rachadsalem

Hey YOTATECH members! I've been lurking this forum for a couple of months now and I have a couple of questions! Please help!
I just picked up a 1988 4runner with a V6 3.0 engine. After buying it for $2900, I'm starting to have doubts.

1) Its my first car and I'm not very mechanically sound. I am learning though.
2) Its the V6 3.0 engine and the MPG sucks! Also, it has alot of white smoke coming out of the exhaust when I first start it up. DOES THAT MEAN THE HEAD GASKET IS GOING?!
3) Is this thing a money pit? I saved up all my money for it and barely make enough for the insurance and gas.
4) It has no frame rust what-so-ever but it does have a small rust hole and some bubbling on the left and right fenders
5) Small oil leak. Going to put the STOP LEAK (Lucas Oil) products in them to see if it works.
6) The L trim on the right side has a lot of rust that I plan on sanding down and painting over.

It is beautiful though. Interior is super clean. Ever electronic works. All windows. Heat, AC. The back seats feel as if no one ever sat on them! Drives fine. Slowwwwwww though. 4WD is great.
Went up a sand hill in it and it took it no problem. That was fun with my friends LOL. Got an oil change. Replacing the fuel filter soon. Changed the timing belt. Changed the muffler and exhaust. The suspension really stiff but I think that is normal.

What do you guys think? Should I try to resell and wait until I graduate college and get a real job to try to find a 22RE one?

rachadsalem

I forgot to say it has 127,000 miles on the clock. That didn't make sense to me so I ran the vin and it was rolled back about 30,000 miles

toyrunnerns

Those 4runners are hard to find i would drive it and fix things when you can. Just make sure you keep it safe to drive like good brakes and tires etc. The smoke could be leaky valve seals head gasket smoke does not go away. Check the oil and anti freeze they should not be mixing. The only way to check the condition of the engine is a compression test or a leak down test. These trucks are a lot of fun good luck and yota tech is a great help.

rachadsalem

I'm going to try to do a compression test. Thank you!!

ewong

Nice 4Runner

I almost bought a 3.0L manual one..... I didnt want to pay the $19K the dealer wanted me to pay.
Then they started adding on "items" to the sticker.
I got up and walked away.
(this was in 1989 - and it was a new truck)

RJR

At the age these trucks are there is very little difference in head gasket liability of the 22re vs. the 3vze. The V6 had early failures for which Toyota implemented a special service campaign, but reading yotatech nowadays I see a lot of 22re's having HG problems as well. It's just what happens with 25 year-old trucks with high mileage. If Fords or Chevys lasted that long they'd probably be blowing headgaskets as well.

If you fix the HG (assuming yours is blown) the V6 is a solid engine. And, if you think it's underpowered, swapping for a 4 banger certainly isn't going to help in that department.

toiyodah4WD

Consider yourself lucky if only a small oil leak. I'd research what "stop leaks" can do to an engine (choke oil pump etc). If you only have to top it off once and awhile and you can afford to do that I'd stay the course until you can replace seals / gaskets. An easier fix is if valve cover gaskets are leaking. Weather permitting just about anyone can accomplish that (make sure to do it correct way).

gsp4life

Don't add that Lucas oil stop leak! Band-aid fix at best. I tried it and did a full engine rebuild 500 miles later. I'm not saying the Lucas oil ruined the engine, I added the stuff cause things were already pretty bad, but it sure didn't help any.

Owning a vehicle like this will have you learning fast. If I could go back in time to the day I picked up my '85, I'd still get it but I would start working on it myself sooner. Mechanic shops charge too much and don't always care or have the knowledge to repair such an old truck the right way.

Nervo19

I'm pretty sure Stop Leak is not a good idea. One of the first things I had to do with my '89 when I bought it was a new clutch and a head gasket and it's a 22RE. Five years later it runs like a sewing machine and it's getting 18 mpg around town. Your truck is worth fixing IMO. It looks like it's in excellent shape. I'm not sure if the head gasket recall is still in effect but it might be worth finding out from a dealer if it was eligible and whether it was done. When I first joined this forum in 2010 people were still buying 4Runners with the 3.0 and finding out the recall work was never performed and getting it repaired free. Only sell it if you find you can't afford ANY car. That truck will probably be very reliable once you get the HG fixed. You're going to find you have to fiddle with these things pretty often. I hope you enjoy it. I think $2900 for that truck running was a steal. Good luck. I think with the internet you can fix anything.

RJR

^^ Good advice here.

RJR

Oh, and one more thing about slowww!. A lot of people drive these things like they were a 5.7L V-8, and shift at way too low rpms. The 3vze's sweet spot is between 3000 and 4000 rpm. I usually wind it up to 4K before upshifting, and on hills downshift as soon as rpm falls below 3K. If you run it that way it will perform quite reasonably. You can run that engine uphill at 4000 rpm all day without hurting it. In fact, that's better for it than lugging it at 2500 rpm.

rachadsalem

Thanks for all the great input guys, Im going to call the dealer today for the HG and hopefully it can get fixed for free! Thank you

MaK92-4RnR

Hey OP,

The headgasket recall campaign is over 20 years old, good luck on getting them to redeem it. More than likely it was done with ~5-10k miles on the clock.

Regardless, the campaign only covered 1990-95 3vze since they used a different headgasket.

As far as the smoke on start up, what's the temperature like outside? I too have an 88 4Runner and it'll blow white smoke out of the exhaust except in the summer seasons.

For what it's worth, my 4Runner didn't pop the original headgasket until 202k.

rachadsalem

Oh man. It's worth a try I guess. The temperature is around 40-60F. I'm in NYC and not sure how this thing will hold up in the winters here. I'm going to try to store it until spring.

Charchee

Do not put stop leak in it! That is never the answer especially in a classic rig in that kind of shape. For the oil leak you might try moving up to a 10W-40 oil rather than the 10W-30 it originally called for. Also don't switch to synthetic oil. The lighter oil and synthetic oil will both accelerate the progression of an oil leak. Clean up the oil and try and find the leak. They are bad to leak around the back of the valve covers and at the oil cooler. Both can be fixed for very little money and aren't too hard to do. Just ask for advice on this site as to how to tackle the leak once you find it.

The white smoke upon startup is not a big deal as long as it stops after it warms up good. My head gaskets in my 89 are fine but I do have this smoke condition when the outside temps are around 40 degrees or below. Mine clears up after five minutes or less. I'm pretty sure it's just a leaking valve seal or two which isn't going to hurt anything. Do the compression test as soon as you can. It's about the best way to judge the overall health of an engine with a single test. It won't completely rule out a leaking head gasket but I assure you that it will give you some level of closure on the issue.

On the slow thing, that engine only had 175hp at best when it was new. Most modern trucks have 300 or more hp. Yea, it's slow but that's part of being a proud old Yota owner. A 22RE truck will not be stronger and despite what you hear from folks who just like to repeat what they read somewhere, the 3VZE is a good engine. Folks that cuss them are doing it out of frustration with issues that they either can't figure out or that were caused my some kind of abuse such as ignoring a leaking radiator hose or worn out water pump.

There are a lot of folks on here that want to help you get her back in great shape, me included. Do your compression test and let us know the results. I bought one a few years ago for $300 on it's way to the wrecking yard. It took me several months and maybe $300 more to get her back up and running great. I even bought me another one just like it without an engine for $150 just for spare parts which was a good call. I've been working on mine for fun ever since and haven't spent a dime on it since I got the parts truck. I still have most of parts from my parts truck put up in boxes and have an inventory spreadsheet to keep up with them. Look over my threads for one named parting out 88 4Runner or something like that. There is a picture of my inventory sheet. If you need anything, just let me know. I'd be glad to help you out with parts if you need them and just let me know if I can ever help you work through an issue you encounter.

Good luck and hang on to that baby.

rachadsalem

WOW! Thanks Charchee! People like you is why yotatech is amazing! I,ll pick up 10w - 40 oil. I'm going to do the test this Thursday and update Friday morning.Ill definitely take a look at the parts! The previos owner gave me parts as well but honestly, I don't know what I am looking at. I'll post them here or in a new post if you need any as well.

I now have zero regrets purchasing this 4runner ever since I posted this thread on here. These 4runners are just insanely fun and this forum is super helpful. I just put the back seats all the way down and put a full size air mattress in the back and it fits perfectly! I love it. Old 4runners are perfect for adventures

Charchee

I appreciate that buddy! See if you can sand down that rust on your L trim and paint it. I've never offered it before but if you can't make it look right, I might consider pulling one off my spare top for you. Wouldn't have a complete top anymore but I like your attitude. Wait til this summer. You'll turn all kinds of heads when you ride around with the top off.

89fourrunner

Mine has 364,000 miles on it and has had the smoke out of the tail pipe when first started for as long as I can remember. Doesn't mean a head gasket issue, as Charchee explained. You would be wise to have the chassis and underbody POR-15'ed after a good cleaning (and rust removal) if needed. You are correct, the salt used in NYC will eat that truck alive - fast.

Like Charchee said this is worth keeping, it is a head turner with the top off, ESPECIALLY in the North East, where many people will ask you if you "made" the vehicle out of a pickup hahahahaha. They just aren't around up there.

There is a huge chance your oil leak is a valve cover gasket or a cam plug. Not the end of the world.

Of course you will replace parts. But it won't make it not worth it. Parts are cheap for this thing, there is a huge community for the 4runner and pickup, you can find the answer to any issue on forums like this.

gsp4life

89fourrunner is absolutely right about going all out on rustproofing. I recommend coating the inner seam where the rear wheel well meets the 1/4 panel with por15 or epoxy primer, it's a bad rust-maker. I got my '85 in Arizona and brought it to Wyoming, where just one winter gave some of the undercarriage a nice coat of surface rust. I wire-wheeled, sprayed acid, primed and undercoated, but it wasn't enough. Now I'm in Ohio and spend a lot of time underneath fighting rust. I'm using KBS Rust Seal this time, similar to POR15. Do all the prep work right or you'll be doing it again very soon. I'm also spraying a product similar to Amsoil's hdmp inside the frame tubes, cause rust grows in there, too. Good luck, rust loves to eat our old Toyotas.

Charchee

Exactly right on the prep work. I have one Runner that was born in NY. I bought it for a steal but it had a bunch of rust under it. I did all of the wire wheel work, primed and painted. That will do fine down here but anywhere with salt will require ALL of the prep work and attention to detail. You are going to find out how bad you want the rust gone after the first 6 hours of brushing when you have red crap coming out of your lungs and eyes full of rust dust. You might also find some things you wish you hadn't seen like places where the rust has gone all the way through. Don't start poking at those spots to see how bad they are or you'll just get your feelings hurt.