I have a 1995 Toyota 4Runner that was working perfectly for the past several years. It has 220,000 approx miles. It's an automatic. I recently started having the car not be able to start and needing a jump. I took it to the dealer and they ended up replacing the battery and the alternator and at the same time told me the distributor cap was cracked and needed to be replaced. They also replaced the spark plug wires. Well, the problem that I was having was fixed but I noticed the check engine light was on. I took it back in and told them about the check engine light and they did something else to it and when I picked it up this time it was missing on two cylinders and idling extremely rough. I took it back again and they said that once they replace parts, sometimes other things "reveal" themselves. Then they said the engine was shot. I've taken it to 2 other places that both said either it needs a cylinder job, a valve job or rebuild/new engine. I am desperate to find out a solution. Please help if you can.
I took it to the dealer
Taking it to a dealer was a mistake, especially with a vehicle that age. Most of their technicians would not have even been born when that thing was built and are not likely to have experience with it. A good independent mechanic (not a chain shop) is always preferred for non-warranty work.
I noticed the check engine light was on.
A 1995 model would have OBD1 diagnostics. What were the code(s)?
Then they said the engine was shot. I've taken it to 2 other places that both said either it needs a cylinder job, a valve job or rebuild/new engine.
It's certainly possible with a nearly 30-year-old high-mileage engine, but what diagnostic procedures were performed, with what results, to reach that conclusion? Leakdown test? Compression test?
