Gents,

Considering buying a 94 reg cab 5spd 4x4 pickup with a 3.0. Havent seen the truck in person yet but have spoken to the owner a couple of times and have been doing my research on the 3.0. The reports of the HG issues are really troubling me. Was leaning towards rolling the dice in favor of this truck until I say a photo of the engine bay:



The radiator cap looks like it contains the remants of an overheat. My question is, how soon after an overheat will the HG issues show up? Is it usually imediately or will it be something that develops slowly?

Any other advice on checking on the health of this motor prior to purchase?

The truck itself looks pretty clean and the owner says he's had a lot of routine maintenance done lately:

 

Ill bet the radiator is leaking around the top. Thats where mine leaked first, fixed that and then it started leaking other places, so I just replaced it. It looks like the guy has taken good care of his pickup to me. Most people on here bad mouth the v6, some with good reason and some just because thats what others have said. Ive owned mine for a long time. Its not easy to work on, its pretty tight in there and with trucks this age, they will take some work sooner or later. They arent hot rods, but mine runs very well and I can drive just as fast as any of the other fools on the road if I want to. I usually get 15 in town (small town lots of stop signs) and the last road trip I took I got 22.9. They like to have good coolant in them and I change mine every two years. Ive not had any head gasket issues, 90 sr5 with 180k on it, orginal head gaskets. So if hes maintained it and hasnt dumped bars leak or something in it, if the price was right,I would buy it if I wanted it. I wouldnt let it being a v6 run me off, I like mine just fine.

 

^X2

But I,d flat out ask the guy if he's ever overheated it and just what maintenance has been done recently.

These motors IMHO require a little more attention and more often to prevent or reduce problems.

All in all though I like my rig and it has 3vzzy in it also.

If it's a Cali truck rust should be a minimal, but check it over, pull that rad cap off and look for a possible milk shake. let us know the outcome. Good luck. Maybe some more pic's with interior.

 

Cant go wrong with any toyota, opinions will vary on Which motor is better or worse. Ive seen both with tons of miles, its all in how it was maintained...... and that one is looking good

 

Well it looks really clean to me, which should say a lot about the maintenance. Looks like it was someone's baby

 

Do a coolant pressure test if at all possibly. That is the most telling of Head Gasket tests. Compression leak down test will work, also, but is more difficult.

 

We'll see. Im going to get eyes on this week.

 

That was one of the questions I asked of the guy. He said it had never overheated since he's had it - he's the second owner and has only owned it since the beginning of summer. Says he got the truck to use as a work truck but couldnt get the funding for his business so he needs to get rid of it.

Truck has 152K miles. Am planning on calling Toyota customer service with the VIN to see about any HG history and will run a carfax to see if anything comes up.

 

Do you possibly have a link or description on how?

Owner says I am welcome to put it on a lift or take it to a mechanic. But I figure if the motor is running well, no milk shake in the oil and coolant and the frame looks solid, there is not much more that a mechanic will be able to tell me.

 

It's pretty simple; you can get the kit from Sears or Autozone probably has one as well. You just remove the radiator cap & hook up there. Pump it to pressure (not too much--15 psi max should tell you if there's an issue).

 

Don't waste your money to get it up on a lift at a shop and have a mechanic look at it. Just get down and dirty with a flashlight for free. It seems like you already know what to look for..that's pretty much what they are going to do anyways (and sell you stuff you won't really need).

 

The nasty looking coolant that leaked would worry me, even if it wasn't overheated, it doesn't look like the cooling system was very well maintained, so be careful.

 

You can also have any toyota dealership run the VIN and they will tell you if the HG recall has been done on it.

The 3vze is a great motor as long as you dont let it over heat.