4th gens on the road now for this to be a significant issue.
