Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'd get it towed too. By the way, I have a 92 4Runner with the V6. Although it is a good engine if taken care of. We don't call it a 3.slow for nothing.
if the oil is clean (no antifreeze in it) then you could probably get away with just doing the head gaskets.
to drive home 25 miles in that condition is risky. the longer you run it the worse the chance it can be fixed without an engine swap. get it towed and make sure whoever ends up doing the work really knows what they are doing.
lucky you don't have a GM truck. the intake gaskets on them Vortecs like to go without you realizing it and by the time its figured out, the engine is beyond repair. got 3 S10 Blazers in my back yard all with blown motors, all killed by antifreeze
Pull the spk plugs one at a time. The electrode should be wet which means the gskt is shot between the cyl walls which is the norm. Crank the engine over and antifreeze will shoot out. Forgot to mention I'm a retired mechanic of 28 yrs.
Two mechanics have told me it is not worth messing with it, due to the age (15 years, 200k miles) of the vehicle. They have both said that this would only address the top of the motor, and I'd likely have issues with the rest.
Bear in mind that I am NOT a mechanic. I can change my own oil and do simple repairs, but every time something went wrong with this, it would be another trip to the mechanic.
I am likely going to have the truck towed home, and put it on craigslist with an accurate description, sold as is. I think it would be a great deal for someone that can do the work themselves, but could get very expensive for me since I would have to go back to the mechanic for much of what needed to be done.
I'm mourning the loss of a really reliable and good truck that has taken me a lot of places.
tow it to another shop, tell them what you were told, and ask if it can be repaired with a new set of heads... it's worth the $150.00 or so for a second opinion
Two mechanics have told me it is not worth messing with it, due to the age (15 years, 200k miles) of the vehicle. They have both said that this would only address the top of the motor, and I'd likely have issues with the rest.
Very true. Tightening up the top half of an engine with new heads can bring the compression up enough to cause all kinds of problems with the rings sealing.
If you have another shop look at it, make sure they use a borescope to inspect it. Anything less and they're just guessing.
maybe find a used version of the same model that is better condition and has lower miles and a good motor than keep your old one and use it for spare parts cause it sounds like you took good care of it. I mean unless you really plan on keeping it for many years to come buying a new motor is kinda a waste of money on such a ols truck.
Your mileage may vary, but when I took the head off the Camry (3S-FE engine), to do a head gasket, the cylinder bores looked NEW. I scratched along with my fingernail to see if I could feel any sort of ridge, didn't have any. The Camry had 166K at the time, ended up putting a reconditioned head on it because the head turned out to be cracked (long story, Cliff's Notes version is that apparently someone who didn't know what they were doing had the head off before me for some other reason, and re-installed it with half the head bolts way under-torqued..)
Anyway this turned out fine.
If you are not in rust country there is no reason to think the truck is "too old" to be worth fixing.
Sounds like your shop is one of those that only wants to work on late models. Dump them and find someone, ideally, who does a lot of Toy engine work.
I would definitely not drive it, head gasket leaks like this can get suddenly much worse, if you "hydralick" the engine, *then* there won't be any argument - you need a new engine or a new truck at that point...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
