89 4runner radiator exploded?
 

i have an 89 4runner with the 3.0 in it. this morning i drove it to work and noticed the heat never got hot when my temp gauge reached normal level. then i noticed the temp gauge kept going up until it peaked. i was about to pull over when i noticed it started going back down. i thought maybe the thermostat may have stuck or something and since i was only 2 miles from work i would just keep going. then it started clicking and rattling and wouldnt go uphill hardly. pulled over and as soon as i pushed the clutch in it died. opened hood to see the top seam of the radiator had busted and coolant was everywhere boiling off the motor. is the motor blown? head gasket? valves? could it have a cracked head now? i had it towed home and now battery is dead. im going to charge it to see if it will turn over/start whatever.

Could just be that your radiator was plugged up with corrosion and today was it's day to go. I'd just replace the radiator, fill everything with fresh coolant (make sure no air bubbles in cooling system) then fire it up and see what you've got to work with. That might be all it needs.

A compression test on all 6 cylinders will ease your mind about the head gaskets. I would recommend doing this once you get the battery charged back up, before you do anything else. Wide open throttle while cranking for 7-10 cycles on each cylinder, all plugs removed, remove EFI fuse and coil wire. Each cylinder should be between 142 and 171, with less than 15 difference between all cylinders. Have a pen and paper available to write them down as you progress for comparison.

hooked jumper cables to it today, fired right up. seemed to run fine. its always smoked a little bit when its first started after a couple days, didnt see any more smoke then normal. i only let it run a few moments due to no coolant in it. maybe just a tough ass toyota?

Make sure to check that the thermostat is opening and allowing the coolant to pass through.