tj884Rdlx

alright, this truck is confusing me here, unless its just coincidence.

I started the truck 2 days ago and it ran for a half minute tops with the front plug wire off by mistake. It ran like crap and i shut it off and put the wire back on. no problem.

later that day i used the rear seat heater (which has its own heater core) and slid the temp control from off to on for the first time since i've had the truck, and replaced a new rad. which i put in several months ago. last nite the truck shows the temp is rising and its sputtering like the wire's off. i check, its not. later, when its cool, i open the rad and have to add a half gallon of anti freeze. today it drives fine, except one stumble on acceleration which its never done before.

so i took truck to a shop to ask them to pressure test the system, then check the motor, do a diag on it, whatever.

they tell me they did a block test on it (something about blue fluid in, turns yellow = bad motor was basically the explanation i got) and the head gasket is blown. he recommends i put a 4.3 chevy motor in it, and says either way, they really dont do that work here. they didnt recommend the HG job based on likelihood of breaking studs in the block. also told me my LSPV was leaking. charged me $100 for this visit.

I don't see any white smoke, but the motor is idling a little rough. i have noticed another stumble on accel on the way home.

so will continuing to drive it a total mistake, or, who cares, motor is shot, drive til it pukes which could be a year?

should i find a donor 22re, find a good tech to rebuild this, motor swap to a 4.3 chevy like this dude said, swap something else toyota, swap something i can make biodiesel and run on french fry juice?

i just looked at lc engineering's cheapest 22re at $4k. santa!!! how good i gotta be???! ha


ok all opinions welcome, even the funny ones, cuz i'm still in shock over this. i was saving for a possible tranny swap cuz of possible bad synchros (won't shift into any gear from N when stopped unless i cut motor) now maybe I need a motor?

ozziesironmanoffroad

do your own diagnostic. they just didnt want to do it. a magic strip that tells you whether the motor is blown? do your own compression test. get a battery charger, hook it up, do a compression test on each cylinder, just do it one at a time and take the plugs out one at a time. if they all are within like 10-15% of each other, your fine. if one or more is low, then chances are its a blown HG. though to answer your question, no a loose wire cant cause a HG failure. it CAN, however, cause a dry cylinder, and THAT will blow your motor.

zlathim

From what you wrote, I think that I know what happened. You replaced the radiator which entailed draining most of the cooling system. Failure to open that rear heater core control when you filled it with water made the whole auxilary heating system one giant air lock. It didn't affect anything until you open the rear control and filled it up with coolant, thereby making it lowering the coolant level in the entire system, ie low radiator. It appeared that you used a bunch of coolant, but really, you just completed filling your system.

That being said, you expressed a concern about your HG. Here is my .02 on that one: The magik strip test works well if the shop is located in fantasy land. A compression test will reveal a bad HG any several other forms of lost compression( a cylinder leak down test pinpoints the source of the leak). Low compression on cylinders adjacent is likely a bad HG.

If you can't do a compression check, but are still concerned, take it to a different shop and have them do the compression test. That really is where you need to start if you suspect a bad HG.

'884Runner

X2 + go back and slap the guy at the shop for his 4.3L comment. I'd much rather have the 22R-E under the hood, regardless of the horsepower increase. But then again, I'm not a real big GM fan lately.

notanymore

The blue fluid he was speaking about is an indicator that detects exhaust gasses. if you want you could do a compression test to confirm the hg is indeed blown if you want. If you want to rebuild it i would stop driving it immediately, but if you are going to drop a new/reman 22re or an engine swap you can keep driving a bit longer, but with a blown hg your not going to last a very long time, but you may be able to drive a bit longer.

As far as the 4.3 swap, its really personal opinion, if you are ok with GM then there is nothing wrong with it, eventually i would like to preform this swap. Alot of people here are against using domestic products and GM in general, i dont see anything wrong and it comes down to personal preference. Another swap to look at is the 3.4. You can pick up 22re for less than $4k, lce has good products, but they are really expensive and by the point you buy one of their engines a swap would of been better.

DeathCougar

iTrader: (23)

"Dont do a HG because you will break studs in the block".....wow that is the newest and dumbest thing I have ever heard.

Toyota engines don't even use studs, they use bolts. HG jobs are very common and easy to accomplish on these engines.

The two of you who posted about the blue fluid being fake, need to go back to mechanic school:



http://www.rxauto.com/blocktest

Napa sells the stuff.

My guess would be they did the test wrong. If you pull coolant into the blue fluid, it will turn green/yellow and give a false indication. If your truck isn't overheating or blowing blue/white smoke, i wouldn't worry about it.

Get a set of NEW factory plug wires to replace those crap aftermarket ones you likely have on there, and you wont have a plug wire falling off issue anymore.

JamesD

The blue fluid works excellent. I used it all the time in the shop. Read the instructions and make sure you rinse the tool well. Basically all it is doing is checking for carbon monoxide gases in the cooling system. The blue fluid turns color when you suck out the air above the radiator fluid. You got to take a little bid out of the radiator to do the test with the fluid above.

Compression test will not always tell you if you have a bad head gasket. Use the kit above and do exactly as the instructions says. This method is very accurate and saves you alot of time.

James

tj884Rdlx

thanx guys, for the input here. that blue stuff is what they said they used. called it a "block test" and said it turned yellow. but I didnt speak to the tech directly, i spoke to some other dude, who mentioned the 4.3 swap. I'm not really down with that. If i wanted that motor, i'd have bought a mini blazer. I'd rather rebuild or swap.

I drove in to work today, it runs smooth at hiway speed but once you stop to idle like at a red light, it gets sputtery when you accelerate away on green. it clears right up tho. I guess i'll be taking it to the local dealer for second opinion as i don't know where else to go. if a compression check can't isolate the problem, and i just don't have enough core motor experience to handle this one, i'm at the mercy of the stealer. sheeyot!

I'm going to change the plugs and wires this weekend, as well as dump the oil and check for milky-ness. it appears clear on the dipstick right now. still no smoke.

tj884Rdlx

well i found a guy nearby (in Woodstock, GA) who states he's rebuilt a few dozen 22re's, so i'm bringing it there tonite. he said if it needs the HG, $1200 to do it right, plus a little more if the timing cover needs replace.

i'm open to suggestions on what else i should do, or where i should ask him to obtain parts. i've looked at that engnbldr.com site, i could ask him to purchase what i need thru them.

ozziesironmanoffroad

1200 for a HG? holy christ! dont forget the vasoline!

'884Runner

So is the truck still losing coolant?

tj884Rdlx

no it isnt. i just now started it cold, to see if it would push coolant out of the open radiator cap as someone suggested in another thread. looking inside, the level was just above the fins. i started it, it idled rough, but the coolant only rose to the top inside ring of the opening. it did not come up over the top, nor did it blow smoke. its green, not brown.

tj884Rdlx

yeah no kidding ozzie. every shop in the atlanta area seems to think we're all freaking millionaires here. i dont know who to trust, i'm sick of paying $100 for every GOSHDARN diagnosis and they tell you whatever the HECK they want. i'm sorry i'm not made of freakin money! (sorry, just a frustrated vent) i wish i knew what to do. 1200 for a HG makes a 3.4 swap seem so thrifty!

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Contact the guy I told you in PM.

FYI: Using the f bomb will get you banned here so you might edit your post and read the forum rules.

Good luck.



PS You guys need to quit your belly aching about mechanical repairs or learn to do it yourself.

tj884Rdlx

hey i appreciate the advice, but i cant do serious work on my truck, or much physical labor anymore. i got run over by a home heating oil truck a few years ago on a motorcycle, and it broke my spine and 6 other bones, so basically i can't lean over an engine bay or lift anything heavy over my head for more than a few seconds. I do the repairs I can. HG ain't one of them.

i actually thank God every day i can still walk an' talk.

JamesD

Heck if you lived near me I would charge you $250 for labor and you buy the parts. Sounds like you need a tune-up rather than a head gasket. Don't you know anyone who could do the tune up?

James

tj884Rdlx

latest report here, its definitely suckin up coolant. i just added another quart of water. plus its running real sputtery at idle, like on 3 cyl. but smooths out when driving. i'm taking it to this shop tonite that i was referred to. hope it comes out ok. i feel like i'm taking a sick friend to the ER for chest pains.

hey JamesD thanx man, i really appreciate that offer to assist. once i get this done, i'll see ya in the catskills for a beer or six.

zlathim

Yes, that lazy mechanic in a can stuff is great. You are probably a big fan of this stuff too:



And I'll bet all of your electrical work gets a healthy dose of these things:



Are you also one of those guys that recommends replacing plugs, wires, cap, rotor, etc etc etc, for any engine problem in lieu of actual diagnostics? Just wondering, because there is a lot of that going on here.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

I think you need to reread what DC wrote and quit assuming.

DeathCougar

iTrader: (23)

Lol WOW you are barking up the wrong tree there pal. Did you even read the post? Do you even know what block TESTER is? Are you thinking of block sealer? Cause if so, I would suggest you edit your uninformed post. If you really are referencing block TESTER solution, I would ask you this: Just what, praytell, is wrong with the block tester? Its a great way to check for exhaust gasses in your cooling system, something that should never be there.

Ask anyone on here, I am one of the first people to say test things before mindlessly replacing them. I have never used, and will never recommend using Engine restore, and i never use "leech clips" do do my wiring.

As a product (Block TESTER) recommended by a 15 year Toyota master mechanic, I think I trust it and him much more than you.

Just remember what happens when you assume