4runnerguy

ok sweet

leebee

they arent cheap either, most of the ones youll find will have the standard rust issues, top at the base of the glass and inside bottom seam. oh, and the glass channels should probably be replaced at the same time.

tell shane hi from us!

lee

Tempy T4R

So found my problem finally with overheating - took it to a mechanic to have a leakdown/compression test. I wanted to see finally if its the head gaskets or not.

The retard first thought I wanted him to solve the overheating issue, so went ahead without my authorization and flushed out the rad, replaced the thermostat and tried to charge me for it all. When he called and said it was still overheating after the new thermostat I could have choked him through the phone. Anyways he finally started looking into the HG as I originally asked him to do, and found the HG was sticking out the rear of the passenger side cylinder head, so he says it looks like its in backwards which would cause the T-stat to not be opening.......great. He wants $2000 to do the HG, so screw it its going to sit in the driveway till spring i guess when the weather is nicer outside to do it myself.

I was thinking of finally giving shane a call to see what his charge is to do the HG job for me also - has anyone taken their truck to him for a HG before?

Anyways - thanks for all the help Aviator and others, I am sure I will be chiming back in when I start tearing this thing down.

Cheers
Jon

aviator

$2K for a head gasket?!!! Don't go to that address again!....
Shane did a head swap on my '87 very well done and very affordable... don't recall the price but it was under 1k parts (used head) and labour included... honestly you can trust shane on any job you care to consider, he'll only fix what's needed (he will let you know if there is other work that ought to be done but will leave the decision up to you) and he won't rook you on price ever...
give him a call and ask for a ball park quote...

infiltrator

tempy,

take off those running boards and sell them on ebay. i got 100 bucks for mine!

also, if the paint doesnt match, check out what other people have done with roll on paint (it really looks good on some trucks no joke!!!)

you should change the fluids and run seafoam (search seafoam, its great stuff!!!)

good filters, fluids, and driving will make that truck last a long time. also, if you have extra money, get some cheap rims and paint em, and beefy tires if those are shot!

make your runner a mans truck! (i really dont know where that came from haha)

Tempy T4R

I know $2K sounded way too high. Like I said I picked this up originally as a winter rig and theres been way too many issues with it to be a reliable daily driver. He ended up cutting up my new OE T-stat that was in there to open up the flow so it would run cool for the time being anyways......so great back to square one minus one $30 stat and 2hrs of his hard earned labor :s

Even though I've had issues with it - driving it home from the shop tonight made me realize why I love the old rig though. So I'm just going to contemplate what to do with it now, whether I full on try and do the HG myself, do a drop in engine next spring and fix up rust etc, or just keep my eyes open for a good 87-93 pickup like I originally wanted

I grabbed this Integra last week to serve as the winter beater/gas miser - i can put the Runner into toy status and play with it when I want. Im going to wait until spring to either do the HG myself, or i've been looking into complete rebuilt engines...they seem very available for $1500-2000 and seem like the obvious choice rather than rebuild this old crapper.

Do you think in the meantime taking this thing up north ice fishing a bit, and driving it with the gutted stat will screw anything up huge? Or just result in a bit worse mileage and long warmup times? I mean it seems like the previous owner drove it for quite a while in this state.

infiltrator

i think you can drive it anywhere and back and be fine. i dont know anyone whose ever been stranded in a yota right there, with no signs of failure. your truck will let you know a while ahead of time, if something's not working.

do what i said last post, and you will have a nice looking truck bud. (fluids, x those running boards, big tires, black rims? or newer rims, and a roll on paint job<search on those its really cool i saw someone do a "white camo" paint job its nice)

and then, if your gonna swap the engine, get the 3.4L engine it will fit just fine, and give you more power (search!)

in the meantime, wax that puppy before the rain/snow

aviator

Or get it to Krown for rust proofing...

Tempy T4R

Infiltrator thanks man, like I said I love the truck...but its turned from a $2000 or so idea/investment into potentially alot more. Not sure if I want to make it a true money pit or cut my losses.

I hear you about the rust control though Paul, especially if I decide to let it sit more through the winter.

I am going to snap some more pics of it in depth now to post up, perhaps I can get some better input on whether to keep it or not from you guys. Great truck, but the previous owner took some shortcuts in its upkeep so not sure if its worth restoring this rig a bit, or move onto another unit that may be more restore-worthy like a 5spd. I was thinking of calling Shane today and at least have him look at it and get a first hand, experienced say on the truck

BLKNBLU

iTrader: (1)

Yeah it sounds like you need a bit more info. Did your mechanic ever get you compresion or leakdown results? If it hasn't been overheated it might only need the HG fixed and not a bunch more expensive parts though it's tough to justify not doing the t belt and water pump at least if you're into it that far. On the down side, if it has a new HG in there (albeit backwards) then there is certainly some concern of the previous owner overheating it, or having some sort of head issue, as well as the jerry rigged t stat. Yeah... get more info if you can.