So how common are head gasket (v6) and transfer case problems with 4th gens?

[JEL]

Hello,

I currently have a 3rd gen, it's great and has no issues and I have no plans on getting rid of it, but I am looking at buying another car and naturally I gravitated toward the 4th gens, but I am a bit concerned with some of the things I've been reading. I was set on looking for a v6, but I've seen various postings on head gasket failures here and on the Tacoma forums, I know the v8 is a rock solid motor, although it does sacrifice a bit of MPG, but I am concerned about the universal issue with the transfer case actuators. It seems as though that can be extremely expensive, and I've seen enough postings searching around to raise concern. So how common are these issues on a very well-maintained truck? Were they more prevalent in certain (earlier?) years? I was looking for an 06+ rig because of the updates.

Aside from the pink milkshake, which is very easy to remedy, 3rd gens are about the most bullet-proof vehicles ever made by any automaker IMO, I drove a 2006 V6 4x4 and was very impressed with how it rode, drove, the power, etc., but I am concerned about these potential costly problems.

Any input is great. Thanks

 

[JEL]

bump

 

[awdjunkies]

Easiest way to remedy your worrying is to take your chosen 4th gen to a knowledgeable mechanic/shop to go through the 4runner addressing your concerns. As you know, being a third gen owner you want to look for someone or dealership if you go that route, whom has records f how the 4runner was taken care of. Again as you know, you can also check the VIN against toyota.com/owners for a list of records if any which were done at a dealership type facility. Peace of mind type of things..

I understand your complaints and/or worrisome questions as I too have a 3rd and a 4th gen. I personally went with the earlier years because I liked the V8 power/torque, AWD, lights, bumper and as others have said, less things in the engine to worry about.

When you go out on a test drive make sure everything works.. Basically, use your common sense..

Good Luck!!

 

[DC runner]

I love my 2004 V8. The engine is very strong and the design is rock solid. It had existed for about a decade before in land crusiers and cut its lip in some really harsh places.

As for the transfer case....shop before you freak out. I bought mine 3 years ago, and just checked it. Worked great and have never had an issue. Just test that it works and exercise it one or twice a month.

 

[4RChappy]

You might look for a 1 owner who has the records and can answer an open question like, "so how does the 4WD work in this vehicle?" If they don't volunteer the importance of utilizing it monthly you may have a transfer case issue in the making. If the vehicle meets all your criteria what you have done is increase your odds of a trouble-free vehicle. A vehicle purchase is always going to be a calculated risk.

 

[WXman]

Toyota has made some "bulletproof" engines over the years, but the reason they were bulletproof is because they made no power. It's easy for an engineer to keep an engine together forever when they design it for extremely low power output. The famous 22R was this way...would last forever but wouldn't even turn over a 31" tire in 3rd gear. The 3rd gen 4Runner V6 was this way as well. They last forever but they made miserable power. 190HP/220lb/ft in a 4x4 SUV? We're all glad those days are gone. 4-cylinder compact cars are making more power than that now days.

And that brings me to my point... when the 4.0L V6 debuted it was Toyota's first truck engine in the U.S. that actually made power. And as a result they started having the typical problems with them. How common is the head gasket failure? It's impossible to put an exact number on. But like you noted, the issue is rampant among the forums and in my opinion, since 90% of owners are not on the forums that says to me that the problem is probably very widespread. In fact, it's one of the reasons I purposefully didn't even look at the V6 when shopping for mine.

As far as the transfer case issue, best thing to do is just switch through all the ranges on your test drive. Pull over somewhere, hit neutral, switch to 4-low and see what happens. If all you get is beeping, take it back to the dealership and keep looking. If it goes into low range easily then you are in great shape. Then crawl under and check for leaking. I got lucky and mine switches in/out fine and does not leak. A lot of the leaks were caused by people trying to get a frozen one to switch into low range and it put pressure against the bolts.

Good luck on your search. There are still some cherries out there...you just gotta' find them.

 

[macoyle]

The head gaskets are not as prevalent of an issue as the forums make it sound, if you want a vehicle with inevitable HG problems go get a power stroke 6.0! these things are incredibly reliable and people get freaked out when they see a few threads here and there about a real problem, then most of the threads are people wondering if they have it since they read about it lol

 

[DC runner]

Toyota has made some "bulletproof" engines over the years, but the reason they were bulletproof is because they made no power. It's easy for an engineer to keep an engine together forever when they design it for extremely low power output. The famous 22R was this way...would last forever but wouldn't even turn over a 31" tire in 3rd gear. The 3rd gen 4Runner V6 was this way as well. They last forever but they made miserable power. 190HP/220lb/ft in a 4x4 SUV? We're all glad those days are gone. 4-cylinder compact cars are making more power than that now days.

And that brings me to my point... when the 4.0L V6 debuted it was Toyota's first truck engine in the U.S. that actually made power. And as a result they started having the typical problems with them. How common is the head gasket failure? It's impossible to put an exact number on. But like you noted, the issue is rampant among the forums and in my opinion, since 90% of owners are not on the forums that says to me that the problem is probably very widespread. In fact, it's one of the reasons I purposefully didn't even look at the V6 when shopping for mine.

As far as the transfer case issue, best thing to do is just switch through all the ranges on your test drive. Pull over somewhere, hit neutral, switch to 4-low and see what happens. If all you get is beeping, take it back to the dealership and keep looking. If it goes into low range easily then you are in great shape. Then crawl under and check for leaking. I got lucky and mine switches in/out fine and does not leak. A lot of the leaks were caused by people trying to get a frozen one to switch into low range and it put pressure against the bolts.

Good luck on your search. There are still some cherries out there...you just gotta' find them.

this is what is usually referred to as anecdotal personal opinion and is 100% subjective. To be clear, by definition a functioning engine can never have 0 power. What you mean to say is they are not bad$&&@ enough for you because I will bet you a shiny dime that if you showed a 22r to someone in the 1920's when your average car made 10 to 15 HP they would hang mouth open in envy.

It isn't true. Toyota to my knowledge has never made a 0 power engine in a vehicle...never. in fact, that violates the very definition of power...which is simply a measure of force exertion. You should use correct language....it isn't powerful enough for you.

ok, that makes sense.

 

[JEL]

Thanks a ton for all the replies. My parents have a 2002 Tundra with the 4.7 v8 so I know it's an excellent motor. I am just going to keep looking around for that cherry 4th gen, haven't found one yet but I know there are tons out there in the Seattle area. I still like the idea of the v6 for MPG, both due to smaller displacement and probably the ability to switch out of AWD and into 2wd, but a good v8 certainly wouldn't be out of the question either. I love my 3rd gen, but I also want a larger rig with more power for long drives and such.

In theory, since the v8 transfer case is always in AWD and "exercising" all the time, are they perhaps less prone to the transfer case leak issues? Just thinking out loud.

 

[Lostsage]

Just to add my $0.02 here, I just bought an 07 Limited with the V6 and had similar concerns about the HG issue... While researching it here and around the internet, it seemed like most of the issues seemed to be centered around the '04 models. That's not to say you can't have a HG issue with another year, but whenever I landed on one of those threads where owners had issues, from my personal observation it looked to be the '03-'05 models with the vast majority of them '04. Keep looking if you're really concerned, maybe somebody has some actual repair data floating out there.

BTW - I'm really enjoying the V6. I took it snowboarding a few weeks back and it seemed to have plenty of power up I-70 at altitude/speed. I'm sure the V8 is even better, but in the interest of a power/economy balance it seems like a good motor for the truck. Coming from the 3rd gen, I'm sure you'd be more than satisfied with either. :thumb3:

 

[BlackWorksInc]

But like you noted, the issue is rampant among the forums and in my opinion, since 90% of owners are not on the forums that says to me that the problem is probably very widespread.

Rampant is over-selling it in your typical fashion. So far we've had about 5-10 CONFIRMED (that means we KNOW the head gasket failed and now someone who posted a thread because they were concerned or scared from prior posts) headgasket failures on this forum in the past couple years. If it was so wide spread, I guarantee you that we'd see it more often at my dealership with how many 4Runners are in my area. As it stands I believe we've had one used 4Runner that came in with a headgasket failure and have yet to see it on any of the similarly powered Tacomas & FJ Cruisers (that is not to say that it doesn't happen, just the frequency at which it does happen is far rarer than some people would have you suspect)

The reality is it seems to be a known, albeit un-admitted issue with a small percentage of head gaskets from Toyota (I say known because there are updated Head Gaskets, but Toyota has no TSB, Campaign or reference to why) That being said, many of the failures seem to be on "early" models pre-2005 so perhaps the '05+ models have the superseded headgasket (again this is just based on evidence on the forum as Toyota did not provide a date in our system when the new part was available and I have not been able to confirm it) Personally I wouldn't stress yourself too much about it because it seems difficult to find until it goes bad and impossible to predict at the moment. The 1GR-FE engine is a strong dependable engine in most respects and has been a staple in Toyota's trucks and SUVs for about 10 years.

The actuator issue is mainly on how often the previous owner used their vehicle in 4WD Hi & Lo functions and can vary from just slightly sticky to failed completely. Luckily this is easy to test for and look for.

Post Note-

WXMan does have a point about Toyota retarding their engines though. They made dependability by creating a "Stable" power band, instead of trying to build an engine and then force it to its last legs for power; they chose to build the engine and then use a power band that was more conducive to longevity while maintaining a decent amount of power. Though I don't think Toyota does that to the degree they used to in the older days. The 1GR-FE still has more room to make stable power though, just check with some of our speed freaks [MENTION=26817]SkylineGTRracer[/MENTION].

 

[Whitebeauty]

That's too bad Toyota won't admit it... Whatever the case I'm in the process of removing my engine because of this... Just undecided on what to do with it...