Toyota pickup/4runner 3VZE overcooling/bad gas mileage/bad overdrive. fixed!!!!!! (read description)
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- Опубліковано 13 лют 2016
- I was having issues with my 1989 Toyota Pickup with a V6 3vze motor but this has been an issue so far as i can see in all of the 1989-1995 pickups and Four Runners ( I actually know a couple people who sold their trucks because they couldn't figure it out, CA smog laws are no joke)
The following symptoms were present in my truck;
-extremely long warm up times(according to gauge) when 50F outside it'd take 30-45 mins. to get to operating temp (gauge) at idle. and once I would start to move the temp would go down just enough to kick me out of overdrive. heat worked almost immediately and would stay warm even when gauge temp was falling, and thermostat, fan and hoses all seemed to operate as normal and heating up.
-Intermittent loss of overdrive gear while traveling on the freeway (even at operating temp)
-If I would try to use my passing gear or downshift ie. high RPMS my temp gauge would immediately start to drop.
-poor gas mileage
-Weird idle
-Fail smog due to rich condition
- noticeable difference in power
Tests to be done for cooling issues:
- 170+- 3psi psi compression in all cylinders
- Coolant pressure test passed
- Temp gauges and sensors, cold start injector, TPS, VAFM, Dash pots, Idle air control and throttle all tested out within spec
Things that I tried to fix it, after consulting everything!!!!
ie: internet, forums, 35yr master mechanic, the stealership, my lucky stars, my neighbor who knows "lots about dem yoters" and my common sense.
1. 3 new Toyota thermostats (including one aftermarket 195) with flushes of entire system each time.
2. New O2 sensor
3. New radiator
4. Covering part of the radiator with cardboard
5. Change fan clutch
6. TPS adjustment and replacement
7. Clean the throttle body including the Idle air control bypass and cold air bypass
8. Change out temp sensor (gauge) and ECT temp sensor.
9. After getting fed up I decided to do a flush of all accessible cooling ports.
EUREKA!!!!!!!
The sensor rail was the last thing that was on my list to clean out because it was nowhere in the FSM, any manuals, forums, google searches or anything and of course its also a b*tch to get to .. but one look at the outlet hose and I was done.
Things needed:
12mm short socket
1 long extension
long needle nose pliers
coolant (to replace what comes out)
air compressor
I used guitar strings but something to poke in that small hole
New gasket for sensor rail (part stores all carry them)
Process:
It is easiest to first take your hood off for this project just because you will be needing to look directly down behind your intake plenum.
Next from above your motor you will want to look directly behind your intake plenum and find the Sensor Rail. depending on the rail that you have your bypass passage will be a large hose in the middle or like mine a small U shaped hose on the passenger side. you will use your long needle nose pliers here and some finessing to get your old U hose or bypass hose off. once it is off it may not be apparently clogged but if your system is still pressurized some coolant should leak out of both the U and from the bypass inlet once the U is removed. If not. Time to take off the rail. The sensor rail will come off after removing all of the electrical connectors. I found that removing the Heater core hoses first made this job much easier. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THE SENSORS!!!! they are made of plastic and are prone to break when manhandled and are often brittle from age and heat(ask me how i know). I found the needle nose pliers useful here as well. Next, just remove both of the 12mm bolts on the rail and while again being very careful of the sensors pull off the rail. (i found the passenger side had a little more access to get to it) Once you have the rail off the rest is up to you. I chose to fill the bottom up with water to confirm the blockage but I'm sure it would have shown with compressed air as well. But hey you do whatever works for you. once it is cleaned out and you have confirmed that you have complete flow. installation is the reverse of removal only with a NEW gasket. do not forget to re-attach all vacuum and coolant hoses and heck while your at it clean up in there! confirm your suspicions by starting her up and watch that temp gauge move like new!!
Hope this helps!!
-Chris
Specifics on my truck:
1989 Toyota pickup
V6 3vze A/T 4x4
212k miles
WOW ! I have watched 2,463 You Tube videos chasing a temperature problem and this is the FIRST to address this problem. Now I have a direction. THANKS
Great video! I had a very similar issues that others may experience. The outlet from that same sensor block goes into a pipe under the the lower intake manifold that can also clog with rust or stop leak. My 4runner would never warm up like yours. I replaced the coolant temp sensor block, all sensors, and a variety of other possibe fixes. None of it worked, so i did a full rebuild, bored out the cylinders, had the block and heads redone by a specialist, hoping that would fix the issue. It didn't. It's because I didn't replace the pipe under the lower intake manifold, I was unaware that it was clogged. I found the problem after 1 year of troubleshooting. The coolant downpipe from the sensor block was clogged. Also the oil cooler was clogged. They were clogged with stop leak. These motors are prone to head gasket leaks, so novice owners pour stop leak to cheaply resolve the problem. I replaced the pipe and installed a clear oil cooler and now it runs like a new engine. Thanks for posting this video so others can help resolve their issues.
It's a real shame that the shop where you had your engine rebuilt wasn't professional enough to blow compressor air through all the metal pipes and metal outlets as well as every hose. Another issue to watch out for is the oil cooler on the left hand side (driver side, USA). It's a drum looking part that is located on the bottom left side of the block. It also helps to cool the engine oil. Oil through this filter like drum while coolant flows around this same drum to help cool down the hot oil. There's a long coolant hose that goes from the front of the water pump and around the left side on the engine going towards the back where it attaches to this cooler. Since it's located so low on the side of the engine block, much rust build as well as dirt and debree piles up on the outlet on the block to this oil cooler drum looking piece. I tried finding a decent quality one at the junk yard and they are all mostly clogged up with rust. All the pluming is rusted. Plus these 2nd generation 4runners are nutorious for blowing the head basket at around the piston 6 location. I think it has to do with the cross over pipe. I rebuilt the whole engine on my 1991 4runner sr5 3.0 3vze last September of 2018. This engine is no fun to work on. So much can go wrong because there is so many pipes all over engine block including the top of the block in between the lower intake manifold where the knock sensor is also located. You do one thing wrong and you have to dismantle half of the engine. I replaced the freeze plugs on my engine block but not on the cylinder heads. Guess what? 2 months later 1 freeze plug at the rear of a cylinder head started leaking. I removed both cylinder heads and replaced all the freeze plugs. Just this January 2019 the valve covers started leaking out oil. So there I go removing the whole upper parts: wires, hoses, EGR, intake plenum, distributor, etc. I removed the front end valve caps & the rear end valve caps to use Permatex anaerobic silicone rather than the typical rtv silicone gasket maker. Anaerobic silicone dries on metal to metal contacts in the absence of air/oxygen. A couple of days ago the fan pulley bracket started making a grinding noise. The bearings are dry of grease so now I bought one in Amazon. I will be replacing it next week but here I go again, have to remove the whole front part of the engine. Not a fun car to work on. Not a vehicle for your average home mechanic.
CHRIS YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!! After going to at least 4 mechanics and 2 transmission shops a was about to give up my 4Runner I love my truck but no body was able to find what was wrong with it so I was getting discouraged! I started looking for another 4Runner until I found your video ,every thing that was happening to you was happening to me too!! Something so simple yet so hard to find was the reason of all my 4Runner's problems! Dude you save me from spending thousands of dollars ether in mechanics or buying another car so to everyone out there suffering the same problems mentioned in this video give it a try is not complicated to do it you'll be surprised with the results!!!!!! in my case is like if I'm driving a different car! thanks Chris for let us know what was the problem and again " YOU ARE THE MAN DUDE!!!!!!!!
I'm so glad it worked for you! I've been working out of state and haven't come here to look at any of these messages!
Excellent vid bro! I had the exact problem and no one knew what the problem was.. I’m a very analog kind of guy so I eventually figured this out, but you are showing it! Thank-You for this!
I went thru everything u did. Clutch on the fan thermostats sensors and has been on going far a year and a half!! Going to check mine right now. THANKS A TON
My experience with the Denso water temp sensor.... I used CRC freeze-off to get my 3VZE water temp sensor out with a 19mm Fuel line crow foot socket. I didn't break it. On that sensor is the part number from Denzo. My replacement was an exact Denso replacement with same PN. There was a copper crush washer on it. My sensor was original Denso from Toyota Japan Factory 34 yrs ago.. I've had my 5sp manual 4Runner 31 years
Sweet Jesus, thank you! After replacing everything I bet this is my issue as well.
Right now u are the God to many, Legend. Thankyou
No problem! Im really glad it helped you out!
I'm running 60% anti-corrosion Toyota Red Long Life coolant from the dealer & 40% distilled. I mix myself, to be sure of the ratio.
If you have the brass radiator, have checked for tiny leaks which can cause rusting/corrosion inside the motor. It will suck in air.
Very helpful ..
Thanks man!
no problem glad I could help!
These are exactly the symptoms I'm having with my truck. Thanks for the video. But how the hell did you get back there to get it off?
Great vid
Question , I have my sensor block off due to replacing my knock sensor .
I've broken the light blue 2 nipple thingy. What is it actually called , IF it matters ?
Otherwise , I'll jus take the whole block of them to the parts store. Thanks
Can you please tell me what all of these sensors are called and their functions? I can’t find anyone talking about this type of sensor block! Everyone else’s seem to have a coolant hose coming from the middle into the heater core. I need to replace these sensors but don’t have any clue what they are. Please help!
Mine is OVER heating. Could this also be caused by this assembly?
Nice vid
How did u access that coolant block? Looks like i have less room than yours?
Hey the part that was clogged. What is the part called
Did you have to pull out the the whole efi intake manifold to get to that rail sensor??
no 2 bolts
Did you completely drain your coolant for this?
I just bought a 90 4runner and I'm having very similar issues. It still has old red coolant and I'm going to drain the system and replace the thermostat while I'm at it. I just didn't know if I took off this same piece, if it would burn anything.
Youll need to replace the seal with high temp rtv but aside from that its pretty straight forward and shouldnt "burn anything" . I would do it at the same time as when u do your thermostat and empty as it will make it way easier. Good luck!
How did you take that off, do you have to take off the intake manifold ???
no. 2 bolts and long socket extensions and you are good to go!
Did you have to remove the plenum to get at the sensors etc? My issues are different as my overdrive works intermittently when the truck is at operating temperature. Actually id won't downshift at all and remains in overdrive until I floor it from a stop then it will go into the proper gear. I've been through most of the motor and keep it properly tuned but this has me baffled. It may be a solenoid pack in the transmission as I'm sure it's the original with just over 200k on the clock. I had the transmission flushed in 2012 at Shitty Lube which may started it. The TPS is new and correctly installed after the first one threw me for a loop.
Did you ever figure this out?
no. 2 bolts and you are good to go. long socket extensions and long needle nose pliers are your friend
the plenum is a piece of piss to take off
Mine has a heater hose that goes to the water bypass outlet. The hose cracked where the clamp holds it on and was spraying coolant all over the back of my engine. Any who.. I thought I was going to have to take off the plenum so I could access it better but instead I took the hood off and got on a step latter on the passenger side and had plenty of room to access the hose and if needed I could also access the temp sensors too.. I'm assuming if I needed to I could also unbolt and remove the entire water bypass outlet. I dont know how it was removed in this video but it doesn't seem he removed the plenum.. So try removing the hood if you need access.
Goni I just had the same thing happen to me. After the hose burst I have a check engine light on. Starting first thing in the morning takes a couple tries but other than that, it seems to run good. We’re you experiencing similar problems? Did you find a solution?
no intake manifold removal needed. just socket extensions and loooong needle nose pliers
Thanks I'm going to pull my hood off and check. I have a coolant leak somewhere and cant find it. I can hear it dripping but sounds like it's hitting the crossover or something and evaporating. I hope it aint the heads. I been considering pulling the engine and just 3.4 swapping it. But it would be nice if it was just a hose or something easy lol
@@joshdane5657 hope you figured it out and didnt go that far! Sounds like the rear manifold hose to me!!
Does anyone know the part number for the small coolant hose? I can’t seem to find it anywhere.
the small coolant hose can be plain black hose from your local auto store
How does your truck not overheat if the cooling lines are clogged?
This whole system is secondary to the actual cooling system. a clog here just causes this small system to not function properly
No overdrive in the freeway because of this?
yes. your truck has a system that will cut out Overdrive to help warm up your transmission to operating temp faster. If the actual sensor itself is not functioning or not showing (operating temp) then overdrive doesn't come on. good luck!
Try Autofit Inc to get the fan shroud, as you don't have the black plastic radiator fan shroud both upper and lower. You need that radiator fan shroud
good tip man you should take off that clutch fan get electric