hross14

Well thats good--i am with you--i prefer to be proactive in maintenance versus reactive.

Another thing i dont understand about the crank pulley bolt is why people dont use a little loctite on it? I made a tool but have experienced the ol bolt coming loose in RUSH HOUR LAS VEGAS TRAFFIC--down town on the strip!!!!!

Dont want that to happen again. Even with the right torque--i plan on using some loctite. they always come loose with the help of the thunder gun...

97ltd4x4

Yep,I do the same loctite on the crank bolt.I use red..It will still bump-start loose....Come to think of it,I only use loctite in a few places,Where the bolts are subjected to lots of movement...Like striker plates,latches,door regulators/motor/glass hanger bolts,shifter linkages...just a little dab will do..

dgz32

I double-checked just to make sure it wasn't the thermostat leaking. The housing is dry as a bone. That'd be too easy anyway!

dgz32

Thanks for the suggestion. I think I'll go with blue, I've got some lost in the garage somewhere.

I also just bought a TRU-COOL tranny cooler so as to avoid the frothy craziness that seems to be rampant around here lately

seaofnames

Make sure to not break a tooth off the sprocket when pulling apart the t-belt/WP.

dgz32

OK. I'm in the process of replacing all this stuff and it appears that the water pump was not leaking. It's dry and I see no evidence of coolant in the area. It looks like the thermostat gasket might be to blame (I'll post pics later). Also, the TB looks practically brand new, with the marks still visible, and no cracks. Regardless, I'm all in at this point and am going to do it all.

dgz32

OK. Finished up, but now I'm getting a leak from what I'm guessing is the heater core. Can't get under it at the moment as I'm at work, but on the commute this morning I could smell coolant through the vents. The pass floor is also a little damp. Not good.

So, I know the dealer charges an arm-and-a-leg on labor as the dash has to come out. But how many hours would such a job take? Also, from what I can tell, it seems that the aftermarket heater cores are a bit different than the Toyota cores? Any truth to this, or are aftermarket cores just as good? My thinking is that this is going to be a PITA so I might as well spring for the OEM one.

dgz32

Just wanted to follow up and let folks know what the issue really was in the event someone else has a similar situation. You never know.

I was finally able yesterday to look the truck over while letting it idle for a good bit. Wanted to make sure it wasn't the heater hoses to/from the heater core before I went off and dropped a substantial amount of money on said part. The hoses were not leaking at all. They were also both good and hot. Looking under the truck, I could still see the steady leak. I started poking around and BAM!...there it was. Right on top of the freakin' engine! Well, sort of. The small rear coolant hose from the throttle body was dripping like a sieve (see pic). The way it was leaking though, I could only see it from the passenger side, and only if I got eye-level with the fender. It would drip straight down a few inches onto and toward the back of the engine, then down to the ground.



Because of the nature of the damage to the hose, I was able to cut off about an inch and reattached it. The rest of the hose looked good and pliable. Not sure how the damage occurred as it looked like it had been cut a little right around the clamp. Perhaps a previous install.

So the things that lead me to believe it was the heater core were as follows...loosing coolant, smell from the vents at idle, and a damp floorboard. Also, I'd initially heard gurgling sounds behind the dash.

All signs of a bad heater core, right??

Well, as it turns out, the smell was the coolant burning off on the engine. The loosing coolant is obvious. The dampness must have been my imagination...because I have not felt it since. Perhaps I was so convinced it was the HC that I perceived dampness from feeling the cold floorboard? I don't know. And the gurgling sounds have gone away since I correctly flushed the cooling system.

Needless to say, I am happy!

mjwalfredo

Woohoo, that's good news.

Your engine looks nice and clean btw.

dgz32

Thanks. Bought it from the original owner, who said he'd never taken it off road (and I believe him). I cleaned up the front a good bit while doing the timing belt, water pump, and tans cooler. Haven't touched much back there, though.

97ltd4x4

Awesome..Nice find