Jeremy11

Alright, so after I found out my HG's were possibly blown I didnt run my truck for about a month due to not having any money or time to fix the problem.
Finally have some time to work on it. Find out my starter is grinding really loud. Took it off checked it and my flywheel and nothing was wrong. Bolted up crooked maybe... I dont know but I put it back on and turned my truck on after a couple attempts.
So i let my truck run a little bit after about 3 weeks... and as it did 3 weeks prior started throwing out white smoke
Check the dipstick and it looks like someone painted the tip with white paint. (Not really but you know what I mean)
So went down to Autozone and bought some Motor flush for 3.99.
Flushed it just to flush it and because my dad told me too. Then I drained it.
Oil was MILKED!!

I'm kinda scared to run it anymore because my exhaust pipe tip is starting to rust on the bottom
Which brings me here now. Whether to just get a new engine or do the HG work and replace em.
Is it easier and cheaper to just get the Full gasket set from engnbldr.com and replace the HG's??
OR
Get a new engine and bypass any potential problems that can be caused and the problems that already existed??

Anyone have an estimate on a final price after doing the HG work and get my truck back on the road??

Any and all tips/opinions are greatly appreciated!!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

JonnyBoy

How is your rig running, other than the head gaskets being blown? You may get another engine that has more problems, even if the head gaskets are fine on it.

Jeremy11

I recently had a new crank, oil pump, rods, and bearings put in because when i bought the truck it had 5/6 burnt rods.

It didnt accelerate the way it should. I would floor it and you would feel no difference. Took me about 10 seconds to get up to speed on the freeway. And I a had a little miss.
And then i blow my head gaskets. How lucky am I?.. LOL
But I bought the truck for 500. put about 1700 into the crank and everything that went with it. about 200 for an injector and the o rings. so ive put about 2000 on top of the 500. I just dont want to put too much money into it and have more problems.

JonnyBoy

Well we're not talking about a race engine or a race chassis...if it's a 4Runner, these things weigh over 4,000 lbs! You might be expecting more out of this engine than you're gonna get. Your little miss might've been from the head gasket, might've been a bad plug wire. I'm guessing you had the heads checked out at least when you had the engine apart before, so you might only have to buy a gasket kit, head bolts, oil, and antifreeze. That's not really all that much money.

Jeremy11

So im better off doing the HG work right?
The full gasket set i found for 120 plus s&h.
So maybe about 250-300 dollars at the most?
Would I have to take anything to a machine shop?
I'm not sure about the heads being checked out. More than likely they were.
Thanks for all your help. Its really appreciated

JonnyBoy

So the crank an rod work was done at a shop? Hopefully they checked out the heads! How many miles since that was done? You can check for flatness of the head surface, but I've gone ahead and taken heads to a machine shop for surfacing pretty much automatically if a head gasket has popped. A good machine shop will also look for cracks or major damage, but check the condition of the valves, too, while you have them off.

Jeremy11

maybe about 100 miles at the absolute most after the crank and rods were done.

JonnyBoy

I think I might be talking to that shop...they had the heads off to do the crank and rods. 100 miles is totally unacceptable for a head gasket to fail, provided you didn't overheat it.

Jeremy11

I really dont know. Im guessing looking at the heads would have been a routine thing?
But i found some type of sealant. Liquid glass or something to seal the blown hea gasket. Im going to give that a try then if that doesnt work then i will have to figure something out.
Has anyone ever used or heard of anyone using this liwuid glass head gasket sealant??

JonnyBoy

No, I mean I'd talk to that shop cause it sounds like they did a shoddy job reinstalling the heads or something. I don't know of any shops that would attempt to replace rods and crank without removing the heads! The pistons are removed from the top. I don't think you even could remove the pistons from the bottom if you wanted to!

milehigheric

Yeah your not unlucky, your unfortunate. The shop that did the previous work would have replaced the head gasket. For it to blow 100 miles out of the shop door is unacceptable. I feel you have left it a little late, but you should be contacting them.