Warped cylinder head - Replace or write off?

I think the engine temp sensor is behind the intake manifold, he might have had to take the intake off to get to it, plus add in the price for a new throttle body and intake gasket. It would be a pretty big job

The fuel pump is also a big job, you either have to drop the tank or remove the bed

 

Still worth checking with other shops.

“Trust, but verify”

 

Yeah, I gotta agree that price is just beyond absurd. If we are just talking plugs alone, the parts should never be more than $40 for 4 plugs and the labor should be no more than an hour's rate (if even).

Time to look for another mechanic

 

It wasn't the spark plugs, it was something in the electrical related to something about contacts - The paper that has exactly what it is is in the truck at the mechanic.

Yes. The cost was mostly labor.

No way. The owner is a family friend for >15 years and three of the mechanics have been there 10+ years. They serviced my first Tacoma. They always give our family discounts - Additionally, this shop is the good one. Shops #1 and #2 are the ones that botched things.

 

Wonder if that stupid plastic coolant pipe under the intake manifold had cracked?

Anyway, if the head is actually warped, swapping in a used engine is usually the most cost-effective in a shop environment. (A DIY'er not paying labor costs can try lapping the head deck surface on sand paper taped to a glass platen...)

 

The shop notes say that it was a corroded water pipe, and Pat (the owner) said that he loves Toyotas but their engineers do weird stuff.

This is the 2nd Tacoma I've had totaled/die on me (the first was spectacular), 4th car in as many years, which is why he recommended the '05 Civic for reliability + parts availability. It's my opinion that everyone *needs* a truck at some point in time. The first car I bought was my '05 base (Saved my life in '13), with the money I'd saved in basic/AIT, and so there's that nostalgic desire to keep buying them. But I think maybe this is the universe sending me a sign that I need to step back and reevaluate my vehicle priorities.

 

I overheated my 2.7 driving over to my buddies house and he pointed out the pipe and said he had to change the one on his uncle's truck that had cracked. I noticed mine was leaking the next week. Those pipes are a bitch to change.

I overheated it because it only had about 1.25 gallons of antifreeze in it. I changed the antifreeze in it and had a monster air bubble.