[quote author=The Beast II link=board=2;threadid=16663;start=msg160682#msg160682 date=1085078161]
Talked to Toyota of Manhattan Beach today and they're telling me that the cylinder head is cracked. Total out the door - $3,223.55
Any advice is appreciated.
Thank you, Matthew Orton 1997 FZJ80
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Ouch! Man I'm so sorry to hear the harsh news with the head and the headgasket. I do not think I have heard about the aluminum head cracking, this seems extra extreme to me! I would approach Toyota about this. I would approach them from the perspective of a loyal, if not frustrated, customer who wants to continue to drive these terrific toyota vehicles. Emphasize previous perfect maintenance records and such. Emphasize any friends or family who you have referred, or will refer. Emphasize that this is unacceptable unless they totally or partially help defer the costs. You never know, they might say yes, no, or something halfway. Make it easy for them to say yes, and they might? Bottom line is you are absolutely right - these vehicles are designed to do almost anything, go almost anywhere, and according to my local toyota rep who sold my father an 80 and a 100 series, they are designed to last twenty years.
On another related subject, as many here know, toyota recalled the HG on the 3.0 L V6 engines like the one in my 88Runner. In my case, my HG had not failed, it was just getting close to the cutoff time and my dealer did the repair at my request. They set me up with a rental car, did the HG R&R, and at the same time replaced all the parts that are replaceable with that job. They only charged me for the replaceable parts and not for the labor as it was the same labor to put old parts back or new parts back. It was first class service all the way however between myself and my immediate family, we have purchased probably fifteen vehicles from this favorite dealer and we are known to the management for lots and lots of referrals. That probably helped. What I would like to know, and perhaps CruiserDan can shed some light, is HOW did the V6 HG recall get going? Was it a formal complaint similar to the one that BII might make with his head, was it a gathering of statistical information that indicated a part failure percentage higher than tolerable for toyota standards? Was it a request from the dealers to the factory so that dealers dont take such a serious hit for comping this repair repeatedly? It would be really interesting to know the conditions that set that recall in motion and it would be really wonderful to be able to collectively create the conditions to set this recall in motion. Just thinking out loud, anyone else???
