Hi YotaTech!

Unfortunately, I had a lapse in judgement last week and impulsively bought a 1991 Toyota 4x4 pickup from a shady used car dealer despite the numerous red flags (Dealer posing as a private seller on craigslist, poor reviews, etc).

169K miles. I was told it was mechanically great, has a rust hole on the bed, and during my 10 min test drive through small side streets, it drove awesome! I was told there was a lot of interest in the truck, so I bought it right away...

Forked over my cash, and tried to drive it 6 miles home. My home is on a slight hill, and on the way up, I notice the temp gauge slowly increasing. WTF?
I pulled over right before it hit red and shut her off. I could hear boiling in the radiator and it was spewing coolant out of the overflow tank.

Let the engine cool off while feeling so stupid and angry at myself for getting played like this. Pretty sleazy of the dealer to not disclose this, but ultimately, it is my fault since I fell for it.

Anyways, after much research, I'm 90% sure I have a blown head gasket, pushing exhaust into the cooling system under load (hills)...but I don't have the tell-tale signs.

No oil in coolant, no coolant in oil, no smoking. The next day, I limped to the smog station near by and it even passed! Made it home, but had to stop twice to let it cool. Basically, I can still drive around as long as I don't push the engine too much.

I inspected under the truck, and it has more rust than I initially thought. Seems like the frame is solid though.

I've always wanted one of these trucks, so I kind of want to suck it up and fix it myself, but I don't have much experience or knowledge with cars. (Clutch replacement is the hardest thing I've done)

I do have some advantages though (lots of time, substantial budget for tools and parts, and high motivation), but I also don't want to be wasteful or get in over my head.

So what do you guys think? Should I just sell the car for like $900 and eat the loss? proceed with the head gasket replacement? Does the frame look that bad, is it worth POR15ing it? I live in Nevada, it's pretty dry here, although I would like to take it to Tahoe once in a while.

Thanks guys, appreciate any input or advice!

Intact timing guide at 169K








The worst of it

 

go to the auto parts store and buy a exhaust gas test kit and do the test. If that comes up - than I would just go thro the cooling system replace the cap and t-stat and flush the system out. If you do have to do head gasket it's not that bad on the 22re and get a New timing chain And water pump.

Good luck and welcome to the forms

 

Thanks Cody. I did that twice, but the solution never turns yellow because the thermostat won't open even if I idle it for 20 minutes. I guess I gotta drive it to open the t-stat.

 

If it only overheats when pushed harder,that's a good possibility that you just have a plugged radiator.

 

Looks like just surface rust underneath

Wire brush and paint you should be good

The bed is the worst you can make it pretty or just fix it enough not to get worse.

I wonder if your thermostat is not opening unless it was a below freezing day it should open in 20 minutes.

If it is still the original radiator they do get tired and blocked.

We all at one time or another get excited about buying something we really want that the brain only sees the good things.

Till you get home or sooner

 

I had the same feeling buying from a small side street dealer, but wanted a Toy 4X4 P/U, not a Tacoma, tried to bring it back the next morning bright and early, wouldn't take it back, didn't want to hassle with the legal BS, but he did give me a few hundred back, so glad I kept it and got an even better deal on it.
Just look at it as a project, mine isn't the DD. If you're not mechanically inclined you could have a problem, old rigs can add up fast if you can't fix it yourself. Gotta have realistic view..
Good Luck, keep us updated

 

That's what it sounds like to me.
You could take it to a shop and have them flush it correctly but it could end up needing replaced.
There's thread on radiators in this section, might want to read and follow it.

Is the coolant really rusty looking?

 

Other then the bed, it looks just like surface rust on the frame. Check your spring perches on the rear and especially by the gas tank. If the bed is the worse part I personally wouldnt be concerned. As far as mechanical skills, that would determine if I kept the truck or not.

 

I'd say if you've done a clutch replacement, you are all set to whip this new one into shape.. It shouldn't be too awful bad. Looks like it'll be a good one as long as you don't have to pay someone else to do all the work.. Hopefully it's not as much stuff as my 95 runner I recently got.. I'd post the list but I don't want to derail your thread

 

Thanks for all the replies.

I'm glad you guys think the rust isn't as bad as it looks. That was my biggest concern. I will definitely clean it up and POR15 it.

Coolant is clean. So is oil.

I have new aisin water pump, aisin fan clutch, radiator, and thermostat coming in tomorrow. Hope that will help, but ain't holding my breath.

I'm not mechanically inclined, but I wanna be a car guy! So I will try my best.

 

You'll do fine.. Most all questions can be answered here if you get stumped, Yotatech is the best toyota resource out there.. I'd be broke and still without working transportation if it werent for these forums

 

That's funny to me because when I frequent car forums I can almost feel my wallet getting lighter. I want one of those, one of those and one of those. Good thing I'm not into the 4WD scene and just want to make my 2WD into a reliable driver.


From all the looking around in my area I found that the vast majority of below $3,000 Toyota trucks are full of very neglected and ill repaired vehicles. You just have to expect to correct bad repairs, fix neglected area's and current problems. At times it can easily add up to what you paid for the vehicle or over.


At $3,000 + range it's a mixed bag.

 

that could be because he replaced the oil and coolant right before you bought it.

see if you can find signs of water/oil mixing... it looks like mayonnaise, on the inside of the radiator cap, or in the coolant overflow.

i wouldn't start throwing too much money at that thing until you run a compression check and maybe hook a vacuum gauge up to it... harbor freight has cheap vacuum gauges.

order a new valve cover gasket, one with half donuts in it, and install it when you check the valve adjustment.

 

Thanks for the tip OSV and Odin. And also the encouragement from Void!

I removed the cooling system today so I can install the new stuff tomorrow. I also ordered a leak down tester, and compression tester.

My plan is if it still overheats with the new cooling system, I'll run a leak down, compression, and block test.

In hindsight, I probably should have waited and done the tests first.

If it shows just head gasket leak, I'll do that.
If it shows head gasket + damaged rings, then I'll just......lol

Tomorrow's the big day! Hoping it's a clogged radiator, still doubtful.

I can't find evidence of emulsion in coolant. It's like dark green/orange, but clear.


Nor under the valve cover




There she is, in the toyota family!

 

Check your coolant lines aswell make sure thats all good and check obvious things fan kicks on etc etc. But sounds like a radiator problem to me. but best of luck with the truck that frame isnt bad id dump the bed though and find you a good used one for cheap.

 

If thats the worst, your's is FAR better than mine. Your's I can actually do something with, mine....

The body might fall off.

 

The engine inside is clean, that's very good. Replace the radiator, one for the V6 should fit. Replace the thermostat too. I got a box of new busted ones, so beware you can have multiple bad t-stat's in a row. Just get the basics right.

Power wash the thing, and start chasing rust with eastwood's rust encapsulator or somesuch product. You live in NV! damn that will last forever!

Enjoy your new ride!

 

Since nobody brought up thermostats...
Thermostats offered by the aftermarket have taken a turn for the worst. About the best you can get from the aftermarket is the Stant SuperStat.

At this point there's only a couple thermostats that are really recommended for the 22R-E engines and they're both Toyota factory parts but neither came stock on the regular 22R-E.
The most highly suggested one on this site is the 190 degree Toyota two stage thermostat pt# 90916-03070. When these trucks were still being produced Toyota sent out a bulletin recommending the standard thermostat be replaced by this one to stop temperature overshoot.

Question: “Why does my engine temp go all the way up to the red before it comes back down to the middle of the gauge after I start it up in the morning. It only does this when the engine is cold and once it warms up it seems to operate normally. Could it be as simple as a stuck thermostat?”

“What happens on the 22R and 22RE engine, when the coolant goes through the heater core it gets cooled off enough that when it gets dumped back in on top of the t-stat it shuts it. Therefore the temperature in the engine continues to go up. The t-stat that I have mentioned has two valves in it, one at the regular temp. and one smaller on at a cooler temp. If the cool water shuts the big one, the smaller one stays open. All this happens because of the lack of a by-pass hose, which on other systems, keeps hot coolant running on the t-stat.”

You can get the two-stage thermostat mentioned above from your local Toyota Dealer but it isn't cheap. You can find it available at other places, just google the part number.
Part Number: #90916-03070


Another option is the Toyota 180 degree thermostat pt# 90916-03083 that Toyota installed on the turbocharged 22R-E's.
Since you live in a not so cold climate that's what I'd most likely install. People in colder climates will still need the higher temp one to help melt ice and keep themselves from being frozen in their trucks.

 

I'd dump that green coolant, even if it came back from a shop that freshly installed it.
From what I've read the Toyota Red Coolant PT#002721LLAC01 that you have to add water to is the way to go. Apparently it's a little more tailored for the Japanese aluminum head mounted on the iron block combination and can keep corrosion problems from happening for longer periods of time.

 

If you have the know how and resources you could flat bed it.