bunkydaze

Second attempt at this.. so tired, i accidently closed the window before posting... I bought my 86 base pickup back in sept. Did the routine maintence on it (air fuel filters plugs wires etc) replaced the fuel pump bc it was cheaper to get the whole pump with gaskets (mine were dry rotted and leaking, than order the gaskets). Alternator and battery. Front Main Seal, Oil pump Seal, oil pan gasket (cleaned pan and screen extensivly) water pump gasket while I had it all apart. Indash harness for cilmate control, mine was shot from salt air corrision. I had to toggle the AC comprosser bc I could never find the engine bay connection ( one of the prior owners must have removed it, as well as the fusible link goin to the engine fuse box. AC worked for about a week after I charged it (previously retro'd, charged with r134, getting power to compressor but never engages clutch)Interior is a train wreck, ill add pics but the dash is busted, glovebox is held on by the closing device, passenger door panel is missing as well as all the vents, (see pics) passenger window always jumps track when I attempt to roll it down and here in coastal NC it will be 100+ with the heat index very soon. I am losing about a gallon a day from the cooling system ( mixed 50/50 when I did the FMS, and it held either 20psi or 40psi then) No water in the oil that I can see, let it run on a new white sheet for 20+ minutes no drips, so I have no idea where the water is going) *edit i remembered when I left to go get a bite toe eat, gotta replace headlights.. no Highbeams or flash, gettin power to terminals so im 99% sure its the lights themselves. Thats about all I can think of right now, its finals soon and work is kickin my butt so kinda tired. Ill add pics of the interior now and exterior asap. Please consider I am a single father, only mode of transportation, daily driver (manual 18mpg intown[where I do most of my driving] and 22mpg highway) work 5-6 days a week and school 4 nights a week... All input and or ideas would be great!
Interior One
Interior Two
Interior Three

bmcghie

I've never lived where you do, but I've survived my entire life without A/C. To me, that's all a non issue.

It sounds like really you just need to replace the headlights, and figure out your coolant leak. I hate to say it, but if you can't find a leak... it almost has to be the headgasket. Your mileage is quite good though. This is a 22re, yes?

I dunno how much you pay for trucks down there... but up here in Canada it would certainly be much cheaper to fix the coolant leak (even if you end up paying dealer rates for a headgasket) than to buy a new truck.

My 2 cents: diagnose the coolant loss --> fix. Keep driving the truck and slowly take care of other issues over the next 100k miles you put on her!

RAD4Runner

Other possible ways of losing coolant (from actual, first-hand experience with my other vehicles- both of them I, not my trusted, honest mechanic, found out):

1. Hairline leak on radiator (on my Nissan XTerra), where the plastic top portion is seamed into the metal part. While driving, one would not notice because steam gets blown by air running into engine compartment. When truck stops, and radiator cools down, instead of sucking coolant back into radiator from reserve tank, it sucks air though the crack (easier to suck air than heavy coolant). All I saw was residue which looked like something leaked there. When mechanic pressure tested, he confirmed my suspicion.
2. Bad head gasket could pressurize radiator (happened on my Honda Civic), and not leak coolant into oil. As you're running, radiator overflows coolant or blows out steam. You don't see this because of all the airflow in engine compartment. When radiator cools, you don't see any indication either. Coolant may also leak into a cylinder when engine cools, causing hard starts. WHEN it finally gets too bad you blow the radiator cap off - that's what happened to my Civic and how I found out.
   EASY TO CHECK:
   1. Start with cool engine.
   2. Take radiator cap off.
   3. Have someone start engine.
   4. If you see coolant squirt out that's it! (Splashing of coolant from engine vibrations is different.)

Best of luck! Boycott the Stealers!

RAD4Runner

Yep, life's tough, but it feels better when we see exactly what's going on with our vehicles, instead of pumping money down the stealers' pocket for poor diagnosis we have to pay for...
I assume you have looked at the Factory Service Manual for help finding your wires? Lots of FSM's Here.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I am assuming you have a 84-95 and the headlight issue is fairly common. On the last post of this link is how I fixed mine.https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...99/index8.html

The others have got you going in the right direction on your water issue. With a little effort and not much cost you can get your interior looking a lot better. It is listed in my 88 build on the first post somewhere.

Just noticed your interior pics. Its not as bad as it looks. You can get some interior paint mixed to the factory color or Death Cougar has a thread on his using gray. I have a link to it on page 16 of my 88 build below.

Find a replacement panel in the boneyard, gray preferably but any color will do. Clean well and paint. You can find the heater control face on ebay and occasionally here on Yotatech and adding a clock will help with looks. Your truck is prewired.

You can get dashcovers or a cheap fix I have done is filled the cracks with bondo. May not sound great but it improves looks alot until I can find one at a later time. Doing this on my 86 build.

Pulling your carpet out and taking it to the carwash helps alot with cleaning and adding some life back to it and helps for a cleaner smelling truck. You will be surprised at how dirty your carpet is and isnt hard to do. Just do it on a hot day so carpet can dry in a few hours. Just some suggetions.

Stuwy123

iTrader: (1)

You could easily find all the parts you need to fix up the interior in a day at pick and pull or any other junkyard.

As for the coolant problem, check everywhere, leaking coolant is easy to spot.
Park over a piece of cardboard and see where it leaks out from.
Crawl underneath the truck to see.
Is there a leak in the cab? Then it's the heater core.
If you're gonna be fixing the dash then you should toss in a new heater (if that's the problem) while you're in there.

If you can't find a leak anywhere, then it could be a head gasket issue. The 22re head gasket can be replaced easily with some basic hand tools. Have the head decked while you're at it.
When it runs, do the coolant lines (rad hoses) seem really pressurized and pushing off the clamps. Do the hoses look ballooned up around the clamps? Then it's a head gasket.
I don't believe the coolant system is holding pressure if you're losing that much coolant. Check that again.

bunkydaze

Well im here again, found a friend who could do a pressure test on each cylinder and I had about 120 at the front to and it held, sadly the 3rd and 4th were around 80-90psi and didnt hold to well..