Question for y’all…my 2003 Toyota Tacoma with 312k miles on it 5spd 4cyl access cab truck is down with engine trouble. We think it’s a head gasket but none of the mechanics want to try to fix just that as they are recommending a total engine. I have a tundra and as much as I love my taco? I’m just not wanting to put a new engine etc in it. How much would it be worth selling as is right now? Truck is in otherwise pretty good shape and has really alway ran great. Just put a new radiator and thermostat in. Replaced the u joints and all last year with new breaks etc.

Ran into the same exact problem on mine. Unfortunately without a running engine the price goes way down mainly because those engines are really hard to find and they arent cheap.

What did you do with yours? I def understand the price would go down I just don’t know what would be a fair price for it lol

Is your oil showing signs of coolant mixed in or leaking coolant? How's coolant level?

Draining coolant when I crank it up. No sign of it in the oil.

I traded it for $ and some other stuff. But I had found an engine and put another engine in it prior to selling it

White smoke out of the exhaust? It’s got to be going somewhere.

Yep this does happen

If it's not your daily driver , just a huntin', wood hauler, I'd do the following . If it has/had good compression , power and wasn't burning oil , I'd put a head gasket and timing chain ( if it hasn't had one in the last 100 -150K miles) and keep driving it. When you get the head off you can see if there's anything more serious and time for an engine swap or total rebuild. You might sneak up on a good used engine in a wreck , those trucks are pretty plentiful .

I would find somebody to fix it. You're better off with the gasket being blown on the exhaust side than coolant being dumped into the engine. If you haven't run it hot, it will be ok.

Where are you located?

Yep. Those engines are very tough . If it's been well maintained and was running good, it's worth putting a head gasket on.

I’ve tried calling multiple mechanics up here and no one will touch just the head gasket. Nah I have not run it hot…it’s been parked out front since it started acting up. I’m here in Jackson Tennessee but am moving back to bama- Florence area in a couple of months.

That’s the exact scenario I found. Nobody would touch for fear of them fixing it and then the engine going out. And a head gasket on that truck in 2024 is super expensive unless you do it yourself. It’s a no win situation unless you do the work yourself. I opted to find a used motor and put it in mine.

It’s pretty far but, Check with Graham’s Toyota salvage.

I’d bet They might have a salvage Engine not sure if they do swaps.

Go to car-part.com . You must include the dash. All auto salvage yards post their inventory there. Put in your make and model in the search engine and refine your search criteria to Alabama. Billy's Toyota down around B'ham probably has an LKQ motor for it. If they don't someone else should. You can expand your search to the Southeast if necessary.

I’d love to have a project truck like that to work on but I’d want it for a steal and I’d rather you to get a good price for it if you end up selling it. Best of luck to you!

$1500 to $2000 as is.

When I was looking for my motor. I 1 in Alabama it happened to be in calera. There were several out of state but shipping was outrageous and this was in like 2019 so I’d be afraid of what it’d cost now

No one wants to do head gaskets anymore on these engines, or the 3.4L. It's going to be a short or long block if a shop does it. 6-10k.