[3bears]

Originally Posted by max777

Sorry if this is redundant, I’ve seen other posts around blown HG’s but I’m not very mechanically inclined, I have a lot of specific questions, so I feel pretty at the end of my rope here and would appreciate any insight I could get.

After my car was stolen a month ago, the bad luck just keeps a comin’ and I bought a 98 Toyota 4Runner SR5 3.4 with 340K that ended up being an absolute hot mess. It was overheating and then I realized the radiator had a crack in it, so I replaced that and the cap. Was still overheating at idle so I replaced the thermostat and fan clutch. But then I noticed I was losing coolant with no visible leak. Uh oh, worried it’s the HG. And then the white smoke from the exhaust. Sigh. So this is where I’m at now. I’m a delivery driver and spent all the money I had saved on this being my new daily. So with the suspected blown HG this is my worst nightmare. As crazy as this sounds, part of me wants to do it myself just because I’ll never be able to afford getting the HG fixed at a shop anytime soon.
Thankfully there is no oil mixed with coolant from what I can tell, so I think the HG just blew towards the exhaust manifold and not the crankcase and there are no external leaks/puddles. So I feel like maybe I can do this.
So my question is, is this a crazy idea? I have pretty limited tools but would rather spend money on that then try to save for a mechanic to fix this. From the research I’ve done, I should do a leak down test. Recommended kits? It’s been a toss up between ones on Amazon and some elsewhere etc.
What other tools will I need for this job?
Do you have a complete HG kit you recommend that I can get online? I’m confused about everything I will need and I’ve seen so many different kits.
Can I potentially just buy all the parts (want to replace water pump, timing belt, etc also) and take it to someone independently or a shop and be charged for labor? Again, sorry if these questions are redundant.

Happily taking any advice. I also live in Oakland/SF Bay Area so if anyone knows anyone in the area that is available for advice, I would appreciate it thank you!!!

sorry about your luck..if you have limited tools and knowledge....maybe finding someone to do the leak down and other tests would be better to get correct diagnoistics. There is also a chemical dye test for radiator that tests for exhaust gas in radiator.
Maybe as simple as a weeping water pump.

you can also try this https://www.toyota-4runner.org/nor-cal/

and ask for help, recomended shops or indepepndents to help

[jcmb45678]

Im planning on putting a 1.5 inch body lift on my 01. Does anyone know how big of tires I can put on with that?

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by jcmb45678

Im planning on putting a 1.5 inch body lift on my 01. Does anyone know how big of tires I can put on with that?

265/75r16 without any issues. 285's with spc or other higher camber uca's or one inch body lift also may have to use wheel spacers.

[jcmb45678]

what would you reccomend

[fatherohenry]

Does this look possibly correct?

I replaced my radiator (new AZ011) for the first time and attempted to flush the system per Tim & Sean's video.

I hadn't thought to do this when I hired someone to help me with the TB/TS/WP/VCG a couple weeks ago. We refilled with Prestone at the time so there was at least a recent drain/fill.

No way to get an accurate temp reading on my '96 5VZ-FE so I ran it 10-15 minutes between flushes, working the throttle to get it up to temp. Front and rear temp controls were set to hot. Funnel level didn't drop much but bubbles stopped and I could see a color change in what was in the funnel.

Each cycle took me an hour and twenty minutes. Had I known that I would've started before 5:30pm.

I bought her in '12 with 202k miles and have put on 45k since. I have no idea when the PO had the radiator changed or flushed.

Anyway, I'm wondering if these colors look correct or if I was impatient and didn't get a proper flush. I was expecting to see much darker.

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by jcmb45678

what would you reccomend

265/75r16.

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by fatherohenry

Does this look possibly correct?

I replaced my radiator (new AZ011) for the first time and attempted to flush the system per Tim & Sean's video.

I hadn't thought to do this when I hired someone to help me with the TB/TS/WP/VCG a couple weeks ago. We refilled with Prestone at the time so there was at least a recent drain/fill.

No way to get an accurate temp reading on my '96 5VZ-FE so I ran it 10-15 minutes between flushes, working the throttle to get it up to temp. Front and rear temp controls were set to hot. Funnel level didn't drop much but bubbles stopped and I could see a color change in what was in the funnel.

Each cycle took me an hour and twenty minutes. Had I known that I would've started before 5:30pm.

I bought her in '12 with 202k miles and have put on 45k since. I have no idea when the PO had the radiator changed or flushed.

Anyway, I'm wondering if these colors look correct or if I was impatient and didn't get a proper flush. I was expecting to see much darker.

You did a pretty thorough job. color looks good.

[fatherohenry]

Originally Posted by spartacus

You did a pretty thorough job. color looks good.

Great, thank you. Like I said, I was expecting it to be darker and was afraid I may not have flushed it all.

[sportscarfan]

Originally Posted by jcmb45678 View Post
Im planning on putting a 1.5 inch body lift on my 01. Does anyone know how big of tires I can put on with that?

Originally Posted by spartacus

265/75r16 without any issues. 285's with spc or other higher camber uca's or one inch body lift also may have to use wheel spacers.

You can fit 285/75-16's with a 1" body lift and the slightly taller '99 "highlander" springs. My rig has been this way for years. You will need to flatten the pinch weld at the rear of the front wheelwell with a BFH.
You will have major clearance issues with 285's and the '01 springs.

[Endlessblockades]

Originally Posted by spartacus

265/75r16.

You can get a surprising amount of wheeling done at this size even though they are approximately 31.5/32" tires depending on MFG, and will not get you any points in the mall parking lot. 285s are basically 33s.

[photoleif]

Originally Posted by fatherohenry

Great, thank you. Like I said, I was expecting it to be darker and was afraid I may not have flushed it all.

that looks precisely like my lineup of jugs. darkest, dark, not-so-dark, lighter, lighter still, clearish, clear :-)

i couldn't find anywhere willing to take the coolant, and couldn't even find whether it is or isn't considered hazardous waste in my state, so i evaporated out the water in pans, and kept concentrating it so that it was mostly just three gallons of concentrated coolant. i then suspended that in kitty litter and dry soil and threw it in the trash over a period of weeks. ridiculous.

[Bad Luck]

Originally Posted by photoleif

that looks precisely like my lineup of jugs. darkest, dark, not-so-dark, lighter, lighter still, clearish, clear :-)

i couldn't find anywhere willing to take the coolant, and couldn't even find whether it is or isn't considered hazardous waste in my state, so i evaporated out the water in pans, and kept concentrating it so that it was mostly just three gallons of concentrated coolant. i then suspended that in kitty litter and dry soil and threw it in the trash over a period of weeks. ridiculous.

That's surprising. All the parts stores near me accept used oil and used coolant as long as they aren't mixed.

[photoleif]

Originally Posted by Bad Luck

That's surprising. All the parts stores near me accept used oil and used coolant as long as they aren't mixed.

definitely surprised me too. i called several places in our immediate area, looked at the state hazardous waste disposal info and so on, called the landfill (which hosts an annual hazardous waste dropoff), and no one had clear guidance, and the chain auto shops didn't want it. it was just weird.

[Devbot]

Originally Posted by photoleif

that looks precisely like my lineup of jugs. darkest, dark, not-so-dark, lighter, lighter still, clearish, clear :-)

i couldn't find anywhere willing to take the coolant, and couldn't even find whether it is or isn't considered hazardous waste in my state, so i evaporated out the water in pans, and kept concentrating it so that it was mostly just three gallons of concentrated coolant. i then suspended that in kitty litter and dry soil and threw it in the trash over a period of weeks. ridiculous.

Why not just dump it in the backyard?

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by Devbot

Why not just dump it in the backyard?

Because if animals or kids ingest it BAD!