hippie13gcid
New Member
Hello 4Runner owners!
I have encountered a problem and will welcome advice and input about it. This summer I finally drove the 4Runner I bought in winter 18 mo ago or more on a couple long trips and had a problem with overheating both times. First prob was end of july drove 310 mi on a scorching summer day, A/C on full, 106 deg F. Temp ga midscale until downhill last 35 mi then pegged after climbing over a 4.600ft not so steep pass. Then it redlined. No loss of power, No visable steam, Shut off A/C but wouldn't cool down much downhill. Parked for an Hr or so and drove on 18 mi. Ran A/C at highway speed temp midscale, got into stoplights and traffic and up in the red again. Got to my destination and parked for 3-4 hrs. Cold start outside temp down to mid 80's, no prob 18 mi back. Next day same 18 mi trip, 4 hr delay back no prob. A/C ran out not back no difference. Investigated cold next morning. Found burp tank dry with fibrous crud about 1/4 inch deep in bottom. Found something that looked like wet cardboard between the rubber seal and the radiator cap seat. Cleaned that and the burp tank out. had to add half a gallon of water to bring system to full. Saw no crud circulating in fluid when full and up to normal temp. Drove 310 mi home no prob. Drove short trips around town for a mo, no prob. Then loaded it up with camping gear for 2 weeks a month later, Had things checked,B4, oil change fluids, all ok. Drove freeway 325 mi all normal, A/C not needed. Speeds 70-80mph. Parked 2 days. On road again, narrow crooked paved steep mtn pass 55mph limit nothing over 60mph 6,000 ft altitude max 4th gear mostly few times down to third, no rpm over 4,000 no A/C no prob, over pass,down on the flat 3,000 ft altitude another 150 miles or so 80 0f it on nasty ruff dirt road 30mph or so 3rd and 4th gear no prob. sat overnight. Next am 50 mi pretty flat then 26 mi real steep uphill paved narrow road crooked, 4th and third gear mostly, 2500 rpm mostly down to second more than a few times, no rpm over 4,000. And.......Redline on temp again, mile or 3 before I could find a place to get it off the road. Sat and bubbled and steamed for near an hour B4 I dared take the cap off the radiator. boil out evidence around radiator cap and from burp tank outlet. Took a little over a gallon of water to refill what it puked out. Started up and went on. Temp normal. Hit the end of the pavement in a mile or 3, Alltitude there 9,000 ft or so, From there went on what the USFS calls an unimproved road not recommended for travel. 2 wheel tracks, brush and rocks between, wide spot to pass somebody else every mile or 2, High ground clearance 4WD required they say. Ok I got a 4Runner, Good to go. Took it in 2WD Hi range no prob, Ya, some ruff spots down to first gear, 2nd gear most of the time, 3rd in a few spots, 2, 3,000 rpm 20 mph tops for 13 mi....Temp normal. Made camp, stayed 4 days, drove 40 mi to town, replenished supplies and fuel. Drove 60 mi pavement last 20 pretty steep then 18 more on dirt again much steeper, temp normal. Camped again for 3 days. Then 80 mi to town and overnight with a friend then 310 mi home, 2 passes over 5,000 ft and 3 more over 4,000 temp normal no loss of coolant.
Now this 3.0 engine has had all the updates and recalls done and fixed including head gasket replacements back to day one according to my local dealer who did history check. I'm the third owner. I got a good set of maintainence records from the guy who sold it to me showing $1300 worth of new radiator, water pump, timing belt, cooling hoses, Shocks all around, brakes all around, and a couple of steering knuckles at between 206 and 207K miles. It now has 210 K mi. Do you suppose somebody replaced the radiator and hoses and water pump without replacing the thermostat?. Winter is coming and I hardly know where to start. I have diluted the coolant enuf to know it will need new. I plan to check the pressure cap, have the system flushed, and probably replace the thermostat. Any other things I should do? Plan to run 50/50 mix antifreeze good to 40-50 below altho never gets below 10 or 20 below zero here.
Previous radiator replacement kinda bothers me although it is plastic and had many miles.......Maybe this thing has done this to somebody else? Is it a common thing? Does anyone out there know? It was detailed inside and out when I bought it. Looked like a cream puff. Still does pretty much. Has full skid plates underneath and only one of them shows a small dent the size of my thumb. NO evidence of harsh treatment at all on body or interior. Looked to me like a soccer mom groc getter babied wuss wagon when I bought it. I'm 68 yrs old. Not a stranger to a set of wrenches. My 1964 HS auto shop project was a '34 Plymouth coupe. Got an "A". Built a '56 Ford Sedan to a 10.4 sec 1/4 mi street legal 154mph top end hotrod in '65. Raced stock cars on short tracks for 2 yrs late 60's. Bought and maintained a New PU for 30 yrs starting in '71. Restored a '50 Plymouth coupe in the late 80's. Have owned nothing newer than 1980 since. These new computer controlled FI cars confuse the hell outa me. I KNOW no engine needs all that extra plumbing to run properly! so I feel like a fool when I look under the hood of my '90 4 runner. Any advice from those who understand all those useless sensors and controls will be greatly appreciated.
I have encountered a problem and will welcome advice and input about it. This summer I finally drove the 4Runner I bought in winter 18 mo ago or more on a couple long trips and had a problem with overheating both times. First prob was end of july drove 310 mi on a scorching summer day, A/C on full, 106 deg F. Temp ga midscale until downhill last 35 mi then pegged after climbing over a 4.600ft not so steep pass. Then it redlined. No loss of power, No visable steam, Shut off A/C but wouldn't cool down much downhill. Parked for an Hr or so and drove on 18 mi. Ran A/C at highway speed temp midscale, got into stoplights and traffic and up in the red again. Got to my destination and parked for 3-4 hrs. Cold start outside temp down to mid 80's, no prob 18 mi back. Next day same 18 mi trip, 4 hr delay back no prob. A/C ran out not back no difference. Investigated cold next morning. Found burp tank dry with fibrous crud about 1/4 inch deep in bottom. Found something that looked like wet cardboard between the rubber seal and the radiator cap seat. Cleaned that and the burp tank out. had to add half a gallon of water to bring system to full. Saw no crud circulating in fluid when full and up to normal temp. Drove 310 mi home no prob. Drove short trips around town for a mo, no prob. Then loaded it up with camping gear for 2 weeks a month later, Had things checked,B4, oil change fluids, all ok. Drove freeway 325 mi all normal, A/C not needed. Speeds 70-80mph. Parked 2 days. On road again, narrow crooked paved steep mtn pass 55mph limit nothing over 60mph 6,000 ft altitude max 4th gear mostly few times down to third, no rpm over 4,000 no A/C no prob, over pass,down on the flat 3,000 ft altitude another 150 miles or so 80 0f it on nasty ruff dirt road 30mph or so 3rd and 4th gear no prob. sat overnight. Next am 50 mi pretty flat then 26 mi real steep uphill paved narrow road crooked, 4th and third gear mostly, 2500 rpm mostly down to second more than a few times, no rpm over 4,000. And.......Redline on temp again, mile or 3 before I could find a place to get it off the road. Sat and bubbled and steamed for near an hour B4 I dared take the cap off the radiator. boil out evidence around radiator cap and from burp tank outlet. Took a little over a gallon of water to refill what it puked out. Started up and went on. Temp normal. Hit the end of the pavement in a mile or 3, Alltitude there 9,000 ft or so, From there went on what the USFS calls an unimproved road not recommended for travel. 2 wheel tracks, brush and rocks between, wide spot to pass somebody else every mile or 2, High ground clearance 4WD required they say. Ok I got a 4Runner, Good to go. Took it in 2WD Hi range no prob, Ya, some ruff spots down to first gear, 2nd gear most of the time, 3rd in a few spots, 2, 3,000 rpm 20 mph tops for 13 mi....Temp normal. Made camp, stayed 4 days, drove 40 mi to town, replenished supplies and fuel. Drove 60 mi pavement last 20 pretty steep then 18 more on dirt again much steeper, temp normal. Camped again for 3 days. Then 80 mi to town and overnight with a friend then 310 mi home, 2 passes over 5,000 ft and 3 more over 4,000 temp normal no loss of coolant.
Now this 3.0 engine has had all the updates and recalls done and fixed including head gasket replacements back to day one according to my local dealer who did history check. I'm the third owner. I got a good set of maintainence records from the guy who sold it to me showing $1300 worth of new radiator, water pump, timing belt, cooling hoses, Shocks all around, brakes all around, and a couple of steering knuckles at between 206 and 207K miles. It now has 210 K mi. Do you suppose somebody replaced the radiator and hoses and water pump without replacing the thermostat?. Winter is coming and I hardly know where to start. I have diluted the coolant enuf to know it will need new. I plan to check the pressure cap, have the system flushed, and probably replace the thermostat. Any other things I should do? Plan to run 50/50 mix antifreeze good to 40-50 below altho never gets below 10 or 20 below zero here.
Previous radiator replacement kinda bothers me although it is plastic and had many miles.......Maybe this thing has done this to somebody else? Is it a common thing? Does anyone out there know? It was detailed inside and out when I bought it. Looked like a cream puff. Still does pretty much. Has full skid plates underneath and only one of them shows a small dent the size of my thumb. NO evidence of harsh treatment at all on body or interior. Looked to me like a soccer mom groc getter babied wuss wagon when I bought it. I'm 68 yrs old. Not a stranger to a set of wrenches. My 1964 HS auto shop project was a '34 Plymouth coupe. Got an "A". Built a '56 Ford Sedan to a 10.4 sec 1/4 mi street legal 154mph top end hotrod in '65. Raced stock cars on short tracks for 2 yrs late 60's. Bought and maintained a New PU for 30 yrs starting in '71. Restored a '50 Plymouth coupe in the late 80's. Have owned nothing newer than 1980 since. These new computer controlled FI cars confuse the hell outa me. I KNOW no engine needs all that extra plumbing to run properly! so I feel like a fool when I look under the hood of my '90 4 runner. Any advice from those who understand all those useless sensors and controls will be greatly appreciated.