1996 Toyota 4RUNNER Engine cooling Problems

“I am the owner of a 1996 Toyota 4runner. The 5vz-fe bi-metal engine suffered a catastrophic failure. According to the the authorized dealer (Toyota 101 of redwood city), the engine overheated which subsequently LED to the aluminum heads to crack around the vales. I am aware that Toyota had a national recall on the head gaskets for the 5vz-fe v6 engines for most model trucks (4runner & tacoma) manufactured in the 1990's.the recall was under the guise of a special service campaign ssc-x01. …”

“Oil sludge problem. Coolant is leaking and oil sludge is building up within the manifold. It is using 2 to 3 quarts of oil on a monthly basis and smoking will badly when first cranked. Car checked by Toyota dealership and says nothing is wrong with car.”

“Head gasket blew on 5vz-fe engine. This was exactly 3 years & 53k miles after the Toyota ssc (special service campaign) x01. In which they replaced the faulty head gaskets on my 4runner. Also replaced at the time were the; timing belt, water pump, & thermostat. The truck has had all of it's dealer/manufacturers recommended services and oil changes. Upon tear down the Toyota dealership found that both aluminum heads were cracked between the valves at 2-3 places.”

“My sister also owns a 1996 Toyota 4 RUNNER with almost identical build and the exact same 3.4 l engine and she also had the same head gasket failure on her engine. My engine was impeccably maintained, new oil every 3000 miles etc and still had the same failure. My concern is that I don't see a recall for this listed and since its the only problem that both me and my sister have had on two nearly identical '96 4 RUNNER's, it seems a tad coincidental that we're the only ones having this problem. Thanks, erik hord”

“My engine catastropically failed at 71k miles. My vehicle had major maintenance performed by Toyota dealerships. The failure of a connecting rod in my engine endangered my life and those of my wife and son by causing my engine to seize up in traffic. The total time elapsed from when my engine was properly functioning to when we were completely motionless was 45 seconds. We narrowly escaped being hit by large commercial vehicles while I was attempting to get to the road shoulder. Toyota was of no assistance to me in this matter. …”