Do I need head gasket repair? What's wrong?
03-23-2013, 08:26 AM
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Do I need head gasket repair? What's wrong?
1994 Toyota 4runner v6 3.0 4wd ~130000, exterior and interior in great shape
I am not mechanical or car repair skilled at all
Symptoms
Temp slightly past half way but stay there and does not go to red; it used to be solid right on the half way point. If driven with the heater off, the radiator fluid steams over into the reserve and is literally boiling in there. You can also hear it moving around in the dash(assuming in the lines to and from heater core), not sure if boiling, but a noise that is not normal and was not there before. The heater cranked is enough to prevent the "boiling fluid in reservoir" issue; the heater does blow hot. The truck passes the "head gasket test" (not really sure what that means) but the thing that tests for exhaust getting into the cooling system. He says the gadget has 2 indicators, the one on top indicates nothing and the one on bottom changes color ever so slightly. The exhaust is not blowing white smoke.
What we've done thus far
A friend of a friend that we've never had work on the truck looked at it a while back. He thought the issue was the thermostat, and replaced it. The symptoms got worse and we did not trust the work. We had another guy put in the Toyota thermostat and he said the gasket was hanging off and the work was sloppy and messy (should have been cleaned up). Neither of the two thermostat replacements resolved the issue. The top radiator hose gets hot and the bottom is not very hot at all so we were recommended to put in a new radiator. Replacing the radiator did not resolve the issue either (and the hose temp difference is the same). The weep hole on the water pump had a tiny drop one time when that was checked out of several, and for one reason or another they do not think it is the water pump (would the heater not be hot if it was the water pump?). When he did the radiator he said the old fluid did appear to have a small amount of oil in it, or maybe it was just kind of old and could have gotten dirty when they drained a bit to do the thermostat and put the old stuff back in (because we knew we were either going to flush or change the radiator the next day).
The mechanic I do believe is solid based on good past performance for me and a buddy who also has a 1994 4runner with 300K+ thinks despite the lack of white smoke and passing the head gasket test, that the issue is the head gasket. He thinks there is a slight leak. We're a little frustrated at fixing things that aren't broke at this point and just want to know for real what the problem is and what the repair costs will be. At one point we almost did the water pump, pulleys, tensioners, belt etc which if it is the head gasket would have been a waste of some substantial duckets, Wifey and I are not rich people. It's the wife's truck and she loves that thing.
When we bought the truck we were told the head gasket had been replaced, but did not verify.
What do you masters think is the problem? Head Gasket, water pump, heater core, bad owner?
I am not mechanical or car repair skilled at all
Symptoms
Temp slightly past half way but stay there and does not go to red; it used to be solid right on the half way point. If driven with the heater off, the radiator fluid steams over into the reserve and is literally boiling in there. You can also hear it moving around in the dash(assuming in the lines to and from heater core), not sure if boiling, but a noise that is not normal and was not there before. The heater cranked is enough to prevent the "boiling fluid in reservoir" issue; the heater does blow hot. The truck passes the "head gasket test" (not really sure what that means) but the thing that tests for exhaust getting into the cooling system. He says the gadget has 2 indicators, the one on top indicates nothing and the one on bottom changes color ever so slightly. The exhaust is not blowing white smoke.
What we've done thus far
A friend of a friend that we've never had work on the truck looked at it a while back. He thought the issue was the thermostat, and replaced it. The symptoms got worse and we did not trust the work. We had another guy put in the Toyota thermostat and he said the gasket was hanging off and the work was sloppy and messy (should have been cleaned up). Neither of the two thermostat replacements resolved the issue. The top radiator hose gets hot and the bottom is not very hot at all so we were recommended to put in a new radiator. Replacing the radiator did not resolve the issue either (and the hose temp difference is the same). The weep hole on the water pump had a tiny drop one time when that was checked out of several, and for one reason or another they do not think it is the water pump (would the heater not be hot if it was the water pump?). When he did the radiator he said the old fluid did appear to have a small amount of oil in it, or maybe it was just kind of old and could have gotten dirty when they drained a bit to do the thermostat and put the old stuff back in (because we knew we were either going to flush or change the radiator the next day).
The mechanic I do believe is solid based on good past performance for me and a buddy who also has a 1994 4runner with 300K+ thinks despite the lack of white smoke and passing the head gasket test, that the issue is the head gasket. He thinks there is a slight leak. We're a little frustrated at fixing things that aren't broke at this point and just want to know for real what the problem is and what the repair costs will be. At one point we almost did the water pump, pulleys, tensioners, belt etc which if it is the head gasket would have been a waste of some substantial duckets, Wifey and I are not rich people. It's the wife's truck and she loves that thing.
When we bought the truck we were told the head gasket had been replaced, but did not verify.
What do you masters think is the problem? Head Gasket, water pump, heater core, bad owner?
03-23-2013, 08:45 AM
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LOL....Bad owner. It sounds like you have an air pocket in the cooling system. Its a pretty common thing since the heater hoses sit higher than the radiator fill. Did you also change the radiator cap when you changed the radiator? A bad cap wont purge correctly and will lower the boiling point of the antifreeze. Any liquid under pressure boils at a higher temp. Check those things out before you start ripping the engine apart. They are easy and cheap.
03-23-2013, 09:01 AM
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LOL....Bad owner. It sounds like you have an air pocket in the cooling system. Its a pretty common thing since the heater hoses sit higher than the radiator fill. Did you also change the radiator cap when you changed the radiator? A bad cap wont purge correctly and will lower the boiling point of the antifreeze. Any liquid under pressure boils at a higher temp. Check those things out before you start ripping the engine apart. They are easy and cheap.
03-23-2013, 09:12 AM
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the easiest way to make sure theres no air in the system is to remove the cap (make sure its cold and not under pressure), start it up, turn your heater on hot, rear heater also if you have one, let it idle and watch it untill the thermostat opens. It might try to spew fluid out of the radiator right as the thermostat opens so watch carefully. Keep an eye on your temp gauge also. Top off your fluid level after the t-stat opens and you can see it circulating. Put your cap back on and go for a drive. good luck
03-23-2013, 09:15 AM
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To get air out, you want to run the engine for a while with the radioator cap off, slowly (and carfully!) squeeze any radiator and heater hoses you can reach to flex them and coax bubbles to the top. Make sure you're heater is on (rear seat heater as well if you have one!)
It can take some time, but you will see bubbles come up in the radiator fill.
As long as the new cap you bought is rated for the same pressure as the old one, that autozone will work.
It can take some time, but you will see bubbles come up in the radiator fill.
As long as the new cap you bought is rated for the same pressure as the old one, that autozone will work.
03-23-2013, 09:24 AM
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the easiest way to make sure theres no air in the system is to remove the cap (make sure its cold and not under pressure), start it up, turn your heater on hot, rear heater also if you have one, let it idle and watch it untill the thermostat opens. It might try to spew fluid out of the radiator right as the thermostat opens so watch carefully. Keep an eye on your temp gauge also. Top off your fluid level after the t-stat opens and you can see it circulating. Put your cap back on and go for a drive. good luck
To get air out, you want to run the engine for a while with the radioator cap off, slowly (and carfully!) squeeze any radiator and heater hoses you can reach to flex them and coax bubbles to the top. Make sure you're heater is on (rear seat heater as well if you have one!)
It can take some time, but you will see bubbles come up in the radiator fill.
As long as the new cap you bought is rated for the same pressure as the old one, that autozone will work.
It can take some time, but you will see bubbles come up in the radiator fill.
As long as the new cap you bought is rated for the same pressure as the old one, that autozone will work.
PleasePleasePleasePlease let this resolve it. The head gasket job doesn't sound cheep. I feel like the fella who did the radiator is good though, and he has the same truck, so it seems like he'd fill the radiator correctly. Maybe it just needed more time to get all that air purged. With the noise in the dash it seems like there has to be some air in there, if it were all fluid I don't see how it could make that noise, but I'm a little slow.
Thanks for the tips. Any other ideas? Is anyone thinking head gasket or not?
03-23-2013, 09:28 AM
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I didn't check any PSI values. I just gave them the truck make model year, motor, tranny info. It's a new radiator and its the correct one so I think it should be correct. How would I check the values? Is it on the cap and on the radiator specs. It's also the cheepo radiator with plastic tanks and such, we looked into doing all metal but decided to go this way.
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03-23-2013, 09:55 AM
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my 3.0 has the same issues, its got a blown (going out soon) HeadGasket..
just because there is no white smoke after warm up doesnt mean it isnt still burning coolant.
once you see thick white smoke coming from your exhaust, your engine has only a few minutes to live usually..
smell your exhaust when the engine is warmed up, if it has a sweet hint to it, youre still burning coolant.
remove your spark plugs and see if you can get a light to peep in the combustion chamber; if it looks unsually clean, it is burning coolant inside that cylinder.
drain your engine oil and look at it. if it looks like chocolate milk or you can see other liquid mixed into it, the headgasket is failing.
if you're losing coolant and have no apparent exterior leaking, most likely burning it.
it depends on where you live, but doing the repairs yourself will be anywhere from 400-800$ USD, depending on extent of the damage, and having a shop do it will be upwards of 1200-1700$ USD
i am currently replacing my 3.0 with a rebuilt one and it is a PITA, i hope you dont end up going down the same road!
just because there is no white smoke after warm up doesnt mean it isnt still burning coolant.
once you see thick white smoke coming from your exhaust, your engine has only a few minutes to live usually..
smell your exhaust when the engine is warmed up, if it has a sweet hint to it, youre still burning coolant.
remove your spark plugs and see if you can get a light to peep in the combustion chamber; if it looks unsually clean, it is burning coolant inside that cylinder.
drain your engine oil and look at it. if it looks like chocolate milk or you can see other liquid mixed into it, the headgasket is failing.
if you're losing coolant and have no apparent exterior leaking, most likely burning it.
it depends on where you live, but doing the repairs yourself will be anywhere from 400-800$ USD, depending on extent of the damage, and having a shop do it will be upwards of 1200-1700$ USD
i am currently replacing my 3.0 with a rebuilt one and it is a PITA, i hope you dont end up going down the same road!
03-23-2013, 11:02 AM
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my 3.0 has the same issues, its got a blown (going out soon) HeadGasket..
just because there is no white smoke after warm up doesnt mean it isnt still burning coolant.
once you see thick white smoke coming from your exhaust, your engine has only a few minutes to live usually..
smell your exhaust when the engine is warmed up, if it has a sweet hint to it, youre still burning coolant.
remove your spark plugs and see if you can get a light to peep in the combustion chamber; if it looks unsually clean, it is burning coolant inside that cylinder.
drain your engine oil and look at it. if it looks like chocolate milk or you can see other liquid mixed into it, the headgasket is failing.
if you're losing coolant and have no apparent exterior leaking, most likely burning it.
it depends on where you live, but doing the repairs yourself will be anywhere from 400-800$ USD, depending on extent of the damage, and having a shop do it will be upwards of 1200-1700$ USD
i am currently replacing my 3.0 with a rebuilt one and it is a PITA, i hope you dont end up going down the same road!
just because there is no white smoke after warm up doesnt mean it isnt still burning coolant.
once you see thick white smoke coming from your exhaust, your engine has only a few minutes to live usually..
smell your exhaust when the engine is warmed up, if it has a sweet hint to it, youre still burning coolant.
remove your spark plugs and see if you can get a light to peep in the combustion chamber; if it looks unsually clean, it is burning coolant inside that cylinder.
drain your engine oil and look at it. if it looks like chocolate milk or you can see other liquid mixed into it, the headgasket is failing.
if you're losing coolant and have no apparent exterior leaking, most likely burning it.
it depends on where you live, but doing the repairs yourself will be anywhere from 400-800$ USD, depending on extent of the damage, and having a shop do it will be upwards of 1200-1700$ USD
i am currently replacing my 3.0 with a rebuilt one and it is a PITA, i hope you dont end up going down the same road!
Interestingly the mechanic that has a 300k 4runner doesn't need it any more and could drop that engine in. Its running great but I'm not thinking replacing a 130k engine with a 300k+ engine is a good idea. I mean it seems like a head gasket job is about 30% of dropping new motor in there, and what's the truck worth to begin with 3Kish.
03-25-2013, 11:55 AM
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Status and help
Sorry so long winded, just want to get all the info out there since I have no idea what's important and not.
I took the radiator cap off and topped it off, it took quiet a bit of radiator fluid, about half a gallon. Wonder if it just wasn't fully filled to begin with, or if it is burning it, leaking it, or water pump purging it; it's only been driven about 8 miles (with two cooling off breaks) to get her home from radiator replace spot. Started her up and let her warm up and worked the hoses some. It seemed like some bubbles were coming out but not sure if they were just forming at the throat of the radiator though. Let it go like this for about 20 minutes, eventually I did get some smoke coming from radiator, is that just from heat or is that head gasket indicator? This was messy stuff once it was hot, seemed like every 15 seconds or so it would spit some out. I dumped a bucket of water on it to dilute but I know that's not very environmental friendly; didn't know what else to do though I know it can harm animals if they drink it, I suck.
Still running too hot once driven (1-2 cm above normal half way point, not in red, same as before) and the fluid is boiling in the reservoir still once hot and heater off for a couple minutes of driving. Noise in dash still present when heater off and reservoir boiling happening. Heater was on and hot when I was trying to purge air though.
The radiator cap appears to be the right one, I verified it is for my model but there is no PSI value on it. However, the old cap had nice looking rubber grommets on the bottom side to seal and the new one is just metal made by CST. It does get tight, have no idea if it can seal like that without the grommet. Should I try a different cap?
The exhaust doesn't smell sweet to me, could be wrong.
Can't pull the plugs to check combustion chamber, wifey has my car and the tools I'd need are in it. Can do this evening. Do I need to check all the combustion chambers or just one?
Radiator fluid in Radiator appeared clean to me, but can't really see that good. Haven't checked oil and not sure I want to get into that in the Condo parking lot. Should I just pay someone to do it?
Also what are all the recalls possible?
In trying to confirm recall history on the vehicle I've not had much luck yet. The recall page on the Toyota website is down, and a call to the dealer got me in touch with the wrong super unhelpful person who has bad listening skills and worse toyota knowledge; they said they'd call me back. When called back they said All recalls done but couldn't give me dates or what was done, he did the lookup and didn't have the screen up when he called me. The standard manufacture sticker is on the door jam, and there is another sticker on the door itself. It just has my VIN on it, with a toyota background and some other numbers, says nothing about head gasket or recall repairs or date or anything else. Is this the recall sticker?
I took the radiator cap off and topped it off, it took quiet a bit of radiator fluid, about half a gallon. Wonder if it just wasn't fully filled to begin with, or if it is burning it, leaking it, or water pump purging it; it's only been driven about 8 miles (with two cooling off breaks) to get her home from radiator replace spot. Started her up and let her warm up and worked the hoses some. It seemed like some bubbles were coming out but not sure if they were just forming at the throat of the radiator though. Let it go like this for about 20 minutes, eventually I did get some smoke coming from radiator, is that just from heat or is that head gasket indicator? This was messy stuff once it was hot, seemed like every 15 seconds or so it would spit some out. I dumped a bucket of water on it to dilute but I know that's not very environmental friendly; didn't know what else to do though I know it can harm animals if they drink it, I suck.
Still running too hot once driven (1-2 cm above normal half way point, not in red, same as before) and the fluid is boiling in the reservoir still once hot and heater off for a couple minutes of driving. Noise in dash still present when heater off and reservoir boiling happening. Heater was on and hot when I was trying to purge air though.
The radiator cap appears to be the right one, I verified it is for my model but there is no PSI value on it. However, the old cap had nice looking rubber grommets on the bottom side to seal and the new one is just metal made by CST. It does get tight, have no idea if it can seal like that without the grommet. Should I try a different cap?
The exhaust doesn't smell sweet to me, could be wrong.
Can't pull the plugs to check combustion chamber, wifey has my car and the tools I'd need are in it. Can do this evening. Do I need to check all the combustion chambers or just one?
Radiator fluid in Radiator appeared clean to me, but can't really see that good. Haven't checked oil and not sure I want to get into that in the Condo parking lot. Should I just pay someone to do it?
Also what are all the recalls possible?
In trying to confirm recall history on the vehicle I've not had much luck yet. The recall page on the Toyota website is down, and a call to the dealer got me in touch with the wrong super unhelpful person who has bad listening skills and worse toyota knowledge; they said they'd call me back. When called back they said All recalls done but couldn't give me dates or what was done, he did the lookup and didn't have the screen up when he called me. The standard manufacture sticker is on the door jam, and there is another sticker on the door itself. It just has my VIN on it, with a toyota background and some other numbers, says nothing about head gasket or recall repairs or date or anything else. Is this the recall sticker?
the easiest way to make sure there's no air in the system is to remove the cap (make sure its cold and not under pressure), start it up, turn your heater on hot, rear heater also if you have one, let it idle and watch it untill the thermostat opens. It might try to spew fluid out of the radiator right as the thermostat opens so watch carefully. Keep an eye on your temp gauge also. Top off your fluid level after the t-stat opens and you can see it circulating. Put your cap back on and go for a drive. good luck
To get air out, you want to run the engine for a while with the radioator cap off, slowly (and carfully!) squeeze any radiator and heater hoses you can reach to flex them and coax bubbles to the top. Make sure you're heater is on (rear seat heater as well if you have one!)
It can take some time, but you will see bubbles come up in the radiator fill.
As long as the new cap you bought is rated for the same pressure as the old one, that autozone will work.
It can take some time, but you will see bubbles come up in the radiator fill.
As long as the new cap you bought is rated for the same pressure as the old one, that autozone will work.
my 3.0 has the same issues, its got a blown (going out soon) HeadGasket..
just because there is no white smoke after warm up doesnt mean it isnt still burning coolant.
once you see thick white smoke coming from your exhaust, your engine has only a few minutes to live usually..
smell your exhaust when the engine is warmed up, if it has a sweet hint to it, youre still burning coolant.
remove your spark plugs and see if you can get a light to peep in the combustion chamber; if it looks unsually clean, it is burning coolant inside that cylinder.
drain your engine oil and look at it. if it looks like chocolate milk or you can see other liquid mixed into it, the headgasket is failing.
if you're losing coolant and have no apparent exterior leaking, most likely burning it.
it depends on where you live, but doing the repairs yourself will be anywhere from 400-800$ USD, depending on extent of the damage, and having a shop do it will be upwards of 1200-1700$ USD
i am currently replacing my 3.0 with a rebuilt one and it is a PITA, i hope you dont end up going down the same road!
just because there is no white smoke after warm up doesnt mean it isnt still burning coolant.
once you see thick white smoke coming from your exhaust, your engine has only a few minutes to live usually..
smell your exhaust when the engine is warmed up, if it has a sweet hint to it, youre still burning coolant.
remove your spark plugs and see if you can get a light to peep in the combustion chamber; if it looks unsually clean, it is burning coolant inside that cylinder.
drain your engine oil and look at it. if it looks like chocolate milk or you can see other liquid mixed into it, the headgasket is failing.
if you're losing coolant and have no apparent exterior leaking, most likely burning it.
it depends on where you live, but doing the repairs yourself will be anywhere from 400-800$ USD, depending on extent of the damage, and having a shop do it will be upwards of 1200-1700$ USD
i am currently replacing my 3.0 with a rebuilt one and it is a PITA, i hope you dont end up going down the same road!
03-25-2013, 12:09 PM
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So in short
What is wrong, Head Gasket, Water Pump, Heater Core, or other? Weirds me out that it passes the head gasket test. Tired of replacing stuff that is not broken and an engine rebuild or crate engine is looking about 3k. Don't really see spending 1.5k for just the gasket when a full rebuild is 3k.
One of the engine place I found recommended here says "MLS HEAD GASKETS (MULTI LAYER STEEL) AND ARP STUDS MAKE THIS ENGINE HEAD GASKET FAILURE PROOF!!!!!", but other recommendations say to use the Yota factory upgraded gasket. Which is the way to go? Heard of several folks who did the HG and had it go again 6months later, the current situation is a train wreck for us, that would be very very bad. This is a daily driver though the two of us are scraping by on one car.
Leaning toward rebuild or crate engine at this point, but would really like to know for sure what the problem is.
What is wrong, Head Gasket, Water Pump, Heater Core, or other? Weirds me out that it passes the head gasket test. Tired of replacing stuff that is not broken and an engine rebuild or crate engine is looking about 3k. Don't really see spending 1.5k for just the gasket when a full rebuild is 3k.
One of the engine place I found recommended here says "MLS HEAD GASKETS (MULTI LAYER STEEL) AND ARP STUDS MAKE THIS ENGINE HEAD GASKET FAILURE PROOF!!!!!", but other recommendations say to use the Yota factory upgraded gasket. Which is the way to go? Heard of several folks who did the HG and had it go again 6months later, the current situation is a train wreck for us, that would be very very bad. This is a daily driver though the two of us are scraping by on one car.
Leaning toward rebuild or crate engine at this point, but would really like to know for sure what the problem is.
03-25-2013, 01:15 PM
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when trying to purge air out the coolant system it is best to raise the front end of the truck or add coolant on a hill, while the radiator cap is off. it cycles the air out most efficiently...
in regards to people saying that they did the HG job and it went out 6 mo later...there are so many factors that play in that situation..
did they have the heads+block checked for straightness? did they put it back together correctly? did they make sure there was no air in the coolant? so many factors that play in it..HG failure after 6 mo says that there was errors..
doing the HG job and changing the stock header-crossover (at least the cross over) should make it failure proof..but you can never be 100% sure.
you should check all 6 chambers, but at least inspect #2,4 and 6 or the driver's side cylinder head.
There is a V06 recall for the headgasket issue..call your local toyota dealership and ask them if your truck was ever serviced for the recall..they will need your VIN#
in regards to people saying that they did the HG job and it went out 6 mo later...there are so many factors that play in that situation..
did they have the heads+block checked for straightness? did they put it back together correctly? did they make sure there was no air in the coolant? so many factors that play in it..HG failure after 6 mo says that there was errors..
doing the HG job and changing the stock header-crossover (at least the cross over) should make it failure proof..but you can never be 100% sure.
you should check all 6 chambers, but at least inspect #2,4 and 6 or the driver's side cylinder head.
There is a V06 recall for the headgasket issue..call your local toyota dealership and ask them if your truck was ever serviced for the recall..they will need your VIN#
03-25-2013, 01:48 PM
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when trying to purge air out the coolant system it is best to raise the front end of the truck or add coolant on a hill, while the radiator cap is off. it cycles the air out most efficiently...
in regards to people saying that they did the HG job and it went out 6 mo later...there are so many factors that play in that situation..
did they have the heads+block checked for straightness? did they put it back together correctly? did they make sure there was no air in the coolant? so many factors that play in it..HG failure after 6 mo says that there was errors..
doing the HG job and changing the stock header-crossover (at least the cross over) should make it failure proof..but you can never be 100% sure.
you should check all 6 chambers, but at least inspect #2,4 and 6 or the driver's side cylinder head.
There is a V06 recall for the headgasket issue..call your local toyota dealership and ask them if your truck was ever serviced for the recall..they will need your VIN#
in regards to people saying that they did the HG job and it went out 6 mo later...there are so many factors that play in that situation..
did they have the heads+block checked for straightness? did they put it back together correctly? did they make sure there was no air in the coolant? so many factors that play in it..HG failure after 6 mo says that there was errors..
doing the HG job and changing the stock header-crossover (at least the cross over) should make it failure proof..but you can never be 100% sure.
you should check all 6 chambers, but at least inspect #2,4 and 6 or the driver's side cylinder head.
There is a V06 recall for the headgasket issue..call your local toyota dealership and ask them if your truck was ever serviced for the recall..they will need your VIN#
Please forgive my extreme automotive ignorance but when you say "header-crossover" are you talking about adding aftermarket "headers" which are better exhaust manifolds coming off the engine block? I saw someone reference headers as possibly helping to reduce HG failure. What part would you recommend, how much, does an engine guy do that or exhaust guy, does the rest of the exhaust system stay stock?
I'll try the air purge again, the parking spot is on a slight incline, should pulling it up on the curb plus that incline be enough or do I need something steeper? Do I have to kill plant life as well as the animals?
Is there any hope in this coolant system air purge or do you think it is head gasket?
03-25-2013, 01:50 PM
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Please keep the help coming I greatly appreciate the information you all have been providing. Wifey and I are ignorant, have limited funds, and want to get this thing reliable again.
03-25-2013, 01:53 PM
#15
You'll want to start with the easy things like. Does the fan work correctly.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116/fan-clutch-231314/
Was the thermostat a proper dual temp toyota, is it installed facing the right way, is it free of debris, does it open at the correct temp.
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...10thermost.pdf
Highest spot on the 3vz is the heater inlet to the engine. The two arrows at the upper rear. A flush T here is probably the easiest way to purge the system. You'll need to get the high point of those hoses even with the radiator fill cap wether you go with a flush T or old school get it warm and start dumping in water and squeezing hoses.
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...06operatio.pdf
You can get a sense of the water pump status by pulling the hose to or from the throttle body. Beware it's going to shoot lots of coolant if it's working, or if there is a headgasket leak so aim it into a milk jug, also it's going to need repurged of air if you disconnect any of the hoses.
Oh and that radiator cap with no rubber is garbage. Get a new one should have rubber on the valve and on the cap and should be marked with the PSI. 10.7-14.9 is acceptable IIRC the toyota one is 13psi.
I likely missed some stuff
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116/fan-clutch-231314/
Was the thermostat a proper dual temp toyota, is it installed facing the right way, is it free of debris, does it open at the correct temp.
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...10thermost.pdf
Highest spot on the 3vz is the heater inlet to the engine. The two arrows at the upper rear. A flush T here is probably the easiest way to purge the system. You'll need to get the high point of those hoses even with the radiator fill cap wether you go with a flush T or old school get it warm and start dumping in water and squeezing hoses.
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...06operatio.pdf
You can get a sense of the water pump status by pulling the hose to or from the throttle body. Beware it's going to shoot lots of coolant if it's working, or if there is a headgasket leak so aim it into a milk jug, also it's going to need repurged of air if you disconnect any of the hoses.
Oh and that radiator cap with no rubber is garbage. Get a new one should have rubber on the valve and on the cap and should be marked with the PSI. 10.7-14.9 is acceptable IIRC the toyota one is 13psi.
I likely missed some stuff
03-25-2013, 02:01 PM
#16
Best bet is to go to the dealer, so you can look at the computer screen and write down what was done and when. You might have to go to a couple of them. Hopfully the toyota main office will get you sorted but if they don't just keep trying dealerships.
The exhaust crossover is an exhaust tube that runs across the back of the block and connects the passenger side exhaust to the rest of the system. There are alot of threads here about them. It's not something I'd recommend you should do as a first time project.
When you purge the system, block the tires and jack up the front end. No need to panic the HOA by parking in the lawn
The exhaust crossover is an exhaust tube that runs across the back of the block and connects the passenger side exhaust to the rest of the system. There are alot of threads here about them. It's not something I'd recommend you should do as a first time project.
When you purge the system, block the tires and jack up the front end. No need to panic the HOA by parking in the lawn
03-25-2013, 04:03 PM
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Thank you very much for the information, I'm a moron at this stuff but can follow a procedure. I can handle pointing and laughing though, so it's kewl.
I read the thread and followed the procedure in the Haynes repair manual. I'll post the procedure over there as it wasn't clear as mud to me what the indicators were after reading the thread, seemed to have some conflicting info. It passes the Haynes test which was verifying there's "no excessive" front to back play in the fan when cold and then after letting it heat up and turning it off there is resistance when turning the fan but you can turn it (it shouldn't spin freely or be locked up). The fan looks good to this auto challenged man with a book and the world wide web.
We did two thermostats recently as we did not trust the first one. The thermostat in there now is new direct from Toyota. It was free of debris when installed. Unfortunately we did not do the temp test in water. The first thermostat change seemed to worsen the symptoms, the second one had no impact. My wifey watched the second one put on and she looked at the pics in the Manual and believes it is on correctly, she was specifically watching for that before we put on the second one.
What is a flush T? Note we've done 2 thermostats and a radiator by mechanics plus I tried the running it open and squeezing hoses thing once. Simple enough to work this angle a bit more though.
Sounds messy too, Assuming I can figure out the right hose, which is a big maybe. Sooo the possibilities are
1) it doesn't spit fluid: the water pump is busted
2) it spits fluid: the water pump is functioning and the head gasket is shot
3) it spits fluid: the water pump is functioning and the head gasket is good
So it really doesn't tell me anything about the gasket, just the water pump right?
I misspoke about the radiator cap, brain fart from visual memory. There is rubber on the valve and the cap. It is not marked for PSI. It is a "Cooling Systems Technologies (CST)" part number 7513. They have a lookup guide on their website and it says it is for the 1994 4runner v6 4wd. Will this work?
You'll want to start with the easy things like. Does the fan work correctly.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116/fan-clutch-231314/
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116/fan-clutch-231314/
Was the thermostat a proper dual temp toyota, is it installed facing the right way, is it free of debris, does it open at the correct temp.
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...10thermost.pdf
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...10thermost.pdf
Highest spot on the 3vz is the heater inlet to the engine. The two arrows at the upper rear. A flush T here is probably the easiest way to purge the system. You'll need to get the high point of those hoses even with the radiator fill cap wether you go with a flush T or old school get it warm and start dumping in water and squeezing hoses.
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...06operatio.pdf
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...06operatio.pdf
You can get a sense of the water pump status by pulling the hose to or from the throttle body. Beware it's going to shoot lots of coolant if it's working, or if there is a headgasket leak so aim it into a milk jug, also it's going to need repurged of air if you disconnect any of the hoses.
1) it doesn't spit fluid: the water pump is busted
2) it spits fluid: the water pump is functioning and the head gasket is shot
3) it spits fluid: the water pump is functioning and the head gasket is good
So it really doesn't tell me anything about the gasket, just the water pump right?
I misspoke about the radiator cap, brain fart from visual memory. There is rubber on the valve and the cap. It is not marked for PSI. It is a "Cooling Systems Technologies (CST)" part number 7513. They have a lookup guide on their website and it says it is for the 1994 4runner v6 4wd. Will this work?
03-25-2013, 04:26 PM
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Put a new t-stat in ,Then fill the rad after you pull a heater hose off the heater valve. It should not air lock this way.The sound you hear in the heater core may be caused by "STOP LEAK " that was added before you bought the truck.If so ,live with it.It don't hurt anything but your feelings.Your engine is obviously filled properly 2 reasons.#1 the temp gauge does read #2 you have not burnt the engine up.Good luck and let us know.
03-25-2013, 04:58 PM
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Put a new t-stat in ,Then fill the rad after you pull a heater hose off the heater valve. It should not air lock this way.The sound you hear in the heater core may be caused by "STOP LEAK " that was added before you bought the truck.If so ,live with it.It don't hurt anything but your feelings.Your engine is obviously filled properly 2 reasons.#1 the temp gauge does read #2 you have not burnt the engine up.Good luck and let us know.
I'm not seeing why you are recommending replacing the thermostat. We just did two of them and the second one is the toyota part. Is this just a technique to purge the air out of the system? Seems like there are at least two techniques for getting air out, even if I don't understand the second one yet.
Do you all think the boiling over into the reserve can be caused by air in the system?
