Vanman

Long story short, truck was surging the other night, coldest night this winter (I was thinking moisture/freezing of lines). Could not drive it. Brought it to the mechanic. Turns out one cylinder is at 50 psi. They do not do work like this, so I do not have a reason to not trust the mechanic. He did say there are a few things that could be wrong, but considering the test, he is pretty sure a cylinder is gone.

I was wondering if something was going on for a while. I am planning on going to work today, as it drove home yesterday, no issues. Not sure what is going on. Runner has 174,000 miles. Paid $2600 nearly 6 years ago.

1. Is the surging related to the cylinder?

2. Is it worth the cost to rebuild? The mech. said at this point I wouldn't want just one cylinder/valve etc. fixed. He guessed it would be could be around $2000, depending on what it needs.

3. Can I still drive the darn thing???

I am not a mechanic, so all this would be outsourced

Thanks

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Since you are going to have this done by someone else that will really drive up the cost. How is the truck otherwise?

If the cylinder is gone it would need a good rebuild, but if it is the head that would be cheaper. A bad valve could give simiar results. Without further investigation it is kind of hard to answer.

As far as driving, it will only make matters worse, but if you were going to switch motors nothing lost, but if you go rebuild it could put the block beyond repair.

Finding a good used motor would be another alternative, but that can be luck of the draw if it is a good or bad motor.

I know this didnt give you a whole lot of info, but it going to need broke into an see what it going on with it. About as good as I can answer you on this, maybe some others might have better info then me. Good luck.

Some will say do a 3.4 swap but if you arent doing it yourself that will probably put it out of price range.

skypilot

iTrader: (1)

You can get a reman engine and have that swapped in. not a big deal. If its a 3vze it might be valve lash thats holding pressure down. it just might need new shims.

Its all about the budget; time / money.

coryc85

I don't know much about the 3.0, but skypilot brings up a good point. 1. check the valve lash. 2. If the lash is fine, then maybe your mechanic can squirt some oil into the bad cylinder and run the compression test again. If the pressure comes up, then your rings are bad, if the pressure does not come up then you have a valve problem. At least you could narrow it down. For reference, I called a couple head shops around here recently, $180 plus parts to recondition my 22re head.

scope103

The problem with any major repair: you don't know what you're going to find. For instance, you might have a cylinder scored so badly that it can't be rebored. So predicting rebuild costs is a black art at best.

The reman engine is a "more" certain approach, but you have to compare it to what you would pay to replace the whole rig. If you know your 4runner, you love it, and you're willing to take a chance, then you should fix it. If it's just an SUV to you, you should just hit Craigslist.

Are you sure you didn't call a "machine shop"? A Head Shop is something different: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_shop For what it's worth, I paid $475 in 2007 (to a Machine Shop) to have my two 3VZE heads done.

Vanman

Thanks for the replies.

Coryc85, the mechanic did say he squirted some oil and retested, no change.
I realize it is hard to determine exactly what the issue is before tearing things open, but that is my worry. To tear things apart, and then find even the simplest of fixes, is not going to be cheap. And if it is torn apart to find major issues, it is still a good chunk of change, assuming it takes a shop a while to even tear things open.

This 4Runner is my first one. I am not attached to it too much, but I like it. It is old, and has had a few issues. If I could pay $400-$600 it might be worth it, as everything else would still be old.

Current issues include: two windows not working (rear passenger), fan speeds down to Low and High, no defrost on rear window, rear ABS has never worked (??), and of course rust that seems to get worse (Mn vehicle all its life).

But, the darn thing starts and drives.

The other issue is that this is a daily driver, as we need two vehicles at this point in our lives.

***So, what type of shop does this? I am assuming a Toyota dealer would laugh at me if I brought this in to get fixed.

Thanks

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Best option is a 3.4 swap IMO

:wabbit2:

Vanman

So where would one even go to get an engine?
Is this then the question I ask the local "engine swap shop"?

So for example: http://www.asapmotors.com/toyota-tru...5h7glspee4b832

Engine costs $1000 plus shipping. What is labor for something like this?

Thanks again for the responses. Just not sure what to do...