Engine Failure - Toyota 4Runner V6 - Warranty

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Originally Posted By: tsduke
The dealer mechanic isn't seriously reassembling all those part is he. That would cost more than just dropping a long block in easily.


That is what the mechanic (not the service mgr) told my son.

I think I will stop by the dealership tomorrow and make sure that I am getting all that my warranty affords.

But yes, I will assume that my new engine is going to be, somewhat....of a rebuild. I honestly don't care, as long as the warranty is rock solid.

My guess though.....I bet my son drives this rig for the next four years, through college and then gets rid of it for his on fancy. My extended warranty covers all that time.
 
Dropped valve that trashed both the block and head( at the least the combustion chamber in the cylinder the valve dropped in took a hit and probably the top side has some issues too from the valve dropping to start with ). You need a long block period. Cheaper for them too as it is a fraction of the time of a rebuild. Let's hope the mechanic doing the rebuild knows what he is doing.

Good luck and glad it worked out for you. Now that we know EXACTLY what happened maintenance is not a factor in a valve dropping like that. Driver abuse( i.e. high RPM's ), faulty part/parts, or improper asembly is the culprit. Dealer/Toyota put you through some hassle needlessly IMO.
 
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In 1966 our crew was 10,000 ft over the Atlantic just off the NJ coast when our starboard R3350 radial droped a valve. Pieces went through the three turbos, broke one piston, and threw engine parts into the fuselage. After feathering the engine we made a safe landing into McGuire AFB.
 
I wonder if Toyota doesn't offer a new long block or just doesn't have on available at this time.

Hopefully the tech knows his stuff........Maybe he does more warranty rebuilds than we know of?
 
Having driven many different Toyotas going back to my 1970 FJ40, I consider the 4.0L V6 to be one of the best as far as driveability.

Just as an example, the 3.4L felt very weak and prone to knocking in comparison.

And some of these older engines also had bad head gaskets.

But the 4.0L does drive nicely.

HOWEVER, I did not like departing from the old cast iron blocks when I bought my 4.0L. Especially given this engine's engineering highwire act of super thin aluminum block casting walls and super thin iron cylinder liners combined with plastic block filling and thin bearing cross sections.

And now I'll be thinking about valves from time to time...
 
Originally Posted By: Sylvatica
Having driven many different Toyotas going back to my 1970 FJ40, I consider the 4.0L V6 to be one of the best as far as driveability.

Just as an example, the 3.4L felt very weak and prone to knocking in comparison.

And some of these older engines also had bad head gaskets.

But the 4.0L does drive nicely.

HOWEVER, I did not like departing from the old cast iron blocks when I bought my 4.0L. Especially given this engine's engineering highwire act of super thin aluminum block casting walls and super thin iron cylinder liners combined with plastic block filling and thin bearing cross sections.

And now I'll be thinking about valves from time to time...



Driveability was the very reason we originally chose the 4Runner. My wife....test drove....no less than 6 rigs of similiar disposition and the 4Runner won....hands down.

The 2007 4Runner is an awesome vehicle. The all wheel stability control has already saved us from at least two crashes in ice and snow.

Overall the rig is high appreciate my me, my wife and my son. It has towed, driven hard over 11k passes and has proven amazing.... We love it.

We are highly hopeful that the engine rebuild...puts the rig back to outstanding performance. We are not and have never been disappointed in this rig.

The 4.0L is a torque monster....one we love!!!
 
Originally Posted By: BigJohn
The 2007 4Runner is an awesome vehicle.


I agree. I've owned Gen 3 & 4 4Runners, and they all gave the impression of being milled from a solid block of steel. My friend had a 2nd gen that he bought just for extreme four-wheeling and he beat that poor little truck severely, but it would NOT die!

The 4Runner has always been a welcome contrast to the rattling, squeaking, sloppily-engineered alternatives on the road.

Even simple features like drain plugs on the axles are really appreciated when you use them.

I hope yours gets repaired to your full satisfaction.
 
Talked to my Service Tech today. All parts were ordered last week and about 50% have arrived. It will be a rebuild. All the internals will be new parts..... I guess it is Toyota's call on what they do for warranty work and this is what they chose to do. I am happy with the decision. The warranty will be the balance of the Toyota drive-train warranty.....20 months and 25k miles. In addition....I still have that extended warranty, 7yr/100k miles so this rebuild will actually be covered for 3 years, 8 months and 65k miles. In that time, we should know if the work and parts are quality, or need replacing again.

Thought it would be ready Friday, but probably mid-next week.
 
Originally Posted By: Sylvatica
Just as an example, the 3.4L felt very weak and prone to knocking in comparison.


I drove a 3.4L for years, and I can honestly say I never once heard any form of knocking or detonation/pre-ignition from it. It didn't have a lot of power, was a little rough by today's standards, didn't get great mileage (worse than my F150), but it never had a problem other the the special service campaign (aka hidden recall) for head gaskets. When I sold it it still ran like day one and didn't burn a drop of oil. Call me crazy, but I actually like the 5VZ-FE.
 
Maybe it's just me, however I wouldn't be happy with the dealer rebuilding my engine. I would have preferred Toyota sending a long block from their factory. I always read here about someone complaining about warranty work at a dealer, even oil changes they screw up. I realize it's Toyota's call and there's nothing you can do about, but it would constantly be on my mind and I would have to trade it shortly after getting it back. Remaining warranty or not I wouldn't want the possible aggravation or down time, but that's just me.

Hope everything goes well for you!
 
Originally Posted By: jazeo
Maybe it's just me, however I wouldn't be happy with the dealer rebuilding my engine. I would have preferred Toyota sending a long block from their factory. I always read here about someone complaining about warranty work at a dealer, even oil changes they screw up. I realize it's Toyota's call and there's nothing you can do about, but it would constantly be on my mind and I would have to trade it shortly after getting it back. Remaining warranty or not I wouldn't want the possible aggravation or down time, but that's just me.

Hope everything goes well for you!



To this debate of a rebuild or a long block....I wonder....

Maybe this isn't an option for Toyota. I have the 2007 and everyone knows that the current model is a new design and an engine that performs differently. It is still a 4.0L, but I wonder if the differences prevent a simple swap-out. A rebuild might be the only option.

Anyway....yeah, we aren't trading it in. We just paid it off and we don't want another car payment and we certainly don't want to be paying a high premium for insurance for a 18 year old. Liability only is barely tolerable.

What the boy does with the 4Runner in years to come is completely his call. Vehicle decisions on his part in the future will come out of his wallet, not mine. I have already been the "more than generous father", by giving him a 4Runner.

We will pick it up and take it for a spin next week and will report back.
 
The other topic that I am open to discussing is.....initial maintenance on this rebuilt engine.

What do you think of this plan....

Drive the T4R off the dealership and take it for a 30-50 mile spin. Pull it into the driveway and dump the oil. I have Castrol GTX 5w30 ready to go.

Then, run the GTX for 500 miles and dump again and refill with fresh GTX again. (I have two OCI's of GTX that I got for $6 each at the PepBoys Black Friday Sale.)

Then, run this second fill for 3,000 miles and go back to Synthetic for 5k/6 month intervals per warranty requirements.

Maybe I am a little skittish of 5w20, as that was the oil in the engine when the failure happened, but I am inclined to forever go back to 30wt synthetic for this 4runner and will lean toward PP.
 
.02. I would run the oil you plan to permanently run from the git go. I'd go 1,000 then 3,000.
 
Originally Posted By: BigJohn
The other topic that I am open to discussing is.....initial maintenance on this rebuilt engine.

What do you think of this plan....

Drive the T4R off the dealership and take it for a 30-50 mile spin. Pull it into the driveway and dump the oil. I have Castrol GTX 5w30 ready to go.

Then, run the GTX for 500 miles and dump again and refill with fresh GTX again. (I have two OCI's of GTX that I got for $6 each at the PepBoys Black Friday Sale.)

Then, run this second fill for 3,000 miles and go back to Synthetic for 5k/6 month intervals per warranty requirements.

Maybe I am a little skittish of 5w20, as that was the oil in the engine when the failure happened, but I am inclined to forever go back to 30wt synthetic for this 4runner and will lean toward PP.


Your plan sounds really good - helps having ultra-cheap dino on hand for flushes.

I might be inclined to leave the oil that comes with the re-build in for a few days - it might have a break-in additive in it that will help the new engine....
 
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