90' 4runner never had gasket done. should i get it done now?

[madmaniac]

i just bought a 90' 4runner. v6 4wd A/C w/ 113k on it. auto trans. it seems to run ok but should i get the head gasket recall done to it before they tell me its out of date?

[dickman]

I had the same dillemm. I to own a 90 4runner which I've owned for about 10 years and have never had the headgasket changed. The odometer reads about 130k and runs perfect. The recommendation that I was given was to leave well enough alone. If the gasket hasn't failed by now (and this may hold true in your case also), then chances are good that it will hold. On the other hand I've seen posts on other Toyota forums where after having the headgasket replaced it failed again after 30k miles or so.

[guido001]

I've got a '90 4runner, had the gasket done and it's been fine. One good thing is that while the work was done, I had them replace the water pump and timing belt for just the price of parts, labor was free since thay had to remove those parts anyways. Now it's got 96k and I just replaced the oxygen sensor, running smoother and the mileage has improved.

[dickman]

I hope that you didn't pay for your oxygen sensor. In the owner's manual it says that at around (I believe it's 85k miles) the oxygen sensor should be replaced with no charge to the customer for parts or labor. Someone mentioned it to me so I made and appointment at the dealers to get it done last fall. ( I had 120k mi at the time) The dealer at first thought it was a misprint and made a copy of the page from the manual and called the regional rep and they had him replace it at no cost to me.

[Erndog1369]

I am a Toyota technician. I agree with the 'if it ain't broke then don't fix it' mind set, however, I do caution you. I have done many VO6 (headgasket) campaigns. I have probably done nearly 100. I have seen many (not sure how many) headgaskets 'blow' at 100,000+ mile. Just a few weeks ago I did one with 140,000 miles on it. It is a good opportunity to have the timing belt, water pump, and even valve seals replaced when the heads are off. The labor for all that will be minimum because the engine is apart. If the head gaskets start to leak coolant into the cylinders (#1 or #6), and it is not real bad that you don't notice it, there can be damage to the cylinder block surface. Toyota will cover this, but the block must be machined, resulting in your truck being apart for a lot longer than you might want. Take advantage of the campaign. In the long run it will be better for your vehicle.