Recent content by Patrick4R

I live in the north hills of Pittsburgh. There is a place on Babcock Blvd that does frame repair / welding. The name of the place is Beatty's Welding. My neighbor has know him for a long time...might be worth a look. If you need more information...let me know.

I just wanted to submit an update for anyone who has had the dreaded mixing of fluids from a bad radiator. My 96 SR5 (142K) 4x4's fluids got to know each other early in January and after reading several posts here...I was nervous it was a death sentence. I was able to get it home and about 1...

The day After Snowmorrow! Here in Pittsburgh, PA we had between 20 and 24 inches in one night. It was great and the entire neighborhood helped dig out the street. Here's a couple of pics of the morning after the storm! We tried to go to dinner that night...after 5 closed places we finally...

I have the exact same problem. I flushed the engine after replacing the radiator by replacing the thermostat. I thought that I got everything, but after firing it up...I had a little bit of oil still rising to the surface. I think that it's just that though...going for the highest points in...

I had one go on my 02 tacoma (same engine 3.4L). Unfortunately it wasn't the belt that actually broke. As someone earlier mentioned...it was the tensioner pulley bearing that fragged and let the belt jump time. I had 125K on the engine with the orig timing belt and it looked fine...no cracks...

The 4runner took 8 quarts of transmission fluid. It ran perfectly with no leaks or hesitation. Low speed shifting was smooth and predictable. We then took it on the interstate and it preformed perfectly there too. It locked up the converter on the highway like it did everyday before the...

Just an update for everyone who has had a similar problem with the strawberry quick. I have installed the new radiator and filled the system. No leaks yet. We dropped the transmission pan last night. Fluid was dark, but on the bright side...nothing bad in the filter or on the magnets...

Update on the 4runner! My buddy and I pulled the old radiator last night and drained what was left in the engine block. After several flushes and 2 of the most rusted bolts I have ever seen...the old radiator is gone. We pulled the thermostat and flushed several gallons of hot water through...

Interestingly enough....my mechanic says that he had 3 toyotas in Pittsburgh with the same problem this week. 2/3 were fixable! Maybe there is hope! hehehe

Thanks for all the suggestions...I priced out the radiator...only 200 bucks so I'm going to pull her into the garage as soon as the thaw happens this week. I'll keep you guys posted on the outcome. The 4runner will live again!!!!

Took a better look at things today. I have clean oil, but I have a strawberry milk colored tranny fluid. I'm going to change out the radiator, flush the block, flush the tranny as much as possibile and see what shakes loose. I only drove it about 1/3 mi with the bad fluid. I can only hope...

1996 SR5 with 141K. I was heading home, about 1/3 mile away, and had a sudden power loss, no heat, and a bad smell. It's been super cold here in PA and I went outside to warm up the 4runner. Everything was fine until we went to leave about 15 mins later. It sounded like it was missing, the...

For what it's worth, I have a similar smell coming from my 96 SR5 automatic. However, I've seen what has been causing it. There is a small amount of oil (only a couple of drops) that drips off the valve covers onto the exhaust manifold causing that smell. As soon as the weather gets better I...

I can't speak for that far north, but I live in Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. We're notorious for rust down here. Short of being able to put my finger through the frame...I'd be ok with an 05. I have a 96 that was rustproofed 13 years ago. It still shows rust regardless of the rustproofing...

1996 SR5 4WD with 134K on it last September for $2,800. The guy I bought it from was kinda anti-mechanical. He thought that the electrical system was having trouble...turned out to be a fuse and needed the AC recharged. After routine stuff like tires, brakes, oils, etc...about $3500. It has...