i had the timing belt and water pump replaced last year about 10,000 - 12,000 miles ago.

how difficult is it to replace a head gasket? im assuming cuz of the price to replace one that it is pretty difficult

 

JUNBUG,

Okay first things first...at 10-12k the tbelt and wp should be okay for reuse. The second question...hmmmm... your words here "i am completely engine illiterate" There are some folks here that have said that same thing when they completed the initation rites for the BHG club. If you have the tools or a friend with the tools and the TIME then I will tell you to try it. Check out the posts by both SilverTruck and Morphine (i think morph's might be best for you) read the entire post and think about it. There is plenty of info here about the process. If you do not have the tools or access to the tools then I really start leaning towards telling you to take the truck in and have it done. When the parts and tools are factored in you are almost or just over halfway to a shop bill and then there is always the time factor and what yours is worth to you. I am thinking at least 2 weekends at 10 hours each day for 40 hours for the the newbie that has never done this type of thing before....and that is only if everything goes right. Its your call....if you do it, the folks here are fairly quick to answer almost any question you might have about the process.....if you send it in.....avoid the STEELERSHIP prices find a good shop that has done a couple of these engines before. Good luck.........

 

Thanks Dragon. I dont trust myself in fixing something at that magnitude. Besides, me nor my friends have the room or tools to fix the problem. my only choice would be to take the truck in.
do you know what qualifies for the recall? i dont know if having over 200,000 miles will help.

 

Dragon: I've got probably 5-6 hours total in on mine (disassembly, prep block, clean pistons) and am waiting to get my heads back to finish where I'm lookin at probably another 5-6 hours maybe a little more to make sure I get everything where its supposed to be...This is the first time I've done something this big...so if you do do it yourself you're going to need some metric sockets (10-14, 17, a ratchet an extension and a breaker bar, a screw driver, and some patience...just make sure you lay everything out and write down the stuff and order you take things out...either way good luck!!! Also if you're located in or around Bellingham Wa, I'd recomend Harmony Motor Works-Mark Bender the owner is a really good guy

 

Call Toyota and give them your VIN# and they will be able to tell you as to whether or not you qualify.

Technically there was never a "recall". It was a Technical Service Bulletin.

It was my understanding through visiting with Toyota that the TSB expired in November of last year on the 3.0 headgasket repair. It is still worth a call to check!

Don't know if I have correct facts or not, just my understanding.

 

i just called toyota and gave them my VIN #. i found out that the head gasket was replaced by the previous owner in january of 2000
i was way passed the warranty so the next thing to do is call the dealer that performed the repair and see what i can do. *keeping my fingers crossed*

UPDATE:

ok, so i called the dealer and i am SOL. to have the dealer fix the problem would cost roughly around $2200 and thats with not having the valve adjustment. :cry:

would it be better to just put in a new engine?

 

try calling around to find other shops who will do it...getting a new engine and putting it in can get quite expensive and time conusming

 

Thanks Silver Truck
i will be calling some places today after work for head gasket repair.
i think i found a place in the paper for a new engine for $1600 and i think it might include labor but im not too sure.
im also considering just selling the truck and getting a compact thanks to gas prices. but, i really love the truck and would hate selling that thing.

 

Nope. Not true. The campaign (802 in Canada. V06 in US) is still wide open, with no service end date as of 05 03 01. I called Toyota the last time someone posted that they thought this campaign was finished. Unlimited miles, years and number of owners.

 

I emailed toyota a couple of months ago and they said that they would not honor this any more.

 

braverex: I can see by your avatar that you may be refering tothe 'older' v6's IE: 88 - 89. And in that case, you're right...that particular campaign expired after 8 years. In the case of engines manufactured from mid 90 to late 94, that campaign is still wide open, at least it is up here in Canada. I call Toyota Canada on a regular basis to ensure the campaign is not in danger of closing, as I'm keeping an eye on my current head gasket, waiting to get another long block.

 

i think the campaign is still on here in the U.S. I called Toyota to see if i still qualified and unfortunately i didnt because the previous owner had already replaced it.

Ok, so i decided to replace the engine instead of getting just the head gasket replaced for nearly the same price
one of the places will charge $1595 w/installation and a 2 year warranty with a 2-3 day turnaround time plus $90 for towing.
the other place will charge $1580 w/ $600 labor and 5 year unlimited warranty with a 7-9 day turnaround time cuz theyre really busy he says and free towing.

decisions, decisions

 

That 5 year unlimited sounds nice....however depending on how much you drive the 2 year price might be worth it......IMHO-most times if it does not go worng in the first 10K of fair mix freeway and city driving then it wont go wrong for quite awhile......If you drive hard all the time and do more the on hard off road trip per month then I think you have to go with the 5 year......

 

hmmm..since i've had the truck (february, 2004) it had 180,000 miles on it. It now has 216,000 miles. 36,000 miles in one year!!!! i guess having a girlfriend who lives 50 miles away and visiting her almost everyday can really rack up the mileage real fast.

the guy at the shop with the 2 year warranty also mentioned what you posted. he said that if things dont go wrong within the first month then things shouldnt go wrong for awhile. and all my driving are mixed freeway and city driving with the occasional mountain driving during the winter season.

 

well hey don't they say bigger is better? I mean if you don't really need the truck for a week or so then I'd say take advantage of the longer warranty...i know i'm wishing mine had a longer one now...also what kind of motor will they be using?

 

they'll be using a 3.0 3VZE motor
yeah, i'm kinda leaning towards the 5 year unlimited warranty. you really dont know what can happen especially with all the driving i do.
*mental note: girlfriend needs to move closer to me*