The T4R I just bought had been running a bit cool, so I figured the t-stat was just stuck open and needed to be replaced. I replaced it and life was good on my short trips to and from work on 0ish degree days.

The first real trip I took in it, it started to overheat. WTF? I took it back to the shop and they took a look at it. After much head scratching and digging, they decided the only thing that would make it do what it was doing was flipped head gaskets.

They pop the heads and sure enough, L head gasket on R side and vise-versa. As long as they were in there, it only made sense to replace the timing belt and water pump at the same time.

So my cheapo t-stat fix ended up costing $1200.

I can't say that I am upset, because now I know where I am on this truck as opposed to having to guess as to what was done when. These mechanics have always done a good job for me in the past and hopefully this will get me many miles down the road before I have to do anything else internal.

Right now I have $2800 in it and it has 161K on it. Overall it is in good shape with the exception of rust under the rear window. When it warms up, I'll do that repair myself.

 

I'm with ya. Got my wife's truck just a few months ago knowing it had oil leaks and an exhaust leak (and I probably overpaid, oh well). Just finished doing the timing belt and fixing those leaks today, and it feels good just to know that the major maintenance has been done, a feeling you can't otherwise get with a new-to-you 2nd hand vehicle unless extensive records have been kept, which is rare.

 

If they wouldn`t have been bad now, it would have been just a matter of time before they did go bad. Now that you had them replaced you should be good to go for a while now.

 

Nice 411 to know, for those that may come across a similar situation- that the headgaskets were installed on the wrong sides which lead to overheating at speed.

And 2800 total in, including repairs, isn't all that bad, but I know that doesn't compensate for the headaches experienced getting here. Hopefully it does get you down the road for another 100K. Just start putting a few bills aside as you can, preparing for the new engine in your future.

 

I am okay with the $2800 for the vehicle as it sits. It might be a bit much for what it is, but I am now pretty confident in the powerplant, knock on wood.

I am ready to do some minor upgrades that are going to make that number move a bit. I have some Bilstein's on order (backorder) and when they come in, I'll do the shocks, alignment and install my new Bridgestone Revo 2 31X10.5s.