HELP Please !!

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Bob Deland

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Nov 9, 2009
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I own a 1995 4Runner. Let me say off the top that I'm not mechanically inclined! It was just diagnosed as having a blown gasket between the intake and the head, on the driver side near the firewall. Antifreeze/water were pouring out of that area.

Any estimate on what it will cost to repair?

What do I need to look out for?

Any and all advise appreciated, the sooner the better. Gotta get it back on the road or sell it one.

Thanks folks!

Bob D.
 
Probably $2-300 in parts. And Maybe up to 16 hours of labor??? At $85 an hour, would be around $1600. But I'm erring on the high side I hope. If it's never been changed there's a small chance that Toyota may cover it under their headgasket recall. I'd call the Toyota national customer relations number and see if it's still covered. Don't call a dealer, they will probably tell you no. Go above the dealer first... :D The last first-hand confirmed headgasket warranty I heard of was about a year and a half ago... So good luck!
 
Thanks for the quick response. But it isn't the head gasket. It is the intake manifold gasket between the intake and the head, I'm told. Again, not a mechanic! I'll check that customer thingie you mentioned just in case though.
 
Howdy! It depends on how accurate the diagnosis is. If it is only the intake manifold, then is is much less labor than the head gasket that Jerod described. John
 
2ndGenToyotaFan said:
A 3.0 leaking coolant and it's not a headgasket?????? WHAT!!!!????? :D Sorry about that, if it's the intake then under $100 in parts and more like 4-6 hours of labor... So maybe 600ish.
Click to expand...
Yea, I have no personal experience with these, but the first thing I thought of was Head Gasket, as I have heard of the 3.0s having head issues. I'm also assuming that the intake manifold does have a cooland passage. John
 
Well, that's what my mechanic buddy said. He put it on a machine to pressurize the system and said it was coming out between the intake and the head.

Just got off the phone with a Toyota dealer and he said about $610 parts/labor/tax for the intake manifold gasket, and around $1200 for a head gasket.

Man, you guys are good!

Now, does anybody know if there is indeed a reason that antifreeze would be blowing out there?
 
Most all of the coolant passages are connected with gaskets that can fail. Just not your lucky day. John
 
Yeah, I agree about the luck part. I have had nothing but trouble out of my 4Runner unfortunately.

I just felt like you guys would have a consensus on what I'm being told, and a little helpful advice.

And you have!

Thanks!
 
I would be very tempted to have the HG done at the same time, chances of it failing down the road are high. Might be expensive, but can prevent major problems down the road for you.
 
I have dumped far too much into this thing already, and I need something reliable to drive. I'll repair the intake manifold gasket and then put it up for sale. My daughter drives this thing about 70 miles a day, and I cannot afford to worry about her every time she leaves the driveway.

The head gasket is out of the question. As a matter of fact, if I find out the hg is bad, I will not even fix it, it will get towed to the junkyard. What really ticks me off is it has less than 500 miles on a set of Yokohama Geolandars. And they will not fit anything else I own.

Bob
 
I can understand and sympathize with your frustration. You just want a reliable vehicle for your daughter and you are right to be concerned about a 14+ year old truck. I'm kinda in the same boat with my daughter, her '94 Corolla is doing OK but I know it's only a matter of time till I get the call that it's got something major wrong and I'll have to do something about it. The hard part for me is she's 2 hours away so I can't easily go rescue her like I had to back in September. Not sure what to do about it.

I'm a little concerned with your diagnosis, as I'm not aware of any coolant passing thru the intake manifold gasket. It's been several years since I've torn one of those engines down, so I may be wrong, but I just can't think of any reason for coolant to be going up into the intake manifold. Do you have a Factory Service Manual that you can take a look at to confirm this is really where the leak is? There are several other hoses at the back of the engine inside the V, right in front of the firewall, I have seen these leak but their location makes it hard to see without at least taking to top plenum off the intake.

If it is the headgaskets, and you really don't wanna mess with it (understandable), then I think at the least you could find someone that would buy the whole truck for at least more than a junkyard will give you for it. At least try to find someone that can trade their worn out tires to send it to truck heaven. Post an ad in the "Parts Trucks" section here (don't forget your location and some pictures), see if someone wants it.

If you lived near me and it wasn't so darned cold outside, I'd help you fix it.

Good luck.
 
*The '95's can leak from the headgasket into the cylinders, or into the center valley. They can also leak from where the plenum meets the heads at the corners, forward and aft of the inlets as seen here:

Headgasket leaking into the valley causing overheating and then causing the plenum gaskets to also fail.
3757109572_0f43ccba48_b.jpg
 
Sadly you're in a position that many have been in. If you are not comfortable doing the work yourself, and don't want to pay the astronomical shop labor prices, then I would sell it as is.

Owning a 3.0 is a labor of love to a certain extent... It's an ok engine with a bad exhaust design that fries the rear drivers side cylinder.... I'm sure you'll make the right choice. If you decided to sell it to a yard, put your tires on craigslist as a trade tires + money deal, someone will take 'em.
 
KLF, I wondered about any hoses in that area also. I'm thinking about having it towed to a local Toyota dealer and let them determine exactly where the leak is. The tow is free, I have a service, and it would be worth the money to know exactly what is the problem so I can make an intelligent decision.

Don't know enough about it to be sure of anything myself. I didn't quite get why an intake gasket would leak coolant, but you guys have shed a little light on that. Heck, any car company that would put the oil filter on an engine upside down, and inaccessible to anyone with only one elbow per arm has already shown they aren't engineering giants.

Bob
 
Dude, it's completely up to you, but someone locally might be inclined to help you. Should you choose to fill in your location...

But I would understand if you're frustrated and wouldn't want free help to... :rolleyes:
 
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