Do I bother fixing it? 1993 3vz-E 4x4
 

I've posted the truck here in several threads and was very proud of it untill yesterday.
Back story: sold my perfect 1991 22RE 2wd for a Ford (oops) sold the ford and got what I wanted (a 4x4 Toyota).

My current headaches a 1993 3.slow v6 although mine is pretty quick :-) It all seemed perfect with 124,000 orig miles and working EVERYTHING as well as a dealer ream of paper work as thick as your wrist with the dreaded head gasket done by dealer and again my God knows who with an oil impregnated cork gasket.

My dilemma is that it drips oil. Perhaps a drop every other day. The coolant reservoir is empty and it's not leaking so I'm guessing consumption somewhere. The long and short is I paid my whole truck budget on a good one and now the shop says it likely needs a new gasket/engine because you don't want to do it three times and this engine is crap. The shop is a Toyota specialist shop for these early vehicles and I've done lots of biz there in the past, so I believe their assessment but Is that the end of it? The 3vz-e is a dog and needs to die? I'm going to lose my ass selling it so soon. And the smog is good for another week only (ca tyrants).

Any ideas? I'm not an accomplished mechanic and I can't "mill the heads" or anything. How can a perfectly running truck be dead on wheels?? Arrrrrggghhhhhhh!!


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If you change engines, go for the 3.4 swap.

Toy only swaps will sell a complete kit.

So change the headgasket? I dont see the problem. The heads probably wont need to be milled or anything.

That truck a 5 speed?

The shop that evaluated it said it was bad to do a third head gasket and that I might be in new engine territory. I'm not sure why?? I mean sh¡t... I haven't even blown the thing... I have an oil leak lol. Perhaps they were bidding themselves out of the job because it sucks? No win faced with keep a truck that has all of the other stuff I want and "maybe" have big engine issues or sell..

Sounds like a second opinion is in order.

Me I'd put some stop leak in and drive it.

Keep an eye on coolant level, don't let it get hot..

Good luck .

Something is strange here Is the 3.0 some what different then other engines with aluminum heads .

In my misguided Youth I ran A Big Block Chevy 454 with the Aluminum heads .

I know I had those heads off at least 10 times in 3 years.

It can`t hurt to pull the heads see how things look go from there.

It would be quite different if it was run hot 3 or 4 times till it quit.:wrench:

A drop of oil every other day isn't a lot, unless you are OCD about a clean driveway/garage floor. Just put some cardboard or kitty litter under it and live with it. If you do decide you need to fix it, the most likely leak areas are valve covers or the rear main seal. Neither one requires any immediate action except for neatness.

As far as the cooling system/coolant loss goes, first thing is to make sure the radiator cap is good. If the cap doesn't seal properly, just plain old evaporation will cause the coolant level to drop. It's also possible to have a slow leak in the overflow tank such that coolant leaks out but evaporates before you can see it dripping. I have a '99 Chevy Suburban that never has any coolant in the overflow tank. I've sealed the tank multiple times but it's always dry. Been that way for 100,000 miles, and the engine still runs great.

Unless there is other evidence that the HG is bad, I sure wouldn't tear into it yet based on what you've told us so far. If it's running good, keep driving it until something more definite shows itself. Alternatively, do a leakdown test on each cylinder and a pressure test on the cooling system to get more detail on what's going on.

I think you're being influenced by a shop that likes to bad-mouth 3.0's. Remember they only see the engines with problems. While the 3.0 might not be Toyota's best engine ever, it's not horrible and probably the majority of the 3.0's that Toyota built are still running strong without a wrench ever being put on them. Yours could easily go another 30-50,000 miles before you need to do anything major.

You can't live with a drop every other day ? I'm probably leaking a drop an hour.

I appreciate the feedback you guys are all wise in your own unique ways. I'd say most of the oil dripping stress comes from my wife complaining. I'm also convinced that you are correct in assuming that the repair shop simply does hate the 3.0 as it is popular opinion. I've had many cars in my life and I never considered significant repair without symptoms or probable cause. As of 10 minutes ago I added a bottle of Lucas oil treatment to stop the drips and bought a very expensive bottle of coolant treatment from blue devil but have yet to add it. Any input on Lucas oil or blue devil coolant treatment would be great!
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Yes the nagging wife Divorces are expensive but well worth it at times.

Follow the directions on the Blue Devil most of these things don`t play well with antifreeze so flushing things out real well is very important.

If using any time of block sealer I always disconnect the heater core.

I had used the Lucas oil additive in the past but never this product.:wrench:

you mentioned cork gaskets, i assume those are for the valve covers. yeah, cork sucks and they are more than likely leaking. easy enough fix for you to do, or any competent shop to fix for you. the two bottles you are holding are snake oils in my opinion. that lucas isn't going to stop any oil leaks. while the blue devil does work, i've seen it numerous times first hand, i've also seen what that stuff does when it doesn't work. i've pulled several heads off different cars after the hail mary blue devil didn't work. it coats and gums up everything, including the cylinder wall in the block with this crystalized stuff. i would think this would hinder the cooling effect of coolant around the cylinders. a small amount of coolant missing over time is somewhat normal and nothing to cause alarm. until you have to start topping up the radiator on a regular basis, i wouldn't worry. and if you did, i would pressure test and look for external leaks before i would condemn your motor. sounds like you have a great truck that needs minor attention.

Ok, so a quick update:

I'm too scared to use the blue devil. It has too many bads to justify the "possible good" so it will live in the tool box in the truck bed until actually needed.

Lucas oil (snake oil lol) actually seems to have worked 90%. My drip is down from twice a day to once a week :)
Hopefully it hasn't gummed the truck to hell internally.

For now, the 3VZ-E is behaving rather well in the leak dept.

All I have to do is remedy my plugged EGR modulator and VSV to clear my check engine light. How easy is it to "clean" them? The replacement prices are a bit high $60-150... And I do t have any pick n pulls around here.

Egr is easy to get to and clean, maybe a 20min job. My 3vz uses a little coolant but it runs good. It truly worried about a head gasket problem have a leak down test done or if you own an air compressor buy a otc leak down tester and see what kind of results you get. Do the test with the engine cold and radiator cap off. If the head gasket is leaking you will get bubbles and or coolant will push out of the radiator.

So much this. Trash an engine over a $100 gasket kit?? I bought my truck and the head gasket blew the next week. I had never even tried anything close to a head gasket replacement but there are so many resources online for this. Look for a machine shop in your area....they will tell you if you need to mill the heads and get it nice and clean.

Do you have coolant in your oil? What does the oil look like? I would drive it and keep an eye on temps while i did enough research or made enough friends who could help change a head gasket. I bought my 22re as a learning platform, and it has taught me a ton.

A lot of shops will tell you to trash the engine bc most wont want to work on a truck this old. More money for them in the high dollar newer cars. Be prepared to DIY on this truck a good bit and have fun doing it!

oopsy daisy

I have a toyota pickup 93 with 280xxx miles...
 

94 4runner 3.0
I had a external head gasket leak where my coolant was pouring out, happened because i put in a new radiator and forgot to remove the lower cap off a new radiator, back pressure blew it out. I ended up putting a bottle of kseal into my coolant and and stopped the leak entirely. It has been a year of driving since then and no problems in that area yet. Maybe worth the shot for some k seal before you swap an engine or do a head gasket, again..

:facepalm:
I have never heard of a differential gear ratio that high.

Generally, electric fan conversions are not recommended on these trucks because the vast majority of electric fans do not move enough air compared to the stock mechanical fan.

:facepalm:

"Mechanic in a bottle" methods are not recommended. Generally gives you short term gains, long term losses.

:safari:

I agree with this sentiment, but unless someone tries it (and reports the results) we can't know for sure. Of course, there are so many variables that I would need quite a few reliable reports before i'd change my mind.

I'm new & recently i bought a tough Toyota it's been a process & a struggle
 

Sign's, Sign's everywhere a sign "BLAW" what a joke "need more power"

The plan buy up a salvage lower intake plenum then modified the upper half from scratch the throttle body will be from a Cobra as it's more cool and as its a 2 jet throttle body. My thought was more air easier to replace the fuel injectors.

I'v already relocated the fuel filter so that won't be as hard yet my question is will the fuel have enough flow to go up as the factory location allowed for a consistent flow that would compensate the needed fuel = the fuel needed for power.

When i first bought the truck my father was against me trying to keep me from buying it even the owner yet i ignored

Fast forward it's roughly something like 4 or 5 month's past by now the floor has been fully welded inn solid thank's to 6011 and flux welds it also has 7 more lights in the front as well as a custom off road like bumper that need's a small amount of TLC.
The chassis is stock not perfect yet solid and stock the bed was long gone now it's a unique simple small practical bed that was engineered from scratch no level no square no jig 100% scratch built. Taillights god they were hard to imagine and conjure up
yet they ended up looking like that of an antique land cruiser in their own way they were built from the drawer of an old tool box. Store shelves accommodated and mostly became the lower bedsides as well as the front of the truck bed.

Initially it once was a loved Pickup that was maintained then it was purchased for the farm then the cousin hit a tree yet no serious damage i was told that it sat for roughly 5 years yet i questioned if not a couple more.
The fuel smelt like old varnish after getting it to run just to get it running well that took 3 day's. I scared the owner she though it was scrap she thought it was unsalable.

I ˟˟˟˟ed with a Ford torus aluminum rim drilling and honing it manually the night before for the day ahead well that vary day that we went back out some chump ass hole scrap guy's were out in the field wanting dibs as they came previous for the bed
they told me and my father that the owner thought we were not going to show well the scrappers sure were surprised cause i forced the damn rim to fit regardless the wobble and it was driven 2 and a half or 3 ours on that rim it held out the hole way.
Scrap guy's could not get the truck as it was to far back in the back field

Keep in mind i paint only $250 for the truck asis
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I built this bed after the concept and thought of a 1920's Ford truck bed. Basic square & simple yet it also look's like something from The Fast & The Furious. Still progress to be made
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Much like something from a movie it started out with only 1 original sealed beam. Then i had to order the corner lights. Right front side was damaged so i used a 4" light bar in place of the once sealed beam light. Then i added a second set of light's for high beam. I really wanted to screw with what other motorist's see at night. The movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Next Generation their was an old tow wrecker and it inspired me. Grill was the concept of a 50's hot rod grill just basic