Overheating -- any clues?

[gorister]

I have a 91 with 175k. Today when I got in i noticed that the heater wasnt blowing hot air...it was warm at best. Then, driving down the interstate, the truck started to overheat.

Yesterday I noticed that the coolant in the overflow tank was a little low so I added some Prestone. It was driven last night for a good 30 minutes without any problem.

When it overheated today I pulled over and noticed that the overflow tank was overflowing and the coolant in it was boiling.

If i let the truck sit for a few minutes (5 minutes or so) the temperature drops back down to normal. As soon as I start driving it however the temp guage starts to spike. Any clues? Thanks in advance.

 

[landtank]

Well it sounds like a head gasket to me. I'd do a compression test. You could also pull the plugs and compare the look of them to see if one looks different.

 

[Montana Cruiser]

Sorry to hear that, sounds like the HG could have struck again ...... your posts timing is scary considering the other posts today about HGs

 

[gorister]

That is what I was afraid of. What kind of costs are associated with a HG?

 

[landtank]

That is what I was afraid of. What kind of costs are associated with a HG?

Are you doing this yourself? You also might want to post this over in the 60/62 area as that engine has more similarities with that bunch than here as we mostly drive the 1FZ-FE engines.

 

[gorister]

If i did it myself I would just F it up even more. Thanks for the tip about posting in the 60 series thread.

 

[sdbrassfield]

After the 3Fe cools down and you can open the rad safely, check coolant level. Do not go by want you see in the overflow. There are instances where coolant is in the overflow and not in the rad....

 

[gorister]

I feel like an ass. I took a closer look at it and realized that there wasnt a belt running around the water pump. Dont know where I lost it. Im not technically inclined but I have a damn good feeling that that was my problem.

 

[MoJ]

I feel like an ass. I took a closer look at it and realized that there wasnt a belt running around the water pump. Dont know where I lost it. Im not technically inclined but I have a damn good feeling that that was my problem.

Thats good news. Hopefully you didn't harm anything with the overheat. All this head gasket talk has made us overlook the obvious. You prob already know this but...DO NOT drive it until you replace the belt.

 

[landtank]

Man, that engine would have to be some kind of hot to boil coolant. You might want to check the coolant as well. When was the last time it was flushed?

 

[gorister]

Unfortunatly I didnt catch the overheat until the temp gauge was pinned in the red. Hopefully there isnt any extra damage. The strange thing is, is that the engine would cool down so fast. I guess I just dont understand the coolant system entirely. I had the truck towed to a repair shop so I will have them take a look at it in the morning.