my name is Zach, i'm 16, and i just bought a 1991 Toyota 4Runner 2door SR5 with 214,000 on it. i recently noticed a good size leak coming from the left side of the engine and it drips all over my oil pan and transmission. i think that the antifreeze container has a small leak in it and i know my power steering pump has a leak. the fluid thats leaking is a light to medium brown, the same color as my oil, antifreeze, powersteering fluid, and clutch fluid. but the leak seems to be coming from under the left exhaust manifold. has anybody had this problem before, or have any idea as to what it might be. my oil level is staying pretty level, same for clutch level and power steering level, but my antifreeze seems to be draining a little fast.

 

welcome to yotatech .... 22re or 3.0

 

thanks. it has a 3.0

 

im hopeing the headgaskets are still good

 

from what i can tell they are still good

 

your oil, antifreeze, power steering fluid, and clutch fluid are ALL brown? might want to check into that...

 

could be your valve cover gaskets. try getting some degreaser and degrease it. check all your fluids to see if they change at all. I completely lucked out on my 95 4runner. a 158000 miles, it hasn't had a leak at all. except for when the radiator head started spitting up some coolant.

 

same thing i was thinking, but i just added some yellow antifreeze to some red antifreeze, it was compatible, and when i bought power steering fluid it was a light brown color. i haven't done anything with the clutch fluid yet

 

Must...delete...multi-post

 

In your other thread it was suggested to degreas the thing, which isnt a bad idea, look around at autozone buy the cheapest degreaser spray foam they have...get your engine up to operating temp, and soak it down with the stuff, let it sit about 10-15 minutes and hose it off (try to avoid battery, alternator and coil packs) and then you should have a really clean motor, and then watch to see where the leak appears first over the next couple of days, should really help you to track it down.

 

my 3.0 leaks at the oil cooler on that side of the motor, then the oil drips all the way back to the rear main seal, and on the oil pan and a lil on the tranny. take a look at that, as from what i have been reading that is quite common on high mileage 3.0's

 

also look into seeing if it had the hg reacall

 

Your anti-freeze is brown? Sounds like a complete flush is in order.

 

Your oil should be a very light brown, power steering should be red like your trans. I suggest you get everything flushed and changed.

 

No kidding.

If it's engine oil leaking, on my '92 3.0 I had a leak that sounds similar to yours. If you have an oil cooler sitting just aft of the oil filter, you might look at that. Best thing to do is as itsmeagain said. Degrease the whole underside of the motor, let it dry, then get a flashlight, start up the truck, and look for where the leak is coming from.

 

only need one

 

FYI 91TPU, I changed the o-rings out on my oil cooler on my old 92 3.0 just before I sold it. It's a fairly easy (if not messy) fix. Best way is to take the rubber skirting off the inside of the driver's side wheel well. You can do some work from there, some from the front of the engine, and some from behind the tire (underneath the truck). Takes a bit of wrist & finger manipulation & a lot of switching vantage points, but I did mine in an hour, or less. There are 3 o-rings, Outside at fluted center bolt, Inside at center fluted bolt, and main ring at oil cooler. My main ring was complete plastic. Replaced them all, and no more leak. There are 2 coolant lines, just have some vice grips handy to clamp them shut after removing them. You won't lose more than a couple oz of coolant. Might be worth taking a morning to do. (Man, did I ramble or what?)
OK [/hijack]

 

thread merged. there's no need to cross post everywhere. way too confusing for us old folks!

 

Flush your cooling system, and refill it with Toyota Red. If you put power steering fluid in your PS reservoir, you need to flush your whole power steering system out too because these trucks take ATF in the power steering systems. Power steering fluid will degrade your seals. (Here's my writeup in case you need help. The procedure is essentially the same for 2nd and 3rd gen 4Runners.)

 

thanks for the heads up brotha, ill be sure to look into it as soon as the winter is over, for now, im just gonna have to check it daily as its leaks very little, and i have not the time, nor the patience for the right now.