Autozone rocks! and my bus trip sucked..

[bigchillcar]

you heard right..

as many know, i left little rock on tuesday at 8 am and thru 15 stops and 4 bus changes, i made it to durham, nc in 30 hours to pickup my new, well, pickup..a 1990 toyota 4x4 deluxe, regular cab..3" body lift, aluminum wheels, 33x12.5 bfg all-terrrains, chrome side bars..bla bla bla. i really love the truck..runs smooth and is actually (lowers head) more comfy to travel in than my p-car for long distances (a/c makes a world of difference..had almost forgotten how it feels).

i had a few 'issues' to deal with in the 900+ mile trip back home. one, i couldn't get the heat to work the first night, driving through the smokies to get to my family in knoxville, tn. i confirmed that the hoses leading to and from the heater core were hot as hell..the blower was blowing to beat the band into the cabin, but no hot air?!? finally traced it to a problem with a cable under the passenger side that interfaces with the thermostat cable..is binding. not sure how to fix it short of some kind of lubrication maybe..or replacement, but manually moving the arm that it's supposed to move opened a duct and i was hit with sahara heat..cool.

i didn't have a working cig lighter for my cell charger. found the plug was pulled out. plugged it in and no dice..fuse was fine, not blown, so i just spliced from a long '8 gauge' wire that ran from the battery that must have once powered a big amp, into the cig power wire and voila. i'll come up with a different solution later..for now it's hot-wired.

now the fun. a half hour or so west of nashvile, i start noticing things..hit the turn signal, the radio cancels for a moment..wipers start moving..slowwwwer, then the radio quits altogether. uh oh..charging problem, but nothing on the idiot light (decide later that its bulb is burned out). take next exit..'bucksnort, tn'. you heard right. anyway, stop at a gas station and it won't start up again. no open garage and i didn't carry tools with me..not even a voltmeter or friggin pair of pliers (idiot). i find a country girl who will drive me an hour to and from a city in the sticks that had an advance auto parts. new battery. i pay her generously for her time..very poor, but really trusting folks. lucky for me i have a southern accent.

so, now i can 'limp' on to jackson, tn. i make it to an autozone. when the guy behind the counter, danny, learns that i used to live in detroit, his hometown, i get the royal treatment..including a 10% discount, just because. anything i needed i could use. hooked me up with a helper so i wouldn't get totally nasty in my clean clothes. used a bucket to capture radiator fluid so we could move the hose out of the way once the alternator was liberated. borrowed their voltmeter for a check off and running engine and everything was cool. 90 minutes later i'm high-fivin' with everyone and rolling again. i've been to many an autozone, but none as helpful with a 'get it done' attitude like this locale. they were just good folks.

other problem, but it hasn't affected anything so far - i found traces of motor oil in the radiator reservoir. head gasket leak? i'm gong to do the system flush today or tomorrow and see if it returns. i've already cleaned out the plastic tank with mineral spirits twice to remove the oil residue from the sides, but traces of this oil returned each time to stain it again. it's never a lot..maybe a tablespoon worth, but oil in coolant isn't a happy sign. in case you wonder..there's no evidence of coolant on the dipstick..

i'll post a couple pics. don't want a worthless thread! i'm already bidding on e-bay to replace some of the 'spray can' painted interior trim pieces (what were they thinking!) and removed the stainless looking thing around the shifters. also, i ahevthe original wheel..plan to remove the grant aftermarket wheel.
ryan

[Rot 911]

Damn that is one clean truck!

[bigchillcar]

Damn that is one clean truck!

actually, getting ready to go outside and wash 'one clean truck'!

can you believe they 'rattle-canned' all the plastic trim pieces inside?! plasticote i think it's called. even found the 'offending can' under the seat. it's starting to flake off a little bit. am i screwed on removing it chemically? like i said, i've already started bidding for new parts..betting that 'goof off' or things like that won't work. didn't they know you don't paint molded plastic?? there's a reason why the pastic is molded in a color!!!
ryan

[pwd72s]

Lovin' it! Ryan, the process has started. You'll turn this into your personal pickemup in no time.

[Jims5543]

Great looking truck. Great story too. Good luck with it.

You could always pressure check the collent system to see if the head gasket is blown. Although it sure seems like it is. Kind of common on those old Toyota especially if they have been overheated.

[Joeaksa]

Please send a note to the Autozone HQ. Tell them what a big help the guys in the store were for you. They will get a letter in their file and hopefully a bonus that they deserve!

Glad you made it home ok!

joe A

[bigchillcar]

jim...that's my fear..head gasket..no other explanation unless the gal i bought it from was such a poor diy'er that she mistook the coolant reservoir for the oil cap..

Please send a note to the Autozone HQ. Tell them what a big help the guys in the store were for you.

been thinking this very same thing, joe! trying to decide between e-mail and snail mail. they really were the bomb..and on a late sunday evening. top notch crew.

thanks to everyone for the compliments on the truck, too!
ryan

[id10t]

Send both, and include the snail mail to that store's manager as well.

[Seahawk]

Originally posted by bigchillcar
thanks to everyone for the compliments on the truck, too!
ryan

Love 'em...as I think I mentioned in your original post when you were looking, I gave my father my '91 when I bought a 1994 Defender 90 in 1998 (huge mistake...returned to the Toyota fold in 2000 when I bought a Tacoma).

Head gaskets aren't a huge dollar item on the R22E engine. Best of luck and the truck is cool! Lots of websites on these vehicles...

[nostatic]

always good to have an "interesting" story on a vehicle pickup (pickup pickup?). The good thing is those trucks seem damn near indestructible...no matter what a PO did, it can be undone.

[IROC]

Originally posted by Seahawk
Head gaskets aren't a huge dollar item on the R22E engine. Best of luck and the truck is cool! Lots of websites on these vehicles...

Does this have the 22RE or the 3.0 V6? The early V6s had a problem with head gaskets, but the 22RE (or Rs) never really did. The dealers fixed alot of the V6 headgaskets for free back in the day (at least they fixed my co-worker's).

Mike

Previously owned:

1983 Toyota 4WD pickup (35s, 5.29s, etc. built like a tank)
1984 Toyota 4WD pickup (33s, big lift, and still built like a tank)
1987 Toyota 2WD pickup
1987 4Runner (32s and a lift - 4wheeling in luxury!)

Currently own:

2001 Toyota DoubleCab
2001 Toyota 4Runner

[masraum]

I hope that thing was cheap. Sounds like a potential issue in the engine and plenty of wiring woes.

[legion]

30 hours on a bus? I couldn't do that. When I need a top mechanic for my car, I take it to Champaign. I usually drive there and take the bus back and vice-versa for the pickup. It's a 1½ hour bus ride, and it pushes my patience. The smells, the general disregard by some for others...

When I picked up my car in Buffalo, I flew.

[stevej37]

30 hours in a bus?....easy, I did 48 when I picked up my SC four years ago! Mich to Spokane with at least 15 stops in between. Didn't mind it a bit, the ride back was worth it.

[bigchillcar]

Does this have the 22RE or the 3.0 V6? The early V6s had a problem with head gaskets, but the 22RE (or Rs) never really did.

it's the 4-cylinder...2.4 liter in 1990. does that make it a 24re i wonder?
ryan

[bigchillcar]

30 hours on a bus. yes, that pretty much sucked. i'm 240 lbs and right at 6'2"...no leggie room. when we'd stop, i'd wait for the 'cattle run' to the bathroom to be over and then go (shudder). as for the bathroom in the bus? one look was all it took. no way i could even turn around in that 'garden of delights'..
ryan

[Seahawk]

Originally posted by bigchillcar
it's the 4-cylinder...2.4 liter in 1990. does that make it a 24re i wonder?
ryan

22Re, my bad.

Try this link for good tech info:

http://www.yotatech.com/

[bigchillcar]

seahawk..so the 2.4 liter is still called the 22re? okay, was just wondering..i always figured the 22 referred to 2.2 liter, which was the prior displacement. already joined yotatech's forum. i screwed up registering and registered as 'bighillcar', missed the 'c' when i typed it in. it takes an act of congress to get your username changed apparently. i only have one post there, but got no reply..guess it's a lonely forum by comparison to pp. we've got over 100,000 registered members here!
ryan

[singpilot]

Ryan;


Looking at that truck, I think you now have a 'big hill car' ...... I'd leave the username alone.

[bigchillcar]

Looking at that truck, I think you now have a 'big hill car' ...... I'd leave the username alone.

sing..the irony honestly wasn't lost on me when i saw what i'd done. i may just stick with your advice. i was going to request a change, but maybe it's just meant to be that name..
ryan