My son's 97 4runner 6 cyl. 4x4 blew the head gasket. Now we are debating rebuild orig. or replace. I have read a bunch of posts - He has put alot of care and $ into the truck - hate to just scrap it. It has 230k on it. The recall HG was done bout 80K. We bought it from orig. owner all records! (fat folder) We are not mechanics! Local shop gave us big estim. for repair. Our mechanic said he wouldn't do it because it just might blow again - design flaw on Toy' part. We'll be looking to do it shade tree style. Should we rebuild the orig., or buy a reconditioned, or go to the junkyard? Is the 4 cyl. worth it? How bout diesel...sounds expensive. If you sugg. a rebuilt motor, can you sugg. a supplier? (Nor Cal...?) thanks, Dad

 

HG recall?
3.4 is a great motor but none run forever.
Your course of action really seems driven by your wallet more than anything else.
Fix it or swap in another motor. Still cheaper than a car payment.

:wabbit2:

 

Yeah you can find decent 3.4's for under $800 sometimes just need to check em over real good before you swap it in. Best of luck to you!

 

I vote fix the head gasket. I'm sure it's considerably more difficult than my 4 cylinder, but after having done mine once, i think i could probably have it done again in just a few hours. FIX IT!

 

Get a replacement engine, I have seen way too many head gaskets fixed only to have something else go wrong shortly after. The cost is usually about the same as well.

I would check www.car-part.com and local junk yards to see what you can find. If you are doing the work yourself I find an engine swap easier then a HG job personally, just bolt off/bolt in. You can also get a newer engine that does not have the HG problem as well (they fixed it in 98 IIRC).

 

I vote rebuild. I rebuilt my old 3vze and took care and time that mechanics will not take. I bought the hg kit from toyota and it came will all the seals and gaskets that are required. Good time for water pump and timing belt. Make sure to get the heads machined and throw in the valve seals that come with the kit. I put 30000 miles on mine before I sold and it still ran great. There was piece of mind that it was done right unlike a used engine that is unknown condition. Take your time, its an awesome learning experience and you'll get a bucket full of pride for free!!

 

Dad messed up... my son's 4Runner is a '93 with the 6 cyl. 3VZFE motor.
We'd still like to hear opinions rebuild vs swap.
and, if we swap, can we use the 3.4L 5VZFE motor? (less HG issues...?)
What Toys, model and year have the 5VZFE motor? (We are leaning more towards the new motor... if we can find one...)
Dad

 

Dear Dad,

Get your son to show you how to use the computer and read the 3.4 swap forum

:wabbit2: