ive tried searching on how to figure out how to tell the tell tale signs of a hg problem. but im still at a loss.

i recently noticed that my coolant reservoir was damn near empty, so i refilled it with a 50/50 mix of water coolant. its been a few days and cant really tell a difference in level, but today i changed my oil and once drained into the pan i noticed that it was a bit of foam/bubbles on top of the oil.

could this be because of antifreeze mixed with oil??

never seen oil come out like that before.

it may help to note it was about 4000 miles since the last oil change. could that be the reason for the foamish oil??

the engine is not missing whatsoever and runs strong, which would not be so if there was a prob with my hg's, right??

thanks-will

 

White steam coming out the exhaust, but that's only when it gets bad. Disappearing coolant, if not leaking, is usually a sign. So is coolant being forcibly ejected from the overflow tank. Latte-colored oil is a sign (of water in the oil); stop running the motor immediately because water in the oil will kill the bearings fast. In fact if you think water is in the oil, change oil with an inexpensive oil and pour half a can of Seafoam in the crankcase. Run it for ten minutes or so; the isopropyl alcohol in the Seafoam will absorb the water and clean the bearings up some. Do that before tearing the motor down.

My engine showed none of those signs when my head gasket began leaking - the leak was too small. But when I changed plugs one day, I noticed #1 was slightly rusty. I ran a compression test and that cyl was a little low. I now know that a leakdown test would have given me more definitive information, but, being a shade tree, I didn't know about it then (2001). I pulled the heads and found the gasket's steel sealing ring around the #1 cyl had rusted and showed signs of leaking.

I would check the plugs, looking for rust or coolant; #6 is most common place for gasket to go. Run a compression test, and if you're not sure, find a shop that has the means to run a leakdown test (has the special leakdown gauge).
http://web.archive.org/web/200712121...s/leakdown.htm

 

yeah coffee colored oil is the mark of death...

anyways, sb5 gave you the best answer there is to your question

 

here is a video of what my exhaust looked like on my 4runner around November still warm here.This is when it got really bad and had a hard time starting
[YOUTUBE]bFg8iyihDAI[/YOUTUBE]

 

thanks for all the feedback!! ill follow the advice...

 

I have done a compression test. All over 150, closer to 175 if I crank 6 times or so. Drained the oil. Dark Brown. All spark plugs look exactly the same. Perfect according to charts I see online. Never overheats. Coolant stayed in overflow and never went back to radiator. Seems to have been a bad radiator cap. Only indication was a tiny bit of light smoke, but previous owner hardly drove it and only about 30 mins at a time. Light smoke has gone after using sea foam.

Thoughts?

 

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Be Happy!

 

Motor oil with coolant entrained in it has a unique and unmistakable consistancy.

The mere fact that your oil was brown probably just means you needed an oil change.

 

I forgot to post the original reasons why the first owner thought it might be a HG problem. When you start the truck it idles high and never drops down. 1800 rpm or so. when you first try to drive it, it hesitates and bucks...hard to rev over 2500 rpm. after a few minutes, that clears up and it runs ok. I removed the throttle body and plenum. The TPS was stuck open and wouldn't move. I also had 3 codes pointing to the TPS, VAF and IAT. I guess I just saw the white oil under the cap and thought the worst. Anyway, thank for replying. I posted my own thread but got no replies at all. Trying to get this thing running for a meet up in September.