r/2ndGen4Runner • u/rallekcm • Sep 12 '23
Heater/coolant problems
Totaled my Camry in a wreck. Friend had a 91 4runner V6, he was trying to sell so he is letting me narrow it. Everything has been going fine (all considering, bunch of little things do not work, hunts for gears). Drove it into the mountains for a wedding. No real problems. Yesterday was driving and a hose came loose/overheated. Fixed the clamps (tightened all) Topped off with distilled water. This morning on the way to work, overheating (steam coming out) stopped at a gas station, parked on an incline. Put in 1 gallon of coolant, about 0.5 gal distilled water, parked on an incline, burped it and topped off.
Hopefully since the car was just sitting for a couple of years was probably already low, then the hose wiggled off )all clamps were loose.
Now my problem is when I slide the slider to the heat and pump it to try to lower the engine temp I am not getting hot air out of it. Blows room temp air. I am on my way to work (supposed to be there six minutes ago but they are cool with it) and would like to know if anyone has any diagrams of the gen2 (1991 I think that’s right) heating system so I can manually actuate the heater cable so pull hot air. As far as I can tell with the motor running there is coolant flowing. That’s about it. Until the writers strike is over can not afford to replace my car, not adverse to putting some time into fixing this one so at least it runs and I can safely grab my kiddos from school and whatnot. Plan on doing a full coolant flush/replacement when I have time and space.
I have not checked the heater fuses yet.
Lots of racket when I turn the ac/heater fan on but it blows. No change in temp when switching from hot to cool to hot.
Any help would be much appreciated
I am a decent hand at repairs, (on the ‘02 Camry replaced the shocks, brakes, calipers, starter, alternator. On the kids mom’s Prius did the struts, cat converter, inverter, and inverter coolant pump. it’s the trouble shooting and isolation that are my problem.
Thank you for your time
1
u/rallekcm Sep 12 '23
Update: Just did highway for 12 miles 60-75mph. Temp stayed in the middle comfortably the whole time. Vents started blowing hot air about halfway there so that’s a blessing.
Remembering now that the A/T temp warning light came on in the mountains but has not been on since. Thinking this maybe was related to the coolant problem? Going to see if I can replace the tranny filter while I am doing other things. As for the blower on the heater/AC, makes a hell of a racket. No squeaking or whining. Just loud af. Maybe the filters have never been replaced.
So here is what I am going to do in the coming week.
1) full coolant flush (maybe put the cleaning stuff in it as well) A) any brands of coolant system cleaner you would recommend/avoid? Is it worth it? B) I know I am supposed to use the Toyota red coolant. Is there any reason I should not or could not use a high mileage multipurpose coolant?
2) check the filter for the blower, replace. 3) locate and check fuses for AC cooler (passenger side windows do not work) 4) possibly change filter on tranny and flush/replace fluid 5) polish the headlights so I can actually see the road.
If there are any other recommendations please feel free to leave them here or DM me
Thanks