Recent content by Voltan73

I'm the third owner. From the service history I could access from work, it appears the first owner was good about maintenance. The second owner was a kid just starting college, and not so good about servicing. I discovered the head gasket (suspected at least) on the 45-minute drive home from...

I had a lot of work done. In addition to the head gaskets, the radiator was leaking, I had both cv axles replaced, and new tires all on one repair order. I'm a parts counterman at a Toyota dealer, so employee rate for labor is $100 per hour. It was 22 hours for everything, plus parts and machine...

Mine had no codes or symptoms, just coolant loss. Block test fluid turned green instantly. The bad spot on these gaskets is usually between cylinders 4 & 6, which is where mine was. Upon completion of the repair, threw a code for rear 02 sensor. Changed that out as well, good to go.

What fluid type is your rig? If it's type WS, that could be the problem. WS fluid is not a DIY type of operation. I work the technicians parts counter at a Toyota dealership. To do this properly, a scan-tool is used, and the fluid has to be within a specific temperature range.

Very likely the serp-belt tensioner.

Wednesday, June 17th After some fishing at Jackson Meadows Reservoir, I went up the Bald Ridge Loop to get some shots of the Sierra Buttes.

Tuesday, June 16th Paid a visit to Lindsey Lakes, up off of Bowman Lake Rd.

Monday, June 15th I made the trip up to the Babbitt Peak fire lookout in Sierra County, at 8727' elevation. Stunning views up there.

Use a block test kit to check for exhaust gases in the cooling system. That will be the easiest way to determine if it's a head gasket. I hope that it's not!

Sunday, May 31st Went halfway up the Soda Springs Rd from Robinson Flat. Perfect weather, fantastic scenery.

A very good theory; highly possible if equipped.

So far this year, most of my outings have been driving paved roads to hiking trails. However, on Monday, June 15th, I'll be taking the 4Runner up to the fire lookout on Babbitt Peak. Never been to that one before; looking forward to it.

My 2003 SR5 V6 is my daily driver, albeit my round-trip commute to work & back is only 8 miles. With a four-day work week, the miles are slow to accumulate. I have my oil changes done at work (I'm a parts counterman at a Toyota dealership) every six months.

This sort of thing occurs year-round, but is most prevalent in winter. At first, we saw this sort of thing in newer vehicles. Wire harnesses now have soy-based wire shielding, which the rodents love. They used to ignore the older vehicles that didn't have the soy-wrapped wires, but now we're...

I'm a back counter parts guy at a Toyota dealer. The final update disc for that unit was the 2016 version.