1999 4Runner, overheating: There are these two tubes (maybe 1/4"), on the passenger side, running under the vehicle, from somewhere in the engine compartment to the rear of the vehicle -- they have broken and/or have been punctured -- and are leaking profusely, and my truck overheated. (a) What are these tubes? What do they do? (b) Where can I find a parts diagram of the entire vehicle?
Overheating; small tubes under vehichle on passenger side leaking; what are these?
- Thread starter djh007
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Nelsonmd
New member
They are rear heater lines. They very frequently rust away (mine did, and drained the radiator dry). The easiest and cheapest fix is to cut them off and replace with soft fuel lines. Easy fix.
THanks
Nelsonmd: Thank you very much for your help, and the workaround. I don't have the tools, but I passed this on to the mechanic and he's going to make the closed loop, as you suggested. $160, ouch, for a few inexpensive parts, coolant, and labor -- but it's better than any of the alternatives. THanks much
Nelsonmd: Thank you very much for your help, and the workaround. I don't have the tools, but I passed this on to the mechanic and he's going to make the closed loop, as you suggested. $160, ouch, for a few inexpensive parts, coolant, and labor -- but it's better than any of the alternatives. THanks much
Nelsonmd
New member
$160 is too much. It should be maybe $10 in parts and less than an hour of work. $70/hr should be the charge. Then probably about $20 for coolant if they are using generic stuff (which they probably will unless it is a dealer).
It really doesn't take much in the way of tools. You can do it with some snips and a screwdriver, that's it. The only supplies you need are the hose ($1/ft maybe) and 2 hose clamps.
Don't mean to repeat, but I don't want to see you ripped off just because you don't have the tools. You can buy the tools and supplies, do it yourself in less than an hour (even if you aren't mechanically inclined), and it will still cost less than half what the mechanic quoted you.
BTW, Toyota uses it's own special blend of coolant that is pretty expensive. You don't need to use their name brand, but you should stick with ethylene-glycol based coolant. The mechanic should be familiar with that type of coolant. You can check that he uses the right one by requesting the bottle, it will tell you what kind it is.
