SoCal95FourRunner

Hey Everyone!

Less than a month ago I bought my first Toyota - a 1995 2x4 4Runner with 120,000 original miles. I LOVE my truck!!!! It has minor cosmetic bumps and bruises and a slight oil drip (it hasn't even come close to losing a quart since I bought it), but other than that there is only one main thing that concerns me.

EVERY TIME I start the car takes anywhere from 2 - 8 seconds of the motor trying to turn over before it fires up. The battery is brand new, and the starter sounds powerful. It doesn't matter if the car has been run all day, or hasn't been started for 12 hours - same symptom. Sometimes when the motor is cold (I live in Southern California so the coldest it has been like a 40 degree morning after sitting all night) it stalls right after firing up. HOWEVER, if it stalls the next try it turns right on and is perfect, AND once it finally starts (it ALWAYS has) it runs PERFECTLY!! No missing, no backfires, no nothing - just a perfect ride.

I went to see a mechanic, and without tearing into the car he said he couldn't diagnose it, because all three elements of an ignition system (spark, fuel, air), would all show symptoms when the car is running/driving (as I said, once the car is on it is PERFECT). He suggested that I try to floor the car when it is off for a few seconds, then take my foot off the gas and start it which HELPS, but does not cure it.

Another good friend of mine who is a mechanic for race cars and race motorcycles (not Yotas), said it sounds like a compression issue, and I most likely have carbon buildup on my valves, and suggested a valve cleaning additive (I know a lot of people suggest no additives at all), and I have already used a fuel injector cleaning additive the day I bought the truck.

I would love some possible suggestions - spark plugs/wires, fuel injectors, fuel filter, air filter, etc, on ways to fix this issue. I have complete faith that the truck will always start, however I KNOW this is not the way the truck is supposed to start, and I want to make it as reliable and close to perfect as I can.

Thanks for reading and for your help!!

-Steve

SoCal95FourRunner

P.S.

It idles around 500 RPM, I have a friend with a 91 4Runner that idles around 800 - could this all be related?

How do you adjust the idle on this motor?

SoCal95FourRunner

Anyone???

Ok, since posting have had one other thing I would like some advice on. Tuesday, after driving for around 45 minutes, the top radiator hose blew (thankfully the car was parked and off so it did not overheat). The hose was noticeably old, and ready to go. I got a new hose, installed it, and went to refill the radiator. I noticed that a brown "oil-like" sludge was in the radiator, and the overflow (which was bone dry of antifreeze).

I called the shop where I bought the truck, and he informed me that before I bought the truck, the head-gasket blew, and was replaced within the last 2,000 miles. He told me that the owner before me as a last resort before the gasket went put an additive into the radiator and the "sludge" I see is a stop leak formula.

My question is this: is driving the car with the additive in the radiator OK for another 2,000 miles before an oil change - the shop owner told me that it would be fine to last that long before having the system flushed.

I have since removed the overflow and cleaned it - re-installed it and filled it with new antifreeze which is still clean.

I am worried that the "oil-like" substance in the radiator is in fact oil from when the gasket blew, and obviously oil in the coolant system is bad news. The engine NEVER overheats - doesn't even reach halfway on the gauge. Can it all of the sudden just "explode?"

I was going to drain the radiator this weekend, rinse it with some distilled water, and then refill the entire radiator with fresh antifreeze. I do not have the means to have a proper flush for a week or two, and the truck is my daily driver.

I tend to be the most paranoid car owner, and want my truck to be 100% reliable. It could be totally fine (as of now it is totally fine)...

What are your opinions??