Head Gasket Problem! Please Help

I'm posting this for a friend that has a 2005 v6 tacoma. It has 146K and last week started having some trouble starting. On cold starts, the rpms would jump up and down and it would almost die. Once it warmed up, it drove pretty close to normal. A few days later, the CEL came on so he took it to the dealer. The code they got was a cylinder 4 misfire and when they opened it up, they said they could see coolant leaking into cylinder 4 and that it was the head gasket. They quoted him $4000 for the job.

Two questions:

1. has anyone else had this problem? i'm really surprised by this..
2. is $4000 a reasonable price for the work? if not, does anyone have recommendations for a shop in the SF Bay Area, California that is reputable and more affordable?

Thanks in advance.

 

Hey There! I was doing some research on this very issue and came across your post from last year. I too have a 2005 toyota tacoma with 162K and just a couple of months ago, it started doing the same thing at start up. My engine has never overheated and I have never been told there is any water in my oil or vice versa. I had the fuel system cleaned thinking that was the issue, but that didn't help and it continued. Eventually, during one episode at start up, the light came on and I took it in and they said the same thing..a cylinder 4 or 5 misfire. A couple of different mechanics I talked to said it sounded like the head gasket, but it ran and started good for 2 or 3 weeks, but now it's acting up again and my CEL just came on again this morning.

I also have 2 questions:
1. What did you end up having to do with your Tacoma last year and what was the cost to have the head gasket replaced?(hopefully less than$4K)
2. I was considering trying a cheaper option like some of those sealants you pour in our coolant that supposedly fix the leaks in the head gasket (Bar's Leaks, Blue Devil, etc.) Does anyone recommend anything or not?

Any info on this topic would be most appreciated.
Thanks, Jay Ruston, LA
2-5-2012

 

$4000 seems extremely high.

 

for 4000 i will fly out and do the job. i would shop around or look in to a low mile junk yard motor. kill 2 birds with one stone

 

The 03-04 4runners had an issue with the number 6 cylinder doing that. I have to replace my motor because of it. My suggestion is to find a used 1gr. They are under 3k with less than 50k miles and swap it in.

 

Also, it has occurred in some 2005 Tacomas. It apparently took Toyota a while to resolve.

 

There are quite a few people that have contacted Toyota about this issue in attempt to get a recall going. I would suggest doing so. Maybe Toyota will do something about it

 

Follow up, I took my truck in to the Toyota dealership monday morning. It once again registered a misfire again in the 4th cylinder. This time the toyota dealer diagnosed the problem as a faulty ignition coil and said my spark plug was going bad. They replaced the ignition coil and all my spark plugs and so far its cranking better and running well. Total cost to repair was around $375. They didn't seem to think my problem was head gasket related. Looks like I dodged a bullet.
Thanks for your input.

 

Nice. Let us know if anything changes.

I'm still curious on why the other shop said they could see coolant leaking into the cylinder...hmm....

 

$4000 to do a HG???

I know several reputable shops that will do it for $800 (more if the head needs machined)

 

As far as I know, you have to remove the 1gr to gain clearance to do the head gasket. Toyota quotes 25-30 hours.

 

Oh really? Well that blows.

Thank god for my 4 cylinder!

 

25 hours is about right but that should include the machine work as well. I have seen head gasket issues on the 1gr but they are not very common

 

That is dirt ass cheap. Probably for a 4 cylinder.

 

I realize this is an older thread, but I'll share my experience for those researching this topic. I recently purchased a 2005 with 92K, and at 97k began to have the same issues. It started idling rough during a cold start, and the check engine light came on (code PO306 / misfire cyl. #6). I tried changing the plugs first, swapping the coil with cyl. #5, and running a fuel system cleaner. With no luck, I reluctantly took it to the dealer for diagnosis. With a Snap-On micro camera they found a small coolant leak in the head gasket inside cylinder #6. With such low mileage on the truck I was wondering if this may have been a common issue in this year model.

 

I just got my 06 with 120k with the same problem. Its a small leak. Did you use any type of stop leak? Does it work?

 

Didn't bother with stop leak, no sense in prolonging the inevitable. I'm replacing the head gaskets myself, but it's definitely not a job for the novice mechanic and special tools are required. I've spent $500 in parts so far, but that's a drop in the bucket compared to the quote from the dealer.

 

I have an 05 Tacoma DC with 146K. Had the same head gasket diagnosis after the CEL indicated trouble with #4 cylinder. The dealer said it would be between $2200 - $3000. I thought the head gasket was a lifetime item. Has anyone heard from Toyota on this?

 

There are no items with a lifetime warranty head gasket is covered 5 years or 60,000 miles which ever comes first

 

Rmesa1 - I understand that it's not a warranted item. Just disappointed that the head gasket, that should last for the lifetime of the vehicle, didn't. The dealer is also talking abut replacing the timing chain (another "lifetime" item) while they're in there.