Can anybody help a new guy w/ 1990 2door SR5

Moustache

Moustache

New member
Hey everybody,

Im new to the world of 4runners and didnt make it very far before rear ending someone. Right before my favorite time of year no less (winter)

I slid into the back of a 2010 Yukon a few weeks back and have not been able to drive it since.

The damage:

Broken radiator
Cut the wire harness behind the bumper
broken radiator fan
A/C fan
AC condenser
AC drier
front bumper
Grille / headlight rings
& lower valance
broke all of the mounting clips for the Pass. headlight

I've since finished replacing everything on that list aside from the grille and passenger headlight.

been on the hunt for a 1990 4runner front grille and headlight housings for 3 weeks now with absolutely no luck. Without the grille/headlight rings and the body clips for my P-headlight i am unable to mount my turn signals and headlights :mad:

I havent owned this car long but have completely fallen in love with it.

If anyone has any suggestions to mount the passenger headlight and turn signals, i would love to hear them.

Take care everyone!!
 
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99blackSE said:
Darn, I have all of that stuff sitting my in yard. Lemme know if you're interested.
Click to expand...

Do you have the Center "chrome" (plastic) grille, 2 "chrome" (plastic) rings around the headlights as well as the adjusting clips for the headlights that mount into the body?

Any pics?

Very interested!!
 
Moustache said:
Do you have the Center "chrome" (plastic) grille, 2 "chrome" (plastic) rings around the headlights as well as the adjusting clips for the headlights that mount into the body?

Any pics?

Very interested!!
Click to expand...

Can probably get you some pictures tomorrow. The grill is off (it's a V6 grill though) in my garage and the headlights and all the associated hardware (buckets, etc.) are still on the truck so all of it should still be there.
 
V6 is perfect since mine is a V6. do you have the trim around the headlights as well?


Update: I mounted the passenger headlight tonight after work and got it lined up with the driver side.

My new problem is that the engine is idling around 2000 - 2500 rms but only in Park and Neutral. But when its in drive or reverse it sits around 900 rpms.

It doesnt spike right up to 2k though. It slowly climbs up to that point and seems to stop climbing at about 2500. After checking the oil it appeared to be a qt. low so i added 1 qt. and started it again after a few minutes. The idle smoothed out around 1-1100 and appeared to be settled. After letting it sit and cool down for a few hours, i tried it again. . . Go figure, still climbing to 2k+. Now i didnt assume that adding a quart of oil would fix the idle problem but i sure was excited when it settled down briefly.

After reading my Haynes manual there was mention of a "idle adjusting screw" but i can't seem to find it on the throttle body. There are a few screws and i have no clue what is what.

Again any suggestions would be awesome! Thanks
 
Moustache said:
V6 is perfect since mine is a V6. do you have the trim around the headlights as well?


Update: I mounted the passenger headlight tonight after work and got it lined up with the driver side.

My new problem is that the engine is idling around 2000 - 2500 rms but only in Park and Neutral. But when its in drive or reverse it sits around 900 rpms.

It doesnt spike right up to 2k though. It slowly climbs up to that point and seems to stop climbing at about 2500. After checking the oil it appeared to be a qt. low so i added 1 qt. and started it again after a few minutes. The idle smoothed out around 1-1100 and appeared to be settled. After letting it sit and cool down for a few hours, i tried it again. . . Go figure, still climbing to 2k+. Now i didnt assume that adding a quart of oil would fix the idle problem but i sure was excited when it settled down briefly.

After reading my Haynes manual there was mention of a "idle adjusting screw" but i can't seem to find it on the throttle body. There are a few screws and i have no clue what is what.

Again any suggestions would be awesome! Thanks
Click to expand...

Yup, she's all there. If you want I can take a couple pictures of the TB as well. Is your 4R automatic or standard? The manuals have a dashpot near the throttle body that slows the sudden shutting of the butterfly plate inside the TB. If so, it may be sticking, in a sense holding the throttle open.
 
It's an automatic and ive checked the TB to make sure it isnt sticking, The throttle cables dont feel like they are binding at all. But i now have another problem, I went to take it to get new tires this morning but the temp gauge started climbing real bad before i even got off of my street. I limped it back home and the throttle was surging between 900 - 1700 very quickly. Not to mention the smoke coming from under the hood . . . . :wtf:

I'm planning on replacing the vacuum lines on the TB but i cannnot even make it out of the neighborhood.. While it was shut off after overheating it sounded like the antifreeze was boiling inside the coolant res. . . . I thought i had enough coolant in there. I filled the radiator and res when i replaced the radiator and topped it off again after running for a few minutes. I'm really lost here guys, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Guess i'm not making it to the mountain for some snowboarding this weekend. . .
 
Now that it is cooled off again, check to make sure the coolant level is full. It may not have opened the thermostat when you filled it last time and once it opened it left you short on anti-freeze. If you are still full I would look at two things:

1. Water pump/belt. If you had that kind of damage then you may have caused damage to the water pump or the belt may be an issue and it isn't spinning the water pump.

2. Check the thermostat. It maybe as simple as something jammed in there and keeping it form opening up. Easiest way to check it is to take it out and boil some water. drop it into the water and see if it opens.

I don't have any pics of the screw you are requesting. I would hazard a guess though that its not the issue. If the idle is hunting around and not staying constant there is another issue.
 
Doublethump - Thanks for the advice, I took 2 hrs off to tinker with her again and finally got the coolant issue settled. I had only added 1 gal of coolant to the system not knowing it take a little over 2 gallons. . . Thankfuly i didnt hurt anything on that mistake :bigok:

I changed the 3 vacuum lines on the top of the TB and that seemed to bring the idle speed down some, but it will still start to surge and hunt for an idle after a few minutes.

After talking to a buddy of mine (mechanic) and doing some reading it sounds like it may be the IAC valve (not sure if this is what it is called on this car). I had an idle issue with my last car, a Mustang and cleaning the IAC valve did the trick. Only issue is that it looks like i will be taking off the TB to get to it, and that means removing the throttle lines . . . . Is there any way to remove the TB without disconnecting the throttle cables?

as of right now its in the shop getting 4 new tires and alignment
 
I must be cursed!

Mechagouki - Thanks for the link man. Mine makes some noise when im giving it gas getting on the highway, almost like water rushing through a pipe but it is pretty faint. Def. not gurgling like yours.

It turns out my idle adj. screw was turned very high. I had changed every vacuum line i could find, removed the TB and cleaned the inside of it along with the throttle sensor (it is now spotless). No accessories running and it would still idle to the moon and start surging after a few minutes. So i followed my haynes manual step by step to adjust the idle down. I didnt have a hand held tach like the book called for but i made due with what i had. This is what i did.

1 -Allow engine to warm to normal temp.
2 -Set trans. to park
3 -run engine up to 2500 rpms and hold there for 2 minutes.
4 -Allow engine to "idle" again and turn the idle adj. screw to the right to lower the idle, and left to raise it.

It now idles smoothly at 800-850 (the needles arent very stable) after warming up at about 1400.


I now have a NEW problem! :mad::mad:

After driving it 4 hours to go snowboarding yesterday, and sitting in the parking lot for hours in below freezing temps. i start it up and see my A/T OIL TEMP. - BATTERY - PARKING BREAK dash lights are on. This was weird because the car was very cold, i replaced the battery 3 days ago, and i never use the parking break. . . . I go to drive Yota out of the parking lot and shortly down the road, all 3 lights cut off at once. Then on, the off, and so on . . for about an hour. During this whole hour it seemed like my lights were very dim and my accessories werent operating very quickly, (wipers, windows). After about an hour or 2 of no warning lights, HEY NOW! there they are. but turned off again after a few minutes and didnt show up again for the rest of the trip.

Now this morning comes around, again, below freezing, and the lights are back on right when i start it up to go to work. They were on the entire 15min. drive to work but the truck drove fine the whole time.

I may have just been over thinking the headlight issue a little bit and just not used to how dim the lights are in the snow and fog compared to the newer car i've been borowing from my dad.

I'm really stumped on this one guys and really could use some help. I've sunk way too much into getting it back onto the road and do not have the money to put it in the shop right before christmas.
 
I am going to throw a guess out there on this one. It doesn't seem to make much sense. Usually when the lights come on like that it has to do with the vehicle using the battery instead of the altenator. I would again suggest you look to make sure the belt is tight. It may be that at the lower idle the belt is slipping a little and you are not getting all of the voltage you should out of your altenator.

I'm not sure what else it could be.

Sorry
 
Thanks for the reply Double thump!

Im going to check there this afternoon. Is this a simple fix or will i have to drain and remove the rad. and fan to get the belts off?

And after reading back a bit, you mentioned making sure the Waterpump pulley is turning. It is, and the pump itself was replaced a few years ago by the previous owner (i have alot of his old service records since 1990).

The front end damage was done to the pass. side and not center in the grille. and the radiator never touched the fan clutch just bairly rubbed the outer edge of the fan. I don tthink there was enough contact between the fan and radiator to cause damage to the pulley. But I may be wrong. Just didnt want you to think i disregarded your advice.
 
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Well i have more issues to add to the list. I went to get lunch and found a large puddle of coolant on the ground below my car. . . Got it home without any overheating or driving issues but as soon as i put it in park it starts Surging. After a few minutes of sitting a puddle appeared below the car and it was coming from the rear of the engine, close to where it meets the transmission . . I think.


Im at my wits end here guys. I dont know what to do at this point. Gonna get some pictures up soon so you can see where i'm at.

Not to mention i just spent $800+ on tires and alignment. i'm BROKE.

:roadkill:
 
Don't jump off the bridge yet...lol

It could be a heater hose that is leaking or a connection if it is near the back of the motor. Check the hoses that go into the firewall on the passenger side and follow them to the motor. It is very possible that one of these hoses is leaking or where they clamp to the motor there might be an issue.

Hope that helps
 
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Haha thanks man

Do these hoses run into the rear of the engine at the top or bottom of the engine bay? The reason i ask is because the engine bay was bone dry when i popped the hood, the only fluid visible was from below.

Pictures as promised
newtires.jpg~original

newtires2.jpg~original

Moreproblems.jpg~original

Moreproblems2.jpg~original

Moreproblems5.jpg~original

Moreproblems6.jpg~original
 
Problems Solved! . . . I hope . .

Well i found the source of the coolant leak. It was leaking from a hose that sits next to the TB and was spilling out into the area where the injectors enter the engine. Running inself back and off of the back of the motor.

I wanted to replace the belts after reading another users thread with the same issues. So the old belts came off and I decided to remove the alternator as well to have it tested. Sure as sh** the alt was bad.

Replaced the alternator and all 3 drive belts. No more belt noise, battery light, parking break light, or A/T oil temp light. As well as the windows lights etc. are working better than ever.

The idle sits right around 800-850 and hasnt surged yet.

Thanks for all the help guys!
 
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