1997 Toyota 4Runner Limited from North America - Comments

My head gasket just blew on my 1997 4Runner Limited 6 cylinder, for no apparent reason. The car has 137,000 miles on it and I bought it back in 2000 as a pre-owned certified vehicle from Toyota. I have had regular maintenance, sane driving, I am so confused and disappointed. I called Toyota and my VIN number is not part of any recall. I thought I would be driving my car for at least another 100,000 miles according to their commercials!!

I was quoted 3,600.00 to put in a new rebuilt engine, as my mechanic (not at Toyota) does not recommend doing the head gasket rebuild. He said to drive it until it dies and then put in the new engine. Great, like driving a time-bomb. Also now tons of stinky white smoke comes out the tail pipe now, really makes me feel even more eco-friendly than just merely driving a big gas guzzling SUV.

I feel like my car is a bit old to start putting 4 grand into it. I really feel cheated and between a rock and a hard place. My family and I have sworn by Toyota for years, I'm not so sure anymore. This is very upsetting!!

I have always been very happy with my 4 Runner until today. I was so happy to have finally paid it off, no car payments and I thought several years of life left in it. I guess I was wrong.

I have noticed that it isn't the most comfortable car to drive over long distances, a bit of a bumpy ride, but I love that the rear power window, (which has also had mechanical problems recently), allows me to safely leave my dogs in the back when it's not too warm out.

I don't understand why the head gasket can't be replaced. Do you have the V6? Do you know which bank the gasket has gone on? To me it sounds as if the dealer could be trying to squeeze a fair bit of dough out of you unnecessarily. It is quite possible there is nothing wrong with your engine and you were just unlucky and got a dud head gasket! Also a previous owner may have overheated the vehicle causing weakness to the gasket.

I agree with the post above, you could have just had the head gasket fixed right away to prevent farther damage on the engine. The fact that he said to drive it until it blows might show that the engine was fixable, but probably now after driving it for awhile will make it un-fixable. The white smoke is usually caused by coolant mixing in the engine that is seeping through the head gasket. My mother had the same problem and got her head gasket replaced, and changed her oil 3 times and has had no farther problem. When they do work on your vehicle, make sure you get pictures of the engine and head gasket.