shadowstewie

Hey guys! I'm brand new to the YotaTech forums and I'm really happy to be here to understand my truck a lot more. Please be advised this will be a long post as I want to tell everyone where I'm exactly at in my situation. If my grammar/punctuation is off please bare with me. Or help me understand the best way to post something on a forum so it's easier to read for long posts. Thanks again to anyone who can help me out!

A little backstory. I started off knowing barely anything about trucks other than to get an oil change every couple months and what not. Basically nothing at all. I wanted to start fixing my truck so I've been watching hundreds of YouTube videos on my engine and I know tons more than I did a couple weeks ago.

So here's my story. I have a 1993 Toyota Pickup DLX 4x4 with a 3VZE. I got a head gasket replaced in December 2011, 5 years ago from the outstanding recall that went out for it. I ended up having a coolant leak from somewhere undetermined as well as a slight oil pan leak and so I bought a 2003 Ford Focus to be my daily driver and my truck sat for the past 3 years. I was pretty much a moron and did not drain the gas (1/4 tank full currently), and the coolant was not all the way out but near empty. (I know now it's supposed to be Red all these years and it was good ol' Prestone Green. Ugh). I did drain the oil though.

Now fast forward to a year and a half later, in early 2015, I decided to start my truck up to see if things were still "okay" with it. I charged the battery and it started right up, drove it down the street around the block and BOOM, realized the temp gauge was going up fast and I realized like an idiot I forgot to put coolant in it. It still had some in it but not near enough. It was nearing the red line and started steaming (granted there was also a coolant leak somewhere so it could have been leftover coolant) and I got it back in my driveway while driving on the red line for 5-10 seconds.

Yep, you guys can say it, I'm a total moron. So I let it cool and decided to let it sit again until I figured out what to do with it. Yep, you guess it, I accidentally left something else in it, the oil for another year and a half to present time. Now I don't know how bad it was to leave those fluids in because I understand humidity and if something sits for a long time it can really mess up the engine. Well I decided to fix it after so long. I got more truck savvy and I went out the other day, put coolant in it, charged it, and it ran with no issues. I backed it out of my driveway, pressure washed it, cleaned the top of the engine with Simple Green, a buddy, and a couple of mechanics rags. I put it back in my driveway and started going to town on it with the idea of replacing the entire cooling/timing system (Radiator, Water Pump, Upper/Lower Hoses, Timing Belt, Idler, Tensioner, and a slew of other things in the process) to start off.

So here's my questions:

#1: How horrible is it to leave 1/4 tank of gas in the truck after 3 years in Southern California temperatures? I put a bottle of Heet in it a few days ago (not that it would probably help, not sure yet) and rocked the car back and forth to see if it helps separate the water. I'm most likely going to try to siphon the gas out when I get a siphon pump but I know leaving gas in the lines can horribly damage them, or at least that's what I've been told.

#2: How horrible is it to leave oil in the truck for 1.5 years in Southern California? I currently drained it but don't know how much damage it could have caused in the engine if any.

#3: With regards to my back story of getting the Head Gaskets replaced by Toyota in 2011, and nearing the red line for 5-10 seconds driving not having coolant in the truck, what do you guys think of the state of my head gaskets? Should I replace them again or put everything back together when I replace the things I need and do a Block Test?

I plan on creating another thread with updates to getting my 3VZ-E partially rebuilt. I know there was another member who did the same and everyone thought it was great. I'm hoping for positive feedback on it since I'm still understanding trucks. I have a close friend who is savvy with Toyota's and my other friends boyfriend is a Toyota Mechanic and does work on the side if something becomes too hard for me but I'm willing to take the time and learn it myself. Thanks guys. I really appreciate any help!

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

The oil being in it for a year and a half really isnt anything I would be concerned with just so as it had enough oil it when you had it running.

The 3 year old gas probably has not broken down to bad just yet that I dont think it will cause you any issues just yet but I would start considering about getting it out of the tank. There is a drain bolt on the bottom of the tank once you take the skid pan off. I do not recommend draining the tank that way as from my experience, there will be crud built up around the threads of the bolt and strips the threads in the tank. To drain the tank, I would disconnect the fuel line in front of the fuel pump and run it into a container and then jumper the FP +B connector and drain it that way.

If it was only hot for the short time you mentioned, I dont think it did any damage. Without water in it, the water temp sensor would not get a good reading so not sure what exactly how hot it has gotten. Is the truck running alright now? Is it just because it got hot the few seconds that you ran it that has you concerned? or are you having problems with the truck now?

As far a coolant, your truck should of come with the green. Green has worked for me all these years so in the older ones I just use it. If it came with red, I would go with red. Just get the coolant flushed all the way out before switching from one to the other. They dont mix well from my reading on it.

Welcome to Yotatech.

shadowstewie

Thanks!

I appreciate the answers on the gas and oil. Going to be taking the gas out within a few days and I'll do it the way you said too.

Yeah I'm just concerned for running it hot for 5-10 seconds. There was still coolant actually in it but it was very low. Didnt see any in the radiator during that time. I drained the coolant the other day and it was a lot more than the half gallon I put in to get it out of the driceway.

The truck actually sounds fine. No issues or anything for running idle for about 5 minutes, backing it out to the street, and driving it back into my driveway. Temp gauge stayed at about half.

Not 100% sure what color coolant the truck came with but I saw on the mass info post that the red coolant doesn't have silicates and Japanese engines hate silicates.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I dont think red came out until late 90s. Which ever you go with, flush the other out real well including heater core. Top it off and keep an eye on things real well for a while and see if any issues come up. I think you are going to be okay.

Watching Youtube videos will help. Get a Haynes Manual, read everything you can on threads about your motor and what I still do is go to the boneyard and get some practice on a truck in the yards. Eventually all of the tidbits of information will start to make sense to you. I have made plenty of trips to the yards just to see how to get something off of one of my trucks. Welcome to Yotatech.