Rats!! Blown Head Gasket.

[SilverRiver]

It looks like some rats got in the engine and started chewing on the coolant hoses which resulted in a head gasket failure. I have one quote for about $4300 in repairs (includes WA sales tax of 9.5%).

It is a 2005 V6 SR5 4x4 with 122K on the clock. I would appreciate any thoughts on how to proceed. I see the following choices and I am leaning toward #2 assuming my insurance would cover it. My policy does have comprehensive insurance.

1) Repair it and pay the $4K out of pocket
2) Pull a comprehensive claim on my insurance
3) Sell it as is
4) Repair it myself. I could do it although I am not exactly qualified so it would take me forever and it looks like about $1500 in parts and machining the heads.

 

[fdbyrne]

If it were me, I'd file an insurance claim and have a professional do the work and not look back. Most people don't have that option.

My head gaskets are being replaced as we speak. Shop prices vary from place to place. My local Toyota dealer is doing it for $2200 in labor. I bought all the parts and it cost me about $350 including the gasket kit, water pump, oil, coolant, head bolts, etc. The machine shop will probably add a couple hundred.

 

[chitown40]

Rats eating through thick rubber coolant lines might be a tough sell to the insurance company. You'd have to have quite a bit of supporting evidence to support that claim to get them to pay. Give it a try I guess, but be prepared for one of the other options.

 

[fdbyrne]

I work for an insurance company. If there is evidence of the rats chewing through the lines, they'll pay it. If you've already replaced the coolant lines and thrown them out, they probably won't.

We regularly pay for squirrels chewing through wiring harnesses, horses eating the paint off of vehicles, and many other bizarre events.

 

[gm350reratliff]

If rats are eating the coolant hoses, I would also be worried they are into the wiring. If insurance will pay, I'd go that route. If not, I would either sell it or fix it myself.

 

[SilverRiver]

I work for an insurance company. If there is evidence of the rats chewing through the lines, they'll pay it. If you've already replaced the coolant lines and thrown them out, they probably won't.

We regularly pay for squirrels chewing through wiring harnesses, horses eating the paint off of vehicles, and many other bizarre events.

Would a comprehensive claim in my case typically raise the insurance rates and by how much?

 

[fdbyrne]

Comprehensive claims will have an impact on your rates with most companies, but not nearly as much as a speeding ticket or a collision claim. Whatever they charge you will be much less than eating the $4,000 cost.

Your insurance agent should be able to tell you what the impact will be. Go ahead and file the claim. If you find out later that the premium increase will be too high you can always withdraw the claim. Get the ball rolling.

 

[iBison]

We did mine a few months ago. Parts were about $950, including new bearings for all of the pulleys, gasket kit, head bolts, new Asin water pump, new thermostat, 3 gallons of rip me off antifreeze and some misc. That also included $250 for machine shop clean/check/surface.

Would that actually cause the head gasket to fail?

 

[SilverRiver]

Would that actually cause the head gasket to fail?

I am no expert but the engine didn't get cooled enough due to the coolant leak and the heads warped. The mechanic tested the integrity of the head gasket by adding a dye to the coolant that turned green from blue indicating combustion by-products leaking into the coolant.

In other news, I am still waiting for the insurance adjuster to look at it. For some reason, they are pretty slow and it could be until Thursday before they look at it.

 

[KidVermicious]

Today I learned to smear some peanut butter on a spare coolant hose and leave it out to get chewed on by rats.

And in the event that I ever get a blown head gasket, I will be deleting this post, so don't quote it.

 

[fdbyrne]

Today I learned to smear some peanut butter on a spare coolant hose and leave it out to get chewed on by rats.

And in the event that I ever get a blown head gasket, I will be deleting this post, so don't quote it.

I get your point and I'm sure that you're just being funny, but would you please remove the post? There are going to be many people that read it and actually consider doing it. Insurance fraud accounts for a large portion of all insurance rates and it's already easy enough to get away with without learning all of the tricks in the forums.

I'm not trying to be a troll here, but I guarantee people will read this and try it. Many will succeed and it's not fair to the rest of the population that has to pay an increased rate as a result.

 

[RPS13]

I am no expert but the engine didn't get cooled enough due to the coolant leak and the heads warped. The mechanic tested the integrity of the head gasket by adding a dye to the coolant that turned green from blue indicating combustion by-products leaking into the coolant.

In other news, I am still waiting for the insurance adjuster to look at it. For some reason, they are pretty slow and it could be until Thursday before they look at it.

Head gaskets will blow with low coolant because the coolant will drain from the high points first - which are the heads. That means they run way too hot, and tend to warp. After warping/twisting, the gasket doesn't have the proper clamp load on it and it blows out/fails.

 

[SilverRiver]

Update

The insurance adjuster was finally able to look at the vehicle on Wednesday and he wrote a check for the mechanics estimate minus my deductible. It was much easier and faster than I imagined.

The mechanic is working on other stuff at the moment so he'll work on it next week. Hopefully, I'll have it back on Friday but who knows.

 

[chmura]

I would do this in your situation. Have the insurance company cut you the ~$4k or so check.

Purchase a low mileage used engine and have a mechanic do the swap. This would cost about $2500 total with labor/engine. Will take no more than 3 days for the swap. You will come out ahead going this route and even pocket some money.

I would not trust a mechanic to properly assemble the engine. So many things can go wrong down the line and it will be a pointing finger game if it does...

 

[fdbyrne]

The insurance adjuster was finally able to look at the vehicle on Wednesday and he wrote a check for the mechanics estimate minus my deductible. It was much easier and faster than I imagined.

The mechanic is working on other stuff at the moment so he'll work on it next week. Hopefully, I'll have it back on Friday but who knows.

Congratulations.

 

[TFRnoob]

It looks like some rats got in the engine and started chewing on the coolant hoses which resulted in a head gasket failure. I have one quote for about $4300 in repairs (includes WA sales tax of 9.5%).

It is a 2005 V6 SR5 4x4 with 122K on the clock. I would appreciate any thoughts on how to proceed. I see the following choices and I am leaning toward #2 assuming my insurance would cover it. My policy does have comprehensive insurance.

1) Repair it and pay the $4K out of pocket
2) Pull a comprehensive claim on my insurance
3) Sell it as is
4) Repair it myself. I could do it although I am not exactly qualified so it would take me forever and it looks like about $1500 in parts and machining the heads.

Option 4! It shouldn't take too long to do yourself and it' not that expensive either. You need maybe $100 in fluids (oil/ coolant), $150-200 in gaskets and new bolts, $20 for a thermostat (why not), not sure how much in hoses, once you have the heads off take it to a machinist to get them cleaned $30. They will also assess the condition of the heads at that point (if cracked throw the heads away, and if warped you can have them milled maybe $50-70/ head. I would say maybe $500.

If rats are eating the coolant hoses, I would also be worried they are into the wiring. If insurance will pay, I'd go that route. If not, I would either sell it or fix it myself.

Yep.

Today I learned to smear some peanut butter on a spare coolant hose and leave it out to get chewed on by rats.

And in the event that I ever get a blown head gasket, I will be deleting this post, so don't quote it.

HAHAHAHA

I get your point and I'm sure that you're just being funny, but would you please remove the post? There are going to be many people that read it and actually consider doing it. Insurance fraud accounts for a large portion of all insurance rates and it's already easy enough to get away with without learning all of the tricks in the forums.

I'm not trying to be a troll here, but I guarantee people will read this and try it. Many will succeed and it's not fair to the rest of the population that has to pay an increased rate as a result.

Meh, I get your point but I don't think hoards of people looking for a come up on some insurance company are going to look at this post and be inspired to do something fraudulent. My girlfriend is a private investigator and she catches these scum everyday.

Head gaskets will blow with low coolant because the coolant will drain from the high points first - which are the heads. That means they run way too hot, and tend to warp. After warping/twisting, the gasket doesn't have the proper clamp load on it and it blows out/fails.

Yep, if it twists too hard and cracks its all bad, if no cracks then the heads can be milled flat.

I would do this in your situation. Have the insurance company cut you the ~$4k or so check.

Purchase a low mileage used engine and have a mechanic do the swap. This would cost about $2500 total with labor/engine. Will take no more than 3 days for the swap. You will come out ahead going this route and even pocket some money.

I would not trust a mechanic to properly assemble the engine. So many things can go wrong down the line and it will be a pointing finger game if it does...

Wow, I got a quote for $7000 for an engine swap. Not sure what mechanic would do it for $2500 at least in my area. Mechanics do head gaskets all of the time. Its not really a big deal for them at all.

If I were the OP, I would get the check, buy parts and do the head gasket job myself. In fact there is a step by step how to for the 5VZ-FE on youtube somewhere. It couldn't get any easier.

 

[TFRnoob]

Read my suggestion in an alternate universe where the OP hadn't got a mechanic to do the work. Congrats on getting it handled Silver! :guitar3:

 

[chmura]

Wow, I got a quote for $7000 for an engine swap. Not sure what mechanic would do it for $2500 at least in my area. Mechanics do head gaskets all of the time. Its not really a big deal for them at all.

If I were the OP, I would get the check, buy parts and do the head gasket job myself. In fact there is a step by step how to for the 5VZ-FE on youtube somewhere. It couldn't get any easier.

Labor for an engine swap should not be anything over $1000 just for the labor. A used 4.0 4runner engine is anywhere from $1500-3500.

I have a close relative that owns a auto repair shop and this is what he charges. Engine swap is not very hard to do. Most mechanics could do it in a 1 to 1.5 days.

He was trying to take you for a ride charging you $7k.

 

[Ralph Blake]

Rats chewing "eating" the cooling hoses,now thats one i have not ever heard before.

And did you keep driving and not knowing it was over heating?

What are they doing to cost around $4000 dollars?

Anyway good luck getting it fixed.

 

[SilverRiver]

Rats chewing "eating" the cooling hoses,now thats one i have not ever heard before.

And did you keep driving and not knowing it was over heating?

What are they doing to cost around $4000 dollars?

The insurance adjuster actually said that rodents love chewing plastics on Hondas and Toyotas. Maybe they add some chemical that attracts rodents and makes the plastics extra tasty. I also read similar conclusions elsewhere.

I didn't drive it after I saw it overheating but I did do a longer drive the day before and if it happened then and I didn't notice it, it would have been too late. The temperature gauge never registered too hot but I noticed the temperature was spiking high.

I'll type in the quote later if I have time. I live in the "Seattle-Amazon-Redmond-Microsoft bubble" where everything cost more. Why? Because... That's why.