9 4Runner overheating, please advise

[ultmt81]

Hi everyone, I hope you can help me as I am a new member to the 4Runner lifr. I bought a 92 4Runner last Monday to replace my TC that was totaled out (RIP my little bean), as I've always wanted a 4Runner. I thought it would be a great fit with my two young daughters and as we go camping a few times a month. Cue the gentle beast...

93 4Runner, Auto, 4wd @149K w/some change. No catalytic converter and a dead battery. I pay the man $2300 and feel somewhat relieved that I finally have a car and can turn in the horrible rental car (Nissan Versa) that my former insurance provider me. Right away, I buy a new battery and have a nice gentleman install a spanking new catalytic converter. I have my man follow me to the rental to turn the car in and we can go on our merry way.

Do we? Nope, my truck dies. Twice in the parking lot then once more as we are trying to pull out to get a late lunch. :yell: We have lunch, start the truck up and send like we're good to go. I'm a happy girl, no complaints.

Then the overheating issues begin the following day. It only occurs when I'm adding some gas going up a hill (as I am learning I am now a part of the 3.slow family). The needle gets somewhat close to red so I blast heat on high (if I'm close to home) or pull over so it can cool down; it takes twenty minutes to cool down. I've had the coolant reservoir bubble three times now, which scared the &#@& out of me because I've never seen it happen before.

My man's mechanic has done a tune-up already, installed a new thermostat (180), flushed the coolant and is about to install a new radiator today, thanks to the previous owner not flushing properly with the last radiator install and leaving me with what he calls "poo poo water." I have a new radiator hose up top, the bottom one was in good condition he said. He also mentioned the water pump was newer... No leaks...

I also checked with my local dealership about the head gasket replacement and was told that it was completed Sept 97.

Sorry for a novel but I'm trying to provide as much info as I can, I'm going for advice on what the *bleep* is wrong and if I'm missing anything. And of course, tips and tricks on how to cope with what feels like a drastically different vehicle than my manual TC. Thank you in advance!

 

[crash813]

Sorry to hear about the issues you're having. There's several components that obviously are in play with the coolant system. If thermostat has been replaced, then I would still guess head gasket issues. Even with the fix, they still pop. I would check compression on #5 cylinder..... the back passenger one. I'm guessing its not a major leak but enough to cause the overheating. Could be another reason the coolant looks like 'p00 p00'.

Much, much less likely is check if they switched over to an electric controlled fan or if its still belt driven. Electric ones can fail especially since they were installed by some PO.

After that, I'd do a really good flush and timing belt/water pump.

But my money would be on the HG.

 

[541joseph]

Sorry to hear about the issues you're having. There's several components that obviously are in play with the coolant system. If thermostat has been replaced, then I would still guess head gasket issues. Even with the fix, they still pop. I would check compression on #5 cylinder..... the back passenger one. I'm guessing its not a major leak but enough to cause the overheating. Could be another reason the coolant looks like 'p00 p00'.

Much, much less likely is check if they switched over to an electric controlled fan or if its still belt driven. Electric ones can fail especially since they were installed by some PO.

After that, I'd do a really good flush and timing belt/water pump.

But my money would be on the HG.

x2 i thought this when i first saw it just didnt want to be the bad news bear

 

[ultmt81]

Thank you guys for the responses, greatly appreciated! New radiator install seems to have fixed the issue... I have not overheated since the install, and the old radiator was much heavier than my new one. The mechanic working on my car said it was loaded up with the sewer water I had previously mentioned, and was pleased to see my truck working much better. As am I... !!!

 

[nissanh]

I also though your problem is with the radiator. Use distiller water and coolant. Never use municipal water as they contin lots of salts and gets deposited at high temperatures.
If you have time, open the top radiator tank and you'll find the water lines are clogged.

About 3 years ago I was heading to Reno from Sacramento and on the way I had an overheating problem. I was foolish, I replaced the fan clutch and continued uphill and again started the temp to go up. Then I opened the thermostat cover to inspect the thermostat and saw it was fully open. And it is time to refill the coolant. Guess what, now the radiator is empty, I saw the water lines inside the radinator are all covered with some kind of layer! Replaced the radiator and Solved th problem.

 

[91'4bee]

If it still does it after replacing the radiator and all the fan stuff works(clutch fan especially) then do a compression test on all cylinders. Another thing to is that the water pump could be bad to. The only way to see that is to take the pump off and look at the inside metal blades. Those could be cracked and not providing enough flow. That usually doesn't have an external leak so it is impossible to tell. I defiantly hate it when you do work on your car and it doesn't solve the problem, its the worst feeling.

Good luck.

 

[Buck Bridges]

I love the classic toyota owners. The truck can have low tire pressure and someone is gonna say its HG related! We are a scared bunch of folks!

 

[mikebontoft]

I love the classic toyota owners. The truck can have low tire pressure and someone is gonna say its HG related! We are a scared bunch of folks!

This is accurate and rightfully so! Tell me... do you know anyone with a classic that is still on its original engine? haha. I was on #3 before I sold it.

 

[Buck Bridges]

This is accurate and rightfully so! Tell me... do you know anyone with a classic that is still on its original engine? haha. I was on #3 before I sold it.

Ha, but I love her! She don't mean it when she hits me... Its my fault anyways, I mixed the green and red coolant. I deserved it. She's gonna change. We're gonna get her some help and she promised to stop drinking so much oil.

Sigh... funny but somehow, true!

 

[91'4bee]

This is accurate and rightfully so! Tell me... do you know anyone with a classic that is still on its original engine? haha. I was on #3 before I sold it.

I am on the original motor but I am always nervous about it with all the threads saying how often stuff breaks or problems with them especially since its my DD.

 

[ultmt81]

If it still does it after replacing the radiator and all the fan stuff works(clutch fan especially) then do a compression test on all cylinders. Another thing to is that the water pump could be bad to. The only way to see that is to take the pump off and look at the inside metal blades. Those could be cracked and not providing enough flow. That usually doesn't have an external leak so it is impossible to tell. I defiantly hate it when you do work on your car and it doesn't solve the problem, its the worst feeling.

Good luck.

Thank you, I really appreciate your reply. I am definitely going to add this to my checklist of things to do with the truck. So far, **knock on wood** he had not overheated.

However!

My newest issue is that the truck surges, shakes, and held (sometime) when I am on the freeway to work. This morning, it felt like the motor was going to drop out from the car and needless to say, I was #@£%%&!? bricks. It did it a little on the way back home this afternoon but not as bad. BTW, it had been doing this off and on for abou 3 days now. Idle is around 500, and one am it started at 1000 and revved on its own to 1200 and did that repeatedly until I revved a few times. I thought it was possessed by the devil.

No fluid leakage... Not sure what is up? Please help!

 

[Metalguy]

My '95 bubbled the overflow tank after I shut it off today. Ialways watch the temp gage, and today it was all over the map, almost to red, then back to half way, and then between.....And then I get home, shut it off, and I hear.....bubbles. So I too am wondering on the HG issue. I will go out and look at the coolant after it cools...hopefully I don't have the oil spots of doom!!! I will give the oil a look, too. --------Metalguy

 

[91'4bee]

My newest issue is that the truck surges, shakes, and held (sometime) when I am on the freeway to work. This morning, it felt like the motor was going to drop out from the car and needless to say, I was #@£%%&!? bricks. It did it a little on the way back home this afternoon but not as bad. BTW, it had been doing this off and on for abou 3 days now. Idle is around 500, and one am it started at 1000 and revved on its own to 1200 and did that repeatedly until I revved a few times. I thought it was possessed by the devil.

No fluid leakage... Not sure what is up? Please help!

Dang that car just isn't happy! Ok well I assume the new radiator solved the overheating...?

As for the surging/shaking at freeway speed it could be a number of things...but instead of me just blindly guessing or you spending hard earned money replacing things that might not be broken I would test a few things.

1. Check the ignition timing. On the V6 it should be at 10*BTDC when you jump the terminals to diagnostic mode(love the old school method of OBD1!)

2. Check for vacuum leaks. It could be in the intake line between the manifold and the air flow meter or somewhere else in the mass amounts of lines our V6s have. (check for visible cracks or just have your mechanic test for it because they have better ways of finding them)

3. Check fuel pressure at the rails and make sure it is up to spec(cant think of the pressure it is supposed to be). because if it is fuel related it could be a clogged fuel filter, clogged fuel injectors, or a weak fuel pump.

I hope this helps narrow it down and good luck.

 

[ultmt81]

Dang that car just isn't happy! Ok well I assume the new radiator solved the overheating...?

As for the surging/shaking at freeway speed it could be a number of things...but instead of me just blindly guessing or you spending hard earned money replacing things that might not be broken I would test a few things.

1. Check the ignition timing. On the V6 it should be at 10*BTDC when you jump the terminals to diagnostic mode(love the old school method of OBD1!)

2. Check for vacuum leaks. It could be in the intake line between the manifold and the air flow meter or somewhere else in the mass amounts of lines our V6s have. (check for visible cracks or just have your mechanic test for it because they have better ways of finding them)

3. Check fuel pressure at the rails and make sure it is up to spec(cant think of the pressure it is supposed to be). because if it is fuel related it could be a clogged fuel filter, clogged fuel injectors, or a weak fuel pump.

I hope this helps narrow it down and good luck.

Thank you, this is all really frustrating! Last night, it barely had any power and shook like crazy and hesitated like no other... Fried nerves, anyone?!

Oil level dropped so I added some and had to add coolant again since it had dropped down.. Again. First time I did it, the exhaust blew white smoke and smelled like coolant... I promptly began to cry. Took it to my hit and he said I didn't blow my HG. Ugh. Work and back today had minimal shaking, barely idled rough... I'm at a loss.

As of right now, I have no coolant leaking anywhere I can see, oil drips here and there... Camping activities are officially suspended until this truck runs right. Here is to a long weekend... Oh, and having a Toyota mechanic look at it this afternoon.

 

[91'4bee]

Oil level dropped so I added some and had to add coolant again since it had dropped down.. Again. First time I did it, the exhaust blew white smoke and smelled like coolant... I promptly began to cry. Took it to my hit and he said I didn't blow my HG. Ugh. Work and back today had minimal shaking, barely idled rough... I'm at a loss.

As of right now, I have no coolant leaking anywhere I can see, oil drips here and there... Camping activities are officially suspended until this truck runs right. Here is to a long weekend... Oh, and having a Toyota mechanic look at it this afternoon.

Smoke out the tail pipe that's scary. Good that your having a Toyota mechanic looking at it, should be able to tell you exactly what's wrong, hopefully...

 

[ultmt81]

Smoke out the tail pipe that's scary. Good that your having a Toyota mechanic looking at it, should be able to tell you exactly what's wrong, hopefully...

Verdict is in: cracked headgasket. The guy did a compression test and was like, "I am so sorry." He said to sell it as is or fix it & get rid of it. While calling a couple of his coworkers about fixing my HG, they all 1) said no, they don't want to even touch out 2) get rid of it and 3) if I'm adamant about keeping the truck, get a rebuilt motor because who knows how many times the HG has been replaced... Sigh. Right now, I'm at a loss. I don't know what to do, and I want to wring the PO's neck. #$@%

 

[91'4bee]

Verdict is in: cracked headgasket. Sigh. Right now, I'm at a loss. I don't know what to do, and I want to wring the PO's neck. #$@%

Well I would know what to do immediately...:cry2: :beer: so sorry to hear that.

You paid $2300 for it and you will probably(more likely than not) spend that again for a rebuilt/new motor when all is said and done so there is that to consider IF you feel like keeping it.

I do know that if it were me I would rebuild it but thoroughly inside and out(with full performance upgrades) or if I can find a better motor (like the Toyota 3.4 or a straight six of some kind) swap it in, it depends on how much I feel like spending. I would never get rid of my 4runner though, I love it too much(guess I am a bit nuts)

 

[giro]

I have a '92, and my head gasket has only been replaced once, back with the recall at 73k or so. I'm at 161k now, and push it a lot more going up and over the mountains here than it ever did when it was a bay area daily driver for me or the previous 2 owners.

I had a 3000gt that had bad compression and a horrible sound in one cylinder, and that I'm pretty sure went from having a slightly bad head gasket to a blown one, when I pushed it hard going over 50 from Carson City after getting it registered. Stock 0-60 when new of 4.2, and I did keep a motorcycle in view heading up that hill. It was a 3rd car for us, that a friend gave me after it failed CA smog and sat taking up his only garage space for a couple years. So I could have had it in pieces for months, and I still regret not replacing the head gasket. This twin turbos were nice, and with AWD it actually was a car that could be a nearly daily driver here in Tahoe. It's the fastest car I've ever driven, and likely faster than the lotus I occasionally toy with getting before remembering that we really don't need a 3rd car.

For you, it depends on the condition and your goals. If it looks like it's been otherwise taken care of, you might go for it. OTOH, when I checked 6 months ago, there we several v6 4runners on craigslist in the sf bay for $1500 or so, so if you wanted to go the cheap and labor intensive route, you could at least pick and choose one in the best condition possible.

I enjoy my '92. It's getting up there in age, and I haven't kept it inside out of the snow lately. But I'm only putting 4k/year on it, and the '06 tacomas or 4runners I would want are still more than I'd want to spend for a rig that occasionally gets scratched up or filled with firewood or whatnot. I could afford them, but I'm perfectly happy with what I have, and like that even though it's still in pretty great condition I don't have to bat an eyelash when chucking some dirt/logs/firewood/stone/whatever in the back.

OTOH, here in snow country it would be nice to have the anti-spin technology from an '06+, and finding a friend with a good trailer would keep most of this stuff out of the inside.

Good luck