I have been far too busy working and taking care of business to get on here much, but now I have a wee little problem.... I haven't been using the 4Runner recently, just the pickup, so I decided I'd give it a little look-over....I was checking the coolant in the radiator, when I noticed a little bit of blackness just under the surface...I got my trusty pointer finger to investigate...I fished it out...AND IT WAS A PIECE OF (TORN UP!!!!) PLASTIC I'm not sure what this means, but I know it's bad. I fished a little more and got a total of 3 pieces totalling around the size of half a toothpick (sorry couldn't think of anything else the same size) out from the top...what could this be, and how much is it going to cost to fix? Can I just do a radiator flush and pray nothing is actually broken? The plastic was soft(er) and black, with slight wear around the edges...it appeared to have been sheared () or ripped off of something.... any ideas????? PS I just realized it could possible be some sort of semi-hard "sludge" or something....

 

ears burning?? couldnt tell ya but id flush it and go from there, seems thats all you can do. if it works it cant be too bad.

 

Well I didn't turn it on...last time I did (a week ago) it ran 100% with no funny stuff, I am reluctant to fire it up until I know what's wrong...

 

Well, all I can think of is just general crude or some of the radiator hose rubber coming off. I'd just flush the radiator to be on the safe side, and not worry about it. The cooling system is a closed system, right? Any bits that are coming off are not likely to plug the main cooling lines, and shouldn't affect how the engine was running. I don't think this is a symptom of any larger probelm. . Since the stuff you're seeing floats, you'd expect it all to work its way to the top of the radiator cap eventually. I would just keep an eye on the engine temp for a little while.

 

Ok sorry I'm confused, did you check over the 4runner or the truck. Cause it sounds like a timing chain guide if you checked over the truck.

 

Sorry, I don't mean to Hi-jack the thread but Krash, did you get the truck repainted?

 

Yeah, repainted and line-x'd. I didn't want to throw up a thread with pics but if you want I will (didn't want to be like "look at me!").

EDIT: If you want to see pics look at my check out my truck thread here https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...656#post170656 I added a few pics.

 

If your radiator cap is original it should have a black gasket below the spring. Any pieces missing from there? Same thing happened to me and I was very happy to see that my cap was rotting.

 

This would be the 4Runner not the truck...The first thing I checked was the gasket, but it was 100% there and not at all cracked/dry. I guess I will flush the system and not worry about it. Ahh...feels better lol