So I've owned it for about 8 months now and the coolant level in the reservoir has always been about the same. Passed month or so when it got cold out I noticed that it was nearly empty. I run it for a few minutes and she go's back to the same(or nearly never did mark it )and now it has done the same again. I squeeze the upper radiator hose and hear the pressure building at the cap and hear it (the pressure) going to the overflow bottle with a bubble or so(I think I can't remember).

No antifreeze in the oil at the dipstick. But there was white smoke at start up even on warmer days and the temp gauge would rise from "R" to the end of "L" rather quickly when I revved it quickly.

Sigh if this is leading to me to still think a blown head gasket if not worse. I'
m guessing $1000 to repair it if I'm lucky if it were the case.

 

Why do you guess $1,000? If you do it yourself, then all it's gonna cost you is the price of a gasket kit, and whatever the machine shop charges you to tell you whether the heads are warped or not....if you go that route.

Not saying that's your problem, but head gaskets are nothing more than a bunch of work (labor). Not expensive at all.

 

You should get one of those test kits to see if you have hydrocarbons in your antifreeze.
Don't go pulling your heads because you "think" there might be a problem.
Does the steam in the exhaust smell sweet, like antifreeze?
Does it keep going down, or is it staying where it is?

My truck can't keep anything in the overflow bottle.
But the radiator is always full and never goes down, now...

Unfortunately IME, it's more likely a crack near the exhaust seat than a warped head.
But again, that's only MY experience.

 

Even if cracked, our local pullapart JY has heads for $40.00 per with warranty, add a valve job, and you're golden for just a couple hundred.

But as ArdWrknTrk said, don't guess, diagnose. Know what you're replacing, and why.

Weekend job, you're on the road again.

 

Also check for a chalky substance around the radiator end caps, a sure indication of a leak.

 

Galm 2,

Other things could be:
Check the freeze plugs....like the ones on the back of the cylinder heads ?
Is your water pump working, leaking ?
Thermostat functioning ?

The head gaskets could probably be diagnosed.
Get a book and read the " how to "; without the detail, it's like this:
Pull the plugs and check compression....same number of revolutions per cylinder.
If its the gasket there will probably be two low ( < 140 psi, or 20% off adjacent cylinders ) readings next to each other....Those numbers are arguable but you should get the idea.
One low could be the gasket or a valve, but it's a good tell tale.
....those gotta be some heavy heads !

Good luck !
Nick

 

Hey thanks for response guys. I think to be quite honest I'm just going to send it to the mechanic and have it road ready. To be honest I was going to send it before but I just want the dang thing fix'd and good to go. Yeah I know I'll be paying out the *** majorly for it but I don't have the tools to do half the stuff I want/need done anyway so out the door she goes.

 

I understand your need to have your truck running, and can get behind you on using a mechanic in an emergency, but I just wanted to throw these thoughts out there...

The extra money you spend to have someone else do this work will deprive you of a couple of things.

One: Investment in your own tools. For the same money you give a mechanic, you could buy what you need to do the job yourself. That is the justification I use with my wife all the time. It's true, it works, and I get tools just when I need them. Sometimes she lets me spend money on tools when I run across an exceptionally great deal on something, but usually it's "tools on demand". When you give money to a mechanic, all you're doing is financing his $10,000 Snap-on Roll-around. I'm sure he loves you for that, but in my opinion, you could do better.

Two: Experience. So what happens the next time you need work done on your truck? You still don't have the tools, and you didn't give yourself the chance to learn something new, so it's off to the local hack again? His 4Runner payment book will love you, I'm sure. Every bit of help and experience you'll ever need is on the Internet, forums like this one, YouTube, etc.

Really, I'm not dissing you. You need your truck running, so do what you have to. I've had to do the same in the past. But I always keep the above two points in mind when I do.

An exception to this thought process is my son's Nissan Maxima. I won't touch it. I told him before he bought it to buy something I can get underneath, and can reach stuff under the hood, and I would help him keep it running. He didn't, so I won't. Do you have any idea how much trouble it is to repair a leaky timing cover? The dang thing is like 3-1/2" off of the ground...how am I supposed to work with that?

Good luck with your truck. Let us know what the mechanic found, and what he did to get you back on the road. If he's an exceptionally nice guy, he might let you look over his shoulder while he does some of the work. Try to learn something from this. Maybe get the old parts and look them over. Show us. When he finishes, look up on the Internet what he did, and wrap you mind around what it would of taken to have done it yourself. That's what I do. That way, next time, I CAN do it myself.

 

I took my DD 1986 Ford Tempo to the local Ford dealer twice and had them work on things I knew absolutely nothing about, and it wasn't until after I learned about the stuff they did (much of it here on FTE of all places) that I then understood I could have done it all myself and saved close to $2k (and avoided paying for replacing things that didn't need replacing).

Merely having a truck is all the justification I needed to get air tools, I wouldn't do 80% of what I do without them. Cripe, even changing tires is so much easier & faster now.

Kevin's (Anafiel's) post is golden, rep points for that.

 

Galm, I just wanted to add my experience to the mix. When I was 16, and got my first vehicle, my dad had some advise for me. He told me that I could get a job making enough money to pay someone else to fix my vehicles, or learn how to do it myself. He never worked on any vehicles at all as long as I knew him. The first time I had to take it somewhere for a repair, I watched the mechanic that was doing the work (he was nice enough to let me), back in those days they didn't mind if you were in the shop watching. I don't remember what I had done, but it cost about $200. After watching him and paying that much (mid-'70s), I decided that what he had done looked easy enough that I could have done it and saved myself some money. I got a few books and started doing some of my own repairs and maintenance. I also enlisted the help of some of my friends that knew something about car repair too. Eventually, I took several years of training to work in the automotive field. And I did work as a mechanic for a while. Although I have not worked in that field for many years, I still do 99.999% of my own vehicle maintenance and repairs. I only farm out what I can't do, although I may attempt it. One example is the clutch in my Saturn. The body has to be lifted off of the engine cradle in order to remove the transmission from the engine and replace the clutch. I couldn't do that job in my backyard (I don't have a garage or a lift). I farmed it out to my son, who was working as a mechanic in a shop at the time. I have a rule of thumb, if what I have to purchase (tools, parts, manuals, etc.) for a particular job cost less than taking it somewhere to have it done, I come out ahead (and I get to keep the tools). I figure that if I have to buy a tool to do the job, I will have it for the next time. I am also always looking at yard-sales for inexpensive, good quality tools. The people on this forum are an awesome bunch, and have helped me out tremendously with their knowledge. And I try to pass on mine as I can. I also agree with what Anafiel said. And I will say it is hard to find a good, honest mechanic or repair shop, that will not cheat you. But beware, once people know that you can do your own quality repairs, they will be coming to you looking for help. Personally, I tell people that ask, I will teach you, help you, and be there while you do it, but not do it for you (at least not cheaply). Good luck with your vehicle repairs.

 

My antifreeze disappeared too. Here's what I did. Filled cooling system. Drove it for a couple of days. Checked level and was low. I figured out I would only lose AF driving at highway spseds. Replaced my hoses and clamps. Everything fine now. Also check your weep hole.

 

Hey, any update on this?

 

Dang...reading through this thread makes me want to go work on my truck!!! Hope he got it squared away. Replacing head gaskets is the perfect job for a beginner with some guidance...yet most are so scared of it.

 

Alternator went out on my daughters Acura so I though sure...easy afternoon project!!! NEVER AGAIN will I touch that thing!!! Practically had to pull the engine to get to the darn thing

 

A friend of mine had to replace the alternator on his car. Can't remember the make right now, but he had to remove the entire right side steering assembly to get to it. I feel your pain, Kevin.