*** V6 Head Gasket Action Request ***

[iBison]

I had cyl 6 go out on my 04 4x4 4Runner with 170k. I replaced the gasket and resurfaced the heads and I'm at 181k now with no issues. Thanks for putting this thread together!

Exactly the same for me.

how much did it end up costing you?

Mine was about $950 for parts and machine shop. We also replaced bearings in all the pulleys, water pump, thermostat and every seal/gasket we came across including valve seals, injector seals, etc.

edit: about $250 was to have the machine shop clean, inspect, surface and install my valve seals and remove one or two broken studs.

 

[EricP3]

Exactly the same for me.



Mine was about $950 for parts and machine shop. We also replaced bearings in all the pulleys, water pump, thermostat and every seal/gasket we came across including valve seals, injector seals, etc.

edit: about $250 was to have the machine shop clean, inspect, surface and install my valve seals and remove one or two broken studs.

That is good to know!, all the other posts I have seen are people freaking out about a 2-3k repair. Was this from a normal independent auto shop?

 

[fdbyrne]

That is good to know!, all the other posts I have seen are people freaking out about a 2-3k repair. Was this from a normal independent auto shop?

iBison did his himself which is why it's so much cheaper than everyone else. I do most of my own work, but wasn't going to do the head gasket. I got a quote at my independent's shop and at the local Toyota dealer. They were the same price. I paid about $2100 in labor and I supplied the parts which cost me another few hundred dollars.

 

[BackOff]

Looks like one more to add to the list.
The slowest dying one.
My '92 got me too...GRRR!
This one was a 9/03 build, 2004 v6 SR5.

Started to notice a slight hesitation at start up, at around 43k.
Took an extra turn or two of the motor to start.
Never overheated.

Found the 'dreaded head gasket' thread a couple years ago and started to keep an eye an mine.
Pulled the plugs at 43k and #6 is darker than the rest.
Put in new plugs.

Lowest miles 2004? Just about to hit 70k. I do about 5k/year.
Did 3500+ miles on the Ebike in the last 3 years.

I checked the radiator for oil/gas with test kit...nada.
Not like the 2nd gen issue.

Slowly loosing antifreeze.
Put in a new water pump because it was dripping down the front of the engine.
Thought that helped the antifreeze loss, but I guess not.
Still slowly loosing antifreeze...through the #6 piston I am guessing, from the looks of others problems.

For the price some are paying I am thinking something like this looks better.
Can overbore cylinder, port and polish and cam. For not much more.
2003 - 2012 Toyota 4Runner (1GR-FE 4.0L VVT-i V6) Engine

 

[BRUIN8124]

This thread scares the $hit out of me!

I have been keeping an eye on it for a while now. I am just about to hit 150K on my 03.

I am slowly leaking coolant and it seems to be coming from the driver side radiator area. But I suppose that is better than losing coolant with no leak.

On rare occasions I hear the "water fountain" sound upon a cold start. I do not know if that could be due to the leak. Hopefully...

Also I am getting the thick white exhaust. but only when it is cold. It goes away once the engine is warmed up. This may be due to the cold weather... I may just be being paranoid on this one.

Runs and drives fine. Starts are strong and smooth. Never even come close to over heating.

So far I think I am in good shape... Hopefully... I just have to get that slow coolant leak fixed.

...again, this damn thread has scared the $hit out of me.

 

[EricP3]

This thread scares the $hit out of me!

I have been keeping an eye on it for a while now. I am just about to hit 150K on my 03.

I am slowly leaking coolant and it seems to be coming from the driver side radiator area. But I suppose that is better than losing coolant with no leak.

On rare occasions I hear the "water fountain" sound upon a cold start. I do not know if that could be due to the leak. Hopefully...

Also I am getting the thick white exhaust. but only when it is cold. It goes away once the engine is warmed up. This may be due to the cold weather... I may just be being paranoid on this one.

Runs and drives fine. Starts are strong and smooth. Never even come close to over heating.

So far I think I am in good shape... Hopefully... I just have to get that slow coolant leak fixed.

...again, this damn thread has scared the $hit out of me.

I also get white exhaust smoke when its cold out but like you said it seems to go away when the engine is warmed up. I don't think I have any coolant leak but I keep an eye on it. I am hoping this is normal for these cars. I wish I hadn't read this thread either but I'm going to just keep driving my 4Runner until it throws a code or overheats.

 

[B33R_Runner]

This thread scares the $hit out of me!

I have been keeping an eye on it for a while now. I am just about to hit 150K on my 03.

I am slowly leaking coolant and it seems to be coming from the driver side radiator area. But I suppose that is better than losing coolant with no leak.

On rare occasions I hear the "water fountain" sound upon a cold start. I do not know if that could be due to the leak. Hopefully...

Also I am getting the thick white exhaust. but only when it is cold. It goes away once the engine is warmed up. This may be due to the cold weather... I may just be being paranoid on this one.

Runs and drives fine. Starts are strong and smooth. Never even come close to over heating.

So far I think I am in good shape... Hopefully... I just have to get that slow coolant leak fixed.

...again, this damn thread has scared the $hit out of me.

Sorry to hear it, and I hope it's just a leak. I stalk this thread to see if '03s come up, as it's the year I own (269K miles). Bumping the chart from pg 8 of the thread (note: it hasn't been updated by the OP since August). The HG issue seems to be very uncommon for '03s. The only reasoning I've heard is "there aren't as many '03s out there." Who knows.

 

[morphious]

Update

Sheet is getting to big for screenshots so here is the most up to date as of today.

 

[gizmopt2002]

Did not realize that the gas in coolant, coolant in oil tests don't work. The waterfall effect is still there, yet no coolant loss. I just did 4.8k miles in 11 days, so I expected something to come from it honestly. My #6 plug was quite wet, but I do have leaky valve seals.

 

[stever05]

Add another, #6 cyl

Sheet is getting to big for screenshots so here is the most up to date as of today.

Just got the news. My 05 - 6 cyl w/140k has all the symptoms, and I just got an estimate for 2700 for one side. Whether I have the work done or not, I'm going to call Toyota. Thanks for all the posts regarding this issue.

 

[fdbyrne]

Just got the news. My 05 - 6 cyl w/140k has all the symptoms, and I just got an estimate for 2700 for one side. Whether I have the work done or not, I'm going to call Toyota. Thanks for all the posts regarding this issue.

If you're going to do it, go ahead and do both sides. It doesn't add hardly any time or money to the project.

 

[morphious]

Update

New.

 

[The Yin]

The Numbers

I've been keeping an eye on this thread also, since I've got a 2005, with just under 100K. So far so good.

I ran the numbers on the list that was just posted and these are the totals for each year.
2003 - 2
2004 - 78
2005 - 22
2006 - 4

So, looking at the numbers, it seems 2003's are fairly safe.

 

[morphious]

I've been keeping an eye on this thread also, since I've got a 2005, with just under 100K. So far so good.

I ran the numbers on the list that was just posted and these are the totals for each year.
2003 - 2
2004 - 78
2005 - 22
2006 - 4

So, looking at the numbers, it seems 2003's are fairly safe.

Thought this would be interesting, our report of HG issues vs number of units sold in US: (Thanks [MENTION=15785]J.A.[/MENTION] for the info)

2003 - 109,308
2004 - 114,212
2005 - 103,830
2006 - 103,086

 

[AEM1GR]

1gr

This motor is very popular in Australia. HG issues are near non existent. I have heard of 2 of them only, one related to over heating, the other - not sure.

We are starting to see a few more issues which are related to improper oil servicing - going further or much further mileage between changes than recommended by factory handbook. Those who service normally are seeing crazy high mileage with no issues at all

 

[Baba Booey]

Not sure what I did wrong, but it looks like my info did not make the list. I posted it here in this thread on 5/4/2015.

 

[morphious]

Not sure what I did wrong, but it looks like my info did not make the list. I posted it here in this thread on 5/4/2015.

Not sure how I missed you, UPDATED!

 

[BackOff]

I am just about to hit 70k.
I will pull the plugs to see what they look like.
Put in new at 43k.
I have the pics from the first go around I will add with the next check.

T4R runs fine.
I noticed the last bit of antifreeze loss when I was in 4wd/center locked, dense packed snow was really working the motor...thought I was getting stuck...but no.


I am leaning towards the idea that this is an issue with the super long life antifreeze. Or the miss interpretation of the product or how it is represented.
If its good to 100k? At my rate 5k/year, that's a few years off still.
I have done a drain and flush once in the life of this T4R.
Was that weird spam-bot right?

Was not the year the SLL started the year we start having HG issues?

 

[trublucali]

05 V6 P0304 error, need HG

Mine's gone bad @ 180,000.

 

[vxnvchj]

I change mine out every other year. It's very very very cheap insurance of having a head gasket failure.