VTurkey

Hey everyone,

Newly registered on this here site. I finally got myself a Yota, 180,000 miles, after many years of wanting one. It's the 3.0, but my landowner's son's had it sitting in their garage for 10 years unused and basically has no rust on the frame, rockers, or corners. From a New England perspective, that is gold, no matter what's under the hood. Besides, I plan to put in some kind of diesel in it within the next few years. Probably a benz. Something with a turbo.

Few questions:

-I have heard the 1988 was the beginning of the head gasket problems, but also that those were the asbestos gasket years and so in fact 1988 was not a problem year. Any clarification on this subject would be welcome. The previous owner (his brother bought it new then sold it to him) wasn't aware of any head gasket replacements. My mechanic did a compression test and said its all good but the number 5 cylinder is a tiny bit lower than the others, but when he put oil in there it fired the same as the others. Is this any indication of HG going? He thought it was probably just typical the ring wear...

-The only other pretty minor issue is the speedo screams, bounces and jiggles like crazy once it hits 40. I've read a lot on the forums about the cables, but just wondering what the likeliness is of this being a dry cable, or if the speedo itself is at fault? I'm only asking because it is very loud. Someone sitting next to me wouldn't be able to hear me talking. Further, wondering if it is an unwise move to just remove the cable from the TC and cap both the TC receiving threads and the cable end...just so I can use the tach to gauge my speed in the interim. The squeal from the speedo is very, very loud. I can hear it quietly below 40. I'm hoping it's just because the truck hasn't been driven more than 500 miles in the last 10 years. Other than that, my mechanic said it's in great shape for a truck it's age. It's all about mudflaps....it's kept the dirt and rocks off the rockers.

-Also, just curious what the resale value is for a 3.0 with a new timing belt, valve cover gaskets, and generally well maintained at 200,000. I'm guessing not much, but I'm going to fix it up now because I just need a truck, but hoping to do the diesel swap in a year or two, and would like to be able to get a little for the 3.0.

Any other suggestions is much appreciated.

rattlewagon

The 3.0 was the start of bad head gaskets. Haha. They have small cooling channels in the block combined with a weird crossover exhaust make the #6 cylinder run hot and they tend to blow around there. As long as you dont overheat it, you should be fine.

It sounds like your spedo cable is the problem. You can try to lube them, but most likely it will need to be replaced. You can just unplug it, but then you loose your odometer too as well as your speedometer.

Depending on your area, but in NE a good running 3.0 can fetch around $3-600

Welcome to the forum!

Mr. Magoo

Had the same issue on my 88. I just ordered another speedo cable form the yota dealer for $100 (I think. It was 2 years ago). My speedo cable was rubbing about 4 in. after the connection to the speedo. Replacing it is pretty easy, the only pain is getting it fished through the fire wall/floor board. I thought about doing the same thing and just unplug it, but the police in my area don't mess around.