Should I avoid a 4th Gen V6?

[Steve Theodore]

I'm the original owner of my 2008 Sport V6 with about 145k miles on it to date. I've never had ANY issues with head gasket or timing chain, and count on this vehicle every single day. I've read that the head gasket was re-designed a bit later, but wouldn't even know that detail if not for this forum. I'm only here to note that my 08 V6 has been terrific.

 

[Ventil8]

I'm the original owner of my 4Runner. We've been together 13 years now. I specifically wanted a v6. I had an 03 Tundra V8 and didn't utilize the bed and never towed anything. Over the years I've had CV joints rebooted, both front wheel bearings changed, recently had the timing cover leak fixed, so had the water pump, thermostat and serpentine belt changed. But that's it. I have 150,900 miles. I'm not counting regular maintenance like brakes/rotors,air filters, etc. It's been a reliable vehicle, and I have no hesitation taking this ride on a long cross country trip.

 

[akcc]

Owner of a 4runner 2006 with 210,000 km on it. Only thing I did was change spark plugs once at 170k km, did my regular oil change routine 5w30 synthetic every 12,000 km. And still running like new today and still a quiet engine.

 

[Lownskater52]

Owner of a 4runner 2006 with 210,000 km on it. Only thing I did was change spark plugs once at 170k km, did my regular oil change routine 5w30 synthetic every 12,000 km. And still running like new today and still a quiet engine.

This is confidence inspiring that's for the update!

 

[New_2_4runners]

I just bought a 2004 V6 so when I first saw this thread I had a small heart attack but it seems like the consensus is not to worry.

 

[woodman60]

I have a 2003 V6 with 303,000 miles and have not touched the engine except normal maintenance.

I like hearing these things as I just purchased a 2005 with 189,000.

Price will allow me to plow some money into repairs, but I'd rather put it into mods.

 

[05Toy4Runner]

The V-6 is a solid motor. Just take care of the vehicle with proper maintenance. My '05 SR5 just turned 215k. Bought it brand new. You would never know the mileage if it was covered up and only ever needed minor repairs to date like the water pump once and valve cover gaskets twice. Change the oil every 5k, filters at 15k and diff/transfer case fluids and spark plugs every 30k. Looking forward to at least 300k out of it.

 

[waypoint]

The 2007 1GR-FE V6 in 4Runners and FJ Cruisers seems prone to timing chain stretch, based on my research into this problem with mine. I've only found one instance of this problem in an '08 model, and none in other 4th gen years even in cases of severe sludge.

It's not as bad a repair as head gasket failure, but it's expensive to have done at a shop.

 

[badfishesonly]

Need advice on V6 4.0L

Hey Everyone,

I have a 2005 Limited V6 4.0 with 246k miles. I was on a long trip recently and broke down very far from where I live. The local mechanic looked at it and said that the engine was pretty much blown and the best move would be to throw a new motor in or sell it. I'm not saying he's wrong but I was hoping to get some outside perspective based on what happened on that drive and what we saw after I broke down.

So basically when this happened I was driving up I75 for about 5 hours straight. I was running around 80-85mph and I often look at the Temp gauge on the dash and it was normal as usual. I started to feel like I was losing a little bit of power but honestly wasn't sure. I'm now also pretty sure there was some blueish smoke coming out of the exhaust. I only noticed the smoke when a car would be near me and their headlights would illuminate behind and I kind of noticed the smoke in my rearview mirror. I wasn't sure if it was smoke or if maybe just the hot exhaust and cold air but thinking back it was definitely smoke.

I obviously should have pulled over after both the slight power loss and the smoke but I kept driving for another 10 minutes until I started hearing a noise coming from up front and started seeing smoke coming out of the hood. I started to pull over then I lost power when engine shut off. and power steering and dash started lighting up with alarms. Temp gauge was still normal though. I pulled over and popped hood and noticed oil splattered throughout engine bay and dipstick was sticking halfway out. I still had plenty of coolant.

I looked closer and saw that my serpentine belt was partially shredded and cords of it wrapped around the radiator fan. I freed up up the radiator fan and got it towed to a mechanic. I explained all this to them and they thought that the serpentine belt shredded and shards of it smacked the dipstick which is why it was popped out. He thought replacing the belt and topping off oil would fix the issue but then we tried to crank it and sounded way different than usual and wouldn't start. He thought it sounded like no compression and so did his boss when listening to it on a phone call. He pulled two of the spark plugs and they were soaked in oil and basically said the Piston rings are fried and the motor is shot. One more piece of info, a few weeks prior to this my check engine light came on throwing a P0137 code which is for low voltage from O2 sensor. I don't think that code played a part of this but just wanted to give you all the info.

Does hearing all that lead anyone to a specific issue it could be?? Was that mechanic correct and the rings are fried along with possible other internal damage? I'm going to have them do a compression test tomorrow but wanted to get any outside help too. The car is 6 hours away from where I live and basically either have to sell it this weekend if the motor is shot or figure out if it could be a lesser problem. Thanks so much for the help!

 

[MikeinNH67]

From what you describe, it sounds like what happened to me but luckily I was driving in a stop and go area so felt power steering go away. My serpentine belt shredded and went behind the crank pulley ruining the front crank seal which made oil go everywhere. Seems like yours was intact enough to keep the water pump moving as you mention the temps being ok. Did you notice the oil light come on? How much oil was left in it?

The blue smoke could have been the belt burning up and the oil on heated surfaces. What made the engine stop and why does it now sound different turning over, that is the thing at this point. These engines are quite robust so if it never overheated or dropped oil pressure then why did it die? The belt get up into the timing chain? Rings just going bad doesn't make much sense to me unless you lost oil pressure.

BTW, I know you are new here but it's best to create your own thread on this. You probably need to comment on some other posts first.