2001 Tundra 3.4L leaking coolant on Cylinder 4

My Tundra has over 290,000 miles on it. A couple of years ago it started running rough. The dealer said I had two cracked heads. I had them rebuild both heads at a cost of $4,000+.

It never quite ran as well after that. It takes a bit of cranking to start it up whereas before I could just bump the key. I've also had trouble with the cylinder 4 spark plug. I have to replace it every couple of months. Now I noticed that I'm slowly loosing coolant. I checked the plug on cylinder 4 and it was wet. Nothing in the oil though.

Gotta fix it but don't know the best way to do it. My choices are;

1. Buy a rebuilt left side cylinder head and put it on myself $400.
2. Replace both heads since they were both cracked before $800.
3. Try to find some used cheaper heads from a local salvage yard $???
4. Buy a JDM engine and try to swap the heads $1,200.
5. Buy a JDM engine and swap the entire engine.

I really don't want to replace the entire engine. I guess the cheapest and easiest solution would be to try and just replace the left hand head. I don't know if I trust the other head though.

It would be nice if I could find a cheaper head from a salvage yard but that feels pretty iffy. You'd think they'd have their local parts available online and searchable but I haven't been able to find anything.

I'm really tempted to buy the entire engine and just swap the left cylinder head. It costs more but I get a lot of extra parts and could possibly swap the entire engine if the head swap doesn't work.

Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. I live in Scottsdale AZ.

 

I know you don't want to do it but I think you should buy a remanufactured engine and replace the entire engine if you're planning on keeping the vehicle. With the amount of miles on your engine and the problems you've had I wouldn't feel confident in it. I would also stay away from salvage yard parts as you can end up with the same or worse part that you are replacing.

If you just want to repair and sell it then I would replace the bad head with a rebuilt one or sell it cheap as a mechanics special.

 

I'm sure you're right but I don't have that kind of money right now. I've got to repair this one for as close to $1500 as I can.

 

Then I would replace both heads for $800. I don't have much faith in the quality of work the shop did from your description.

But first I would remove both heads and inspect the cylinders condition before I spent any money on parts to make sure the engine is in good enough condition to repair.

 

They rebuilt cracked heads? thats not doable as far as i know. once their cracked their cracked.. good chance the coolants seeping past the head gasket. probably better off finding a decent used engine

 

You mentioned replacing the head yourself.. how much of a DIYer are you?
There is a 3.4l by for sale on Phoenix craigslist for $550... A rebuild kit is less then $500.
It is an iron block, so lots of machine shops can handle the bore and hone, depending on if you have them deck the block and heads, torque plate hone, magnaflux as well as rebuilding the heads etc it can cost $200-500
Another $200 for belts, hoses, fluids get you right at your $1500 ceiling

Or buy used engine, use heads to replace yours ( I would still rebuild the heads )..sell short block recoup some money

 

Check your coolant first and see if it has any residue in the overflow bottle. Any smoke on start up, and if so what does it smell like?