Scratched a tree with my radiator in the forest off roading. I cracked it badly at the bottom in the middle of the forest solo! Drove it off the trail to the nearest dirt road about a mile or two away. Hoping someone would drive by me and get me some assistance. No phone signal. Anyways I drove it until the temp gauge got to hot and shut it down to preserve my mint engine. Two days later I finally got found and home. I filled the radiator with water and it pours out the bottom immediately. I wanted to see if the engine would start before pulling the radiator out but it would only crank and not start. The engine oil is clear and new so I really hope I didn't do any damage to the engine. I'm pretty sure the truck won't start with a busted radiator???? Is this right? I wanted to hear my engine run ugh just to make me feel better. My poor girl! Anyone have experience or knowledge on this subject?

Compression test ✔️ faster than this ferry forum can respond with some knowledge. That's what was worrying me the most, the head gasket. Not sure what is preventing it from starting maybe a sensor or limp mode? Y'all don't know, maybe a rare few can reply! Onward with repair.

I don't know, maybe 'we' here don't know, it's such a specific situation I personally would hate to give some advice like, "Oh it'll be fine replace the broken parts, add fluids and go for it!" and you end up messing your engine up.

The truck (engine\ECM) doesn’t know that radiator is busted… ECM knows the temperature of engine\coolant but that is all… so no starting is related to some other problem your 4Runner now has…

Without doing basic troubleshooting including pulling the codes there is no way to suggest what has happened…

Wild guesses here, but since you mentioned that radiator core support is also broken, is it possible that there are other damage(s) -broken wires, ripped sensors, etc.… and if the truck spend couple days in the forest, maybe some critters got in the engine bay and chewed some wires...?

The thing is I want to make sure my engine isn't messed up before I do the repairs. Thanks for your input sir!

\the engine cranks and you stated the engine does not run ?
put a scan tool on the OBDII turn the key on not cranking .. look up codes .. reset codes then crank the engine ...post codes on the forum..

now if your starting the engine when it is hot,,, probably the timing chain will snap off or break ..

That is the same thing I'm thinking. The head gasket/compression is fine and the whole inside of the truck got wet and fogs up from the busted coolant system. There are sensors mounted on the radiator support. I believe they are airbag or crash sensors?? I don't have af_ucking $400 repair manual to find what should be easy to access to the vehicle you own. No critters, I was trapped in the truck until I was found 😆 I'm dirty south old school! Walked five miles to the highest elevation just to get a 911 signal and be found whilst burning a fire to keep from freezing to death 👽

I ran it until it hit H on the temp gauge. The ECM Is what I hope is preventing it from starting via sensor\sensors..

PM sent

Pull codes manually via DLC tomorrow didn't think of that but it may shed some light on the no start. Thanks! This b!tch better not f_ck me after 12 years of love. Never overheated until this incident and oil is completely clear with no milky residue. No condensation on oil fill cap. No moisture upon inspection of spark plugs, beautifully clean. Compression 100✓ indicating head gasket is fine. She better not f_ck me after I replace the radiator and check the sensors up there, I love her. 😩

Are you saying your compression test got 100psi? That is quite low, depending on how you did it, but more importantly, how close were they to each other?

Can you not flat tow it out? Any members in the area with Techstream and a cable you could borrow?

This forum tends to be mostly about putting the same overland decorations as every 4runner they see on Instagram. A lot of knowledgeable people rarely visit the forum any more, if at all.

How big of tires can I fit and what lift should I get?

Seems odd the inside would have an issue if it was just the radiator.

Yellow sensors/ yellow wire wrap are the airbag sensors.

Yeah, this ferry forum...

Anyway, 100 psi during a properly performed compression test, is low as already mentioned. A leakdown test would be appropriate.

One clue that was briefly mentioned was that the interior got wet. If the interior was under water, that means electrical components and ECU's likely got wet. Pulling out the interior and drying and checking all electrical connections, and all ECU's/ BCM's, would be a good place to start.

If all the coolant leaked out, the engine can get much hotter before the ECT sensor senses a too hot condition. This is bad for the deck and heads that need to be flat within a small tolerance, to seal with the headgasket(s).