*** V6 Head Gasket Action Request ***

[iBison]

Has anyone ever measured the head and the block for warping? Sure sounds like the head needs to be milled to get everything back to flat. A warped head will just continue to blow gaskets for all time.

I took mine to a shop and the cleaned them tried them up and put in bee valve seals I bought on rock.

 

[8024thGen]

8024,

Can you tell us if you know what the coolant system history has been (if you know). Yours would be one of the few 2006’s with a failed gasket.

I’m trying to determine if there is a corelation on coolant system flushes and head gasket failure.

Also, can you provide the date your 4runner was built? That can be found on the drivers side door panel. It would greatly help out this thread.

Thanks much!

The radiator was replaced 2 years before the head gaskets were replaced (fender bender), but other than than I'm unaware of any other coolant system repairs.

It looks like it was made in February of 2006.

 

[Themixr]

I did replace the cooling system, flushed it out and refilled with factory pink antifreeze each time. Can’t be the cooling system, I ruled that out after the second motor.

Update on motor#3. Cometic hg is holding strong, running perfect 6k on rebuild.

These cometic gaskets are expensive but worth it.

 

[62caster]

Man - just got an '05 with 200k on it. Hope I get lucky and don't have to deal with this.

 

[MrEMan]

Hate to say it, but add me to the list ... 2006 Sport 4x4 V6 with 220K miles. Don't have all the specifics yet, but cylinders 4 and 6 were misfiring, coolant was low (although the engine was not overheating) and the shop has made the preliminary determination that the head gasket is blown. Replacing both head gaskets and catalytic converters is going to run me ~$3800.

Forgot to update this with prod date ... 9/05

 

[albietru2]

Head gasket 06 4Runner replace

just had mine go out at 150K. Private mechanic wants $4k to replace including resurfacing heads at machine shop. Does anyone know if this is less expensive than a dealer would do it?

 

[metramm]

just had mine go out at 150K. Private mechanic wants $4k to replace including resurfacing heads at machine shop. Does anyone know if this is less expensive than a dealer would do it?

Would you mind providing details regarding your truck?

Year
Build date (can be found in the door jam of the driver's door)
Past coolant system maintenance history if any?
Cylinder number affected

Is the mechanic going to do both heads or one? For a private mechanic it seems very high. 4k from what I've read is Toyota dealer pricing.

 

[YetiX]

just had mine go out at 150K. Private mechanic wants $4k to replace including resurfacing heads at machine shop. Does anyone know if this is less expensive than a dealer would do it?

Mine was about $4k but that also included a new water pump and radiator in addition to the head gaskets and machining. The machine ship also cleaned up all the valves and installed new valve seals (I think). So $4k doesn't sound too out of line, but with the radiator and water pump, mine would have been around $3.5k.

 

[MrEMan]

just had mine go out at 150K. Private mechanic wants $4k to replace including resurfacing heads at machine shop. Does anyone know if this is less expensive than a dealer would do it?

Mine was $3983.72 by a private shop ... that total cost included both cylinder head gaskets (mine was blown between cylinders 4 and 6), machining and both catalytic converters. So $4K for head gaskets only seems high to me. But that was in 2015 ...

 

[Warr-Runner]

2006 (11/5 Man. date) SR5 4x4

Long time lurker

I was showing all the symptoms in this thread so I decided it was time to get it fixed at 175,000. I originally bought the 2006 having known about the HG issues with the older 4th Gens. Thought I was in the clear until a few months ago when I noticed I was losing a lot of coolant and was starting to have the "waterfall noise" and a rough idle at times when cold.

Luckily for me my buddy is a local Toyota master mechanic and he agreed to do the job for $1,300. smoking deal for sure. My heads were true.

I now have about 5K miles on the new HGs and all is running strong. Hope I can get to 300K now with this maintenance.

 

[RickC]

Anyone know anyone in the Knoxville TN area that does the repair that is good?

Thanks,

 

[nightowl49]

Might be in the same boat ....

I've got my 2004 4wd SR5 V6 with 158,000 miles in the shop right now after noticing it was losing coolant quickly. Haven't heard the diagnosis yet. The only other symptom was a rushing waterfall type sound when I started it cold, but that only happened once.

(Oh, and I've got a P0430 code for the cat. Great. )

I bought this thing 9 months ago. I've had to replace a caliper that was sticking as well.

I heard Toyota was reliable but so far I'm not really thrilled. I love the way it drives, though.

 

[KMG1981]

The 4th gen 4Runners are reliable except for the head gasket and calipers.

I've been the only owner of my '05 4Runner, I'm at 246,000 miles.

At 160,000 I had the head gasket issue.

I've always had the brake caliper issue. The last time it happened, I forgot to tell them to stick 5th Gen brake calipers on.

I've had part the power steering rack fail and had it replaced with clamps and a rubber hose. The CV boots have been replaced.

Other than that, no problems. I was left stranded one time, 2018. The alternator finally had to be replaced after 13 years. Very reliable and durable beyond the HG issue and calipers. If Toyota did the right thing, they would have done a recall.

 

[Patchtruck87]

Recently bought a 05 4 runner cylinder 6 coil plug has been replaced as well as water pump not sure how long ago It has 275k on her no symptoms of a blown hg. Would like to be sure before it damages engine what would be the best way to diagnose?

 

[nightowl49]

I've got my 2004 4wd SR5 V6 with 158,000 miles in the shop right now after noticing it was losing coolant quickly. Haven't heard the diagnosis yet. The only other symptom was a rushing waterfall type sound when I started it cold, but that only happened once.

(Oh, and I've got a P0430 code for the cat. Great. )

I bought this thing 9 months ago. I've had to replace a caliper that was sticking as well.

I heard Toyota was reliable but so far I'm not really thrilled. I love the way it drives, though.

Wanted to update my previous post.

Shop said chemical test were negative for blown HG. No bubbles in the radiator either. They said the radiator had a small leak. So, "good" news for now. But from now on I am going to be a bit paranoid about this truck of mine.

 

[MT Runner]

Wanted to update my previous post.

Shop said chemical test were negative for blown HG. No bubbles in the radiator either. They said the radiator had a small leak. So, "good" news for now. But from now on I am going to be a bit paranoid about this truck of mine.

That’s good to hear it’s not a HG issue.
With that being said, you did buy a 14yr old vehicle with 150k+ miles on it. There is always a risk to that. Yes they’re reliable and can go 100’s of thousands of miles in some cases. You could also get something that hasn’t been maintained or abused in the past and run into issues earlier than expected.

What I’d personally do is look up what the Toyota recommended services are up to that point and basically check them off one by one and make sure all is good. It’ll probably be a few hundred here and a few hundred there, but I’d be willing to bet that you rig will be good to go in no time and you’ll have some peace of mind and a reliable vehicle.

 

[fng_alfaguy]

2005 V6 4Runner Limited
135K miles

We've owned it since 2010 and maintained her appropriately.
Yesterday she through the CEL (and trac control) lights. OBDII terminal read P0306 error condition. Made In Japan completed a block check and determined "exhaust gas in coolant."

They recommended an engine replacement which is ludicrous. I'm not knowledgeable about 4Runners but I have built and engine or two in my day.

Based on the previous 800+ responses it's most likely a failed head gasket. The question of course is "did the head warp?"

I'm going to ask for a second look and talk to some other shops but I'm hoping that it's a simple matter of replacing the head gasket, and that the head itself is not warped or cracked.

Regards,
TJ

 

[YetiX]

2005 V6 4Runner Limited
135K miles

We've owned it since 2010 and maintained her appropriately.
Yesterday she through the CEL (and trac control) lights. OBDII terminal read P0306 error condition. Made In Japan completed a block check and determined "exhaust gas in coolant."

They recommended an engine replacement which is ludicrous. I'm not knowledgeable about 4Runners but I have built and engine or two in my day.

Based on the previous 800+ responses it's most likely a failed head gasket. The question of course is "did the head warp?"

I'm going to ask for a second look and talk to some other shops but I'm hoping that it's a simple matter of replacing the head gasket, and that the head itself is not warped or cracked.

Regards,
TJ

Has it overheated while you've owned it? If not, you're likely ok. These are slow developing leaks and I don't recall ever reading that anyone's head(s) warped. Mine did not. I had my heads cleaned up, valve seals, etc., but no need for decking. Should be a simple replacement of the head gaskets.

 

[fng_alfaguy]

Scott,

Thanks for the hopefully encouraging news. It has not overheated during our ownership. Did you do both headgaskets at the same time? I've been doing some research but I haven't found any definitive reason why the gaskets fail in the first place. If it's the design of the cylinder block and/or head itself, it's likely harder to completely eliminate the condition. If there's an upgraded gasket that helps solve the problem there's perhaps more reason for hope.

Ultimately it comes down to "do I prophylactically replace the headgasket on the other head while I'm replacing the one on the failed side or do I hope for the best?" That's never an easy decision to make.

-tj

Has it overheated while you've owned it? If not, you're likely ok. These are slow developing leaks and I don't recall ever reading that anyone's head(s) warped. Mine did not. I had my heads cleaned up, valve seals, etc., but no need for decking. Should be a simple replacement of the head gaskets.

 

[YetiX]

Scott,

Thanks for the hopefully encouraging news. It has not overheated during our ownership. Did you do both headgaskets at the same time? I've been doing some research but I haven't found any definitive reason why the gaskets fail in the first place. If it's the design of the cylinder block and/or head itself, it's likely harder to completely eliminate the condition. If there's an upgraded gasket that helps solve the problem there's perhaps more reason for hope.

Ultimately it comes down to "do I prophylactically replace the headgasket on the other head while I'm replacing the one on the failed side or do I hope for the best?" That's never an easy decision to make.

-tj

We did both on mine. Once you're in there, it just makes sense to do both. They did re-design the gaskets.