just bought an 85 4runner and on the way home with it one of the lower hoses poped off and the truck just about overheated befor i shut it down... i let it cool down completley and fixed the prob, filled it back up with coolent and took off the rest of the way home....

Now i notice white smoke out the exhaust... and a faint milk look but its hard to tell... im not sure if its in the first stage of the head gasket going or what.... the truck sputters at idle... and it hesitates when driving... has little to no midrange petal... it will accelerate then when it shifts into 3rd (auto) it bogs out... unless you put it to the floor then it will pick back up... has a little chatter to it but i know these engins have a little noise to them... truck just had a tune up so i dont think it has anything to do with that...

does this sound like the headgasket is going?
should i redo the head itself if i do the gasket?
any other things i should consider doing if the headgasket is infact bad?

 

Yup, you got the headgasket. :-(

if you have it that far apart, take the head to a machinist, and replace the timing chain while you're in there. Keep it CLEAN. also clean the top of the block real good.

 

how much is it going to cost to get the head done and timing chain?

 

to save money do it yourself. i havent done one, and i hope i dont have to do one. i think if u take it to a shop its gonna be at LEAST 600 bucks.

 

This may sound funny but I hope that your head gasket has blown. If not you may have a cracked head or block. If you do it yourself it would only cost a few hundred at the most. At a shop you would probably be looking at 1k to replace the head gasket.

 

yeah, pray its the HG and not the block or head. and SCYOTA, i agree with you. why DO drive thru ATMs have braille??? thats something ive been trying to figure out.

 

i hope its the gasket to and not the head or block to.... i was planning on doing the work myself but i dont really want to when i just got the thing...hahaha... oooo well what can ya do right? i guess my next question is did i just make a mistake buying this thing??

 

Depends on how much you spent and if you like to work on trucks. It's possible that the person who sold it to you knew something was wrong. Lets hope not but that kind of stuff happens. The hose probably popped off after the head gasket went because the combustion was escaping the cylinders and pressurizing the cooling system.

 

How long did you drive it when it was hot. Your block probably isnt cracked. Just yank the head and take it to a machine shop to get checked out. The head gasket and timing chain are very simple to change. Grab a six pack and a buddy and get it done. Its never a mistake to buy a Yota.

 

you can get a basic rebuild gasket kit and a timing chain kit from engbldr.com for around 140$

I just bought a timing kit from him with the steel guide this will be the second kit I will have installed from him different trucks though.

 

Depending on what you want in a vehicle, you might have made a mistake. Your truck is sort of a relic. I'd be more than happy to take that broken thing off your hands for a reasonable $ :-).
Often, when you your hands on a 20+ year old vehicle, it has 'issues' that have to be rectified in order to get another 10-20 years of the legendary reliability again. It can be labor and part intensive sometimes, depending on what kind of care the truck has seen over the years. Plan to get intimate with your truck. If you aren't mechanically inclined, you will be paying someone else a lot of $ over time to keep it going... You will get plenty of support here at Yotatech if you embark on your project yourself however. :-)
We love working on ours, and doing the occasional "rescue" :-) There's always a 22r block in the garage being built for 'something' LOL.

 

well i know how to do all the work myself... i have been a chevy guy all my life (im 22) so i have built a few 350's and what not... this is my first yota paid $2800 for it... i know i can do the work... i just dont want to be dumping a ton of money into the thing... i have 2 other money pits already haha.. the 4runner has 138k on it now... wondering if i do keep it should i just go ahead and rebuild the whole enging?? i would like it to be a little more powerfull...

heres the truck...

 

well either way, there aint no way in hell you gonna get that 22re as strong as a chevy 350, period. youre gonna notice a BIG difference in power. i did when i went from my 66 C10 w. 350 to my 88 yota with 22re. i dunno if i misunderstood you, probably did since its 5:30 am and i just woke up, but w/e. good luck to you on your project, and congrats for buyin a yota

 

well i know its going to be a dog compaired to what my camaro is...haha... i just want this thing to run like a top... im taking it apart this week to find out what the deal is... thanks for all the info guys!

 

I am about to get started doing this to my truck when i get laid off the job I am on tomorrow I just bought the head from engnbldr.com rather then have it decked and rebuilt. I figured it was not much more to just do it this way, and I did not want to have to mess with the cam timing or anything like that. Dexter, where in NJ are you located? I am in S. Jersey in the Philly area. The truck I am doing the Head/headgasket job on is almost the same as yours too.

 

i just bought the truck in south jersey.... i live in syracuse NY... i drove 5hrs to pick the truck up... i just drove it back with his plates on it and sent them back in the mail

 

I'd say stick with 22re. Once its rebuilt it'll be tough-as-nails (again). But I guess if you want power, a bigger engine would be better. But i'd stay with the 22re.

 

Stay with the 22RE. It's slow, but it'll get you up a hill and run until it blows (which means you'll die before IT does).

Headgasket? Super easy. If you have a cherry picker or a buddy, you can pull the head off without even removing the intake or exhaust. And do the timing chain, because its worth your time. Please trust me on this one. GO for a double timing chain with steel guides... 100 kit plus 30 bucks for the headgasket. When it doubt, shout it out (here on Yotatech!).

Good luck and may the Force be with you.

 

thanks for all the info guys! im going to be tearing her apart this week... ill let everyone know what happens! thanks agian

 

Look under the oil cap and check for oil mixing with water( it will look like coffee milkshake) second do a pressure test to see if it hold and then check you cylinders for fluid.
If its a head gasket that you need, then spring for a brand new head, don't even bother with the old one.(You can get brand new heads for the price of a rebuild) Chances are if it's original it should be changed, otherwise it you get it fixed it might happen again. These are 20yrs old and chances are electrolosis has eaten way in places you never know even if it get pressure tested by the rebulider. When you get it done. run the Toyota coolant or Dexcool, make sure all your engine grounds are cleaned and connected. Check your radiator and hoses while your at it.
You Runner looks to be well worth the investment, but whomever sold it to ya probally knew and got ya for $2800. I woud at least mention it to him and see what happens, unless you have agreed to it as a known issue.

Good luck!