3.0 Head gasket problems

I have a ‘95 3.0 that I was planning to go look at for purchase. But I happened to have found some information that this engine is notorious for blown head gaskets due to poor coolant channels. A previous owner has had to replace the heads and head gasket already (with the new information I’m assuming because of this problem). Does anyone have any knowledge on this and if it’s a problem that can show up multiple times in the life of the engine or if after a fix it tends to goes away. Any information is greatly appreciated.

 

I typed your question into the search box at the top right of the page and this popped up.
https://www.4runners.com/threads/first-4runner-questions.10941/#post-106894

 

Thank you. I was looking for a search bar but must of just missed it.

 

The head gasket is prone to failure if it is done incorrectly. I had mine done back in the late 90's when there was a TSB, not an actual recall, to replace them. Toyota was replacing them for free. Seems the material used was inferior and made them prone to failure. From what I remember, the bolts had to be replaced too. If they were reused, it could fail again and many did. Mine has been solid since the replacement. They did mine right. Proceed at your own risk. Hopefully the old owner did it correctly.

 

That’s good to know. It sounds like the HG was done by a shop, and luckily he still has the paperwork for it. At least now if it has a good enough breakdown of the work done I can see if that’s something they did. Do you remember what mileage yours went at and how many you’ve put on it since?

 

Mine never went. I took it in for an oil change and the service manager told me about the TSB. I made another appointment and had it replaced. Took most of the day. I had less than 60k on it at the time as this was in 1996 I believe. I now have 148K on it.