aviator9587
New member
It went better than I thought. I planned to keep it until about 400k. Brother in law owns a shop and bought it from me. I ended up with a new TRD Pro 4 Runner.
*** V6 Head Gasket Action Request ***
- Thread starter morphious
- Start date
It went better than I thought. I planned to keep it until about 400k. Brother in law owns a shop and bought it from me. I ended up with a new TRD Pro 4 Runner.
In the same boat!
2004 v6 sr5 2wd
253,000
Bought the truck and drove 600 miles then it overheated out of nowhere and I found no coolant in radiator. Changed cap because overflow wasn't suctioning and no luck. Took it to a shop soon after, knowing it was probably hg because rough starts in the morning, after it sat for 3 days at their shop there was so much coolant in a cylinder it wouldn't fire at all.
So I'm into the rebuild!
Its all been posted before but just so people keep seeing the right info...
Links to write ups and manuals
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/2224621-post204.html
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/174451-new-member-need-help-p304-misfire.html
http://4runnerclub.com/i/4r_files/f...m/1grfe/enginemechanical/camshaft_removal.pdf
http://www.fme-cat.com/Docs/1425.pdf
I cant find in a search any tips or trick to depressurize fuel system. Is it just disconnect rubber lines from hard lines by brake res and let em spray?
2004 v6 sr5 2wd
253,000
Bought the truck and drove 600 miles then it overheated out of nowhere and I found no coolant in radiator. Changed cap because overflow wasn't suctioning and no luck. Took it to a shop soon after, knowing it was probably hg because rough starts in the morning, after it sat for 3 days at their shop there was so much coolant in a cylinder it wouldn't fire at all.
So I'm into the rebuild!
Its all been posted before but just so people keep seeing the right info...
Links to write ups and manuals
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/2224621-post204.html
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/174451-new-member-need-help-p304-misfire.html
http://4runnerclub.com/i/4r_files/f...m/1grfe/enginemechanical/camshaft_removal.pdf
http://www.fme-cat.com/Docs/1425.pdf
I cant find in a search any tips or trick to depressurize fuel system. Is it just disconnect rubber lines from hard lines by brake res and let em spray?
Grunner1023
New member
2 years in
Hello folks , I replaced my HG about 2 years ago & like so many others on here love my 4Runner but really had to roll the dice on a major & expensive repair, luckily thanks 100% totally to this thread which I'd read every single post I did not spend one cent on plugs, coils etc. then prior to the repair I rationalized the project simply by multiplying a monthly car payment (low side) $300 x 12months = $3600 . So I figured if I can sneak
A year out of repaired HG anything over is a wash on a $2400 repair on a vehicle that I know & trust. 2 years in & no problems(knock on wood)
I do return to this thread periodically & feel for all the people in the same situation as me.
Good luck & I hope by sharing my experience may help someone decide what to do
Hello folks , I replaced my HG about 2 years ago & like so many others on here love my 4Runner but really had to roll the dice on a major & expensive repair, luckily thanks 100% totally to this thread which I'd read every single post I did not spend one cent on plugs, coils etc. then prior to the repair I rationalized the project simply by multiplying a monthly car payment (low side) $300 x 12months = $3600 . So I figured if I can sneak
A year out of repaired HG anything over is a wash on a $2400 repair on a vehicle that I know & trust. 2 years in & no problems(knock on wood)
I do return to this thread periodically & feel for all the people in the same situation as me.
Good luck & I hope by sharing my experience may help someone decide what to do
huntermark
New member
2006 4x4 187K
I was just informed I need a new head gasket. I've used the same mechanic for years and he seems to do right by me. I thought it was the gas cap scenario. The check engine light ant the traction lights coming on. It ran rough when cold but, fine after it warmed up. He found out that the antifreeze is leaking into one of the cylinders. I just don't know if it's worth the cost to fix it or just trade it in. I have been thinking about getting a newer one.
I was just informed I need a new head gasket. I've used the same mechanic for years and he seems to do right by me. I thought it was the gas cap scenario. The check engine light ant the traction lights coming on. It ran rough when cold but, fine after it warmed up. He found out that the antifreeze is leaking into one of the cylinders. I just don't know if it's worth the cost to fix it or just trade it in. I have been thinking about getting a newer one.
YetiX
New member
Sounds like mine, it went at 185. Out of curiosity, when was yours built? Mine was built in November of '05. I had only owned mine for a few months and still owed on it so I elected to have the head gaskets replaced. Now I'm at almost 210k miles and love it.
nyc4runnin
New member
2004, 150k on the OD, starting to missfire and P0304 CEL on cold startup now .... :-(
Ive had the waterfall sounds for the last 50k....
Ive had the waterfall sounds for the last 50k....
The Yin
Member
My 2005 had the waterfall sound at around 105/110K but no other issues, so I let it be. But then at 120k I had some over heating issues during a road trip. That's when I took it in and had it checked. I really wanted to wait till I got some codes or something, but after the overheating I didn't want to risk it.
Grunner1023
New member
Side note thought.... if you read through the bulk of this thread it is apparent that
1- 4th gen pre late 05 have the problematic gasket
2- average mileage at failure 150k+
So they changed the gasket design well before the years & mileage begin to indicate a possible problem.
Why??
1- 4th gen pre late 05 have the problematic gasket
2- average mileage at failure 150k+
So they changed the gasket design well before the years & mileage begin to indicate a possible problem.
Why??
BackOff
New member
"Lifetime" fluid changes unfortunately fooled many...myself included...
It is starting to bite the 5th gen guys in the tail feathers now too.
If you don't have to change your antifreeze, SLL till 100k miles...I am at just under 80k now...on a 09/2003 build. So 15 years with the same antifreeze...NOT.
You need to do this every other year to be safe, 30k at least...that 'lifetime' crap was a really bad idea in my books.
It is starting to bite the 5th gen guys in the tail feathers now too.
If you don't have to change your antifreeze, SLL till 100k miles...I am at just under 80k now...on a 09/2003 build. So 15 years with the same antifreeze...NOT.
You need to do this every other year to be safe, 30k at least...that 'lifetime' crap was a really bad idea in my books.
YetiX
New member
Good question. They may have had some early high-mileage vehicles start having head gasket issues. For example, I have a friend with a 2016 4Runner and he already has 175k miles on it since he drives it for work and for play. Maybe some of those high mileage vehicles had issues? Only thing I can think of. I just know they switched the head gasket design after November of 2005.
nyc4runnin
New member
Can anyone recomend a place in nyc/new england areas to get the headgasket replaced ?
I dont think theres enough detailed walkthrus/youtube vids for me to do this myself lol...
I dont think theres enough detailed walkthrus/youtube vids for me to do this myself lol...
Damage to the intake manifold flap
Hello everybody (sorry for my English)
I had a problem when the engine rattled.
something fell in the fifth cylinder
shows damage
I see a damper failure
one missing detail
Broken shutter axis
at the bottom of the collector a piece of iron is visible, exactly the same were in the fifth cylinder
There is a different wear of the axle, it can be seen that it did not break yesterday, but a little earlier
We make a new axis
Axle bolt and nut
We seal the collector
Who had a similar problem?
we have found a lot of similar stories, but on this site could not find such stories
Hello everybody (sorry for my English)
I had a problem when the engine rattled.
something fell in the fifth cylinder
shows damage
I see a damper failure
one missing detail
Broken shutter axis
at the bottom of the collector a piece of iron is visible, exactly the same were in the fifth cylinder
There is a different wear of the axle, it can be seen that it did not break yesterday, but a little earlier
We make a new axis
Axle bolt and nut
We seal the collector
Who had a similar problem?
we have found a lot of similar stories, but on this site could not find such stories
mijbr90190
New member
My 97s headgasket blew at the beginning of the month. This forced me to buy a vehicle quickly. Found an 06 sport with 140k. Ran great, a little rough start which i attributed to it sitting for so long. After a couple of days i got the dreaded waterfall noise. Coolant was low, so I topped it off. No change in the noise behind the dash. Luckily i bought it from a good guy. It was a car lot and auto shop. He agreed to look at it last friday. After a couple hours of tests, they found coolant leaking into cylinder 6. Guy took full responsibility and is correcting it now. Replacing both headgaskets, took heads to the machine shop etc. Cant believe it happened twice to me. If i wanted these issues I would have bought a subaru.
Slowgoat
New member
Hard to believe an 06 blew. Didn’t they redesign the gasket before 06? What was your manufacture date please.
That freaking sucks you had two different ones blow. Sorry.
AuSeeker
Elite Member
Not really that hard to believe, the head gasket re-design was 11-05 and after and many 06 models had a build date prior to that. I would guess his build date was prior to 11-05.
The really good thing here is the seller/dealer stepped up and is fixing it, as should be done since he just purchased it!! :rockon:
He will love that 06 for a long time to come now that it being made right!!
Last edited:
mijbr90190
New member
Thanks man. I thought the same thing, but i guess it has more to do with build date than model year. He put the updated gaskets in it too and is basically rebuilding the whole top end for free. Drove it less than a week. He gave me an 04 4runner for a loaner too. Definitely like the 5speed trans better.
mijbr90190
New member
The dealer/mechanic has been nothing but great the past couple weeks. I know once this is done i wont have worries for a long time to come. My 97 has 234k on it and i plan on rebuilding the top end on that one as well and rocking it to at least 350k.
Confirmed head gasket leak
Hi all,
I’ve been lurking and gathering information for some time now and just now decided to post.. I’ve got a 2004 V6 and have been in the process of overhauling my entire cooling system as well as replacing the head gaskets.
I had a single overheating issue as well as the waterfall noise for about 2 months prior. No CEL or any misfiring/rough running to speak of. I decided to replace radiator, water pump, t-stat, passenger side exhaust manifold, etc. as the car has 178K and I plan on keeping it forever. I bought it in 2014 with 140K.
Sent an oil sample off to Blackstone and they confirmed a small amount of coolant in the oil. I just got the heads back from the machine shop and he confirmed a leak at cylinders 5 and 6. Will be buttoning everything up in the coming weeks.
Fortunately I have an extra vehicle so I’ve been taking my time with the 4Runner. The information I’ve found here has been invaluable - thank you for that.
-Matt
Hi all,
I’ve been lurking and gathering information for some time now and just now decided to post.. I’ve got a 2004 V6 and have been in the process of overhauling my entire cooling system as well as replacing the head gaskets.
I had a single overheating issue as well as the waterfall noise for about 2 months prior. No CEL or any misfiring/rough running to speak of. I decided to replace radiator, water pump, t-stat, passenger side exhaust manifold, etc. as the car has 178K and I plan on keeping it forever. I bought it in 2014 with 140K.
Sent an oil sample off to Blackstone and they confirmed a small amount of coolant in the oil. I just got the heads back from the machine shop and he confirmed a leak at cylinders 5 and 6. Will be buttoning everything up in the coming weeks.
Fortunately I have an extra vehicle so I’ve been taking my time with the 4Runner. The information I’ve found here has been invaluable - thank you for that.
-Matt
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