recently bought a '90 4Runner from a friend that had it for the past 10 years. he said it was running on 5 cylinders because of what he thought was a burned valve in #6. after doing some web investigating that seemed reasonable. he said it was rough and needed some work but it had never stranded him in ten years. it has 233,000 miles on it. new tranny, clutch, all new front running gear and bilstiens at 170k. I bought it for $900 bucks.

it had a few annoyances but not driving problems like a starter with a flat spot (one smack and you're back in business), a slow leaking power steering pump and the whole crooked raising back window thing.

started with the basics: bought tires for it (kuhmo's), some silverstars to see, replaced all other lights (so I don't get pulled over leaving hooters). have two friends that are toyota service techs. sent it to them for a diagnosis on the valve situation and to freshen it up (plugs, fuel filter, air filter, zircs).

well it turned out to be no compression in #5, 170-175 in all the rest (which they tell me is low). they said it's probably the head gasket and they could replace it but that may increase the pressure on that bank and potentially cause the engine to run rough and maybe cause some ring issues which could cause some ring in crank issues.

thier suggestion is to rebuild it at upwards of $2000-3000. then worry about the other little nagging stuff afterwards. for me, it's a snow truck when I can't drive the boxster -- I really don't want to spend that much cash money on it.

it usually takes a few try's to start. it runs surprisingly well for only five cylinders and rides nice on the bilsteins. a couple of other tech's offered me $500 bucks as is for the truck. I'm in for about $1400 right now and I'm considering dumping it and getting a newer '96-98 model like I had before for $6-9K and another car loan.

I'm in Louisville, KY, not a kid (36 yrs.) and this is my 7th Toyota truck.

I'm really looking for some insight or suggestions of what my options are at this point so please feel free.

 

Well you have your option of rebuilding the motor. The 3.0s are not the greatest engine ever made, but they have their up sides. The newer 3.4L certainly will give you alot more power if thats what your after. In the long run it all comes down to what you want out of this truck, is it going to be worth it it terms of a long term investment? I say that because I know what its like to drop alot of money into a truck and then get rid of it shortly after, its not a fun scenario.

Really your playing with borrowed time at the moment, its only going to go for so long before it just decides it doesn't want to go anymore. Especially if your dumping coolant into the oil via a bad HG. I would either rebuild or take the deal on the 500 bucks, and buy something newer. But again its all personal preference.

 

All I can say is 170-175 is very good.

 

they mentioned it should be over 200 if everything was good.

 

You gotta remember you're driving a 15 year old truck.

 

I'm not after more power, just reliable, inexpensive transportation for a few months a year. last year I had a '98 runner and a '99 Taco but sold them both to friends who were begging me for them while they sat in the garage - dumb, dumb, dumb.

I thinks it's just more that I want to get into -- there's a great solid truck in there for about $3000 bucks but I don't have the time right now.

 

Check your PM.

 

What about the factory head gasket replacement campaign?

I tend to agree that just doing a headgasket on a 233k engine is probably money not well spent. If you could do it yourself, that wouldn't be so bad. Maybe one of those tech buds will lend you a hand if you buy the beer?

Maybe do that then sell it and at least get all your money out of it. Then go shopping.

Otherwise, it comes down to 3 grand into this one and it's good to go, or 6 or 7 grand into a newer one. Either way you will still have the little things to do to keep her going. To me it would depend heavily on how good a shape the rest of the rig is in.

 

I asked about the campaign, it's too old to qualify -- but thanks for the reminder. the rest of the truck is kind of a rough driver. to make it all good it's going to be several thousand. I need to decide my level of commitment to the truck and make a decision.

 

New compression is 171, minimum is 142.

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...66compress.pdf

I might look for a new mechanic.

 

hey thanks, that's quite helpful.

 

I don't know what your truck is worth, but I've heard mechanics say it aint worth fixin, I'll give you $500 all the time.

 

In my experience the 3.0 is going to be a gas hog compared to a 96-97 with a 3.4. You can buy a remanufactured engine for around $2,000 and have a built motor that is reliably done by professionals. Since your mechanics got screwed up on the compression then I would guess they aren't familiar with the Toyota's mechanical readings. The motor you have now may run another 6 months....and may die tomorrow. Playin Russian Roulette i think. The 3.0 is a smooth running engine...but always has the same things go wrong with it. My vote goes for a newer with a 3.4. Reliable and pretty comfortable too.