As to the undercarriage, give it a good wash- maybe twice. I've had dust ah mud masquerade as rust until I really looked at it. One of my vehicles came from Alabama where there is red clay mud all over. I thought the frame had surface rust until I scratched it and saw paint. I washed the underside with a lawn sprinkler for an hour or so and had quite a bit of red mud clumps. One of the trucks I looked at on my search looked have a lot of fine surface rust but licking my thumb and then wiping revealed paint.


Obviously you can't "wash" all the rust away, but a good cleaning will help figure out what's what.

I decided to replace the cooling pipes with something else because they are completely worn out. The rust is just too bad. I can do more cleaning and grinding but i'm sure it will leak and the rust will come back in time.

Maybe this:



and this:



I'm figuring out what kind of metal the new fittings need to be made off. I think the coolant may not work with every metal? This needs more research though.

As for the coolant flow direction, i figured it out quite easy



Now something else i want to try:



This black hose runs from the top of the engine to the air intake. (air intake was removed in the picture) I believe it directs gasses (and oil) that originate from over-pressure or something?? (not my best english and correct me if i'm wrong)
The problem is my air intake and turbo is flooded with oil. The filter is fine, no oil there, but the result is oil leaking out the air duct in to the engine bay.

Maybe i can solve the problem by adding some type of 'oil waste basket'? I know there are few diesel owners here and i think this is a typical diesel problem (is it ?) but has this been done before?

Man, i only got the car for one month...

My new fittings are ordered and will be delivered on tuesday. Hopefully i can get the cooling circuit back operational next weekend and start flushing.

Until then, more cleaning:











I could buy a new radiator if they are not too expensive. For now this one is still ok i think.

Ok, i have her running again with the new cooling hoses and i got way better temperatures. The temp gauge doesn't go past half way during 30min trips at 70km/h max. Still need to try out the highway but so far so good.

The bad news is i found a new leak... ugh.


So i did not connect the interior heating.

Engine bay:


These two go to the rear heater.


From the engine bay to the front heater. (not connected for now)


Return hose from heater, turbo and engine block.


Someone doesn't give a sh*t...


So i replaced the old tubes with these. They are used to connect hot water from solarpanels.

1. hot water from engine bay (in)
2. cold water to engine bay (out)
3. hot water to rear heater
4. got this one wrong! i'ts the cold water from rear heater and must be connected to hose #2!
5. cold water from turbo
6. cold water from engine bay
7. hot water to front heater (not connected)
8. cold water from front heater (not connected)

I need some additional parts to get the interior heating working but now that i understand the cooling circuit it will be much easier to work with.

On to the next thing: stabilizer bar (please correct me, i don't know the exact english word)

These are worn out.


I managed to get the top bolt of fairly easy.


New rubbers (+€100 holy sh*t) comming in wednesday.

Hi again with a new update!

Made a 45min trip on the highway today and sadly the temperature showed near the red line while cruising at 90/100km/h.

I'm getting a 'new' radiator. There is a company called 'ARD' not far from where i live. They are specialized in cleaning and overhauling radiators. What they do is cutting off the top and bottom and putting a new thicker rad in between. So you have a rad that has twice the capacity whilst maintaining the same size.

The good news: i found someone who is willing to work with me on the 4runner. So i'm not alone anymore and he has way more knowledge then me. He also has some spare Range Rover Defender spings that we can use to replace the old ones.

But first thing first: new radiator.

Couldn't wait and installed the stabilizer bars today. This should be an half our job but one bolt decided not to cooperate...





The nut was welded so i had to cut it off.




And then the sun went down...

Have you replace the radiator yet? Curious to know if that fixed your issue.

Nop, i haven't. But i contacted the company and will visit them probably monday.
The pricetag is between €200 and €500.

Another bolt decided to laugh at me...



But not for long. The new ones are in (finally).

You can always win against those stuck bolts with a torch. They can't be stubborn when they are liquid.

No torch yet. I'll put it on the list under the multimeter.

Got word on the radiator yesterday. The can put in a new thicker net. The original one is 4cm and they can add another 1,3cm and an extra water-channel. Cooling capacities will be improved but i'm not %100 sure if this solves the problem. For €270 i think this is a good investment anyway.

More coolant capacity is never a bad investment.

Picked up my new radiator last week. It is thicker than before and tested for leaks. The new fins are copper also. No aluminium.









Now here's an idea but i'm not sure it's a good one:

I removed the AC pump and rad to allow more airflow to the rad for the engine coolant. (This is Belgium, not Australia. Temps are not so high here...)


I was thinking of using the fan of the AC as additional engine cooling. I just need to figure out the wiring...

Have you driven it sense the new radiator?

Nope, not yet. The whole 'extra AC-fan cooling-idea' is for later. I'm waiting for a new lower radiator hose. I ordered some aftermarket superflex hose but figured out that the diameter on the engine block is not the same as on the radiator. So the hose won't fit.

We also need to fix a leakin pinion seal first. Front and rear.