Attempting resurrection

Accidentally posted this in the 2nd gen thread. Take two!

Long time lurker here, finally speaking up for some advice. My 2001 4 cylinder automatic 250k+ taco kicked the bucket a couple months ago. It was my first vehicle so it survived a few years of benign neglect until I started to wise up. What finally did it in was a coolant leak into the oil cooler that went unnoticed so it ran on milkshake for Lord knows how long until the radiator cracked and a cylinder seized up. At the very least it needs a new head gasket, but without knowing what other damage is in there I think my best bet to get it running again might be an engine swap. My questions are as follows:

1) what are the odds that just fixing the head gasket and crossing my fingers will do the trick? Whole new engine might be overkill but I don't want to put a bunch of time into fixing each symptom as it comes up and end up with a new engine's worth of new parts for 4x the effort.

2) how much reengineering would it take to upgrade to a v6 while I'm tearing it apart anyway, and is the ROI really worth it? I mostly want to keep it around for trips to the hardware store and transporting bikes to the track, no commuting, offroading, or major towing. I just like the idea of 0-60 being less than 10 minutes lol

3) Even with a straight 4 to 4 swap, am I better off just selling it and buying another truck? The body is in great condition and I'm sentimentally attached what with being my first vehicle and all but I'd have to rely quite heavily on gearhead friends and YouTube during the process unless I take it to a shop (haven't called around for quotes on that yet). I do have tools, machinist and motorcycle wrenching experience, and a diy garage next door but limited auto wrenching experience.

4) if I decide to just sell it as is, what ballpark can I expect to get for it? Tacos are in high demand around here (western Washington) and as I said the frame is solid.

Thanks guys!

 

Engine swap to the 5VZ is a lot of work. You'd need to re-weld your engine perches, plus swap the ECU, dash harness, and engine harness.

I'd try swapping the head gasket for starters. If that doesn't fix it, you can buy a low mileage JDM engine for ~$1,000

 

Speaking of engine coolant leaks like the one's OP is posting about, what kind of engine maintenance will help prevent these things? I'm asking because I have the same engine with almost the same mileage.

I'm thinking of
- compression tests
- valve clearance tests and adjustments if needed
- water pumps and thermostats
- coolant flushes