So I am pretty sure I am going to pick up a 92 v6 4runner from a co-worker for a real good deal. It has a blown head gasket. It is much cleaner and has less miles than my 89 v6 4runner and I could swap over all of my aftermarket goodies.

My questions:
Since I won't need to drive it right away, should I pull the engine to do the head gaskets? Would it make the job easier?

What are the best head gaskets these days?

I will probably do with Thorely headers while I have it apart, for a little power and to lower cylinder temps.


Unless you guys think I am crazy and I should keep my 89, it has been a great vehicle, but the rust gremlins are starting to show up.

Thanks for the advice,
Scott

 

keep your 89 and just do the bodywork, second gens arnt worth investing money into, the little 4 door soccer mom heavy, bulky gross looking 3.slow gas guzzling thing isnt worth ur time, keep your first gen, if ur really interested in selling it let me know, i may be interested, you got any pics? send them to malczuk_4runner@hotmail.com

 

I will take some current pics and send them your way. I am going to pick up the 92 today and figure out what to do.

I will probably replace the head gaskets and then drive it a bit to see if I like it. Then decide which one to sell. I am getting the 92 real cheap, so it is a pretty low risk pick up.

 

Can you say DD and trail rig??

 

Well, I am picking up the truck tonight. I will do a compression test before I tear into it, hopefully I will have it torn down to the block this weekend. The truck ran like a top until this happened last week, so I am hoping all the valves are in good shape and the heads don't need work.

 

nice, 2nd gens arent as bad as anyone says. read the damn thread and see how many miles these things go to. sure they arent the fastest, but that is not why we buy them.

some guy had like freaking 450xxx on his 2nd gen. thats insane. im almost at 200k with absolutely no problems. i love it.

swap the headgaskets, but why would you wanna take all the stuff off your 1st gen? why dont you have 2 runners? since yours has all the good stuff, pick one as your beater offroad machine, and the other as your drive around. i would pick one, see which is more comfy, and decide based on mileage.

all 2nd gens have this headgasket problem. mine was replaced wayyy back at 65k before it blew because i have the last of the 2nd gens.

 

Well, I sold the 89 to a buddy of mine, took a few things off it to put on the 92.

About the 92, I found a burned spark plug wire and taped it up temporarily, fixed the rough idle. Now I can't diagnose the blown head gasket that toyota told the previous owner it had. No coolant in the oil, no oil in the coolant, 180psi compression test on all cylinders cold or hot. Seems to run fine. I also attached my compressor at 90psi to each cylinder for a simple leak down test, no air coming out anywhere. Maybe the head gaskets are fine? Any other ideas on how to diagnose it? Or just run it for awhile?

 

When I bought mine not too long ago it had a burnt valve. I idled rough but apart from that it ran fine. Turns out I had a pretty bad gasket that there were no signs of. Just my two cents. If it were me, I'd drive it until the prblem was diagnosed properly.

 

Do the 3.4 swap. No point putting lipstick on a pig.

As for second gens being "gross looking"...have you looked at your cheesy first gen dash? Wow, designed by a kid with a ruler.

The pop top on your first gen is the only cool thing about them.

 

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