first i will start by saying that my 954runner runs good, but i am worried about the head gasket. i have talked to a few people, one of which works for toyota, and they said that there is a recall on the head gasket for my truck. i don't know if it was or not, all i know is that my buddys 95 was covered and my other friends 92 truck. does anyone know how to determine how to determine if the vehicle is covered under the recall without going down to the stealership and checking?

 

You can call the service department on the phone and they will check for you via the VIN.

 

i'll give that a try. you don't think that the dealership would lie just to get out of replacing it do you?

 

This is a job they LIKE to do. They usually give it to their most junior tech. Do a search on 'head gasket' to see how others on this forum have made out. There are many different stories ranging from poor quallity work with many come-backs, to full replacement of the long block. Having experienced BOTH sides of this myself, my suggestion is you become fully aware of what SHOULD be done and then make sure, when you're ready to take it in, that you get all that you can.

I've seen stories here about some people who wound up paying for things that should have been covered (oil change, filter, O2 sensors, head bolts, valve cover gaskets,etc...) but the dealer didn't tell them they were elligible costs. ANY damage related to the failed gasket is covered. This includes anything the tech breaks during the repair, such as head bolts, knock sensor loom, etc...On my last go around the tech replaced every nut and bolt that came off the engine. Turns out that someone (who was not aware of the campaign and did the job themselves) used a ton of non-stock hardware on re-assembly.

If you have several dealers in your area you could actually 'shop' the job around, trying to find the dealer that will give you the most for, essentially, nothing. And make sure the shop that gets the job also provides you with a rental. Some will, some refuse. This job can take DAYS. My first hg replacement took 49 hours of labour over 4 weeks (they tried three gasket sets before I made them replace then engine). They never even straight-edged the block, until I 'reminded' them of the run out limits for warpage. I'm sure they knew of these limits, they just didn't know that I did, as well. Thanks to Yotatech and it's depth of knowledge, I was fully prepared. You can be, too!

Frankly, what you want to do, AFTER confirming that your engine is included (only partial 1995 models are), is wait until the hg is actually blown, and you are losing coolant on a regular basis . This will help to ensure that they will do a more thorough job. If you take it in prior to blowing the hg the tech will assume that the job is a straight replacement of the hg and they won't go that extra mile. Good luck!

 

carfax report should show ya if its been done or not. you can use that for back up at the dealership if they say its been changed before and it hasn't.

 

This is what I was looking for, my 93 4runner blew the HG a couple weeks ago and remember a friend took his V6 pickup for a replacement. I bought it used earlier this year and hope I can get some free work done. That would be great.


Peace-

 

i checked the carfax report, and it did not show that any service work has ever been done by a dealership. i am pretty sure that they have to report all service to carfax, but i am not positive. i know that there was no recall work done according to the report. all that was on there was the previous owner. my main question was if anyone knows what vehicles and years were covered under the recall? my 4runner runs great now, but i have heard too many stories from people who claim that the head gasket goes about 120k miles. i am pushing 118k and a little worried.

 

How do i know if my gasket is bad. I had someone look at my car once and the radiator hose seems to be leaking at the engine end. May be a different problem but i dont know.

 

Look for condensation coming out your tailpipe and puffing white smoke. Fix your radiator leak and watch your coolant level every day. If you park it on concrete and notice no leaks and your coolant level keeps going down then head gasket is your culprit. I just came in the house from checking mine out and I give mine a week maybe 2 tops and it will be toast. Time to buy an economical car and put the 4runner up for a few months or until I can sell it.

 

Yeah I get some liquid comming out of my tail pipe in the morning when i start my car and can smell the gas.

I check my coolant and usually have to refill the resevoir often.

Called toyota today and they said there is no recall on my VIN number. If it is a head gasket problem how do i force them to take care of it.

 

Good luck....I'm shooting for a 3.4 conversion. Screw these 3.0's.

 

how much does a 3.4 converasion cost?

 

Just the conversion kit alone is around $1,700 for a manual tranny and over $2,100 for the automatic conversion at offroad solutions. Then you have to buy the motor and ECU...so for around $4,000 + or - you can get it converted over. Pretty costly if you are poor like me...but if its your daily driver then go to the dealership and get them to replace the head gasket. Costs vary...