I bought this 4runner from this guy that said it just needed a radiator and fan (fan broke and took out the radiator). I bought the 4runner and brought it home. It starts and runs but I cannot run it very long without the radiator. As far as I know it has been sitting for 8months. I cannot run it long enough to heat it up for a compression test so I ran a cold test. Here are my results:

*90/ 105 (wet) 105/ 105(wet)
*65/ 90 (wet) 75/ 95(wet)
85/ 105 (wet) 85/ 105(wet)

[Front of truck]

The "wet" results are within spec. (But the dry are way off. Remember this was performed on a cold engine) Does this indicate bad piston rings or am I getting these numbers because the car has not been warmed up in 8 months? Also, when I pulled the intake off, I found about a tablespoon of oil...some of it had dripped down to the filter. I also found light brown colored clumpy oil on two of the spark plugs. (found in the cylinders marked with *).

 

The light brown oil that I found at the bottom of the spark plugs looks like it came through the spark plug housing seals if that helps diagnose??

 

wow...I found a lot of light brown colored oil in the intake tube. when I went to put it on it all came out! What is this? piston rings?

 

I bought this 4runner from this guy that said it just needed a radiator and fan (fan broke and took out the radiator). I bought the 4runner and brought it home. It starts and runs but I cannot run it very long without the radiator. As far as I know it has been sitting for 8months. I cannot run it long enough to heat it up for a compression test so I ran a cold test. Here are my results:

*90/ 105 (wet) 105/ 105(wet)
*65/ 90 (wet) 75/ 95(wet)
85/ 105 (wet) 85/ 105(wet)

[Front of truck]

The "wet" results are within spec. (But the dry are way off. Remember this was performed on a cold engine) Does this indicate bad piston rings or am I getting these numbers because the car has not been warmed up in 8 months?

Also, when I pulled the intake off, I found about a tablespoon of oil...some of it had dripped down to the filter. I also found light brown colored clumpy oil on two of the spark plugs. (found in the cylinders marked with *). ******checked the oil and it was 2-3qts overfilled. Im thinking that was the problem.******

 

It looks like the oil that i found at the bottom of the spark plugs came from the top of the spark plug housing seals.

 

I checked the oil level and it was 2-3qts over. Could this have caused the oil in the intake?

 

I would imagine so. Would change compression numbers also. Also need a full charge on a good battery. Any antifreeze in the oil?

 

Was it rolled over?

 

your compression results are not within spec. My 97 5vz motor had 190-200 between all the cylinders.

 

Well... Im no expert but I think I would go ahead and buy a radiator and fan because you will have to eventually. Then you can drive it and see how the motor performs. Do your compression tests on a warm motor, compare old test numbers with new test numbers.

 

Got a picture of your compression tester? The tester itself can play a major role in final numbers.

 

Oil was dark...no signs of antifreeze as far as I could see. I used a good battery. Next I am going to perform a leakdown test.

 

The motor was not warmed up when I performed the test. I say it was in spec b/c the "wet" numbers were within 10% of each other.

I also have a 99 tacoma (which runs well) and tested the compression(as a comparison) while the engine was cold. I only tested one cylinder and it read 90 lb.

 

Yea....I thought about that but don't want to invest if the motor is shot. I don't have the time right now for a project. I am going to leakdown test today.

 

I don't. I borrowed it from Autozone. I ran a cold compression test on one cylinder of my strong running 99 tacoma and got a reading of 90lb.

 

Thats kinda what i figured. How long is the hose going to the tester?

To me it looks like you have 2 cylinders that are a little low on compression but nothing to be real worried about. I have 2 weak cylinders myself but it still runs fine. When it dies i will rebuild it but till then no reason to mess with it.

I would try another tester, you want the shortest hose possible and make sure the check valve is working. How many times did you spin the motor during the test as well?

 

The hose was about 12-16 in. The motor was turned 8x per cylinder. I am going out now to buy a leak down tester. I will post results when Im done. Thanks for the help!

 

Yeah, a long hose like that will greatly effect the readings.

When getting the leak down tester, you have to get a quality unit, DO NOT get a harbor freight leak down tester or similar. They are worthless.

 

Doh! I just finished the leak down test using my Harbor Freight tool. Hopefully these numbers will help? Seems like it is within spec since the %'s are in the same ballpark. Take into consideration that this motor has 314,000 miles on it and it was performed while the motor was cold. What you think?

Cold Engine Leak Down Test

33% leakage 33% leakage
38% leakage 33% leakage
23% leakage 30% leakage
[Front of truck]

* I could hear the air escaping through the oil dip stick hole so this means its leaking through the piston rings correct?

According to the leak tester these numbers fall in the green zone.

 

The numbers themselves are worthless, ideally you want leakage to be in the sub 10% range. But that gauge is biased depending on how much input pressure you put in.

Listening to it is worthwhile. If it was coming out the dipstick then it is most likely worn/stuck rings. You could try a seafoam treatment and even putting some in the oil, it has been known to help stuck rings.

I would get another compression tester, one with the shortest hose you can use. Then see what that reads.

In the end though, if it runs, then drive it. Don't mess with the motor till it dies. It is usually cheaper to just get another motor vs rebuilding. That why i am not worried about mine, long as it runs, i will drive it.

I would change the oil out for mobile 1. It sucks as an oil but works GREAT as a cleaner. Will clean the inside of a motor to like new. After you run that for a few thousand miles go to a good oil. I like rotella T6 personally. AMSoil is better but costs more.