last night on my way home from work I blew a head gasket. 221k mi. I replaced it in 04'
when I purchased it for $500. I love my truck. So I'm looking for a reman. long block maybe w/ some head upgrades. But there are so many out there anyone got any words of wisdom. For the record it will be swapped out by myself.

 

Ok so the head gasket has a manufactor recal on it. If they did the work the first time they will replace the block and put in a new gasket for FREE!!! Yes FREE. If the didn't do the work the first time the will do it for FREE because it is a safety recal. Just call your local dealer and talk to the service dep. They can help.

 

If you can swap it out, why not buy engnbldr's parts and have it reassembled by a machine shop with a decent reputation.

The reman motors tend to vary quite a bit in terms of quality...

 

dont do a reman. rebuild your if possible. and as stated in the vin. thread i think the recall is about to end if it hasnt already.

 

we are assuming its a 3.0 right? It'd be worth calling the dealer, but I think they stopped the whole head gasket service campaign awhile ago.

 

no it is a 4 banger and i did the original gasket myself. thanks for the info guys any other suggestions?

 

Should not have happened......what brand gasket did you use and did you use new head bolts?

 

Its probably worth just rebuilding it yourself. If its just the headgasket you should be able to replace it over just the weekend. If you want a new performance head you can get one with a cam for a decent price from engnbldr.com

 

I don't remember which brand gasket, it was one of those gasket packs w/ every gasket and then some. I replaced the timing belt, etc but i didn't bother replacing the head bolts. I guess I should have huh? Anyway it ran great for a month or 2 and then it began to burn oil about a qt. a week.Bad rings I guess. The previous owner blew the original gasket. So altogether the truck cost me less than a grand. I drive round trip 100 miles a day in it. The new head gasket lasted lil more than 2 yrs. So the shade tree mech. in me is ready to get crackin' and I have 2 months off starting around x mas. Needless to say the rings need to be replaced thats part why I was looking for a long block. Any wisdom is greatly appreciated.

 

Don't you mean timing chain?

 

your right timing chain

 

Take the head into a good machine shop. Get it professionally machined.

Get an OEM head gasket.

Do your head gasket. Do a rebuild if you think you need one.

Make sure you got a new water pump, thermostat, your coolant level is in good shape, etc.

 

hey just some info..the hg recall is over, i have had no problems out of my 3.0, but i just called to check and possibly get it done anyway, the only recall in effect now is the steering staibilizer, rod, or somethin. i did forget to see if it had been done though bf i got it..oh well

 

Get the head gasket for Ted at engbldr.com. I looks better then OEM and is cheaper.

 

thanks for the advice,i'm definitely considering the complete rebuild.

 

First off king I hope whatever you do goes well for you, and I need to ask a quick Question. Did the 95 4runners have the head gasket problem fixed, or are all 2nd gens the same?

 

from 95.5 the problem was fixed wasnt it?

 

It wasn't fixed until the 5VZFE came out. Even then the first couple years of the 5VZFE there was a HG problem with it too. But with the 5VZFE it was an external coolant leak, so at least it didn't hurt the engine and you could see it leaking.