Tennesseestorm

Hi guys.

I am posting on behalf of my dad, a disabled veteran who does not get on the computer very much. I am hoping to get some info here to help get him back on the road.

He has a old 1994 Toyota PU 4x4 (with the 22RE) with a lot of miles, around 300k so it has been a good one. He purchased it a few months ago off of a "friend of a friend". They claimed the engine was rebuilt only 30k ago, but I do not believe it. The truck has had an oil leak issue since my dad purchased it not to mention a lot of other things. I think he was taken advantage of.

Well the other day he was driving home and noticed the truck had overheated and it had blew out some coolant. There were no apparent leaks. He changed the thermostat and refilled with coolant. The next day the truck was missing and steaming a little from the exhaust. He changed the plug wires and the miss went away and the steam did as well, but today when he drove the truck it overheated again. I told him I was afraid it sounded like a blown head gasket or a cracked head. Are there any way to narrow down what could be going on? Is there any kind of good "miracle fix" in a bottle that is recommended to get him a few more thousand miles out of it? I am guessing no, but thought maybe someone had experienced something that may actually work.

I do not think he wants to put a lot of money into it, so he may just have to sell for whatever he can get out of it. It is a 100% rust free truck, so that is one thing it has going for it I guess.

Thanks in advance.

Contra472

Besides the thermostat that he just replaced, what condition are the other cooling parts in? (Radiator, water pump)

Same thing happened to me a few months ago.

I bought a block test kit($40 from NAPA). Hook it up to the top of your radiator with the supplied solution and if it turns color, then combustion gases are getting into your coolant (blown head gasket).

I also bought a compression tester kit ($25 Amazon) and a Leak Down Tester ($60ish? Amazon) which can really help pin point the problem (Air compressor required)

Tennesseestorm

Thanks.

I am unsure about the condition of the radiator and WP. He did say something red (like glue or something) was bubbling up in the radiator. Could be a clog, but not sure.

I will pass along that info to him about testing it and see what happens.

Thanks!

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

It seems rebuilding a engine means so many things to different people!!

If it got really hot chances if it was not the head gasket then it won`t be long.

Cooling system pressure tester

If it does not hold the pressure with no external leaks it is leaking internal.

I have used the better of the block seal it is not cheap I was told about it by the school bus mechanics to get the buses through the school year till they have the time in the summer to pull the engine apart.

Follow the directions to the letter and flush all the antifreeze or it won`t work.

I loop the heater hoses to keep itout of the heater core.

Know going in it is a patch before doing it the right way

It comes down to if your able to do the work yourself or pay to have it done.

Is this a automatic or manual??

Still the original radiator ??

yoder519

If you end up finding out the block is cracked, I used a product called Dyke to seal a leak on my chevy. I realy don't like using no kind of stop leak, because it don't have a brain, it just clogs everything. but I was planning on replacing the motor when I found one, which I ended up doing. Napa or amazon is about the only places to find it. The best thing about it is when u drain the coolant back out, all of the Dyke block seal comes out with it. I tried a bunch of different ones and it was the only one to work. Good luck.

Tennesseestorm

Yeah that is the truth! It is a 5-speed. Not sure about the radiator being original. Thanks!

Yoder - would that "dyke" also work on a blown head gasket as well (and not only a cracked head)? How did yours turn out?
Thanks!

yoder519

Yes it should. It's called block seal but in reality, it don't know to just stick to the block. The block on my chevy was busted when I got it, had a 1/4" bust about 6" long on both sides from freezing. I Jb welded it really good, still leaked a little so I added dyke an it immediately stopped leaking. It held til I got under a good load. But I was dealing a huge crack, hair line crack you shouldn't have a problem

Tennesseestorm

Thanks for the replies. Well he said the radiator was fairly new, etc. With that said he decided to just tear it down and replace the head gasket. He has been doing a little at a time and down to as far as he needs to go. He said the head gasket was indeed blown. I think he said he is going to go ahead and replace the head.

pgragg

Since you're so deep into it, might as well spend the time and dip the block and head... and everything you can lol... a bath is probably much needed lol

AKHeathen

check the deck with a straitedge. also the head. where did it blow out? that can give you a clue where to really check for warpage. something might not have been done right on the rebuild. did you find where the oil was leaking from?

Tennesseestorm

Sorry just now getting back on this thread. After several days it is back together and running again. He went ahead and replaced the head, timing chain, all gaskets, etc and seems to be running fine, but the erratic idle (idle going up and down) is back, time to find that old thread again! lol.

The oil leak was from where the last dummies that worked on it didn't replace the broken timing chain guide and it was rubbing on the front cover!! It (chain) had rubbed a hole in it. My dad was not very happy, the fools had used RTV glue or something to keep it from rubbing the cover, well that didn't work too long obviously. Not sure where the gasket was blown out. I can ask.

Looks like all is good to go for now. Thanks again!

AKHeathen

well, i don't know of anybody that would call a guy doing that a mechanic....