The horror of the 4runner….

[Luke]

Well… where do I start….

A friend of mine has an old 1993 Toyota 4runner which developed a coolant leak which seemed to be coming from the back of the engine block. He asked if I could have a look at it for him….I said sure. (He was just about to sell it then this happened)

After filling the radiator with water to see where the leak was coming from and as this is a 3.0 V6, I could only see that it seemed to be coming from near the rear of the engine, were the bell housing and the engine come together. I thought this was strange as I did not think that there was any hoses etc running near there. (This was the first time I had worked on this particular engine). Not matter how I tried to look I could not see where the water was coming from. Then I watch one of Ericthecarguys videos and saw that he used an inspection mirror to look at things which could not be seen normally. So straight on to ebay and for $4.99 I bought an inspection mirror. Using the inspection mirror and taking off the front driver side tyre (by hand…:() I saw that the water leak was coming from the heater return where it goes into the block of the engine which is a metal fitting. Gaining access to this was going to be a really big problem as it is almost hard up against the fire wall. There is a exhaust manifold which runs right under the metal fitting which I thought if I remove, I will have better access to the metal fitting, after trying for 10 hours to remove the bolts holding the manifold together, I learned that while the access is better, it is still not enough to attempt a repair…….the engine will need to come out.

I like working on cars, motorbike and lately dishwashers but after spending a total of 20+ hours on the 4runner, I am total over it…..why o god why do engineers put items like this into positions where working on them at a later date is impossible without taking the whole thing apart?? I know that Ericthecarguy has done a video on this (which I have watched more than a few times) and I totally understand what his message is but I just think that if they (engineers) took a bit of extra time and looked at what the possible failures (and there are always going to be failures) that it would make everyone’s life that much easier and save money in the long run.

This car is still sitting in my garage, as I do not have an engine hoist I won’t be able to do this for him, I feel beaten and sorry for this car as it will more than likely be sold as is for someone who has the time and equipment to have a go at it…..As Ericthecarguy said in the video titled “Don’t make my life more difficult” I’m going to go and cry in the corner now………

Thanks for letting me rant…..

Topic

[Dylan]

Although it is next to no chance, if you happen to live somewhat near my location, I would be able to assist with the coolant leak. I have a full sized service jack as well as stands that could lift a 4 runner probably halfway into the sky lol… plus I’m sort of a short guy with small limbs, so maybe it’s size that is disabling you from reaching areas? I would be happy to help, if you live close. Maybe I can get lucky with my size and reach a few of those bolts? Plus I have universal tools for hard to reach areas, and flash light ability

[Luke]

Thank you so much for the offer but I am all the way in the Australia 🙂 But thank you!

I have had a chat to my mate who owns the 4runner and I will be taking out the engine…….stay tuned……should be very interesting…..

[Dylan]

I love automotive, I help strangers if needed 😀 GOOD LUCK taking out that engine, word of advice… when you take a bolt out, put it back in if you can, so you dont loose them! I learned that from watching engine jobs with ericthecarguy. Have fun!

[Dwayne]

how is it going with the 3vze? I have plenty of experience with that engine, and if you haven’t removed that engine, you can get to that hose without doing so. The heater pipe also runs under the intake manifold, and if it has rusted, you could be loosing coolant between the block and manifold that will allow the water to run out the rear of the engine too..

[Dylan]

[quote=”lovetowrenchit” post=112610]how is it going with the 3vze? I have plenty of experience with that engine, and if you haven’t removed that engine, you can get to that hose without doing so. The heater pipe also runs under the intake manifold, and if it has rusted, you could be loosing coolant between the block and manifold that will allow the water to run out the rear of the engine too..[/quote]
This kind person knows your engine better than I do lol.. if I were you, I would try what this man has in mind lol… you may get lucky! Good luck

[Dwayne]

[IMG]http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr310/buckz6319/2014-09-21-13-07-02_zps5b94krdc.png[/IMG]
:0

[Luke]

Hello,

It is the heater pipe (metal) which is at the back of the block which is leaking!! YAY some one who know about this!! 🙂

When it come out of the block it seems to be leaking where it looks to be pressed into the block. Is that the case?

Do you have to take the motor out to repair this? Can the inlet manifold just be taken off?

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP!! banana:

[Its me]

May help to post this is service and repair for more visibility for others in the future..

Just remove the top end and remove the pipe assembly and replace…(don’t have to remove the heads)…

[Dwayne]

you can find a lot of how to’s at http://www.yotatech.com/ become a member, and you have access to all the information you can handle for your 3VZE

here is one thread that will show you how to get to the knock sensor, and you can clerly follow this thread to get to the heater pipe http://www.yotatech.com/f128/3-0-intake-manifold-removal-knock-sensor-replacement-233708/
I have a long thread there on how to replace the 3VZE timing belt, amongst other threads

[Dwayne]

I have in rare circumstances, cut off the part of the rusted pipe and install the rubber heater hose on the good section.

This engine was one of the worst engines I ever worked on because of the design and extremely tight work space…

I have also had to replace the entire heater pipe before, and they was a pain to do, but the pipe does rust out in areas you can’t see. I hope that you can do what I have described above:) it would be the easiest repair

[Dwayne]

http://www.yotatech.com/f60/
Here is a lot of topics you can look through

[Luke]

ok, this is what I have found. It took 6 hours to get it to this stage……..

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[Dwayne]

[quote=”Lukejo25″ post=120399]ok, this is what I have found. It took 6 hours to get it to this stage……..

[/quote]
yes, it is a lot of work! got the scars on my hands to prove it…

[Dwayne]

did you find the source of the leak yet?

[Author]

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