Coolant valve broke / engine overheat

[rexassian]

Hey y'all, need a little help with this coolant valve at the top of the firewall, see pick. Looks like either the hose tore or the plastic broke on the house end. I didn't notice until it was too late, engine shut down after high temps. My question is if this is a common problem and if it's a simple replace that valve and hope for no head gasket damage or warpage? Thanks

picture link

 

[Doc2012]

Heater control valve.

Simple to replace.

Try it, and see what your engine does.

If it keeps overheating, do a leak down test.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[thegipper]

Yup, heater control valve. Fairly common for them to leak/break after 20ish years. It's a good idea to replace those as preventative maintenance before they fail.

As for your engine, if you overheated it to the point that it shut down, it's probably not good. Fill it back up with coolant and see what happens.

 

[alumarine]

Before you spend money on a valve just to find out your motor is junk remove the hose from the other side of the valve and join the 2 hoses together.

Then you can run it.

 

[Kanoe]

FYI next time.

A 75 dollar ultra gauge lets you set temp alarms. You could have been alerted before it got too hot.

This should be the first mod any of us do. Best money you can spend.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[HiLife]

^X2 on the Ultragauge recommendation. The settable alarms that the unit provides is invaluable especially in a overheat situation.

 

[rexassian]

Thanks y'all, lots of good advice and ideas. I'll keep yall updated, I was eventually thinking v8 swap but might have to accelerate those plans...

Also, for testing the engine by bypassing the control valve, what would yall use to connect the two hoses together?

Thanks again!

 

[thegipper]

Just go to a hardware store and buy a male to male fitting of the correct size. Make sure it is long enough to connect the two ends together.

X3 on the Ultragauge with temp alarms, money well spent.

 

[nissanh]

If you bypass the valve, keep in mind some coolant will not flow into the radiator and engine might run bit hot. Since we are heading into cold weather, this might not affect you at present.

I replaced this valve with an OEM unit few months ago after noticing some wear on the inlet tube on the old unit. Amayama had it for a decent price.

 

[rexassian]

Little update, I bypassed the heater valve as suggested and filed the radiator and ran it to see if there are any leaks. I got the temp up to almost 200 and after about 30 a, no leaks! :cheers::cheers::cheers:

I'll take some picks and post up what I used for the bypass tube for others. So far, looks like I got lucky, I'll order a new valve and hoses and flush the coolant. Thanks for the help!

 

[alumarine]

How does it run?
Did you do a compression test?
Any oil getting into the rad or water getting into the crankcase?

It sounds like you had a severe overheat, you may not be out of the woods yet.

 

[rexassian]

Ran fine, but I didn't drive it around. I'll check for oil when I flush the coolant. So far, no coolant in the oil so that's at least good. Good point about compression test, will also check on that. Thanks!

 

[redhot]

^X2 on the Ultragauge recommendation. The settable alarms that the unit provides is invaluable especially in a overheat situation.

I was just checking out the Ultragauge website and I see they have 3 different versions available. Does anyone know what the best version is for a 1997 4runner?

Not sure what all features would be available with each unit for this year 4runner or which one to buy. Appreciate any help from anyone that owns one or would know.

 

[Sparky 97Runner]

I was just checking out the Ultragauge website and I see they have 3 different versions available. Does anyone know what the best version is for a 1997 4runner?

Not sure what all features would be available with each unit for this year 4runner or which one to buy. Appreciate any help from anyone that owns one or would know.

I'm thinking of going with the UltraGauge EM Plus for my 97 manual. I don't think that the 3rd gen can use the extra parameters on the UltraGauge MX. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong about that. The UltraGauge Blue connects to your phone and I don't like that because I use my phone to stream music. I don't want to juggle in between music and scanning all the time and I like the idea of being able to look right at a mounted gauge.

 

[redhot]

I'm thinking of going with the UltraGauge EM Plus for my 97 manual. I don't think that the 3rd gen can use the extra parameters on the UltraGauge MX. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong about that. The UltraGauge Blue connects to your phone and I don't like that because I use my phone to stream music. I don't want to juggle in between music and scanning all the time and I like the idea of being able to look right at a mounted gauge.

I did some more research and yes that's the conclusion I came to also. The added feature the MX offers that I was interested in was the transmission temp because mine is an automatic but with 97 I found out that data is not available. The later 3rd Gens and I'm not sure what year it starts but transmission temp is available so the MX could be something to consider if someone has an 02 (and possibly an 01 I don't really know) but it seems it require a bunch of manufacturer codes. I found the codes on the scangauge site (a competitors product for those not familiar). So I'm ordering the EM plus for my 97.

I'd research before buying the MX though even if you have an 02, seems it could get complicated setting it up.

 

[BoomerBob]

I did some more research and yes that's the conclusion I came to also. The added feature the MX offers that's I was interested in was the transmission temp because mine is an automatic but with 97 I found out that data is not available. The the later 3rd Gens and I'm not sure what year it starts but transmission temp is available so the MX could be something to consider if someone has an 02 (and possibly an 01 I don't really know) but it seems it require a bunch of manufacturer codes. I found the codes on the scangauge site (a competitors product for those not familiar). So I'm ordering the EM plus for my 97.

I'd research before buying the MX though even if you have an 02, seems it could get complicated setting it up.

You're right about the MX model not being able to read the trans temp before 1999 models but if you buy the MX you can always transfer it to a newer T4R or other car/truck later on since it simply unplugs. The programming of the codes is straight forward.

This is the code for the 99 and later trans temp.

TData: 686AF101B40000
TCtrl: 85
RCtrl: 00
RPos: 2808
Mtch: 41B400
X: 0009
/: 0005
+: FFD8
Out Format: 00
Ave: 00
Left/Right: 31

You can read more about it at the link below.

https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-...stion-trans-temp.html?highlight=UltraGauge+MX

 

[redhot]

You're right about the MX model not being able to read the trans temp before 1999 models but if you buy the MX you can always transfer it to a newer T4R or other car/truck later on since it simply unplugs. The programming of the codes is straight forward.

This is the code for the 99 and later trans temp.

TData: 686AF101B40000
TCtrl: 85
RCtrl: 00
RPos: 2808
Mtch: 41B400
X: 0009
/: 0005
+: FFD8
Out Format: 00
Ave: 00
Left/Right: 31

You can read more about it at the link below.

https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-...stion-trans-temp.html?highlight=UltraGauge+MX

True, but I don't plan on getting rid of my 97 anytime soon. I put a 99 engine in it 2 years ago that had 19K original miles on it so I plan on driving it a long long time. Of course, one never knows what will happen some dumbass could run into you or cause a wreck and total it etc.

Also, there are a few features the MX doesn't have that the EM does have. Really the trans temp was the dealbreaker for me. Now, later on down the road if I like this product (which I think I will) I may get the MX for another vehicle I have. Thanks for the info!

 

[BoomerBob]

True, but I don't plan on getting rid of my 97 anytime soon. I put a 99 engine in it 2 years ago that had 19K original miles on it so I plan on driving it a long long time. Of course, one never knows what will happen some dumbass could run into you or cause a wreck and total it etc.

Also, there are a few features the MX doesn't have that the EM does have. Really the trans temp was the dealbreaker for me. Now, later on down the road if I like this product (which I think I will) I may get the MX for another vehicle I have. Thanks for the info!

Which features does the EM have that the MX doesn't that you like?

 

[redhot]

Which features does the EM have that the MX doesn't that you like?

Well, to be honest the extra features don't really interest me much but this is what it offers that the MX doesn't for anyone who may be interested.

* Readiness Monitors
* Performance Measurements
* Additional Wide O2 Sensor support to track Stoichiometric AFR via Lambda

I guess my whole thing with the MX is it seems the EM Plus would be much easier to set up. With the MX I have to enter that code stuff it seems for many of the parameters. Are you saying like it's not that big of a deal? Maybe you'll talk me into buying the MX. Can I add or change the name of a gauge like assuming my vehicle did have trans temp could I label the gauge "Trans Temp" etc?

This is the list of codes I found.

>> X-Gauge Categories >> ISO – VPW

 

[redhot]

Now you've got me leaning toward the MX again. I tried ordering one but it won't let you add it to your cart unless you select a"programming option" for certain vehicles and of course our 4Runnners aren't on the list.

So it seems the only way to order one it to select a different vehicle then I assume I have to remove the programming that it would come with and program for 4Runner. Seems like a royal pain.

*** EDIT - I see now I can do a factory reset so I think I'll order the MX. Hope it's the right choice.

*** EDIT EDIT - Went to order and the MX is $10 more. I swear they were all the same price yesterday when I looked at them. Anyone know?

OKay, went ahead and ordered the MX. I guess I just didn't notice the price difference but with shipping and all it's just under $100. I really like this for the custom alarms you can set for temps etc. Should be worth the money.