wafoogalla

Hello all!

I just recently bought my second 4runner (3vze, AT). The thing thats leaving me scratching my head is the engine oil finding its way into my cooling system. I've research this problem quite a bit and everything is leaning towards the notorious head gasket. Whats odd about my specific situation is that i have great compression in all cylinders, no coolant in my oil, and all cylinders are quite clean (judged by removing all spark plugs). The motor is pretty clean on the exterior other than some of the oil in the overflow spitting out while driving. Infact i just passed CA smog with this problem.

When i bought the truck the guy said it had a problem and i didnt mind because of what i payed for it. I drove it home (a three hour drive) and lost only a 1/2 qt. of oil. So it cant really be that bad of a leak. I removed the radiator, flushed it, and the entire coolant system very well. I pressure checked the radiator to see if it was the tranny cooler and it was fine. The truck does not have an oil cooler. After driving for a week im back to square one. Over flow resevoir full of oil.

I refered to my FSM and it apears that the oil pressure is the highest by cylinders #2 and #5 and a coolant port is pretty close to it on #2. Is it possible that a loose head bolt could be the culprit?

I Know that this is an odd question but i couldnt help but notice that the oil pump and water pump are close. Is there a possibility of a fluid transfer there?

I'm trying to avoid tearing down the motor. It bewilders me that it runs so well but has a blown head gasket. Has anyone ever heard of a situation like mine? Any cheap fixes or ideas of where else to look?

hump85

I had a head gasket leak with coolant in the oil. It would run great. Just like normal but would start to overheat. HGL can do many different things. If that is your case, which all the thing you checked came back good, it sounds like your going to have to go down there anyways. If it was a loose head bolt, your probably going to need to replace the gasket even if that was all it was.

lethe

even if you did fine a loose head bolt you can't just tighten it and call it good. The gasket would already be damaged if it was allowing oil/coolant to mix between passages. Im not very familiar with 3.0 engines so im sure someone else on here will chime in on the oil pump/water pump thing.

wafoogalla

Bummer. I went through this with my 22R, but that one didnt beat around the bush with its symtoms. It was just milky oil and enough steam out the tail pipe to make a locamotive jealous. It doesnt overheat at all. I guess i'll just have to tear it down anyways. I have experience with a wrench but is there any "need-to-knows" about this project? How long will i be under the hood? Special tools?

Gordo

I just went through the same thing with a 22re. Since water and oil don't mix I would get oil accumulating on the radiator cap. Ran great until it got to the point exhaust gases got into the coolant and it would over heat and push coolant out the overflow container. Had to replace the head gasket to correct

wafoogalla

Well i just bought a gasket set from ebay. See: domestic gaskets. I dont think its of the highest quality but they have good reviews. I plan on tearing down the motor this weekend. I guess its better to do it now when its a small problem over fixing it later after it has over heated. Hopefully i dont have to surface the heads but i gave myself some spending money by ording from ebay. I still need to pick up some TTY bolts, coolant and oil, but atleast im not paying a shop $1500 to do it.

lethe

replacing headgaskets and not resurfacing the heads is just asking for HG problems again in the near future.. spend the extra money and get them resurfaced!

wafoogalla

So i got a pretty good start om my motor last night. Im pretty close toremoving the heads but im stuck on a stuborn nut from the driver side exhaust manifold to the exhaust pipe. Does anybody know of any tricks to get that outta there?

Also i picked up a set of head bolts from the parts store and they are 12mm where as the bolts on the motor are 14mm. There clerk swears up and down on a stack of bibles that they are the right ones. Any thoughts on this? Are the new bolts compatible regardless of the head size? I have not pulled an old one out the check the shaft thickness.

93toyrunner2

My head bolts were 12mm (12 point) and the new ones 12mm as well. Exhaust manifold flange to exhaust pipe - Use PB Blaster on it, and get underneath the truck with an air wrench, a long extension, and a flexible air tool 6 point socket.

wafoogalla

So i finished the job. Took about 16 hours of labor. Im pretty impressed with myself for being able to do it that quickly. While inside the motor i noticed that close to every electrical clip was broken in some way. The injecter connecters were glued on so that turned into a PITA. I think that the cause of my problem was the previous mechanics lack of common sense. The block was painted and he did not remove the paint from the head gasket mating surface.

So i am a total of 1400 into the truck. I flushed the coolant system. I still have residual oil but i think thats goin to be a continuing

wafoogalla

So i finished the job. Took about 16 hours of labor. Im pretty impressed with myself for being able to do it that quickly. While inside the motor i noticed that close to every electrical clip was broken in some way. The injecter connecters were glued on so that turned into a PITA. I think that the cause of my problem was the previous mechanics lack of common sense. The block was painted and he did not remove the paint from the head gasket mating surface.

So i am a total of 1400 into the truck. I flushed the coolant system. I still have residual oil but i think thats goin to be a continuing problem. I have tryed a few different cleaning products and flushed from every possible angle. its better but not perfect.

SR25JD

Timing Chain It May Have Loosed and caused the chain to wear a hole through the timing chain cover

lethe

he has a 3vze so theres a belt, not a chain.

wafoogalla

I flushed the best i could to my abilities. I have a thin layer of oil still in the coolant. Im pretty sure its left over because there was alot before the repair. I just plan to take it out as i see it. But it hasnt been making it into the overflow and no drop or rise in the coolant level with about 150 miles on it. Im kind of trying to take it easy on the motor until im sure everything is dialed in.