I need some help on finding out if my truck is worth saving and fixing..


Its a 1987 Toyota pickup long bed 2wd 22R. 214,XXX on the dash but a used motor was put in it in 1994. so miles are unknown. Left work today to grab some food and pulled on to the road and poof smoke filled the road up. turn around and checked the oil. looks good so I check water and it was low. pulled plugs and number 4 looked wet. so im thinking head gasket. water just getting on the piston and making the white smoke. so is it worth fixing with that high of miles?

 

as long as the body isn't beat too bad or rusted out, hell yeah its worth it. if not to you, someone else would be more than happy to buy it from you and fix it up.

 

Definitely worth fixing if it has a good body. Even with the price of gas coming down 2wd trucks in good shape command a premium in the PNW..

 

the body Is ok and it has no rust at all

 

Absolutely worth it. Keep 'er on the road.

 

I have changed about 10 head gaskets on 10 different motors. Sounds like you have been driving it for awhile and the motors I have done had more miles then what you have on now. Do you know if it had great compression before blowing the head gasket? What was your maintenance like previously? I have done a top end rebuild for about $100 and up to $400.

I get my gasket kit from my local machine shop for about $60 and he charges me $35 just to make sure the head is worth fixing or not. If the head is in great shape, I am out a gasket kit and his head check.

If the head needs machine work, that can add up quick. A new head can be had for about $250 so pay attention to how much machine work you get into, it may be better off buying a new head. Some times the water jackets can get eaten out due to the aluminum and the cast fighting each other. Also the head can be warped and need machined. If the head needs leveled, take your timing cover in so they machine it as well.

I go against the grain on using Toyota head gaskets as my local machine shops gaskets have worked great for me. If you get a head gasket at Toyota, you are going to spend a little more. You may need to replace head bolts as well.

Some will say if you are going to rebuild the top end you may as well rebuild the bottom end. What they don't say is you are going to add another $300-$600 for the bottom end rebuild. My two first gen runners both had 250,000 miles on them when I rebuilt the heads on them. Both have over 300k miles on them. One I think will get another 50k miles and the other I really think I can get another 100-200k miles out of.

If you feel the your bottom end is in good shape, I say it is worth the risk. There is always a chance that the rebuild will raise the compression and blow the rings out of a piston and that has happened on one of the motors that I rebuilt the head on, and I feel that was due to the rings being frozen as the motor had sat for 5 years before I got it.

It takes me a couple hours to tear the head off depending on experience. It will take quite a bit longer to reassemble it. I would allow at least 4 days between tear down, machine shop, and reassembly at the very least. Not a hard job to do or complicated, just takes a little time.

 

Only you can make the call.

I think it comes down to can you do the work yourself or are you going to pay some one.

another thing is it time to do the timing chain??

I fail to see how anyone can say changing a head gasket is easy if one has never done it before.

Myself I would have no use for a 2wd truck.

 

Forgot about the Timing Chain. If you are going that far replace it as well. They are about another $75.

 

I have one pick up and one 4Runner I think they are both 87 both 22REC engines .

I got both of them for $100.00 each because some one was told doing the head gasket was not a hard job to do.

Two different people just got so frustrated they gave up.