phenob

So my 93 3.0 2WD 4Runner blew a headgasket @ 182k. Again. 4th time in 10 years now actually. I'd go into details but, in the interest of curbing my infamous longwindedness, just think back to all the other HG threads here. Coolant clouds, overheat, steam when pulling #6 plug, lousy performance, etc etc. Only thing of interest is that I never found oil in coolant or vice versa, but I did not go so far as to have the oil tested. I have, however, found milkshake on the oil cap, but yeah .. same story as everyone else.

Swapped to a rebuilt 3.0 after the 2nd one with an import engine shop down near the port. 3rd blow was repaired by a local mechanic. Tearing down for valve covers last week I found more shoddy work than I care to mention. Lots of, what appears to be, cooling system stop-leak gunk in the system.. i sure as hell didn't dump that stuff in there, so at this point I can't really trust any of the work that has been done previously, nor do I trust the swapped in motor.

Throughout all this I've grown older and wiser, now I wrench around plenty on this myself and (with the help of yotatech) take meticulous care of my 4Runner. However, I just don't have the real estate to do a proper HG job. No garage, no workbench, don't want to ghetto this out back in the alley like I do everything else. So .. I reluctantly need to turn to a new mechanic.

So .. Can anyone refer me to a good shop in so. cal? I'm in Long Beach. I need someone who knows the deal with the 3.0 HG and won't skimp on the details involved in really fixing the problem (as best as possible anyway). I want to make sure heads are machined (last mechanic couldn't even refer me to a machine shop) as necessary, everything cleaned up, head bolts replaced and torqued properly EB style .. check to see what else might be gunked up in the cooling .. all the stuff that we've read here time and time again, all the stuff that I would take the time to do myself if I had the garage to do it in.

Also considering some other stuff mentioned in other posts, like replacing valves, ceramic headers, etc. Need more research, but goes to show the kind of work I'm looking to have done. I just want to find someone that understands this mentality, knows the 3-VZE, and isn't going to just slap on the cheapest gasket available, dump a can of gunk into my cooling, and hope it all lasts long enough for me to lose the receipt.

And since I'm sure someone will respond that it's time to swap for a 3.4, it's not, as I just put around $800 into pretty much everything but the HG. The 3.4 gets swapped in next time.

Also, this shop should not mark up costs because of my Clippers stickers. Oh.. you laugh, but don't underestimate the overzealous Lakers fan. I could tell you a few stories..

Thanks in advance if anyone happens to have a recommendation. Hopefully this post might help a few others out as well.

ernest t bass

have your truck towed to leucadia, in north san diego, SCOTTS AUTOMOTIVE.

the mechanics are honest and trustworthy.
its a family operation.
the owner is there 6 days a week and his hands are dirty from working on race cars, not counting money.
i drive 40 miles to have my truck worked on there.

they are not the cheapest, but the job will be done right.

just my $02 plug for my buddy who i trust.

phenob

thanks ernest. I'd like to stay a little closer to home but I'll keep that in mind. I get down to san diego quite a bit.

Looking at "The Toy Shop" in Cypress. Robert there took care of my trans. pan hack job many years ago. Forgot all about that place.

toytech76

Thats funny. The shop I work at in norcal is called The Toy Shop. lol

phenob

just to put a cap on this thread:

everybody i've found in the area says no way will they warranty any head gasket repair on my truck. most of them are unwilling to take the job. looks like it will be a 3.4 swap when i find someone in there area that can help with that. sad defeat.. but i still refuse to lose!

oh and the guys at the toy shop (socal version!) did seem to be about the most intelligent i talked to. doesnt seem like they do much mods or performance stuff there, but i could be wrong. they plan on doing their first 3.4 swap in the coming weeks. i may check back with them in a month or so and see how it went.