kches

98 Tacoma TRD 3.4 5spd manual

I have had the truck for a couple years and she suddenly spat out a spark plug while at an idle. The cynic in me thinks that the guy I bought it off of may have stripped the hole and sold the truck but thats not worth dwelling on now. I ran a tap through the hole and it didn't work at all, there are no threads left. Mechainic that I trust says time+parts+machine shop time to remove head and install helicoil and reinstall the head would equal approx $2500 (canadian). I'm not crazy about the idea of putting that much money into an engine with 310,000km on it.

So the question is...do I look for a good used 3.4 and get the swap done? What would the cost be for the engine and time? Just looking at ballpark figures here. It also has the original clutch which is working fine but I assume if I were to have the engine swapped that would be a good time to have that done too.

Any help or options are greatly appreciated!

Charchee

Get a new plug that is just a little bigger, apply JB Weld to the threads and then beat it in the hole with a hammer and punch. Sell it cheap and quick and then have a beer and a laugh with the guy that did it to you. Just kidding. What I would do here if you think your truck is worth the investment, is purchase a re-manufactured head over the internet and replace it yourself. I haven't looked at one for my 3.4 but I have looked in to it on my 3.0. The head cost was around $550 delivered and all you needed to do with the old head, no matter the condition, was put it back in the box and call the company to let them know it was ready for pick up. That should get your cost down to less than a thousand birds or pucks or whatever you guys call your dollars.

I hate that happened to you. If it did it very soon after you bought it, I bet the previous owner had something to do with it. Not cool.

kches

Thanks for your reply! I will definately look into the remanufactured head option.

nbl300

iTrader: (1)

Tapersets I believe they are called easy to install drill tap and install it they are designed for spark plug holes and are a lot stronger than a normal heli coil.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

looks like the OP is not in a position to do the work .

Having to pay Labor on a job like this seems very expensive.

OP just what work can you do ??

This truck is at the age it is going to need lots of tender loving care .

Unless you just failed to mention the Brakes and Suspension have all been done .

If the cost to remove the head repair one spark plug threads and reinstall is @ $2500.00 (Canadian)

Labor to remove and install an engine plus the cost of a Good Used 3.4 factor in shipping if nothing local.

Install a new clutch new hoses and belts maybe vacuum hoses getting old and hard.

A quick check of car part.com shows some engines 3.4 as low as $800.00 but most listing just say call.


Now if you were just buying parts and doing the work yourself I would say go for it. Paying Labor to do this on a 18 year old vehicle ??

Time to do some thinking ?? sell this truck as is take the money plus what you would spend and buy something else.

Just something to consider ??

kches

http://www.timesert.com/html/4412E-111-note.html

I have ordered the above kit and I am going to give it a go myself as a hail mary before I do a head or engine.

I am fairly handy and even spent some time working in an auto shop during college. I'm pretty sure I could pull off a straight engine swap but it looks like the timing belt would take a few too many specialized tools and finesse if I were to attempt the head swap. I found a used engine locally for $1200 but I'd likely want to have the timing belt and clutch done at the same time and those parts alone would add up to around another $600 cad.

Right now I'm hoping the time-sert insert works out and I can just see how long the original engine keeps chugging along.

I'll update when I get the kit in a couple weeks.

Thanks for all the advice.

Janos01

If you do not intend on keeping your truck, I would sell it as is. With every old vehicle you will be fixing something either cheap or expensive and this is one of those times.

From the price you mentioned, 2500 CD (1920.20 USD) that is not horrible for head work. If the short block is in good shape and if compression is still good, you might be able to just either replace or reman the heads and be on your way.

An engine swap might be more expensive as when you remove the current engine, you will be replacing items as well.

kches

So I got the Time-sert kit in the mail the other day and I couldn't help myself. I immediately started working on it. I moved as many wires, cables and brackets as I could to give myself space to work and went straight at it. The tapered tap worked extremely well cutting straight and with ease. I was able to get all the filings out of the plug hole by using heavy grease on the tap and I rigged up an attachment on my shop vac that I sent down the hole. After that the insert installed easily with the driver and a new plug threaded right in. It was a nerve racking job as I kept checking that I was cutting enough threads without dropping the tap right into the cylinder which would have been disastrous with the deep narrow spark plug hole but otherwise it went smooth and easy. Once the plug in question was threaded in I swapped out the other 5 plugs just in case there was any thread drama but they went smooth. There are a few other steps involved so please don't consider this comprehensive directions on using the kit, more of an update on my situation.

All that said, while i only have a few miles on the repair it seems to be holding strong and I would highly recommed the time-sert product if anyone gets into a similar predicament. It wasn't cheap but I'm pretty sure it saved me about $2000 (cad)

Thanks for your opinions and support!

Charchee

Good deal! Glad it worked out for you. I was actually wanting to hear a review of that product from somebody who was trying this project for the first time. I have several plugs that won't go all the way down to the washer without forcing them, which I know better than to do. I had one that was bad enough to leak so I went with a thread repair tool that was just a very mild tap to chase the threads and was made so it can't fall into the cylinder. I took my time and took all the precautions you did and had great results without having to drill out the hole. The threads were only slightly damaged and I was pleased but didn't want to press my luck without the others if I didn't absolutely have to. Knowing that the product you used worked well gives me a backup plan in case my little tool fails to get the job done on my other two holes. I don't have any head gasket issues with my 200,000 mile 3VZE so last thing I want to do is pull a head off.

75w90mantraN

I say time-sert, if doing the job and not paying someone else.

To me, being able to finally torque a sparkplug WITH its washer in new threads (no thanks to the PO), and keep my cyl head and the rest of the 3.4 makes the $220 cost worth it.

What sucks is tearing it down. I could not for the life of me get the seat cutter back out the pipe w/o tipping the head on it's side. And yes, I did drop the tap down to the bottom.

Btw, gaskets prices add up. But yes, I'd rather do that than Lord knows what lurks in another used part.

If and when the time-sert fails, it will save me some time before I consider the more costly option of a new/maybe used head.