Headgasket going bad or bad water pump??

T

tomasone5

New member
Hey guys so I've never really posted on here about anything but here it goes for the first....

I've been noticing my 98 runner has been losing a lot of coolant...no noticeable leaks however my parents live a mile and half up the road and when I filled the reservoir last night I was driving home and noticed some hesitation when accelerating also upon getting home I checked the coolant level and it was almost around the empty mark. I have about 176K on it right now with all daily maintenance done as scheduled. Can anyone add some insight as to any ideas on this? I don't want to order a new water pump and all the pulleys and it be the head gasket...vice versa
 
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Emptied the reservoir in a mile and a half? I'd say you have a leak somewhere. Coolant lines to the rear heater? If it was a headgasket or cracked head eating all that coolant your exhaust would look like a smoke machine.
 
Right right...That's what I was thinking as well...But what would explain the hesitation in acceleration? I mean with the mileage that's on it now it's about that time where the water pump should fail of normal wear and tear right?
 
Has been a little while since I've cleaned the maf...I think once I can pinpoint it to the water pump I'll be seafoaming, cleaning the maf, oil change,new air filter and fuel filter...Just kinda frustrating right now to see it covered in mud parked in the drive way....Unlike a yota to let someone down..
 
tomasone5 said:
Unlike a yota to let someone down..
Click to expand...

Dude, if your water pump has never been changed, don't blame the "yota". It, along with the timing belt, is a 90,000 mile replaceable item.

Get this - Toyota 3.4L/V6 Complete Timing Belt & Water Pump Kit | eBay - or something comparable. Set aside some time, and do it. It comes with new seals for the camshaft pulleys, too. If you don't need them, don't take the pulleys off, but they're there if you do.
 
Before you go and buy parts you need to figure out the actual problem. IMO it's your head gasket. If you are loosing that much coolant and there's no visible leak, my guess is the coolant is leaking into one of your cylinders and going out the exhaust. When the coolant gets into one or more cylinders there can be hesitation and rough idling.

I would take look at your exhaust. My exhaust didn't look like cloud machine until the HG was really leaking badly. Also if coolant is going into the cylinders, there can be exhaust gases coming out into your coolant overflow reservoir. Take a flash light and look in there for any bubbling. You could also pull your spark plugs and look into the cylinders to see if you see any coolant. If one of your spark plugs is nice and clean looking, there is probably a leak in that particular cylinder.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but coolant doesn't just up and vanish. It has to go somewhere.
 
If it was your water pump coolant would be pouring to the ground from the front of your engine if you are truely losing it at the stated rate.
 
They're all correct. No visible coolant leak probably means it's being burned up somewhere. I didn't mean to come off harsh. The water pump and timing belt is one of those things guys typically do if they are unsure about the maintenance done by the previous owner(s). Definitely do try to pinpoint it before throwing lots of parts/time/money at it. Once that's done it'll be easier to move on to more routine stuff. Maybe post the history of your truck if you know it - how long you've had it, whether there are any previous owners, etc.

Welcome to the forum.
 
K guys new update to the problem...Discovered where the leak is coming from. It's coming from what it looks like a heater core line or something that feeds from the engine and runs back along the passenger side and looks to feed the heater/ac in the center console....It's a hard line that's pretty corroded and seems to be leaking from the bracket. Anyone have this happen?
 

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Rear heater line, common problem. Get some 3/8" rubber fuel line (about 20 ft), long zip ties and some hose clamps. Cut that rusted metal sh*t out and replace it with the rubber lines. Use the hose clamps to attach it securely and then use the zip ties secure the hose up on top of the frame rail.
 
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