1994 Toyota Pickup Overheatin

Tiny
DERWOOD2
  • MEMBER
  • 1994 TOYOTA PICKUP
  • 56,000 MILES
1994 2wd pickup with an engine that has about 50k miles on it. Just started overheating and I changed thermostat and water pump. I flushed the radiator cause the fluid was kinda dirty when I drained it. The engine idled fast when I got it back together and overheated again. Then it wouldn't start I'm thinking due to it being overheated. There is no white smoke coming from the exhaust so it doesn't appear to be a head gasket. I pressurized the radiator to see if there was a blockage in the engine and the fluid came up through the thermostat housing. If you have any suggestions please let me know. Thanks, Darren
Wednesday, November 13th, 2013 AT 4:00 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
Does the vehicle overheat if you are driving it at highway speeds?
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Wednesday, November 13th, 2013 AT 4:17 PM
Tiny
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It overheats within about 10 minutes of the truck being on. I saw on some other web sites that the Coolant Temperature sensor might be the problem. I am probably gonna change the lower two hoses cause they look kinda bad. If there is a cracked head what signs should I look for? Thanks
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Wednesday, November 13th, 2013 AT 5:17 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
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A bad head gasket can cause a leak out of the engine, and internal leak that allows coolant and engine oil to mix, an internal leak that causes high pressure in the cooling system and can even allow oil to mix with coolant, low compression.
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Thursday, November 14th, 2013 AT 5:28 AM
Tiny
DERWOOD2
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This repair work is for my friend's truck but I have the same model, year only in 4 wheel drive version. My head gasket went at about 110k miles and there was a noticeable amount of white smoke coming from the tailpipe. My friend's truck is not doing that which is why I'm thinking it's not the head gasket. The upper radiator hose was hot but the bottom return hose was half as hot so what might that be. Could there be a blockage somewhere along the way?
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Thursday, November 14th, 2013 AT 2:58 PM
Tiny
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Sorry, I misread your post. I thought you did see white smoke. When you flushed the radiator, did the coolant flow freely? If you remove the radiator cap (when the engine is cold) and allow it to reach operating temp, do you see the coolant flowing through the radiator?
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Thursday, November 14th, 2013 AT 3:17 PM
Tiny
DERWOOD2
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Thank you for all your help. I replaced the radiator today but before I did I checked the oil. There is water in it and when I started it there was smoke so it is definitely a head gasket unfortunately. So I will be looking for mechanics to swap out head gasket.
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Friday, November 15th, 2013 AT 3:32 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
That isn't good news. If you have other questions, let me know.

Joe
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Friday, November 15th, 2013 AT 5:30 PM

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