Need advice on 1997 4runner

Hello newbie here, bought a manual 1997 4Runner for our son a few years ago, with 120K mi. About a 9 mo’s later it overheated and destroyed the engine. Apparently the timing chain broke or something happened to it after it overheated? Local Toyota dealer put in a reman engine (12 mo warranty) August 2022, then last Feb it overheated again, and was taken to a different Toyota to get some radiator hoses replaced. So the other day, it over heated again, coolant levels apparently ok and he drove it until it started smoking and parked and shut it down. Towed to Toyota- said it would take $2500 to fix the radiator first before they can check for engine damage. Estimate is 9k total. The service guy offered me $250 for the vehicle and wondering if I should get a second opinion or just sell it for parts instead. My husband passed away unexpectedly a year so hard to navigate this alone. Would appreciate any advice!

 

Is this a V6 or a 4? 2WD or 4WD? Personally, I'd first check the oil and see if it looks OK or not. Next I'll run a compression check to make sure the engine is still healthy. If healthy, I'll work the radiator next as the new engine must have come with a new water pump too. I don't know about a Toyota OEM radiator but an aftermarket one would be around $300. To this you have to add labor (~ 2 hrs) plus coolant. A full coolant flush will also be in order. I don't see $2500, perhaps $550. You should also replace the thermostat. Having said this, it makes me wonder why the vehicle would have overheated twice in the first place. How was this vehicle being used?

 

Hi thanks, it’s a 4 cylinder, 4wd, and who knows how my son is driving it- he’s 20. It’s a manual transmission also.

 

I'm probably have some of the most experience with this engine on this forum since my 4runner has the same engine, trans, and 4wd. I'm not sure which chain you broke that would cause it to over heat, but there are 3 (correction there are 2) of them. The first thing I would do is tell your son not to drive a vehicle that is starting to over heat, because it put you in a much worse spot since now the engine is questionable.

Since it has over heated I'd be most concerned about warpage and head gaskets. The way you test for warpage isn't feasible without removing the head. But I'd do a compression test and a coolant exhaust gas tester. The compression tester will tell you if everything relating to the cylinder is sealing (valves, head gasket, piston rings), if it fails the compression test then the exhaust gas tester can narrow down the problem to the head gasket. I'd ask what type of tests they plan on doing to test for engine damage.

There is no way of knowing if there is damage in the bottom end, but the 3rz is in the top 5 most robust engines Toyota ever made, so cross your fingers.

The quote they gave you for a radiator is a friggen ripoff. In 2020 I got the radiator, (upper and lower) hoses, thermostat and gaskets replaced, the cost for labor was $198 and $258 for all the parts. So adjusting for inflation I paid about $542. Since your going to a dealership that's why the quote is so high. Go somewhere else and buy the Denso radiator, Denso makes Toyota's parts and it doesn't cost as much.

The vehicle in it's current form is worth far more that $250, the service guy is lowballing you.

I'm surprised the dealership didn't tell you to replace the radiator when the did the engine. The warranty on the engine likely wont cover damage caused by a bad part they didn't replace.

 

Thank you for your advice, the radiator and water pump were replaced with the reman engine. I think I’ll get a mobile mechanic and do the compression test since now I can’t trust the dealership. If the engine isn’t seized up then I’ll tow it to the dealership where the engine came from and see if they’ll work with me. Or maybe find a different garage altogether.

 

Well then they screwed up. I would find the receipts of any repairs done within the warranty period, because they should cover that. That shouldn't happen within a year of installing a reman engine.

 

I’m just curious. There are three timing chains on this engine?

 

Unfortunately the reman was installed in August of 2022, and I think it’s a 12 month warranty. I can see if they will work with me.

 

Sorry I meant to say 2 timing chains. One runs along the front of the engine and wraps around the intake cam, the other I think controls the counter balance.

 

But they should reimburse you for the work you did in Feb 2023 since it was work they did when the installed the engine. You should have taken it to them when you first had problems.

Assuming you were doing the recommended maintenance it doesn't look very good for them if the engines they are installing are only just barely lasting outside the warranty period. They don't have to cover anything now, especially if the engine was overheated outside the warranty, but it should be too new to have problems like that. I'd be asking them why this is happening on such a new engine.

 

Didn't know that. In fact, the only time I've heard of two timing drives was a friend's Testarossa, which had two belts, one for each side of the V12. I'm sure it's used elsewhere.

 

Update, had a mobile mechanic check it out this am, started right up and he was able to test 3 out of 4 cylinders but couldn’t get the coil (I think) out so he couldn’t do the 4th. All 3 were great, he added some water to the radiator which was really low on coolant, and immediately discovered a leak. Turned out to be a hose, which you’d think would’ve been replace with the new motor, radiator and water pump. But it looked old and he replaced it. The exhaust coming out might be excessive and he wasn’t able to do a leak down test. So I’ll find a reliable garage to take it to do that that. But thanks for all the advice hopefully it will check out okay, but so glad I didn’t listen to the dealer service guy, he almost ripped me off. So glad I did some research and posted here! I have learned my lesson and now motivated to take a basic mechanic class!

 

So sorry to hear about the loss of your husband...

 

Glad that it was a simple fix. That amount of exhaust is normal if the engine is starting in the cold. It should go away when it warms up.

 

Thank you!

 

Thanks, me too!

 

First off I am so sorry to hear about your husband’s passing.

That’s a nice looking 4Runner! I’m hoping you will be able to get it all fixed up and are able to keep it.

 

Thank you! I’m going to post an update and ask another question!

 

Hi again, I was able to finally get it in for an inspection at a reliable shop and while thankfully the engine did not have any damage, there are some expensive repairs that need to happen including- new clutch (which we knew about), steering rack replacement, cooling and heater system hose replacements, control valve, new exhaust manifold, cv boots, and fluids changed out and will cost about 7K. If I get all this repaired, and my son drives it for another couple of years (and we make sure maintenance is kept up) and decides to sell it, is there a market for this type of 4Runner with has a reman engine? It currently has about 150k miles and only 10k on the new engine. I have learned a lot in a short amount of time on this forum and am very grateful for any continuing insight!

 

Just judging from the pic. and having repair records i would say yes there is a market for your vehicle.

 

If the frame is good and the engine is good, you’ll be fine.

$7k sounds way way high for the repairs you’ve stated btw. None of that stuff is difficult and most can be DIY’d if you are handy, but even if you bring it in $7k is a lot