Hi All,

I just bought a 1990 Toyota 4Runner (3.0 V6 w/ 5 spd) this past weekend with a blown head gasket with whatever I could afford as a student. I just love this truck! Being somewhat mechanically inclined, I was thinking of working towards fixing this truck using the FSM and Haynes Manual with some help.

However, I had learnt about the Head Gasket Recall from Toyota for this model with 3.0 V6. I called the Dealership near my place Santa Clara, CA to learn if the recall had already been done, but the person said he does not see any recall relating to head gasket being done on this truck and VIN#. I was so glad! but he said that he had no record of this headgasket recall by Toyota. I am wondering if it still exists! and if anyone has got it done recently near bay area, CA.

BTW, this forum is amazing and i really excited to be a part of the community!

hgill

 

call them back and tell them you want to schedule an appointment.

get it done its free!

i on the other hand, my 90 4runner is not under the warranty. doh

id take advantage of it asap!

 

I would love to get it done free! But, guy said that maybe the recall was expired or this truck is not affected by the headgasket issue. He said there is only one recall which had something to do with steering rod. So he wont make an appointment for HG issue. But its a 3.0 L 3VZ-E V6 4Runner.

Is there anyone here who happens to work in a dealership and can help me out!

 

um, it might not have fallen under the recall, mine didnt.

you could call a different dealer.

 

Its not a "recall", there never was a head gasket recall. Its a "special service campaign". Recalls are usually safety related. This special service campaign was implemented to prevent the Toyota name from being tarnished by the lousy 3VZ-E.

 

hgill......If there is a Toyota servide advisor telling you he never heard of a "recall" for the 3VZ-E then he/she is either lying or knows nothing about Toyota, because it's probablyt one of the biggest campaigns Toyota has ever performed. I would go to a different dealer just based on that.

Matt is right, it's not an actual recall, more of a good faith campaign as he explained. It affected and covered almost all 3VZ-E engines made, but after a certain amount of time, the earlier years expired, and eventually the whole camapign ended.

You can do a Search on here to find more info on it, somewhere on this forum is a complete description of the campaign and the s[ecifics of what it covered and when it ran out.

It was done on mine in 2006 with 185K on the engine, so as far as I know they were still doing it up until '06 and mileage wasn't a factor, they even replaced the heads with brand new factory heads when they did the campaign.

It's worth talking to the service manager about and maybe even calling up Toyota themselves. You might make enough of a case that they will good faith it.

The Steering Relay Rod is an actual recall on these trucks, and won't expire since it's safety related.

Good luck with the HG's. Maybe take what you find on here and print it out and bring it in to the dealer with you, if they try to tell you they don't know what you're talking about.

 

I was told by the parts dept manager at my dealership (also a good friend of mine) that the headgasket repair would be done if your VIN is on their list and the engine has less than 100,000 miles. Now, the way it works here, is that the dealership gets paid from toyota, so they aren't doing it for free, just sending the bill to the factory.....so they will do it alot of times if you are close.