momo76

Hello all,
My 94 Runner is making an awful gurgling noise. It sounds almost like it is overheating but it isn't. It makes the noise when I slow down and take my foot off the gas. It is not very loud but it is very annoying and it is beginning to worry me a bit. I had my transmission replaced in Feb, of this year and it wasn't making this noise before. Of course the transmission shop says they have nothing to do with it!
If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

Robinhood150

Where is the gurgling sound coming from? It could be air in the heater core, but then you said it only happens when you take your foot off the gas, so that's probably not it. If it's the heater core the sound would come from the passenger sid of the dash.

Are you sure it's not overheating? My runner use to run a little hot, but the gauge would not show it. When I shut off the engine the coolant would gurgle into the overflow bottle.

Other than coolant, I can't image where a gurgling sound would come from.

Steve

momo76

It does sound like the noise is coming from the passenger side at times. How do I check the heater core? The gurggling happens also when I first turn the car on and back out of my driveway, so I don't think it's running hot.

Robinhood150

Sorry, it was late at night when I wrote that. What I meant to say is that the coolant going through your heater core might have air in it.

When I first noticed mine doing it, it was a symptom of a blown head gasket. Now that the HG is fixed it still does it (supposedly the dealer flushed the coolant).

I only notice it gurgling when I have the heater on and only when I step on the gas.

Steve

momo76

I had my coolant flushed today after class. It really needed it but I can still hear the noise. Any other ideas?

Bentaxel 26

hay momo76 did you ever have your head gaskets replaced? if so it is just your heater core like Robinhood150 said, some how when you have your head gaskets replaced on a V6 4Runner it leaves this gurgling noise in the heater core, the sound will not go away unless you change your heater core. other wise nothing else will help. but i do know what you are talking about it happens in my 93 Runner. so now worries, nothing will happen to your truck it is fine.

Marc P

I have the same gurgle noise. Most noticable when truck is cold and really comes out under acceleration. Mine sounds like it comes from the dash area as well.

DH6twinotter

So that's what that noise is!! I have it too. It only does it when I accelerate when my heater is on. I was actually going to start a post on it, but I guess I got beat. Good to know it's nothing to worry about.

Have fun.
DH6twinotter

pinoy

Just noticed the same gurling noise. It's on the rear passenger side of the engine. No head gasket replacement. Going to have it checked ASAP. I had my oil changed a week before i started noticing it. I'm skeptical of whether or not they only changed the oil. Hmmmmmm.

supascout

I just bought an 89 P/U and drove it from NH to TX!!! Same gurgle! right front! The truck has a factory new long-block with about 25k on it! I thought that maby it was the ac condencer or the heater core! Does anybody notice a stink in there ac (id check it if mine worked!)? If the condencer catch can is pluged then it will fill with water and there will be a funk as the water sowers!

cheers

thowho1985

i have heard a way to remidy this is by taking the radiator cap off and taking it up to operating temp just sitting there and then put the cap back on, and it should go away. I did make a post awhile ago, a long time ago, about this and that was the response i got. Help me out if i am wrong.


-joe

Jay

Typically, I have found in most cases that the cooling system is low causing this gurgling noise. It was a popular complaint when a 3.0L was loosing coolant to a blown headgasket.

In older 3.0L's ( like 88-89's) the manifold that the upper radiator hose connects to had a heater hose coming off of it. There was an updated part to give more of a restriction to the heater hose to reduce the flow characteristics of the coolant in the heater core. Then they moved the hose to the back side of the engine, in i believe 1990.

Rarely do I see this complaint these days, but if I did I would check the coolant level, and attempt to burp it.

Also check the radiator cap. If the seal was bad, as the coolant expanded with heat, it would push in to the coolant resivoir. When the engine cooled down, since the seal was bad, there would be no vacuum created when the coolant contracted and end up leaving the cooling system slightly low, creating a small air pocket that would work its way to the heater core.

If the coolant level is full and the resivoir seems to stay properly filled, I wouldnt be too concerned about it.

williemon

I had the gurgle on my 22RE. Turned out to be low coolant caused by it seeping into the combustion chamber. A look at the underside of the oil fill cap will show white jelly like residue if this is the case. A little stop leak fixed it untill I can pull the head this spring. On my 3.0L, I just got it back from the shop and it had the gurgle too. Mostly first thing in the morning, as I applied the gas. Turns out the radiator cap would not seal tight enough and would seep coolant out the top. When I shut down the engine and it cooled, it would suck in air to replace the lost coolant instead of sealing up and pulling coolant from the overflow bottle. I made the cap fit tighter, and after a few days, no more gurgle. If yall have any gurgle at all, its due to air getting into the system. Replacing the heater core will not fix it. BTW, you must leave the heater control on hot for the water and air to circulate out of the heater core, otherwise it will stay in there.

mytruck

I thought I was the only one! After my head gasket replacement, my '89 truck (3.0 v-6) started doing the same thing. When cold, and the heater on, accelerating, you could hear the coolant gurgling thru the system. Over the years, it has almost completely gone away. It will sometimes re-occur after the system has been flushed, but generally goes away after it has been driven awhile. Weird. :alien: :alien:
Jim