Spooky ghosts in my T4R? Seeking tech help!

[mattsd]

Hi guys. What a great resource this forum is. I've been a long time lurker but this is my first post.

The other day I started up my 96 4Runner Limited (4x4) and got the plumes of death white smoke coming from the tail pipe. My first thought was that there was just a lot of condensation built up in the system (I live at the beach) and I thought it'd burn off fairly quick. The smoke was pretty thick and it didn't seem to be burning off quickly. I immediately took it to my mechanic. By the time I got there it had stopped smoking and (obviously) didn't exhibit this symptom in front of the mechanic. I was told that it's either a cracked cylinder head :redbrick: or a blown HG.. also :redbrick:

Now the truck had a new head gasket about 2 years ago along with some other maintenance and has been a reliable, trouble free vehicle. I recently replaced the starter motor which was going bad but that's about it. It has 196K on the clock. I've heard that the problems my mechanic mentioned are fairly common with these trucks (not good news, I thought they had a reputation for being more or less bullet proof).

Here's where it gets spooky. I started it up today after leaving it sitting over the weekend and... nothing. A little condensation stuff coming out the tail pipe but no plumes of smoke or bad smells or anything else. It idles a little rough and I've been meaning to take care of that but other than that it's fine. Could it still be that it's the cyl. head or the gasket? Thanks in advance for any help and sorry for the long winded story!

 

[bpowa]

Possibly a small head gasket leak. Pull your plugs and check. And check coolant level

 

[KidVermicious]

Any oil floating in your coolant? Any white goo under your oil cap or on the stick? Are you losing coolant at all?

Hit your local NAPA and pick up a coolant test kit. It'll look for exhaust particles in your coolant and will tell you for sure.

 

[mattsd]

Thank you both. I will check those rings as soon as I have some time off work!

 

[mattsd]

Ok, well. Started it up yesterday and took it to work and back. Smoking tailpipe is back with a vengeance and the check engine light is now on. Checked the engine dip stick and coolant. Didn't see anything suspicious other than my oil level is lower than it usually is at this point between changes and a lot darker than it usually is. Nothing visually that helps me (and my relatively untrained eyes) identify the problem.

If it was a head gasket leak would there be oil coming out from somewhere? I checked under the truck and as far as I could see everything looked dry.

What are the chances it's just the head gasket vs cracked cyl. head? Again, thanks for any help fellas. I really appreciate the opportunity to be able to do my research and make a more informed decision when it comes to repairs.

 

[TakeitApart]

It could possibly just be the valve stem seals are hard and brittle; not sealing as they should. It's common for them to leak and cause exhaust smoke when cold after the vehicle sits for a while, then it goes away and doesn't come back until the next time it sits for a decent amount of time.