Head gasket out at 489,000 miles, repair or replace engine??

Ok I need some advice, My engine head gasket just went out and is blowing white smoke.
Was Not over heated or over heating yet.
Engine has been supercharged trd since I bought it in 1997.
With that Many miles do I just find a used motor?? Or rebuild
Dealer told my 3,100 for complete head gasket job.

If I go with a used motor 100,000 or so will any year 3.4 fit my truck.

Or if I can find a 3.4 with 70,000 if anyone has a low miles engine for sale
Let me know, I'm in Denver

I have a single cab 5 speed 4 wheel drive.

Thought I would make it to 500,000 on this engine,

Thanks in advance.

 

Replace with used is usually cheapest solution, should be able to get a used motor pretty cheap in Denver.
Call around to motor rebuilders in Denver area, my friends bought a rebuilt 3.4 motor for $900 recently.
Don't use dealer for something like this unless you have big bucks.

 

1997 hmmmmm......New truck out of the question?

 

Why would you ever go to the dealer, especially for a head gasket? Its like begging to be bent over and reamed.

Do it yourself for $1000 including the machining and valve job.

 

Something like this you don`t really know till you get things pulled apart

That many miles I would think pretty hard about doing the complete engine if that is not an option used engine .

 

I'm thinking 20 year old truck. Every rubber boot, bushing, hose and seal is on borrowed time. Death by a thousand cuts.

 

Ok, I guess better to find a lower mileage 3.4


Do all the 3.4 motors interchange from 1995-2004???
I have a 5 speed.

The truck still looks like it has 50,000 miles , not 500,000
Not ready to let her go yet. The supercharger was my best add on.

 

holy cow thats a sharp truck!

 

yep, anything from 95-04 will drop right in from a 4runner or a Tacoma and your more likely to find a lower mile engine from 4runner since they are more soccer mom trucks that don't get used as often and and most tacoma never stop rolling 24/7.

its a shame it didn't cross the 500k line but with that many miles its a complete 100% rebuild top to bottom or nothing for your old motor if you need to redo the heads.

but......, if you have no reason to suspect there were, or are, any problems with your heads, then you can roll the dice that it was just corrosion that ate through the head gaskets and you can just replace the blown head gaskets (both sides) and do nothing else (no reworking of heads) and slap it back together and it could keep on keeping on just fine like that. a simple straight edge test on the head matting surface should tell you if they need machining or not.

if you put the supercharger on it yourself then you can replace the head gaskets yourself, all it takes is time and a place to do it since your just doing a gasket replacement

 

^ Paranoia. SMH

 

Sweet truck, gotta love the V6 regular cabs! Do not sell it you won't find another one.

 

and theyll charge extra for lube.

 

All the Toyota dealers I know do their work sans lube. It's easier on the wallet but harder on the butt hole.

I'd recommend a low mileage end from a reputable source that give some warranty/exchange. The rebuild done yourself will give you a great motor but it's a PITA if you've never done it before and takes far more time than a swap.

 

On a truck this clean!?!?

Not to mention a regular cab, factory v6 has to be rare.

 

C'mon, it has at least 2 or more years before that. My 95 truck still runs the original boots, bushings, hoses and seals. They new how to make reliable long lasting trucks in the past century. If anything is going to kill that truck is the rust.

I see 489k miles an the first "minor inconvenience". My 2.7 blew gasket at 302k - exhaust bubbles in coolant. The whole repair cost me about 200 bucks for the new gasket package (from Toyota dealer) and getting hands dirty. I did not need to do anything else except cleaning the entire intake and EGR - less than 2 weeks later (working maybe 1 or 2 hours a day after work) truck run better then ever.

I admit 2.7 is way easier to work with (small engine with easy access from any side) but still 3000 dollars is unacceptable.

 

With all those miles, how much oil did it burn?

 

Bottom line only you can make the call on what to do.

Only you know what has been done for maintenance to your truck .

Some people keep after the drive line others think the body and interior just have to be perfect!!

 

@KB Voodoo

I recall seeing a post of you looking for a truck similar to this one. In my professional opinion, he should cut his loses and sell it to you haha.

 

Yes, I have always been very particular with all, drive line, interior, body, engine, performances,
A daily drive of course averaging about 27,000 miles a year
and even with all those miles never had
to add a quart of oil between oil changes.
So for me a bad head gasket is big deal because I'm not that confident in
My ability to do that big of a job or have the time.
Thanks for all the input, I will have to take my time
on this one,
As two of you said, Would be hard to find another original
Reg cad v6 5speed manual like or in this condition.
It definitely gets looks everywhere it goes, especially when the red light turns green and the supercharger is singing,

More food for thought, but thinking more towards a used engine with low miles

4Runner engine as one member posted

 

Honestly, I'd replace just the gaskets and call it a day. Your supercharger is increasing cylinder pressure tremendously. Impressed you made it to 489. Do a leak down test, and as long as you aren't burning oil and your internals look good, I wouldn't mess with it.

For your truck to make it to 489, that's great. For it to make it that far supercharged is fantastic.