Welcome to Yotatech, Mike. I don't mean to be a prick, but you should start your own thread so this one can stay on topic. It's hard to address two persons/vehicle in the same thread. Confuses things, eh. Besides, it ain't polite.

 

O.K, I took mine apart about 2 weeks ago and can't exactly remember. O.K, after I thought about it for awhile you can see it. Not the greatest view...since I couldn't tell mine was broken until I took it all the way off (probably not paying attention though) so I would say you probably could see it. My bad...and I apologize if I sounded like a prick.

 

Did you have a coolant loss? Oil loss? Anything comparable to the OP's symptoms....besides no exhaust steam?

(Spun bearings...bad news. My first 3.0 did that. I suspect the crankshaft broke. Not really sure because I haven't taken the block apart after these three past years. Just bought another motor.)

 

No, you didn't. I just knew you were mistaken. I don't always remember things either. (see posts above. Prime example....)

You're right, though. It is hard to see down there to tell exactly what's going on. But, looking to see what you can with the valve cover off is a lot easier than pulling the timing cover.....wouldn't you agree?

 

I think a head gasket is very plausible. Although it is running fine it is hard to rule out. I would do a compression check. Other than a head gasket...how could the oil mix with antifreeze?

Oh...say if the crank case if full of oil...and the radiator is full of antifreeze...and now your radiator is full of both...so where did your oil go then?...just a thought

Oh yeah...I definitely agree!

 

I know how the mixing can happen. What I mean is, if the headgasket blows allowing oil into the coolant, how could it not also get into the combustion chamber? I don't see the possibility. Think about it. There are waterjackets surrounding every cylinder in the block. If the gasket blows anywhere around the cylinder, where is the oil coming from to get into the coolant? And where is the coolant going to go?

Wait....I think I know. I just need to know one thing.

To signalmtnyota....
Has the motor overheated ever...recently?

 

ok there is some good advice on this thread and there is some that is not so good.

first off to save your self some time I would first look down from the top of the motor with the valve cover off and see if the guide is gone on the drivers side if it is gone then remove the water pump and see if the chain has worn through.
you may want to shine a bright light down from the top over the timing chain.

if the chain has worn a hole in you will see light in the water pump housing.

also one reason you only find oil in the water is the water pump is pulling not pushing in that housing so it sucks oil into the coolant system.

if you find no hole in the water pump housing then it is most likely your head gasket a compression tester is very easy to use and fairly cheap, cheaper then taking the truck to a shop and having it tested.

at this point I would pull the water pump and check that first then take the next steps from there.

if it is the timing cover or the head I suggested buying one of those coolant system flush kits and flush out your system real well after you have fixed your problem.
the truck I fixed had a bad timing cover the coolant system was full of oil I hooked up a garden hose to the hot water line and flushed it out I had a large
rubber maid container set under to catch the oily water with a eco friendly soap that would break down the oil more I used about a half gallon of simple green.

good luck to you

timing covers are a pain to replace but a little less then a head gasket just make sure to seal it back up well or you can end up with a pain of a oil leak.

 

I looked carefully at my old timing cover as there is wear from the first timing chain and failure I had when I bought my 4rnr. The holes would not be in the water pump housing. The chain would only make contact with the timing cover.....which the water pump bolts to. Unless, by water pump housing, you mean that portion of the timing cover that is the water passage and pipe that the hose connects to.???

Your next statement is exactly what I was driving at, in a round about way, with my questioning and statements. The coolant would dump into the crankcase down below and the pump would draw all of that oil up and into the coolant system. Sludgy fudge.

Now, why would you recommend pulling the water pump? To see if coolant is in there? Pulling the valve cover would accomplish the same thing with less steps. I suppose it doesn't matter, though. It all really needs to come apart. I mean, the oil pan needs to be cleaned (if the timing cover indeed wore through). To do that, pulling the motor is really the easiest. So, since the motor's out....not that hard to go further. Truly.

 

Wow, since I logged off last night this thread took off!

I have owned the truck for the last 10,000 miles or so and in that time it has never overheated. I've got an SR5 gauge cluster in it and watch the gauges pretty often. Also, I check the oil regularly and the fact that it went from full to almost not on the dipstick means this had to happen between Auburn AL and Chattanooga TN this past weekend. But even with climbing a mountain at the end of the 250 miles it didn't overheat. I just wish now it wasn't foggy and rainy, maybe I could have noticed if there was white smoke then.

Other information: the odometer on that gauge cluster says 274xxx miles, I highly doubt this engine is original to the vehicle, it seems to have too much pep for that. Also I just had the front main seal and the water pump replaced about 3 months ago.

I stuck a dowel rod down into the radiator and its definantly solid oil, not just a thin layer at the top. I also noticed the entire overflow coolant bottle was oil, to the top of the bottle, not to the full line.

About white smoke. There was some, but it was in the 30s outside when I cranked it up, and that could have just been normal. I'll have to think about firing it up on a warmer day.

This truck is sitting in Chattanooga and I drove my dad's truck back to school, so I cannot go out right now and pull anything apart, that will have to wait till at least the weekend.

Thanks for the replies so far and sorry for this long post.

 

Lol.....I think I've done what they call post whoring. Ooops! I guess I can get carried away.

Nevertheless, it would still be running ragged, to whatever degree, if coolant were getting into the cylinders. Fire and water don't mix. Maybe I'm wrong (though, I doubt it). Look for the smoke when you get a chance.

 

Oh, and the reason I asked if it had overheated is not only could the block have cracked, like I said, but the head could have cracked. However, considering what you've said, I'd rule either out entirely.

 

thook, your replies have been awesome. You've really pointed out some issues and helped me understand what's going on here.

Now lets just say there was a crack, from maybe the shop overheating it after running it to recharge my battery after changing the water pump or the previous owner (He was sketchy backwoods weird).

I was reading the FSM for tearing down the engine and it mentioned that there's a spray you can use that will "highlight" cracks in the head. Now IF there were a crack would it probably be obvious to a close inspection by eye or would I need to use one of these sprays or something special?
I saw on a write up here the cracks on the head of someone doing a rebuild and they were obvious. He had them welded and the head machined.

 

The spray is a good idea to use. Shows the little crack not visible or barely detectable and just how extensive it is....if you have any. It's just one more step, maybe unneccessary, but if the head's off there's no harm in doing it.

I'll give you an example. I just installed the new bearings in my motor today. The recommendation is to check the tolerances with plastigage to make sure the bearings are a proper fit. So, I went about doing it. The plastigage strips (long piece of plastic like material similar to fishing line) are laid across the crank journals and the bearings are torqued down over them. Then, the bearings are removed and the amount the plastigage is squished tells you the oil clearance when measured. Tedious procedure, but tells you alot. So, when I go to remove the bearings to measure, the fellows at the shop tell me it's not necessary....so they believe. There's only certain size bearings (standard, .010, .020, and on) and I already knew the tolerances on the old bearings (standard), and so my measurements would turn out to be the same since the nothing about the crankshaft journals has changed....only a the tolerances will be a little tighter since new bearings have no wear. Well, makes sense and it's true, but since I went ahead and measured the new ones I know for sure they fit and I didn't get wrong ones from mispackaging or something. No worries for me.

So, what I'm saying is, since you seem to have questions about whether or not it was ever overheated and possibly cracked by the shop and/or previous owner, it would save you any worries by doing it. Make sense?

 

Yeah, makes sense. Thanks. My spring break is coming up within a week or two, I'll be tearing into it then.