Hi, sorry if my spelling is bad, im from Sweden
Anyway, i have a 4runner 95 3.0 V6 and i have been losing some coolant for a time (a week) and i cant find the leek. Everything seems fine and thers no other problem. Is there any possibility that there is any thing else then a bad headgasket? if its the headgasket, is it best to repair it at Toyota? Its smells bad from the radiator (like rat..) can it have anything to do with it?

Thanks for any help!

Itwould be best to have Toyota do it if you have more money than time.I could not afford it.Glad I got a 22r.I would do it myself.

Have someone do a pressure test on the coolant system before anything else. If it is the HG's, expect to pay about $900 at a dealer, up to $1500 at an independent (based on quites I got in the past). I highly recommend replacing the head bolts at this time w/ new ones or ARP studs.

I just had the steering relay rod recall done today and had Toyota check my stalling problem. Well they told me that no. 1 & 6 head gaskets are almost busted and that my rad is blowing holes because the leaky gaskets are putting too much pressure on my rad. They also told me that this is another recall from years ago and Toyota has come out now with three diff. gaskets but the problem still has not been fixed. I was advised to wait till my motor blows and buy a different motor!!!! They also told me that it is highly unlikely that the manufacturer will pay for this recall as it has already been done, before I bought my 94 4Runner three years ago. I have contacted Toyota Canada and waiting for a response. *****!

Read the service campaign article on this site

http://www.yotarepair.com/

Half the problem with putting these back together is whether or not the heads were milled/checked for warpage before going back together.

I can't find it offhand, but I do remember reading a TSB out there for how to properly/evenly tighten the 3.0 heads back down; rather slick procedure.

www.techinfo.toyota.com $10; download away for your information.

OK, thanks for the tips!
My 4Runner have never been recalled but at Toyota they say that there has never been a recall for the HG!

I started out as a recall; for the '94, there was a mailout campaign for about 14K vehicles. You'll now see it out there as a service campaign. The earlier years I know have since been rescinded from the recall.

Your a little low on that estimate. Just had mine done at the stealership....$2,700 <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" /> which included Knock sensor and wire, plug wires, cap and rotor, T-belt, oil, coolant, and some other odds and ends. Sent my injectors off as well to be cleaned. Heads got new valve seals and milled flat as well. Lots of money, but I didn't have the time to do it.....

My quotes were just for the HG replacement. I paid < $1100 with $150 worth of new head bolts back in '02. The rest of the engine was just fine, so no need for t-belt, etc. Heads were sent to Tim @ DOA for porting and valve check, etc. But that was an unnecessary/unrelated expense.

I didn't let mine get bad; I had the gaskets replaced ASAP as soon as I saw a hint of a problem, so there were now chain reaction issues.

Had mine done ten years ago, wonder when I will start having a problem. I think I would find another dealership that knows what they are talking about.