Well, it looks like I have joined the masses in finding a steal of a deal on a 4Runner with a blown head gasket.

It is a vehicle that originated in California, spent most of its time in Arizona, and made it to Texas with no rust. Recent paint and new tires made this a no brainer for $500! I towed it home, replaced the battery, and was suprised to hear it fire right up after sitting with a blown head gasket for 2 years!

Here are some pictures of the project so far...

Towing it home.....

I cracked the engine following the factory service manual I found on the forum (thanks for that). Everything looked dirty, but there was a nice suprise.....

While I was cleaning the pistons, I found this.....

Apperently, the previous owner had the lower end rebuilt and bored 50 over.

I had problems removing the cam bolts, so I just removed them together with the timing belt cover.


The block all cleaned up..


The heads all redone...



The complete gasket kit..

I did not reinstall the crossover pipe, but I did install the stock manifolds and left them open. Here is a video of the truck sounding like a V-8.....
http://s447.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=IMG_0191.flv

Here she is as she sits now....

I had custom exhaust fabricated that runs over the transmission and crosses over under the truck to reduce the heat. I capped off the drivers side manifold. I will post pics of that and how she sounds now when I get time.

Currently, I have new tint and a 3in body lift sitting in my garage. I will keep ya'll posted.

 

Man that is a beautiful clean up job. What did you use to clean the block?

 

First I lowered all the pistons below the top and stuffed rags on them. I then used an angle grinder with a soft paint stripper attachment (looks like a sponge) to remove all the old gasket material. For the pistons, I brought them to the top and used a 3M attachment on my cordless drill that has soft rubber fingers. Kept spraying with WD40 and brushing until clean. I did some spot cleaning with a soft brass wire brush. The pistons did not seem to have much wear, and the cylinders looked new! This makes me think the previous owner had the lower end rebuild not too long before the head gasket blew. Lucky me.

 

Good deal man.. I bought my 1990 4x4 Toyota 4runner SR5 V6 Auto in August for $500 also. but a rod was knocking so the guy said make me an offer. Told him $500 and next thing i know i have a 4runner. About a grand to fix it but it is clean no rust new tires and the interior is great. Surprisingly it didnt rust down here in Corpus Christi.. Gotta love good deals..

 

Great find. I need a .050 over find like that.

How does it run? Just about a complete rebuild now. Any head work done or just stock cleaned up?

 

The heads were milled flat and the valves were pulled, cleaned, and inspected. The heads were fairly warped, but look great after milled and vacuum tested.

The previous owner tried that head gasket repair CRAP!
All the water journals were clogged in the heads and block. I had to used my pressure washer and pressurized air to clean it all out. Some of it was so hardened that it took a razor to scrape it out.

Runs good right now with a slight ticking from the passenger side. Can't tell if it is the fan or heads? From what I gather, most Toyotas in this year range sound like a "Sewing Machine" normally. Tomorrow will be the emissions test.

 

Nice job on the head gasket work, can you put some pictures up of what they did with the exhaust. I have my 3.0 out right now and was going to get rid of that stupid crossover just don't know quite how to run the passenger side exhaust. I already built a cap for the drivers side. I am waiting now on the machine shop to finish up my block and heads and would love some pictures on how to get rid of that crossover.

 

good God man that sounds mean!

 

How about pics of the Chevelle in the garage in the video

 

Man that sounds nasty good, are you sure you didn't slap a v8 in there?

 

Here are some pics of the exhaust:

Looking up the engine to the passenger stock manifold:






And the 3'' body lift as of tonight. I still have to tighten it all up and put bumper on:

 

does the back bumper sit lower after the lift?

 

That is one clean Runner.. I don't think I'd be abe to find a 2001 up here with a body looking that clean.. Damn Canadian rust!

 

Finished the lift today! Found the kit on Amazon for $130 no tax and free shipping. Installed easy and came with bumper brackets.


My 4runner 3in body lift is close to my Z71 6in suspension lift!

 

Here is another look...

 

i cant get over how clean it is ive never seen a 4runner (91-96) without rust... they salt real heavy were i live

 

Nice man, did you pay an exhaust shop for hte crossover, and those welds look horrible, thought there would be problems with the O2 sensor if you didn't have all the exhaust going in before the sensor? let us know how it turns out