I just bought her about 3 months ago (7/06). About one month ago I blew the head gasket.
Apparently there were recalls on 1995 4Runners' head gaskets, mine was built in 95 so it does not apply to me. I got a quote of $3500 to get it fixed, but that is with a used engine. I hear that if I ever wanted to buy another 4Runner to get one from 1998 or newer.
That is my 2 cents.
Why are all you guys blowing head gaskets? Where do you drive your 4runners? Off Roading?
Why are we blowing head gaskets?
Toyota had a known design flaw and for some, they replaced or repaired the engines... a lot of 4 Runners were left out of this... and their owners are not happy. Most bought Toyota's thinking they were buying a dependable truck built by a dependable company despite the premium. I fully expected to get 200k miles from a 31k truck... I got 104k before it died.
1) Exhaust system will rot first... from a coolant leak due to a leaky head gasket
2) As the problem progresses, you will have the #6 spark plug crack
3) You will then notice anti-freeze smell from exhaust
4) Once the problem progresses to this point it's only a matter of time before the leak allows coolant to pool into the combustion chamber.
5) If this happens...you'll pop a hole in the top of the piston.
6) At this point the engine is complete shot.
A slow death... unless somebody finds the problem early.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site