Cracked head? Repair or sell vehicle?

Edit: I accidentally put cracked "head" on the title but it's a cracked head gasket issue...I think.

Hello all! I have a 1997 Toyota 4Runner limited. I don't know much about cars so I apologize in advance.

I bought my 4runner 7 years ago. It had a rebuilt engine and transmission and about 250k miles if memory serves. The interior was pretty ripped up but I got a really good deal as my dad knew the owner.

It started having head gasket issues last year. My mechanic ran some sort of stop-leak through it, and it was fine for a few months. It started drinking coolant again a couple months ago. My mechanic said I needed a new radiator, so I replaced that last month. I'm still losing coolant and the start up is rough like before with lots of exhaust steam. I took it back to the shop and they do think it is a cracked head gasket acting up again (my engine light had come on from a miss firing cylinder).

So now I have to either sell the vehicle or repair it. It's my daily driver. It's got 325k miles on it. It's old, with some small dents and sun damaged paint. But it's for a brand new radiator and nice new tires. My mechanic doesn't fix heads, so he didn't give me a quote but said to would be maybe a couple grand? I am at a loss. It seems like it may be wiser to sell it while it's running to someone who could fix it? But I probably can't get much for it. I am borrowing a family vehicle for now so not in any rush. Just trying to make a wise decision. Thanks for any advice y'all have! I've read this forum for ages when I was stumped with various issues.

 

I think his quote is a bit high. If he is someone you trust I would see what you can get a new/rebuilt set of heads for and have him install them. If you don't want to deal with him I would go somewhere else and get a quote. Personally if a mechanic ran stop leak through one of my vehicles, I would not be going back to them.

Sorry I misread your post. I thought it was a cracked head. Re read and noticed cracked headgasket. I would take it to a shop that works on heads. I paid 900 bucks for a headgasket job years ago. That was including machine work on the heads.

 

Thanks for the input. I may look for a second opinion. I just don't have the know-how to fix it up. My mechanic has been helpful but seemed to think since it's an old car, I should just drive it until it quits. But it's starting up so rough that I really don't want to drive it around.