I was talking to a friend recently, and she told me that she has a number of old cars that aren't running, and that I can have any of them (except the Corvette, about which more later) that I could fix. The most recent casualty is a '91 Toyota 4Runner that she said has a cracked head. It has the 3VZE engine. This one was the easiest to get to, so I looked at it first. I wasn't too sure about her cracked head diagnosis; her description of symptoms made me think it might be a coolant leak.
I went by her house when nobody was home, and found the 4Runner unlocked. I opened the hood, filled the radiator, and squeezed the radiator hoses to try to create some water circulation since I didn't have the keys. After a little while of doing this, I found water dripping off of the driver's side exhaust manifold. I couldn't find any coolant hoses or pipes in that area, but there is a freeze plug close by. I can't see the freeze plug without some disassembly, but I also can't see any other source for the water.
As much as I would like to have this vehicle for free, she is a friend, and I also don't want to take advantage of her. She was willing to give it away in the face of an $1800 head gasket job or $3000 new engine, but a freeze plug is a completely different story. She likes this vehicle and would be happy to drive it if it can be fixed inexpensively.
Does this sound like a freeze plug to you? Or should I do more disassembly? I'm not charging her anything for my current diagnosis, but if I take things apart, I may as well fix it and charge her a few bucks. Otherwise, I can just tell her to tow it to her mechanic.
I went by her house when nobody was home, and found the 4Runner unlocked. I opened the hood, filled the radiator, and squeezed the radiator hoses to try to create some water circulation since I didn't have the keys. After a little while of doing this, I found water dripping off of the driver's side exhaust manifold. I couldn't find any coolant hoses or pipes in that area, but there is a freeze plug close by. I can't see the freeze plug without some disassembly, but I also can't see any other source for the water.
As much as I would like to have this vehicle for free, she is a friend, and I also don't want to take advantage of her. She was willing to give it away in the face of an $1800 head gasket job or $3000 new engine, but a freeze plug is a completely different story. She likes this vehicle and would be happy to drive it if it can be fixed inexpensively.
Does this sound like a freeze plug to you? Or should I do more disassembly? I'm not charging her anything for my current diagnosis, but if I take things apart, I may as well fix it and charge her a few bucks. Otherwise, I can just tell her to tow it to her mechanic.