Purchased high-mileage 99, facing multiple mechanical problems

I recently purchased a 99 4runner with close to 300,000 miles. So……At its inspection I was told I needed lower ball joints, Wheel and axle seals, a tie Rod, and there was a shock not even attached at the top. So I bought the parts and planned to drop it at the mechanics the following day. Drove to work-no noticeable problems. 8 hours later I try to start it. It made the most god awful loud screeching grinding sound. Tried jump starting-same sound-won’t start. Took the battery to be tested. I couldn’t even get a spark from the cables on the battery. Weak battery but it didn’t justify what I was hearing. Put the battery back in the truck-the grinding screeching sound was gone but it was now just clicking. Since it had the original starter we replaced it. NOW….. it starts-but has white smoke out the tailpipe and runs rough. Radiator is dry-WTF! It never got hot. It never ran rough prior to the starter issue. Which the starter definitely needed replaced……but what should I do now? I love this truck so much and I paid 4 grand for it! Makes me so sad

 

Blown head gasket. 300K? Engine swap time.

 

When I bought it he said the engine was already swapped & only had like 180,000 on it. Blown head or head gasket? Why didn’t it ever register hot? I never smelled anything funny. The oil looked fine. AND WHAT WAS that sound?

 

Sorry that this has happened. I agree with the earlier comment. You either have a cracked head or a blown gasket. You can do a compression check and see which cylinder. At this point it won't be obvious whether it is a blown gasket or a cracked head or both. You'll have to remove the cylinder head to see its condition.

 

Really hurts my heart lol #3 is blown. We checked it. So now do I fix it or return all my new parts and get rid of it? Idk …….

 

Replacing a head gasket or for that matter a cylinder head is a major repair work but not an impossible one. It can be done if you were to take your time. However since you're not the original owner, you do not know how the vehicle might have been maintained before you bought it. This means other things could be wrong with the engine or elsewhere with the car. Worst case, you may find it necessary to rebuild the complete engine or buy a rebuilt engine altogether. This will be expensive but on the flip side if the transmission is good, the car is a good shape with a straight body and with no or minimal frame rust, the worst case scenario will be worth it in my opinion.

 

That screeching was probably the throwout gear from the starter grinding against the engine's ring gear . That usually happens when either is chewed up. Pray it was just the starter.

I would try a head gasket replacement. I don't think it's all that big of a job on these cars.

Also, here's a painful fact: All junkyards wildly low ball their used engine mileage. That replacement engine probably had 250k miles on it.