2.7 Overheating

I bought a 2001 , 4 Cyl (2.7), 4 Door PreRunner last year (151,295 miles)
The Truck is in very good shape, no Rust, No airbags popped, but the check engine was On

Since we tested it, it felt kinda sluggish when acelerating, and when the weeks past, ir started losing power, we changed the sparkplugs and coils, it started run like New.

2 weeks later it started losing power again, it was the catalytic converter, it was clogged, the easy way was to just take the Stones out from it, after that, the truck felt very light and Quick, no problem besides the check engine on.

Yesterday, in the morning i saw some smoke coming out the exhaust when cold starting my truck, i tought it was condensation or maybe cause the removed catalytic convertor, i drove to work and came back without problems, i noticed that the temp gauge went a little over the half, almost 3/4, i filled it with water (i know water is bad but that is how the truck came), so i just fill the radiator with water.
Later at night i went out, i did like a 30 min drive, in highway and city with traffic.

When i arrived at my destination i stop and notice the temp gauge was in the RED zone, i panic and turned off the engine, then waited a little bit, poped the hood and heard water boiling inside the radiator tubes, i checked the water level and it was totally empty!, zero, no a single drop of water, i opened the switch and the temp drop to the middle, just 5 minutes past since i turned off the truck.
so i open the radiator and fill it up, also the coolant reservoir, and started the car with the radiator open, water was moving so the pump seem to be OK, but the water was all rusty, i closed the radiator once it was full and let the car runing idling for 10 min, the temp gauge didn't move from the optimal mark (1/2), so i continued my travel, i did a 15 minute drive and stoped at a cafe, i was there 2 hours and went to my car to return home, the truck started perfectly fine, no problems i drove home with zero issues, (the only thing i noticced it was that the temp went from cold to the middle too Quick, usually it takes at least like 5 minutes driving to start rising) , so i get home and when i was parking i noticed that at low speed when reversing the truck felt like the engine was shaking and kinda losing power, like it was cyl misfiring, i parked outside, 2 hours later i started my truck to put it in the garage, and it keep misfiring, speacially when i put it on Drive standing still, it started trowing black smoke from the exhaust, not like a lot , not a big cloud but it was very notorious, it was kinda late so i just wen to sleep.

Next day in the morning i check the coolant/water and it was full, i started my truck, no problems at all, so i drove to work, 5 minutes into my Journey and the temp gauge starts rising up, i stop aside the road and waited till it cool down, after 10 minutes i continue my drive and when starting the truck it starts to feel sluggish and misfiring again, 10 minutes later temp starts to rise again and i just called for a tow home, i have no idea what the issue could be, because i dont see any leaks from the system, not a single crack in the radiator, the fan is working fine, the radiator cap isnt cracked ir weared, the water pump works fine, i have no idea what the issue could be.

 

Head gasket would be my guess.

 

How much is a head gasket replacement ? I heard it is a little expensive

 

Couple thousand dollars if I were to guess.

 

Five grand for a 2TR-FE if you don't do it yourself; I don't know if a 1st Gen has exactly the same 2.7L as a 2nd Gen...

It's also possible that the thermostat is bad, as I had both the thermostat and the head gasket fail at the same time.

 

I've had my 2010 since new and have been super OCD about preventive maintenance; I had to replace the head gasket at just over 157K miles. Also, when you first start the truck, does it go into the red and stay there, or does the needle shoot into the red and then go back to the normal temperature? This is what my truck started doing, but unfortunately the head gasket and thermostat went at the same time, so I don't know which was the problem...

 

Couple of thoughts.

Coolant System
-Non pressurized system (cap, hoses, etc)
-No coolant, bad mixture (should be using Toyota long life + distilled water). Rust suggests tap water.
-Bad water pump, rusted fins etc
-Closed thermostat

Head Gasket/ Cracked head
You should do a leak down and compression test. Will tell you if you have issues with the head or head gasket.

Often when you have a cracked head/gasket you will lose coolant, oil will have coolant in it (or vice versa) and exhaust will indicate something is wrong.

 

Check oil for coolant? Bubbles in radiator when running? Exhuast odor from radiator? Compression test? If all good maybe thermostat sticking or gone bad. Test thermostat in pot of water on stove.

And clean that cooling system then use antifreeze.
If small leak in radiator maybe try a spoonful of ground black pepper.

I changed the head on mine on an afternoon in the driveway.
Pray the head isn't cracked. Nice looking truck. Hope it is something simple

 

Pressurize the coolant system and pull the spark plugs. With a horoscope look and see if there's coolant in the cylinders. If your head gasket isn't leaking into the cylinders I would run a coolant exhaust gas test and that'll tell you if the head is cracked.

 

Try this before you go too far

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/k-seal/k-seal-pour-and-go-head-gasket-repair

This stuff is no joke.

 

No offense but DO NOT use any sort of fix in a bottle. The problem is it's a sealant so it'll seal up radiators and heater cores and it makes a mess and is impossible to clean out so If it doesn't work your SOL and it might create even more problems down the road.

 

I've used barr's before as a last resort....
but had the luxury of an old radiator, and by-passed heater core.

so think carefully......