My 3.4 is FUBAR'd. What would you do?

[Whitey]

Long story short. I just took a job in Dallas. I'm from MA. I flew into Boston last Friday to pick up my wife and animals, pack up the 4Runner (2000 highlander) and hit the road for TX. On the way home from the airport the truck starting missing, bad. I basically ejected a plug from the head, anihilating the coil pack with it.
The truck has 115,000ish on it. I still owe money on it and it's sitting in MA, while I rented a SUV and drove down here to TX without it.
The head is ruined, zero threads left. Where the threads went hasn't been determined. For proper helicoil job to be done, the head should be removed($$). Should I do this, it's still not certain how healthy the engine is.
Like many other people, funds are tight and we need a second car. I bought a house the day before this occurred.
What are your thoughts, gents? What would you do if you were me?

[YotaFun]

I don't know what your mechanical background is but if I was you I would either helicoil it myself or find a head from a junkyard and install it.

If not then depending on your finacial situation and seeing as you just bought a house so it might not be that good, how about the cash for clunkers?

Just a few thought, I know the penny pinching though, I have needed 2 cv's a u joint and new tires for about 6 months now...

[Seanz0rz]

i would find a junkyard head like avy suggested. at some point someone has stripped the plug, and it just now let go. as far as i can tell this is NOT a common problem among the 5vz-fe. there are many miles left in that 4runner!

[corax]

you can heli-coil the head without removing it - pack the tap with grease (that will catch the metal chips), go slow, clean out the chips and regrease. Before you thread in the heli-coil clean the fresh cut threads with some brake cleaner

Also, I would recommend Time Sert (http://www.timesert.com/html/sparkplug.html) over a heli-coil - most Pep-Boys or other such places carry some kind of solid thread repair sleeve - usually less than $25 . . . . good luck

[CJM]

3 options:
1. Take head to a machine shop and have it redone anyways and the thread fixed.
2. Buy head from a yard or redone one at machine shop, if you buy it from a yard take to a machine shop to redo it and put on.
3. Buy new head.

[slosurfer]

ARe they Bosch spark plugs?

[Whitey]

I would be more than willing to try and pull the head and do it myself, BUT, I am in Dallas and my truck is 2000 miles away in Massachusetts.
I looked quickly before I left and no junkyards around me had 3.4's.
Someone definately cross threaded the hell out of the plug at some point.
Even if I could source a junkyard head, i'd still have to have it machined and then ship it to someone back home to be installed.
They were denso single electrode plugs.
My biggest concern is that if I go through the trouble of repairing or getting a new head installed I don't know if there was any additional damage done. The stripped threads were nowhere to be found when I pulled the mess that was the coil pack/spark plug out. Being away form my truck, I'm going to have to pay someone for all the labor. Has anyone ever had head work done? I can't even fathom how much it would cost.

[CJM]

Towing your truck would run you about 300-500 bucks maybe, timesert would be cheapest way and would work.

[corax]

most likely the threads and any other metal were blown out of the cylinder as the damage to the head was being done - I've seen this type of damage to a number of different engines through the years and I can't recall a single instance where there was cylinder wall scoring or damage

[YotaFun]

most likely the threads and any other metal were blown out of the cylinder as the damage to the head was being done - I've seen this type of damage to a number of different engines through the years and I can't recall a single instance where there was cylinder wall scoring or damage


Also considering that the plug came out on the compression stoke it should be clear.

[Whitey]

most likely the threads and any other metal were blown out of the cylinder as the damage to the head was being done - I've seen this type of damage to a number of different engines through the years and I can't recall a single instance where there was cylinder wall scoring or damage

Well that's a bit reassuring. Thanks for the info. Looks like it's time to start calling in some favors.