Need help with newly bought 4Runner with blown head gasket, hoping to do the work myself. While driving it just down the road to its new home, it kept over heating and we put water in to help the temperature stay low, And then got back on the road. Then at a red light the truck turned itself off and won’t turn over. My mechanic friend thinks it is water in the cylinders and says it could be fixed by pulling the spark plugs out and flushing any and all the water out. Then replacing the head gasket. The previous owners who owned it for 18+ years had recently blown the head gasket while driving it, towed it back to the property and I bought it within 5 days of the head gasket being initially blown. The only time the 4runner ran was to be put onto trailers and test driven before driving it home. Any advice on how to get the water out. I’ve worked on small engines but that’s all the engines I’ve worked on. Any help and advice is appreciated!

 

If, and I hope you don't, but IF you got a cylinder, or more than one, with water in them from a bad HG, you got problems.

To see if that's the case, you can pull the plugs and crank it over with the starter, like your friend suggested. Any water in the cylinder(s) will squirt out the spark plug holes.

HOWEVER: IF you had enough water in a cylinder(s) to stop the engine dead like that, there's also a chance that when it happened, the cylinder(s) with water in them got a damaged piston rod, bearings, or a bent crankshaft. When it overheated, it might well have cracked the head(s). You may well one or more sets of bad valves, as well.

IF you want to work on it yourself, I would suggest an engine hoist, and stand, so you can pull the engine out and work on both the top and bottom ends. And a garage with enough space to do it all. If you don't want to go to all this fun, take it, don't try to drive it, TAKE it to a reputable mechanic. At the very least, you'll need to take the heads to a shop to be cleaned and tested to see if they're cracked. Dye penetrant tested, magnafluxed, whatever.
If there's the slightest doubt about it, you'll need to take the crank to a mechanic that has the equipment to verify them, and the skills to make them straight and true.
You may need to replace the piton rods, and rings, and bearings, too.

IF you're not going to do the work yourself, you might consider just buying a new engine, and using the one you've got now as a core. It might be the cheaper, quicker, and by far the easier, of the two choices.

I'm NOT a mechanic, by any stretch, and I may be being overly pessimistic about all this but I've heard a lot of horror stories on different forums about engines with water in the cylinders locking them up.
Good luck to you!
Pat☺

 

Firstly, thank you for the advice. Secondly, do you think it would be more worth the money to buy a new engine and pay for it to be put in (if) the cylinders are ruined. Rather than re- doing the cylinders etc?

thank you!

 

It all depends.
Nothing like a nice, straight, definite, answer, huh?

If it's just 1 cylinder that's been damaged, especially if it's only the top end, it would probably be cheaper, and more educational, to just do that yourself. Might take you a while, and you'll still need to take the damaged head to a machine shop to be cleaned and checked for cracks. Maybe need to be decked, too. By the same token, you need to decide if it would be cheaper to have the shop check the head(s), or to buy a new set.

I've always used the policy that if getting something fixed is 70% of the cost of a new unit, buy the new one. I use that for anything. A water heater, refrigerator, head for my 4Runner, whatever. Like, if whatever is broken, whatever it might be, costs me $80.00 to be repaired, but a new one is $100.00, I buy a new one. It the broken item costs me $50.00 to get fixed, I get it fixed.

Since the engine isn't running anyway, you have two choices, essentially. Take the truck to a mechanic and get an estimate, or tear into it and find the broken/damaged parts yourself. IF you choose to tear into it, you can determine all the damaged/failed parts, add up how much it would cost you to get all new parts and put them in yourself. If you do it yourself, you won't have the cost of the mech's labor, which is generally most of the cost of getting something repaired, but you will have the time you will need to do the work yourself. Is your time worth more than a mechanic's, to you? Bearing in mind that a mechanic will do the work faster, and probably better than you.
They have been doing this stuff for longer than you or me. All day every day. They get to where they are fast. Make certain the mechanic you choose has a good reputation, IE the Better Business Bureau knows them well. In a good way!
Make sure they know these old Toyotas, too. There can be certain things the older engines, and so on, have that a mechanic with no Toyota experience doesn't know about.

If it's just a bad head gasket, you'll need to get a head gasket kit, that includes all the various and sundry gaskets to pull the heads and replace the head gasket. If more damage occurred than just a failed HG, now you'll need the new parts to put in. AND the new HG kit. Again, it's up to you. You won't HAVE to take the heads to a shop to be cleaned and inspected, but it's a good idea. More cost, though.

If it were me, and I'm lucky that I found a shop that loves these old Toyotas (they all own early 90's Toy's), and does quality work, pretty quickly, I would let my shop have it. They would replace the parts that need it, and they stand behind their work. If it's not right, they fix it for no charge. They also don't try to pull the whole "Oh, yeah, well you need a new engine, a new transmission, new brakes..." garbage. I've even told them how to on a few items. They appreciated the info. Mine's the oldest Toyota they ever worked on.
THAT's a good shop.

I know all my rambling isn't really super informative to your particular problem, and I am sorry about that. BUT: As I said, I am NOT a professional mechanic. I am a radar tech by trade. I know my limits. I also don't have any sort of garage available, or a lift, or anything like that. Small stuff I can do, major things, like pulling out pistons and platigaugeing their bearings is totally beyond me. I have replaced the head in my 4Runner. That's about my limit, though, and I've been doing what I can on my two trucks since I bought them, about 30 years ago.
You need to figure your limits out
Pat☺

 

Is there a certain shop name that you would recommend? I don’t know Your whereabouts but I an currently in Vancouver area. I don’t have any of the right tools or space for in depth mechanics, I had heard that replacing just the head gaskets- if it were the case - would be easy to do without much fuss. Would turning over the engine with the spark plugs removed give me an idea of how much damage there is, to the cylinders?

 

Why did you try driving a truck that was being sold and advertised as having a blown head gasket? We're you trying to confirm what the seller was already telling you or were you too cheap to purchase a tow truck?

 

The distance was not far at all, and I was assured by my friend who knows more than myself about dealing with blown head gaskets that it would make it that distance and be ok.

 

I'm in South-Central Oregon. Klamath Falls area. I don't think anything I could recommend from my area would help much

Well, it would tell you if there were any broken piston rod(s), or a bent crank. Or any bad valves. To find any damage IN the cylinders, the only way I know of, barring use of a borescope, is to pull the heads and look inside the cylinders.

I don't mean to be rude, but if I don't respond in the near future (from today until further notice), it's because there's a wildfire in my area. Like 3 miles away. I may have evacuate at any time. I spent all last night packing my survival gear, including the equipment and so forth for my kitties. I can hardly see straight at the moment, I'm so tired. I hope the firemen can get it, and keep it, under control soon, buuuuutttt...

Anywho, for once, wish me luck!
Pat☺

 

Depends on where the head gasket is cracked/blown at. It can leak into the combustion chamber or into the oil. Combustion chamber isn't gonna hurt too much because it'll just burn, foul plugs, mess up sensors and catalytic converters. Check the coolant levels, and it typically can be driven short distances no problem.

If it's mixing into the oil and you don't catch it? Motor is toast.

 

I hope it passes safely! Thank you anyway! Best of luck!