tasthree

Well last night our 3.0 V6 94 4-runner with 147,000 started with the rough running,then the white smoke out the exhaust,then the water temp. went skyhigh quickly,then pull the over,then the tow home,then the pulling of #6 plug which is nice and wet and shiny.Blown H.G.Then came the call to the dealership,then the well it was done in 1998 so its been fixed once under the V06 recall and we won't do it again unless you pay BIG $$$.How many 3.0 V6 owners have been thru this exact same scenario.Enough is enough.Lets start some petitions and find the proper channels to submit to and fight this.The way I see it there is more problems than the head gaskets.My thought is that when toyota designed this motor they could use asbestos.Which could take the extra exhaust heat of the crossover pipe pointing forward on the driver side.Then the asbestos laws were passed.So now toyota has to use gaskets with different material which seems to not be able to take the heat over time.Blowing out even after being replaced.They have put a bandaid on a broken leg and said look see fixed.I think they need better gaskets, a different exhaust design and or a different head design..I mean this is so common that after researching on this site I knew which spark plug to check first.Any facts,opinions,thoughts or ideas on this matter people.

Epic Ed

I hear ya. I have long contended that the head gasket problem is more than what is covered by the recall. I've blown my gaskets five times and am on my 3rd 3VZE POS engine. Twice, the gasket blew and the temp gauge never went to the red. I can only speculate as to what else may cause the seal to fail, but temps well below the "danger zone" seem to have a good chance of warping the heads to the point that the gasket will fail in at least one spot.

As I've mentioned in other threads, I wish I would have done a swap with a different engine the first time I ran into probelms...but that was long before I knew about this website, and long before I had shelled out thousands of dollars on "bandaids" to fix an engine that checked into hospice shortly after it left the design room.

Ed

dr1553

So will headers fix or at least reduce the chances of the H.G. going bad? So #6 must be the last cylinder on the drivers side? Thats always where the leaks are? Yesterday I went to the local dealership to get the oil cooler seals and o-ring and there was a 3.0 sitting on a pallet outside the bay. While it was there I took a good look at it. The exhaust crossover does look like a very bad idea. How did they not know that it would cause problems. Besides that it looks like it would restrict the e.g. on that side since when the exhaust valves open they are met with exhaust from the other side also trying to escape.

If I could tell my wife that headers are preventative maintenance I just might be able to talk her into it!

rocket

iTrader: (1)

Yes. If you search through all the head gasket threads and header threads you'll read that others agree.

kmcc78240

Neewbie here, I found this forum as my headgasket was being replaced, 95 3.0 VZE. Going through all that was the worst headache ever put I bought her used and thought maybe someone didn't treat her right. I say Toyota should buy and install new heads or find some of those head gaskets, and wear some masks and install the SOB's. U freaked me out about the temp gauge I just installed new raditor, water pump, stat the works. Figured another 150K easy. I'll sign the petion.
Kev

dr1553

Just did...lots and lots of threads on the subject. I'm thinking I'm going to drive the 3.0 until its dead and then yank it out and throw a 3.4 in there. Seems to me to be the best way to improve the 3.0 is to replace it with the 3.4! I used to own a 2000 Tacoma w/the 3.4 and loved that motor! To bad I couldnt afford the note anymore.

If I didnt like the 2nd gen so much I'd just buy a 3rd.....but I really think the 2nd looks so much better!

As far as Toyota doing anything about the 3.0 HG issue. They did...they replaced the HG's on them for free. It may have been just a bandaid but the way I see it Toyota has moved on. They are 2 V6's past the 3.0 It seems to me like they have done more than most auto makers would have. Maybe the 3.0 is a bad design but it seems like most people on here have well over 100k on theirs......hmmmm. Doesnt sound to bad to me. I think the 3.0 is bad as far as Toyota motors go, but on average with, or better than most other auto makers offerings.

regularguy412

The 3.0 was designed during the time when asbestos head gaskets were still legal for use. When asbestos use was banned in the late 1980's, Toyota started using a gasket that would not hold up to the heat. That's why they had to develop yet a third style gasket that is both EPA friendly and heat tolerant. That new gasket is the slipper plate steel gasket. It is made by Rock and Nitroseal ( I believe). It's also available from Toyota Dealers.

MIke in AR

Corey

iTrader: (1)

I have also heard that some head gaskets redos fail again later do to the stock head bolts being reused.

I have read here that the ticket to the hg not failing again is to use new head bolts.

Whether this is true or not I do not know, but thought I would share it.

I am moving on from the 3.0 engine.
Never did care for mine, thought it was underpowered at times for highway use when you really need an extra boost to pass or merge.

dmatter

You guys Can't Really Think the 22re Has More Power then the 3.0. The 22re Should be banned From Highway Use.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

I do not know about that.
I use to have a '90 Extracab with a stick/22RE and I pulled a 1,500 lb tent trailer over mountain passes all the time back in the early 90s.

It had some power to it, and I know the 4Runner with my 3.0 even when it ran good did not have the balls to do it.

dmatter

My Last 22re Was Dangerous to even Try to get on the Freeway With 31 BFG At's on it. Maybe/Hopefully it was Due For a Rebuild. I love the 22re! Mine was just very very Wimpy. My 3.0 in my 4Runner is a Ripper!

Corey

iTrader: (1)

I put on 31" tires on the old truck, and it still ran good with the little 4 banger.

Time for me to get a 4.0 though

tasthree

Dose anybody know exactly when and by who the slipper plate gasket was designed.Also is there any way to tell if the original head bolts were reused when the H.G were replaced in 98.I read a thread awhile back about them being torque to yeild and being good for only three cycles which was done during the assembly process at the factory or something like that.I'm still trying to get the dealership at which we purchased it from to fix it.I have gone to the owner to plead my case.So the more facts I have the better plea I can make.After its fixed by dealership or by me.I think I'm going to do the diesel conversion and go biodiesel.I may sell my gas Dodge ram and get a matching 94 x-cab yota P.U and do the diesel on it to.But I still think Toyota is responsible for correcting the H.G problem.There are to many of these out there and alot of owners being affected with a negative impact.

Radyota

I would blame toyota's operating procedure for replacing headgaskets under recall for being the cause of recent failures. I talked to the parts manager at St. Cloud Toyota about replacing the factory head bolts when doing a HG, and he told me that they only replace them if they are hard to remove or rusty! So I said "But you do replace them ALL under recall jobs, right?" He said "No, only if they appear rusty or damaged. They're not a torque-to-yield fastener like chevy and chrysler use, so you don't have to replace them at all." !!?? Uh, WRONG! The parts manager lost a lot of my confidence that day. So if they're reusing old bolts, that's why there are still gasket problems even after recall replacements. I'll bet people on here who have read up on this and do their own head gasket replacements don't have them fail again for a VERY long time, simply because the job gets done right!

Not all V6's blow their headgaskets that quickly. My truck went from 60k to 183k that I know for sure with the same HG. The valves finally burnt up, so that's why I had to tear my engine apart. It had the steel slipperplate in it before, and it was still in good shape. My dad's truck had 211k on it when the valves went, and the engine was repaired at a small farm shop. I ended up tearing the heads off of it again at 220k because the jerk who "fixed" it before didn't even replace the worn out valve guides in the heads, causing some of them to "blowtorch"! He'd even used the threaded part of a small bolt as a dowel/alignment pin for a cam sprocket! It had almost sheared off!! So after finding another pair of heads for parts, CarQuest in Hutchinson took our 4 heads and made a good pair of rebuilt heads that I installed. Truck now has 260k on it with no engine problems. I DID reuse the old bolts back then, because I didn't know about Yotatech in 2002. It's still goin' though!

So the bottom line is that even if Toyota extended campaign V06 it still wouldn't fix the problem. You're better off doing the repair work yourself and knowing that it's done RIGHT!

tasthree

Radyota.You brought up another possible long term problem of the head and exhaust design which is the burnt valves.Were they for #6 cyl.

Elvota

Just curious... in general, what is a respectable amount of miles for an engine to last? How many miles does a car company engineer and plan for, Toyota and other brands. 100,000, 200,000, more?

I realize that the 3.0 has it's issues, but how does this compare to other motors? Seems to be anywhere from 50,000 to 75,000 miles or more between HG issues isn't perfect, but isn't so bad. Although, if I had shorter times between HG like mentioned above, I could see the frustration.

Any ideas how many miles the 3.4 goes for?

Maybe the 22RE has set the standard so high, most other mills just fall short.

tasthree

We sold a 93 Nissan maxima with over 250,000mi that had only routine mait. done to it.When we sold it it was still running strong.We sold it to get our 94 4-runner that had 13?,000 when we bought it.

dmatter

I just Sold a Nissasn Titan For $8500.00 Less then I paid for it and I Drove it For About 4 Months! In the Shop For Something Every 3 Weeks Literally! It Warped the Rotors Every 6000 Miles, The Transmission Woke up the Whole Neighborhood Going From park to Reverse They Said it Was Normal It Sounded Like the Whole Interior Was Falling Apart after 1 Week of Driving. Just a Quick/Very Expensive Lesson on why I always Drove Toyotas! Needless to say I went with what I know Works.......TOYOTA.

Quakefire

The head gasket going on my 90 runner eventually led to the engine failing, Toyota wouldnt replace it, and I couldnt afford to have it done, and i couldnt afford not to drive it, so now its sitting out front of my house, and I guarentee it was the no. 6 rod that went due to hydrolock. I'd throw in a 3.4 but between the body lift the fabrication and the freaking cost, I have to find a new 3.slow block and have it remanufactured with a far better head gasket. Prolly the rock auto or nitroseal..

6 months I had this damned runner, stupid motor, if it wasnt worthless as scrap, and if I didnt love it so much, it'd be scrap

tasthree

Quakefire where are you.If I go diesel then I may have a 3.0 for sale.