I almost feel bad for the guy who did it because he was pretty tore up about it, since it was an accident.

And I've been doing some maintenance stuff lately.

I did my first ever oil change by myself, normally I just have someone do it, so I never did an oil change before. That was at about 170,000 miles.

New distributor cap.

New radiator cap.

The Melon has been having some like overheating problems, doesn't show hot, but throws coolant out... One person suggested radiator cap, but still having problems since... Then someone suggests head gasket or intake gasket... It's kind of frustrating...

THEN, I noticed a new sound and vibration, and finally took a look it a u-joint was bad on my rear shaft, removed the shaft, tossed my spare shaft on, right when I got to work I lost a cap on a u-joint from the spare shaft... So I'm in the process of changing a u-joint so I can finally have my rear shaft back on. Ahhhh!!

 

Is the overheating just due to mud packed into the radiator fins by chance?

 

She doesn't actually read hot, but I know the sensor is good. and I've cleaned the radiator out because I thought it might be a problem. Then changed the cap... Now I'm down to thinking head gasket. ahhhh. =/

Mostly right now my attention is focused on my red yota, and the engine possibilities, and thinking about solid axles...

 

Engine possibilities? hmmm.......
How about a Yota 3.4 with the TRD supercharger...Do it, you know you want to, it only costs money...

 

I'm thinking of the cheap engines I can find at the scrap yard. Haha. But oh well, the red yota is on hold.

The Melon needs a new head gasket, I believe. So that's my next big project for now. Lately I've just been working, and not working on either truck much though. And not much wheeling either. =/

 

Time for a 7mgte swap!

 

Anything happening on the rigs, Dee?

 

Well, I feel like slamming my head against the wall a few times.

Alright, so the problem is that when I go wheeling, or slow in town after awhile The Melon will start pushing coolant out the overflow. However, doesn't read hot, but I know the sensor works. Everyone insist head gasket. Problems with that, the oil is not milky, the coolant is not oily.

I replaced the cap on the radiator. Problem still exists.

What I'm at now is I'm going to burp the system, and replace the thermostat. Thermostat and gasket are sitting in my truck, just need to get to it.

Also got cleaning kit for my K&N, so need to clean that. it's due. Also due for an oil change.

I did buy the head gasket kit, and was going to tackle that, but I just don't want to dive into that unless I know that's the problem. And if I do get to the head gasket, I'll do the timing chain, which I may do regardless here soon if the thermostat and burping clear my problem. I may also pressure test my cooling system, because if the problem still continues after the burping/thermo change, there may be a leak somewhere in the system allowing air in, which could cause my problem. I've did a good wash on the outside of my truck and said I can't get her dirty till I fix my problem.

I'm time constrained for the head gasket for now, because I'm expected in Louisiana after the weekend of the 21st, and I don't want to jump into something I can't get finished, and I also want The Melon ready to go for that 23 hour long drive..

The Red Yota, is still sitting, she needs a new engine, or a new head gasket, for a fact. Currently I'm trying to convince my boyfriend to buy an adapter for her so I can throw a 350 in it, but he says if he buys the adapter the truck goes from being MY truck to OUR truck, and I just can't handle not being able to say I own two Yotas! and that I put all the work into them. =P

 

nice yotas and build up thread. good luck with the headgaskets and with convincing the bf on the adapter. As to WHO'S truck it is... im not getting in the middle of that...lol nice truck

 

Alrighty..read through the thread and can say it's good to see a female working on her own stuff. I really appreciate you personalizing it to separate yourself..neat way of doing it.

First priority with the HG...pressure test the cooling system..ID problem then fix. As to the 350 swap, my personal thought would be to keep with the tried and true 22RE. Their almost bullet proof...and the cost you'd incur going the other route and then having to share title of it...I would strongly urge any family member not to do that..unless their married. To many complications would arise out of it. I don't mean to be a fly in the ointment...just trying to offer sound advice. Hope you get the problem with the melon solved sooner than later...good luck and scribed.

 

Thanks you two!

Also, the thing with the red Yota is that it's the v6and not the 22Re, otherwise I'd do the head gasket in a jiffy and not even think twice about an engine swap. But I heard that v6 is a pain in the butt. So for now I'm just sitting on it till I decide what the heck I'm doing. Plus the head gasket kit for the v6 is 200 something, while for the 4 cylinder is only like 84 bucks. Which doesn't even factor in other stuff I'd want to do while I'm in there, and machining the head.

And with The Melon, I had to make her MINE. One of a kind and the name stuck, and I just went with it, and she turned into what she is today. You can tell it's my truck. hehe.

Also, thanks for the advice Snow, I've been doing this thing on my own, and it requires a lot of research, and trying to pretend I know what I'm doing, I wasn't really sure where to start, and how to go about doing it. But pressure test will be the first thing, and hopefully work from there. =/

On the topic of the Boyfriend, I told him flat out, the only way it could really be OUR truck is if we were married, we can call it ours all we want, but until then, only my name will be on the title. I did have intentions of us wheeling together, him in the Red one me in the Melon, but then I found out the Red truck needed a new engine, so she's been sitting till I get to it. He only owns a car(it is a Toyota though)!!!!!! So I really might have to fix that for him someday, or at least push him in that direction. Considering the body styles I own aren't my favorite body styles, I may sell the Red Yota after it's running and has been giving some TLC. =P

Today I took part of the day off from work, and plan to head out to the garage and look for a pressure tester, my brother in law said he had one. So maybe I can start figuring this thing out today. Hopefully...

 

Dee, hope you had some success today sorting thing out. All the mud is washed out of Melon's radiator fins?

 

Sweet..didn't realize it had the 3.0L. All things considered rusty or not, I'd get rid of it and wait for another one to come by. My 90' had the work already done, which is the reason bought it...$1200.00 @ a silent auction. Help's that I knew the owner but she was in bad shape when I got her...and the love story began (key harp & violin). She was faithful to me and did every thing I asked of her. Had to sell her cause the family needed money and now I have my 97' with the 3.4L. Totally night and day difference between the engines with the power. However, some 3.4L still had HG issues but were taken care of through the dealer at no cost. Anyhow, good luck and hope you're able to resolve the issues with the melon.

 

Looks like your going to be in my neck of the woods. The truck is looking good.

 

Let's just say I'm ready to slam my head against a wall a few times.

It's been awhile since I've updated, I didn't get around to changing much of anything because I drove cross country to Houma, Louisiana. It was hot, and swampy. Worked doing storm cleanup after Hurricane Issac. Well after that, I then went to my mother's in TN, and stayed for a few days before shipping home, where I ended up being pretty busy.

About a week ago, with dropping temps, and me worrying about my coolant being more water than anything else, I decided to change it out with a better ratio, and change my thermostat while I was at it... Quick and painless, what the heck was I worrying about! Hehe. Got a little dirty, and learned how to change it for next time.

Anyways, I went to burp her as I was filling her, and all was going well, but then it surged pretty heavily and shot coolant out all over the place! So I shut her off, and was like... Man it must be the HG, at least that's all I could think. Well I decided I'd deal with it later, no problem. Well I ended up taking her out to get some food, and drove probably five miles from the house and got stopped at a red light, and noticed white smoke just pouring out from under the hood. Let's just say I took her straight home and was pretty frustrated.

So now I'm stuck at having to figure this problem out, is it truly the headgasket, and I just need to bite the bullet and change it? Or could it be something else? Did I possibly do the thermostat wrong?(My brother in law saw skip the sealant, with the gasket I bought it should hold up just find without, did he lead me astray?) Or is there a leak somewhere that could cause this? Where should I look?

At this point, I'm going to double check oil and my coolant, see how those both look. Then start her up and let her run a bit and see what problems I encounter, see if I can see leaking anywhere, or see where the smoke may be coming from. I will say, I didn't notice any from the exhaust, just from under the hood. I may also pull the spark plugs and check to see how they look.

Sorry for such a long break since I last updated, life has been busy! Cheers!

 

This could possibly be due to what ever coolant was left over on and around the engine having a chance to burn off. Don't know if you let it idle to come up to temp and then check to see what else was burning off from the cap being off? More often then not, if the HG fails it'll burn out the tail pipe...path of least resistance applies here. Let us what else you've done as far as steps to identify the source.

 

Dee, cheers...take a deep breath or two and don't let the truck get the best of 'ya.

Double check that the hoses are tight. Correct....no sealant is needed with the rubber thermostat gasket.

It really just sounds like a wicked air bubble puked out and then the coolant burned off. Top off the radiator with coolant, raise the nose nice and high, turn the heat and heater fan to high, and start her up. As she warms, monitor for leaks and keep an eye on the temp needle and add more coolant as it drops from the bubble purging out. Also, fill the coolant overflow to the cold line with fresh coolant mix.

Post up how it all goes.

 

A compression test would let you know if it was a head gasket. You can usually rent the tool from autozone type store.

As for being affraid of the 3vze, its not thats its pitb, jus tthere is more engine there which takes linger to go through ( ie, it has two heads). Its really not that bad.

 

Blondest moment of my life... dun dun dun. It looks like it was just burn off from the coolant going all over. I feel like an idiot! I took her for a test drive, no problems. I checked all the hoses and they look good, oil needs changed but beyond that good. Coolant looks good. I want to check my spark plugs, just because, but haven't done it yet. I switch between two houses, and one has minimum tools, the other has none, and most of my tools are at my sisters..

I drove her home from where she sat no problem. I kind of want to drive slow in similar conditions to what use to push coolant out and see how she does. See if the problem is still there.

And on the combustion test, I went to advanced autoparts and they apparently had never heard of such a thing. I think I'm better off visiting a different store. Bah! We don't have any auto zones in the town I am most often in.=P

Thanks for putting up with my blondeness, now I just feel a little stupid. But at least she seems okay!

 

Blond or not, all of us have had moments like when an issue becomes a non-issue and it's NOT from being stupid or an idiot! Don't be so hard on yourself, gal. Just my 0.02.

Hope it still behaves under the slow drive test conditions.