maxman05

Hey everyone. I recently bought a 1991 T4R with 179,000 miles. It was running great for the most part when I first got it but now it is starting to slowly give me issues. From what I've been reading these models have had a lot of issues with the head gaskets. What are the symptoms of a leaking or blown head gasket? It has been leaking some sort of fluid in the front in little drips but it has gotten worse recently. At first I thought it was power steering fluid but I opened the reservoir and it was full and the steering isnt getting heavy. I think it may be coolant because today the engine started heating up gradually. It didnt fully overheat but it probably would have if I had let it idle sitting still. I would really appreciate any help with this and any possible solutions.
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ahickman

3.0 3VZE is well know for head gasket failure. Is it blowing white smoke at the exhaust? Does your oil look foamy or have an caramel color to it?

maxman05

Theres definitely no smoke coming from the exhaust and the oil didnt look foamy or have a caramel color. I really hope its not a head gasket failure cause it had the recall fix done in 98 (I called Toyota and checked with the VIN) and I dont have the $$$$ to fix it. Im gonna try topping off the coolant and running it to see what happens. There was also a sort of clicking sound while the engine was running from behind the radiator. Possibly a dying/leaking water pump?

ahickman

Yep, that would be my next suggestion. When my water pump went bad, it dripped coolant out the "weep" hole on the front plate just as you describe. You should be able to start your engine and watch it drip.

maxman05

Well I'll give that a try and see what happens. Thanks for the help so far.