jandk2005

Alrighty guys, this site has been my bible since i bought my 93 SR5 V-6 4runner in July...

So heres my story..... picked up my 4runner with 200,000+ miles on it, immaculate shape in July! Bought it from my buddy who's a mechanics good friend. So i really didn't think i had much of a problem. But as i took it home, i noticed it had a miss , so i did the usual tune up parts, plugs wires cap rotor etc etc, couldnt figure the D*mned thing out.

So i took it down to the dealership, and did a compression test, and i had readings all over the place. Put some tranny fluid in the plug hole, and Vwalla! It appeared to be a valve problem. Now it all made sense why i had gotten 43 miles on half a tank of gas! so the price of 2000$, was down to 1500$ and i was ok with that!

Drove it home, and proceeded to the tear down. (BOY WAS THAT A SHOCKER)! after 3 days of wrenching, (by the way first toyota) and fighting all the vacuum lines and rusted stuck manifold bolts, i got to my bear heads! So, i proceeded to untorque the heads per my Chilton, and they came off with little or no problem... took the heads down to my buddys shop and did a leak down test and examined them........ TOAST...... #2 exhaust valve was cracked, intake was leaking, #4 exhaust was chipped and fried, intake was leaking, and #6 was cracked completely throught the valve, and intake couldnt even make a seal to hold anything back. Passenger side head was basically ok, except for cracks in between exhaust and intake valves on each hole. So its toast, decided that it wasnt going to be worth the money to have them fixed so lets just get new ones.

Head gaskets were immaculate , didnt find really ANYTHING else wrong with the block or parts other than gunk on the pistons. So i decided to dig a little deeper and find out what caused the problem in the first place. Ran my VIN through toyota and it the motor was already swapped out for the recall, and this is the 2nd time something with the heads caused it to fail.

So, the story continues, and i have researched every bit of info around and talked to everyone i can. So far, ive heard from toyota that its a head gasket problem that was fixed by changing their manufaturer of the head gaskets 2 times and now the problem is fixed, then ive heard it was a design flaw in the head itself, and they fixed that. But reading and talking to people about this, it keeps happening. Head gaskets and Heads getting TOASTED!

So, i sat down with my mechanic, and did some outload reasoning over a few brewskies. And basically what we came up with, is that why are most of the problems with the 3.0, on the drivers side head/valves/gasket. ??????? Well, we did some MORE calling around, and a "TOYOTA GUY" who's name ill leave anonymous for legal reasons, kinda put things into perspective for both of us. What common factor did head gaskets, valves, and heads on the drivers side. Well toyota guy says CROSSOVER PIPE. Basically he said that the crossover pipe that comes from the passenger side and comes back to the drivers side, super heats the exhaust on the drivers side (and a bunch of technical stuff i dont remember) so basically Toyota was too d*mned cheap to Retrofit all its 3.0's with headers so they keep blaming headgaskets which are probably a whole lot cheaper to replace.

So with this said and made some sense to me, what was the obvious plan of attack? HEADERS..... So after much thought and consideration, I decided to go with downey's , i would have gone with thorley, but Thorley just couldnt get them done in time. Another month another week, is all i could get out of them, and now they say theyre in the chrome shop ready to be shipped in a week. OH well, i think they are gonna be pretty darned comparable.

So, im cleaning up the block, getting ready for my heads which should be done and here this week, and im tickled pink that all my parts are ready to go ! just a little more tlc and some elbow grease and my baby will be running again with a little bit more balls!

ill post again as soon as i get in my heads. Also, anyone know how to adjust the valves on a 3.0? or are they a shim type that should already be adjusted from the machine shop and just bolt on? anyone know cus in the chilton its just blank!

FilthyRich

OMG
Please use paragraphs.
That is way too much to look at.

suprathepeg

Be sure to have the machine shop set up the valves.

Radyota

The machine shop can set valve clearance by butt-grinding the valve tips and checking in the shop. Later, the valve clearances can be checked/adjusted on the truck using feeler guages and substituting shims. Also, when reinstalling the heads be sure to USE NEW HEAD BOLTS!! The stock bolts are one-time-use, torque to yield and shouldn't be reused. Buy Enginebuilder's head bolts: they're stronger, reuseable, and a heck of a lot cheaper! Oh yeah, and get a Haynes manual, they're much more informative. Also, when using Downey headers it's usually best to get a custom Y-pipe made (the Downey one doesn't fit very well). Good luck!

jandk2005

Sorry bout the paragraphs guys, for some damned reason everytime i tried to indent it would bump it back up to the previous paraagraph???? anyways, yah, headbolts knew they were a one time thing, ordered new ones from engnbldr when i order my DJ ROCK, gaskets.......UPS dropped em off with the downeys! So now im just waiting on the heads coming from ADC .......hmmmmmm, dont know bout that yet! no email, ordered th em on friday! a little slow!

jandk2005

OH yeah, the y-pipe, definatley gonna take it to the muff shop, anything from headers back i dont really care for bolting it on......definatley want it welded !

Radyota

Sounds like you have all the bases covered! Good luck with the build! :

Cebby

OMG is right - Fixed...

jandk2005

well, would love to post some pics but cant figure out how to downsize the pictures to fit them in??? anyone ?

Cebby

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...powertoys.mspx

Download Image Resizer (about 1/2 way down on the right)

jandk2005

yup, downloaded the pic resizer, no luck, im running windows ME.........

Tragic Drive

Try this program for image resizing its free and works good Irfanview .
Headers are a great idea for the 3.0 they definataley allow it to breath easier. Some little advice on the headers use your factory gaskets and studs. I would also use the ceramic coated headers that Downey makes .

jandk2005

Alrighty guys figured out all the vacuum lines and what not and Everything is A OK.......running! woooooohoo..... ran her for about 20 minutes, no leaks that i can see..........did find a pool of water underneath my truck, where the crossover used to be.......think it might be the rear water gasket thing that sits on the manifold, but it stopped leaking?? and cant find anymore water? maybe the permatex dried and set??? anyways guys takin her to the muffler shop on monday............. Any suggestions for mufflers???

89macrunner

Vortex mufflers are popular around here

i vote for glass pack though...they sound sweet..just make sure you dont get a REALLY cheap one because well...they sound cheap

photomike72

any updates or pics? I may have to do the same thing soon.....


BTW does anyone know what the current price on the Downey ceramic headers is? I wanted to see if anyone here knew before I called.

edit: They're $499.

Mike