2012 Tacoma TRD Sport DCLB - head gasket - what to do?

Afternoon ya'll,
Long time reader, infrequent poster.
2012 Tacoma, 288k miles. Just blew the head gaskets. Considering options, brought the truck home from the shop to figure it out. Fortunate to have an old Volvo for daily needs.

Truck is fully built for overland/off-road use. Front/rear bumpers w/rear swing out, skids, rock sliders. All that armor is hot dip galvanized and will outlive whatever truck it's on. Bestop Soft Top, UpTop Truss rack, Roofnest Falcon XL, 12K winch, 3" lift front/rear. Fox Factory 2.0 remote reservoir front/rear, upgraded bump stops front/rear, U-Bolt and shackle flip, expedition leafs, 35" tires, FN Verge wheels, Prinsu roof rack, Curved LED light bar, Rigid LED ditch ligths, LED fog logs, LED reverse lights in rear bumper, CB radio in center console.
I think that's everything. I'm sure some other little odds/ends.
1-owner truck, I bought it new in March 2013.
Truck runs fine, not engine noises, etc. So suspect no additional damage to the engine.

Anyway, shop doesn't recommend doing the head gaskets due to the mileage of the motor.

1) Head gasket replacement, both sides. Will also need radiator.
2) Motor swap with used motor. 7500-10000 all-in for that job with radiator and other odds/ends
3) Bars Leak and cross fingers
4) DIY head gasket replacement, but it's going to be winter soon (Vermont), no indoor space to work and gravel driveway are less than ideal conditions.
5) Part out the relevant off-road/overland bits and then sell truck
6) Sell truck as is and don't look back

Just looking for opinions and experience.

 

Funny enough, unable to list these items on TW at the moment because I haven't made enough posts...

 

if your frame is good, fix it..heads and gaskets

 

Honestly, fix it, or look around for a replacement motor.
If the frame is solid, there is plenty of life left in the truck.
You could likely put a replacement engine in, get it back on the road, and sell it for a decent profit with all the additions it has.

Bummer - good luck

 

What was the proof that the head gaskets failed?

Assuming they have......

Was there any running issues or oil consumption?

Is the frame super healthy, been cleaned and protected each year?

Interior and paint holding up well? All other systems working order?

If yes, I'd go with a set of reman heads and new gaskets, and get pricing from some other reliable shops

 

If you do head gaskets, you might as well do chains and guides, water pump, oil pump, and thermostat.
That is, if the engine didn’t use oil before the gaskets blew.

It would be easier to swap in a used engine.

Doesn’t matter either way. Most shops don’t want to do head gaskets. Too much work and then they have to warranty the job.
They’d rather throw in used engine and sell it “as is”.

I’d swap engines. In your situation.

 

Wouldn't you do all that on some used engine you were dropping in?

 

Ideally, no.
You want an engine with less than 100k.
You shouldn’t need chains until 250k or so.

I’d throw a water pump and thermostat on it and drop it in.

 

If you're considering swapping the engine out anyway and you've got a second vehicle to drive around, maybe try swapping out the head gaskets yourself. If you can get your hands on a service manual it'll walk you through it step by step. Just need to be patient and organized and take a lot of trips to the auto parts store.

 

Just make sure you have the correct socket for the head bolts.
They are triple square. If you a “12” you’ll strip them.

 

I think motor swap, all things equal. Just seems simpler, you could always build the core you have if you choose.

Come visit us in the New England thread..

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/new-england-b-s-thread.204874/page-10150#post-30060334

 

@Clearwater Bill it repeatedly overheated a couple times. My suspicion was the waterpump. OEM pump was replaced at 185K miles. Truck is now at 288k. Little early for the water pump to go bad the second time, but who knows.
They weren't able to do a proper pressure test because the plastic spout at the top of the radiator melted in from the steam. Combustion leak test showed that exhaust gas was getting into coolant.
The couple of times it overheated, it blew the expansion tank cap off and shot coolant everywhere, so exhaust pressurizing the system makes sense.

Frame is decent. It's Vermont so not 100%, but no major issues by any stretch.
Paint is decent.
Everything else on the truck works great.
Last fall all new: upper control arms, and CV axles, front brake calipers, rotors and brake lines. As well as new parking brake cables.

 

Wow if it overheated enough to melt part of the radiator then I change my vote to swapping the engine, probably warped a whole bunch of stuff. If the block warped then it's toast and you'll need a new engine.

 

It was the exhaust gas that melted it, not the coolant. The little spout off of the cap is small and plastic.

Anyone keeping track at home, I've sourced a few different options for motors. Currently leaning towards SWEngines that offer a 5 year/50k mile warranty and free shipping. $4800 for the motor. 53k miles on that one. Trying to find a local shop that will do the work though.

 

Your skids might be hot dipped, but your frame isn’t

What’s the condition before you put time and money into it

 

Funny enough, I had a friend with a single cab years ago that DID have his frame hot dipped. Bad ass truck.

Frame is decent. No major scaling, no holes. If I stay on top of treatment and paint, it'll be alright.

Frankly, if I can get a motor in it and then get another 3 years out of the truck, I'll be in good shape.

 

Welcome back to SHS Tacoma update show: estimate from local shop $6500 for an 82k motor. Which, I think is what we're going to do. Sleep on it over the weekend.

 

I agree with others swapping the motor is the way to go.

Does the 82k mile motor from the local shop motor include the labor to swap it in? If yes then I think that's a decent price.

The 53k mile motor for $4800 would be my first choice if the other one is just the cost of the motor not including labor.

If you need a hand swapping the motor in, I'll be in the New England area next week and can help you get it swapped out, I have just about all the tools needed short of a engine hoist to get it in/out but that can easily be bought from Harbor Freight or even borrowed from another NE member.

 

Really appreciate the offer. My truck doesn’t fit in the garage and I have a gravel driveway, so doing it here isn’t practical unfortunately. Otherwise I would have just chipped away at it.
Price from local shop includes the labor and tax and a radiator. So feels like a decent price from a reputable shop. His price was about $1500 higher if I sourced the engine. So, it is what it is. I only drive the truck 6-8k a year at this point. When it was new I was doing 35k+ working sales. So I think I’ll get a good bit of time out it yet.

 

Brother a little gravel would not stop me from swapping a motor hahaha I guess I'm used to working in awful conditions after many years of racing cars in my younger days, I once swapped a WRX transmission in an ice/snow covered driveway all while working on my back without a creeper.. when there is a will there is always a way!

The price your local guy quoted is not bad especially with a new rad and tax included, the $1500 up-charge for sourcing the motor is pretty standard, having worked in a speed shop I cannot tell you the amount of times customers would bring in parts that are creating more problems than you can imagine. If you only do 6-8k miles per year then you're be golden for many years to come.