Running hot help

Hey yall new to this page. I'm jessie. I have a 99 Tacoma prerunner v6 that just started running hot. I'm more of a figure it out and fix it then taking it to someone else. I've had other vehicles but not a Yoda. Can someone tell me the best plan of action to start eliminating what could be wrong? Please don't be rude I'm not here for any bs just trying to find help from people who see what I'm talking about.

 

What have you checked already? Antifreeze level? Thermostat? Miles on it? Where is the gauge? What are the normal temps where you're at when it goes past what you think is normal to high? Any mods? Ever had a flush?

 

My ex just gave me this truck it was his dad's.(He's since passed away) I was with him for the past 9 months no problems. He called me the other day and said it ran hot and shut off on him when he was trying to get the truck to my place. Res is empty and everything under the hood is dirty and stickey. Not sure if that's from a leak or just being old. Miles 211884. Got a cardboard underneath and was planning on getting coolant and distilled water.

 

If it ran hot and shut off, engine is probably bad.

Checking oil cap for white milky residue
Pull the spark plugs and inspect
Compression test
Leak down test

top off coolant in radiator and let it idle on the drive way.

 

So I added coolant let it run. Levels didn't change. Drove it up the street a few blocks and back. Temp gauge went up then started to decline slightly. Got home and there was no change in coolant level. Slight smoking, but I figured that was from what ever is all over the engine block burning off from heat. There's a slight knocking noise but I can't for the life of me remember if that's a new sound or not. Any advice is very much welcomed!

 

rent a pressure tester from auto part store, see if you actually have a leak..
start there.
if you leaked your coolant out, she will get hot...
Need to isolate the source of the leak.
sound like if its full, its no longer getting hot..

 

Could be that the fan clutch has given up, maybe the radiator cap, maybe the crimps on the radiator are leaking. Maybe post some photos here.

 

I will in the morning ty

 

You need a more methodical check off rundown IMO

1 when does it show as "overheating"? Idle? accel.eration? cruise, 100^ day?
2 what is "overheating"! ... boiling over? temp gauge pinned? Coolant use? etc.

Once that is clear the fix possibilities are isolated. Go from there.

 

Running it until the engine stops tends to be La Muerte.

I'd not bother with spending money on antifreeze and just fill it with water until I found out where it was all going to. If it's economical to repair then I'd fill it with the proper antifreeze type afterwards.