So the other day Im driving on the highway and heard what sounded like water bubbling or being sucked through a pipe or something. It was the wierdest sound, it sounded like it was coming out of my dash. And now, my electrical is all F'd up. When I push the botton for my windows to go down, my headlights will dim. When I push on my brakes, my radio shuts off. I dont know whats going on... Can anyone point me in the right direction to what might be causing that sound and possibly the electrical problems? Thank you so much!

 

sounds like you heater core blow up and got alot of things wet just a guess check your coolant is it full?? do you see water in the cab?? do you smell anything like coolant??

 

You know what? I did smell something like hot cooland or something. Ill go out right now and check the fluid level.

 

I get the same sound you're describing in my 3rd gen pickup. It only seems to happen when I take some corners but not all the time. Only difference is that my electrical isn't messed up and I'm not leaking any fluids. I honestly don't know and can't help you, just thought I would let you know you're not the only one.

 

Checked the fluid level and it was pretty low. DAMN. So how do I know for sure what it is? ANy ideas???

 

I would put more fluid in it and run it for a lil while and see if you can see it spraying or dripping out anywhere. Like I said though I'm not losing fluid but I get that same sound you're talkin bout.

 

This is very important!

My step mom's heater core went out, and she was driving when she felt really sick and disoriented. My dad went and picked her up and drove her home (leaving the car where it was). She laid down that evening and went to bed. She had a really bad headache and felt sick. The next morning she wasn't feeling any better, so my dad took her to the hospital. The doctor ran some tests and said that she had anti-freeze poisoning. The reason she felt so disoriented was because the antifreeze poisoning had the same affect of making her drunk, in her case a blood-alcohol level of .2 This was 18 hours after the incident! The doctor said also that not seeing a doctor right away was a HUGE mistake, that she could have gone into a coma, or worse, died.

So, if it is your heater core, and you become nautious and disoriented like that, do see a doctor immediately. If you smell the fumes, and need to get home open all your windows down so you're not inhaling it.

I thought I'd pass this on, please be careful! But then again, it may not even be the heater core, I wouldn't know.

 

[/QUOTE]
Dang, now Im scared to drive my truck. Hopefully doesnt happen to me.
So check this out;

If it is a V/6 engine they are “infamous” for having head gaskets that leak! If they are leaking you will also be loosing SOME coolant from your engine.
If a head gasket IS leaking, it will allow combustion gases into the
engine coolant. The engine coolant is what gets hot to warm the interior of
your truck by "flowing" through the heater core. As the fan blows
over the heater core it "releases heat" to warm up your interior of your
truck.
If the combustion gases get into the coolant it will stop or slow down the
passage of coolant through the heater core. The combustion gases create air bubble’s that acts like a “plug” in the heater core. This may explain the noise you are hearing, "air" may be moving through the heater core causing this noise as well as poor heating of your truck. This is just a symptom of a larger problem.
Toyota had a campaign to correct this problem on some of these trucks at “no charge” to the customer. I would make sure to check with your local
dealership just to make sure that this program is still active. It may have
expired or your truck may not qualify for this program. So check with them first if you have a leaking head gasket problem.



I pray to God this isnt the case! I may be replacing the engine....

 

I'm almost positive that the blown head gasket isn't my problem because I'm not losing any of my fluids. But that thing bout the anti-freeze poisoning is nuts. I've never heard of that before. I honestly don't know what to tell you except keep checkin it out see if you can see it commin out anywhere. If you do by chance figure it out, post it or PM me so I know what I might need to do.

 

Yeah, that is freaky about the gas.

I'll let you know what I find out. The car still seems to drive fine, Im taking it over to Vegas in a couple of weeks, hopefully she makes it there and back!

 

Mine's been doin it for quite sometime. It also has it's days. I doesn't do it all the time so I wouldn't worry too much bout a trip unless you start smellin stuff. I just took a trip to kentucky from northern ohio and it was fine, so I say you should be ok.

 

Sounds good. Ill keep driving it until I figure this out. Do you know anything about the recall on the head gaskets for this engine?

 

Sounds like a head gasket to me. The "bubbling" is a good indicator, if your heater core in intact.So is the sudden loss of coolant. '95's are the end of the line, and NOT all of them quallify. I think it's mid '95 for the cut off. Toyota claims to have "fixed" the production problem at that time.

The campaign (V06 in the States, 802 in Canada) IS still open. Who knows for how long, but I just had it done. Unlimited miles, unlimited owners, unlimited time (so far). First thing you need to do is call Toyota (national 800 number and tell them your VIN. They can tell you if A) It is in the quallifying years and B) If it's been done before. If it's NOT in the good end of '95, or it's already been done, you're on your own. If it DOES quallify and has NOT been done, you may be looking at a free long block. The key at that point is how much damage to the internal engine components, like bearings, or how much warpage in the block. 0.039 is the runout limit. If the problem is very recent, and you have no incursion of coolant into oil, or oil into coolant, you might consider running with it until that block warps like a hockey stick (I AM CANADIAN, eh?). Keep in mind, doing this may cause a catastrophic failure of some engine component, and you may find yourself sitting on the roadside, waiting for Toyota's towtruck!

If the campaign IS open on your '95, your next call should be to a Dealer, to get that gasket replaced. Took them 3 cracks at mine, before I got my long block. I'd LOVE to show you my service receipt....47.5 labour hours(!?!?!), three sets of gaskets, various bolts, oh and that new long block! All for the low, low cost of $0.00
Good luck!

 

Okay, you sound pretty confident, and thats what I was dreading. So lets say that it is the HG, and mine doesnt qualify for the recall. I would like to just stay with the same engine, I dont really have a need for speed, I have a need for good gas mileage. So can anybody who reads this thread recommend a place (hopefully in northern california, ORegon or washington) that I can go to get a GOOD rebuilt 3.0 and installed/ good price, etc... THanks

 

It could be a tumor.

 

Its Not A Tumuh!

 

That head gasket thing...is it for 95 and up or 95 and down????

 

The head gasket campaign covers many of the 2nd Gen 4Runners...90 - mid 95 or so. Personally, my rig was made in May 1995, and doesn't qualify for the campaign.

Additionally, there were some 96's that also had a head gasket recall, but I don't think that any of the 97's and later were involved.

 

I have the same noise but no loss of fluids, problems with the heater, weird smells or loss of power related to any head gasket problem. Let us know what you find out

 

If it's the HG then the best case scenerio is you'll need to machine the heads or get new ones. The worse case scenerio is you'll need a new block. The longer you run it with a HG failure, the more likely you'll need a block.

Check for other signs of a HG failure, like plumes of white smoke out the exhaust, a milky substance under the oil cap and/or a rough idle. A mechanic can also do other tests to confirm a HG failure.

Also check to see if your passenger floor is wet. If it's wet, then the heater core blew. A HG failure alone does not explain the electrical problems.