Did my headgaskets last may and hoping I dont have one of the cursed 3.slows. I Made two reference marks on the over flow tank. One mark for cold temp and one at operating temp. That way I can know if I'm losing coolant or if it's just water vapor evaporting through my tailpipe.

Oh! And yotatech rocks! From the newbie.

 

its normal condensation build up. mine does it too. I wouldn't be overly concerned right now. Try taking the cap off the radiator and starting the motor. Tell tale signs of a bad head gasket are bubbles boiling up in the coolant that will come out the fill hole in the radiator

 

just curious, would this white smoke 1) destroy a new O2 sensor after a long time and 2) will it clog a new cat?

im having the same issues and have been needing to replace the o2, cat, and muffler since I got the truck.

 

bullydog there are already marks on the overflow tank why did you mark it? and you did your own HG job and you dont know if you have hte 3.0 are you sure you did it right then? im sorry but if you dont know what type motor you have after working on it you dont need to touch your truck again

 

no it wont hurt anyof it

 

If the 'smoke' disappears within a few seconds, it's not smoke, it's steam. Perfectly normal when starting a cold engine. Even where I'm at in Mason Ohio, I can drive the car 30 miles and still see 'smoke' (steam) when I'm at idle and the ambient temp is below freezing, but it disappears within 10 feet or so of the car.

 

Well this morning the smoke was there but I notice oil on the floor right under the motor. I pop'd the hood and notice what look'd to be oil that had leaked on the passanger side of the motor. Right between the intake cover. My oil is alittle low but I thought that was normal for 4runners.

 

What do you mean by a little low?

And no, it's not normal for any vehicle to be low on oil.

 

A little low meaning that the oil gauge is a little lower than normal. But this is over time, and now thinking about it I'm due for an oil change.

 

Have you checked the oil level on the dipstick?

 

No....

 

Sorry 3vze.

I thought after coolant is burned in combustion chambers it cleans the hell out of it. clean as a whistle. wonder where all that carbon goes. 02 and cat could both be suspect in my opinion.

but what would i know.