|
Junior Member
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 2
|
|
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 2
|
Coolant leak, whining noise, vacuum leak, alternator, starter, battery issues
Hi, I am new on these forums and it seems that this week I have had the perfect storm of difficult to diagnose problems, so here is what I am dealing with, any help would be appreciated.
I have a 1997 4runner v6 4 speed auto 4x4 with 131K, I did an oil change and replaced the air filter about 300 miles ago, and at 120K the timing belt, water pump, and spark plugs were apparently done. (I did not own the car at this point but I do have a receipt)
So I'll start from the beginning, I bought the car in august, and I had it checked out by a mechanic, the valve covers were leaking a little oil and the rear brake shoes had 10% life on them, but other then that it appeared to be in pristine condition, so I had them replace the shoes and neglected the valve covers as there really wasn't that much oil leaking.
The Brakes.
After they replaced the shoes i noticed a heavy vibration, and an odd smell driving around town, so I felt the drums and burned my hands, it took two trips back in to the mechanic for them to resurface the drums and get it right, however every once in a while I will have one of the shoes drag seemingly randomly. Lately when it has been cold I will start the car and let it idle for about 30 seconds, then depress the breaks and put it in gear and turn around, when I go to stop to put it in reverse to complete my turn the petal is hard and I almost hit the curb because the car was so difficult to stop. Also sometimes when I apply the breaks there is a hissing noise.
The Disappearing Coolant
Last week i noticed my coolant was a little low so I topped the reservoir off, today I looked under the hood and it was half empty (Insert pun about my pessimism here.) After the car warms up it doesn't blow white smoke,(It has been about 15-25F when I start the car in the morning so there is some water in the exhaust.) And that is all I can say about the coolant.
Starter Motor, Battery, Alternator
About a month ago when I would go to start the car every once in a while It would just turn over once, or click the first time I tried to start it, and then It would start normally, but after driving around town at night last weekend all I got was the starter solenoid clicking, so I got a jump and I was on my way. The battery is about 4 years old and it was cold that night.
Whining Noise
I start the car to go to school today and let it warm up, (no starting problems this morning), then I almost hit the curb because of the brake booster again, and then I set off, and there is this fairly loud high pitched whining noise, and I cant tell If it is a whistle or a mechanical whine, the intensity and pitch matches the engine RPMs, and it is nearly silent at idle, by the time I made it 2 miles the noise had almost disappeared. It almost sounded like a turbo.
So that's my story, all of the noises and starting issues seem to go away as the car warms up and seem to be made worse by the cold weather lately. I drive the car 2 miles to school and then 2 miles back during the week, and usually do longer trips over the weekend with my friends. I am going to get out my camera and try to replicate the problems later so you guys can hear and see what is going on. I am trying to do more maintenance and repairs myself lately and i have a Chilton's manual, so any advice is welcome.
Thanks
|