Hello All,

My name is Rob and I have been a lifelong Toyota enthusiast. I have owned a few of most of the 4x4 models but I now have an opportunity to purchase a different one.

It is a 1989 4runner with a 3.0 V6. It is pretty clean, and everything seems real tight. It is an automatic.

It has an engine issue. It runs a bit hot they say, and sounds like it has a slight miss to it at idle.

The seller is making me a good price on it.

Here is my question, when the HG goes bad on these, is it usually just a gasket swap, or do the warp and need to be machined etc. He says that I can get the head pressure tested and surfaced for around $150.00.

I can do the mechanical work, but I don't want to pay for the truck, to discover that I need to dump $1500 into the heads with me doing the work.

Ideas? Or links to a HG R and R site?

Thanks for your help, ROB

 

well in my case, I had to do the valves as well. You say it has a miss in her, this sound to me like you have a bad exhust valve. Is it tapping at all?

 

if you have a HG problem, you'll be wise to replace all the timing components (belt, pulleys, tensioner) along with the water pump, knock sensor & wire while you have everything apart.

 

I did not hear any tapping. It just did not seem to run as smoothly as I would think it should. But then again, it has been sitting for awhile.

I will look into the costs of replacing those parts, since it is like alot of stuff I suppose........"while I am in here I may as well...."

I let it idle on a 90 plus degree day for quite awhile and it didn't seem to heat up but I did not drive it. I am going to do that before I purchase.

I was mainly wondering if this issue is usually just the gasket, or if like other cars they are prone to cracking or other things. I would like to do the valve job and other stuff while I am there.

Thank you, ROB

 

It all really depends on the individual engine I think. In my case, my head gaskets went and I immediately stopped driving it and replaced the gaskets head bolts, valve seals timing belt and water pump and the plugs wires cap and rotor and it runs perfect now. It never ran hot before or after the headgasket blew though. Mine is a 95 with 156k miles at the time and the valves were fine. If the heads aren't cracked I'd say you should be able to get away with doing just the gaskets. Also, mine was using a quart every 1k miles before and I replaced the valve seals and now it doesn't use a drop of oil.

 

Before you get ahead of yourself, consider the known issues may have nothing to do with the heads/headgaskets. There a number of sensors on these motors that when bad can cause the same symptoms.

I think you should ask whether or not the heads and gaskets have ever been serviced and when, if they were. Get as many details as you can...like if the headbolts were reused and if the valves were done, the heads were resurfaced, etc., etc. Then, inspect the radiator, coolant, and oil for any visible signs. If none, the coolant system can be tested for headgasket failure. Then, you would know exactly what you're getting into to there.

If you find none of this is a problem, then you are dealing with something much simpler (relatively...lol) without spending ALOT of money needlessly.

 

The early 3.0s were not very prone to failing HGs. YOu may have a problem with the HG, but like i said it is not common on the first few years of 3VZ-E.

 

my 91 sure blew!

 

if it is missing, I would get a tune up, if the timing is too far off it will cause the engine to run hot...that would be the first place I would look..

 

I did notice two things now that you mention it. One was the lack of shroud. It still had a huge fan, but no shroud.

The other was what looked like some type of radiator stop leak on the seam of the radiator. I didn't think much of it at the time.

It did run for probably 10-15 minutes at idle on a 90 degree day. I was no able to drive it though to see how warm it got.

It is owned by a mechanic who has too much going on. He wants to make a couple of bucks on selling it and move ahead with his life. He just said it ran warm and assumed as did I that the HG was done. He bought it from a customer.

The price is good on the rig so I think it merits a closer look.

Is there a good online source to get the parts such as gaskets and tensioners etc. if I do need them?

Thanks so much, ROB

 

The 3vze was introduced in late 88 to replace the 22rte. Post 90 they went asbestoes free...iirc

Case in point you almost never see a 1st gen 4runner with a blwon 3vze HG.

 

Bumpin' Yota, myself, and justinking060310 all have great rebuild threads that run the gamut of HG issues. Do a search on our names. everything you'd ever want to know....

 

Thank you. I will do so. I am going to the dealer later this morning to get some pricing.

I think I will get a HG testing device also and see if that has anthing to do with this.

ROB

 

Here is an email quote on the parts assuming that the heads are serviceable.

This is from a local walk-in Toyota dealer.

" I priced out water pump, head bolts, head gasket, camshaft seals, valve cover gaskets, timing belt, and drive belts, about 500.00". He was busy so I did not get a breakdown, I'm just getting ball park figures now.

What do you think, is it reasonable?

Thanks, ROB

 

hell no; go to www.engnbldr.com and you get a complete REBUILD kit for less than $400.00 Quality parts and a FANTASTIC person to deal with.

 

Agreed with TNR!!!

But if you MUST go with toyota OEM parts, do so through northridge toyota on this site for they will charge you 25% less and free shipping. But even still Ted at engnebldr will easily beat even northridge's price.

 

Time for a quick update. I drove it today for about a half hour. It went up a good grade on a gravel road at 35, and then some hwy at 60. It didn't overheat, or run bad at speed.

At idle it has a slight miss to it, almost like a typical tune-up issue. It has sat for awhile. I would say that if I didn't know anybetter I would drive it daily as is.

The Runner has an automatic in it that seemed to shift real nicely. Very firm.

The one thing that became very apparent was the lack of low-end power. I have read that this engine is less than loved by many. I can deal with the lack of power if that is just how they are.

I noticed that once the RPM's came up, it was pretty snappy all things considered. Just doggy right out of the hole.

I think I am going to buy it.

EZ question time: A lack of low-end torque in a heavy vehicle is pretty typical of the 3.0 correct? There is no tach, but once the R's got up there it moved pretty good.

Thank you, ROB

 

it might be running too lean...

 

Pooh...pooh (why can't we delete stupid double posts?)

 

Other than the miss, sounds pretty normal.

I'd go ahead and get the HG concern resolved, though....just so you don't have to worry about it. And get a fan shroud...maybe at a junkyard or something.