Head gasket 94 4Runner V6

I have a 94 4Runner SR5 with a V6. It has gone 240,000 miles with only a starter, radiator, timing belt, water pump, battery and tires replaced. Around the 2nd week in December, the battery died. It was early in the morning (3 AM), so I got a jump to get it home. When it finally started, it sounded as if the starter was beating against the frame and a plume of white smoke came out of the exhaust. I drove it home and the smoke eased up. I checked the oil and there were no traces of water in the oil. I drive 90 miles a day round trip and it was using about a cup of antifreeze each day. On the weekend before Christmas, it started using a 1/2 a gallon each time I drove it. The Monday before Christmas, it went about 20 miles and started to overheat. I stopped, called a tow truck, and had it towed to a friend's shop. They checked it out and said I needed a new engine. In pricing it, a Jasper engine installed was a little over $5,000. Upon checking the oil, there is now twice as much on the dipstick and it looks like chocolate milk. I decided to buy a new car and either fix the 4Runner as my 2nd car, or sell it for parts. I have gotten numerous quotes for engine replacement, but none have been below $5,000. I had a friend tell me that all I need to do is do the head gasket job, drain and flush the oil a few times, put it all back together and it will be fine. I have also had people tell me that putting a new engine in a vehicle with that many miles and an automatic transmission that has never been serviced is asking for trouble. I'm an idiot with this stuff, but don't really want to put close to the book value of the vehicle into fixing it. Has anyone had a similar experience? What should I look for? I'm in the Northern Virginia area, any reputable places that won't rape me on price and do good work? Thanx!

i can't help you with the first part, but when i lived in alexandria, va about a year and a half ago, i found a pretty decent place to work on my 4runner that didn't rip me off. if you're familiar with alexandria it is located just behind the braddock rd metro station at the corner of braddock and mt vernon i believe. wish i could remember the name right now, but it's just a little gas station/shop that's been there for 40 or 50 years.

You can find out if your engine is covered under the Service Bulletin that offers free replacement of the head gasket for some 2nd generation 4Runners.

For repairs, replace the head gasket, oil, oil filter, and antifreeze and you may be fine. It would take alot to kill the engine, so maybe you didn't go over the limit. Change the oil and filter again after you have driven it 100 miles or so to get the remaining antifreeze contamination out of the crankcase. Also, service your tranmission unless the fluid looks and smells really bad. Then, you are on your own. Changing the fluid in that case may or may not be a good thing to do.

You can find out if your engine is covered under the Service Bulletin that offers free replacement of the head gasket for some 2nd generation 4Runners.

I found two on the NHTSA site: EG00298 (from 2/98) and 97121797017 (from 12/97)... but it appears I have to pay $40. or more just to see! Is there a way to see them otherwise?

they had a big problem with this on 91-95s. you can get it done for about 900$ on the average from what ive heard. my 94 wasnt covered under the recall, but i had mine done with the timing belt change just to be safe. that 3.0 should be ok. they are unstoppable. flush the oil and coolant a few times. its alot cheaper than a engine from jasper. you can probably get another 100k out of it.

I found two on the NHTSA site: EG00298 (from 2/98) and 97121797017 (from 12/97)... but it appears I have to pay $40. or more just to see! Is there a way to see them otherwise?

Call a Toyota dealer and find out if your truck is covered.

You can see what information is provided at:
http://www.edmunds.com/maintenance/MaintenanceServlet?popup=new&tid=edmunds..directoryalpha.directory..1.*

I just did a head gasket for a friend 94 V6 also - I spent over $500 in parts alone, but we are doing everything that needs to be done - gasket kit, coolant, oil/filter, tranny fluid/filter, and both heads resurfaced. It has honestly taken my kid brother and I 2 weeks of evenings (at least 4 nights a week) to get this all done... might be because I've never done a head gasket on this engine, but it was a real pain to work on.

I can't tell you yet how it's going to hold up... we are hoping for the best. If you decide to go this route, just have patience : )

oh yeah - we had to fix a ton of things along the way... and had to redneck fabricate some pieces... so assuming you haven't been taking it to a lazy shop for the past few years, it might be easier to work on. : )