2003 toyota tundra 158k miles v8 engine. Paid 5300. In storage 2 years. Private seller said perfect engine and transmission. As soon as I bought, looked under oil cap, white, but probably mold. Leaking coolant. No milky white or anything mixing when checking oil stick. Added coolant drove it home 1 or 2 hours, no overheating. White smoke when you start up and idle, but goes away when driving and even after you stop. Smoke didn't smell sweet. Strong coolant smell from the leak. Still no milky white under oil cap when I got home. Obvious dripping below the radiator when leave it in idle and puddle forming on the bottom cover. Can see discoloration on the radiator like wet spots and on the ac thing too. Worried the head gasket is blown. Checked with gas tester thing fluid turned yellow then pink because I got fluid in the tester. Used the same contaminated tester turned yellow again. Did I get screwed?
Private seller said perfect engine and transmission.
You believed him? Didn't you get a mechanic to verify the vehicle's condition before buying it? As Scotty says, that thing has a blown head gasket.
Bought a lemon?
that's not a lemon. That's a clunker
Yes you did. That gasket is blown
The oil is overfilled I thought maybe oil was burning off. Forgot to mention that.
You got screwed. What does Scotty always tell us? Get a vehicle checked by a mechanic before you buy it because you can’t trust anyone. It’s on you, unfortunately.
The oil is overfilled I thought maybe oil was burning off. Forgot to mention that.
Oil doesn't "burn off" majorly, unless your engine has problems internally. My 1999 Ranger only leaks and burns around a quart of oil in 5,000 miles and it has 292k miles on it. When it's down to the minimum on the dipstick, I change both the oil and filter. Apparently, the now former owner didn't understand the concept of an owner's manual, or he didn't care, waiting for an unsuspecting buyer to maximize profit on.
As soon as I bought, looked under oil cap, white, but probably mold
Oil caps don't mold. That should've been your first red flag, unfortunately. Oil is slick, it can't get moldy. A specific bacteria can get into a diesel engine's fuel tank if it's seldom used and consume the diesel fuel, but not motor oil, and it wouldn't turn white. Either the owner hadn't changed the oil in 2 years and there was condensation build-up, or you blew a head gasket. White indicates either you have a head gasket leak, or, in the same case, my same 1999 Ranger was milky white, shortly after it went into the shop and it was really cold one day. The mechanics apparently forgot to put the PCV valve back in. After I discovered that, I put the PCV valve back in, and there was no more white.
It doesn't show any more white after I wiped It out and drove 2 hours. It didn't overheat when I drove it 2 hours. The white smoke stops when driving. Strangely, I did a second co2 test and didn't get coolant In this time, and it didn't turn yellow, but this time weirdly enough, there wasn't any white smoke either, but the day was warmer. Not sure what's going on, so I ordered a new radiator since it's a big leak somewhere
If there was white crap under the cap, but the truck was sitting in storage for 2 years, could it possibly be why the white crap was there, it looked like the white mold that grows in baby bottles
Motor oil and milk are two distinctly different things. Oil and water don't mix.
2003 toyota tundra 158k (...) In storage 2 years
Old and high millage, also buying a car that sat in storage is generally a bad idea - they begin to leak.
said perfect engine and transmission
"said", I, you, anyone can say anything they want.
looked under oil cap, white, but probably mold.
That's water in your oil - it can happen from sitting but it's not a great sign.
White smoke when you start up and idle, but goes away when driving and even after you stop
If it happens when it's cold outside, it can be just regular water vapor from combustion...
Obvious dripping below the radiator when leave it in idle and puddle forming on the bottom cover
Normal for a car that sat in storage - will need repair.
Checked with gas tester thing fluid turned yellow then pink because I got fluid in the tester. Used the same contaminated tester turned yellow again.
This means you're getting exhaust gas in the cooling system.
The engine almost definitely has a severe issue.
Probably a blown head gasket, although it can be cracks, and other issues.
Did I get screwed?
Most likely yea.
It's also a V engine so there are 2 engine heads which just make it more 'fun'...
And being a Toyota 2UZ V8 - REPLACE TIMING BELT, TENSIONER, AND PUMP!
It sat for 2 years, and no one knows when that belt was ever replaced.
But before all of that, connect a scan tool and inspect it.
Also check the condition of the transmission fluid and the diffs (if applicable).
I won't make the fact you didn't get a pre-purchase inspection the main part of my reply, cause it won't help now. Yet, next time PLEASE get a pre-purchase inspection, I have never regretted getting an inspection even in cases where issues weren't caught. It is much better than getting a post purchase inspection, cause post purchase, if they find severe issues you're out in this case a few grand at the very, very, least.
2003 toyota tundra, 158k miles, paid 5300, leaking coolant obviously from the middle bottom. Drove it home after I bought it 1 or 2 hours and it didn't overheat. There was white mold under the oil cap bevause it was in storage 2 years I guess. No coolant mixing in oil. Exhaust didn't smell sweet. First co2 test was positive but I accidentally got coolant in it. I redid the co2 teat to check exhaust gases in the radiator and it didn't turn yellow this time. The first time I checked it white smoke comes on in idle but goes away when you drive it. Strangely enough, the 2nd time I tested there was no white smoke. I could see liquid in the exhaust pipe. I also see some steam or smoke coming from the radiator cap when I left the cap off but it didn't test positive for exhaust gases. It was a very small amount of steam or smoke, but there is a coolant leak. Maybe it doesn't have to blown head gasket after all since it didn't test positive when I didn't get coolant in the test. At first when I pumped gas it would shut off the gas immediately but that went away after I got some gas in it.
Did I get lucky or is it still a blown head gasket?
Well it might not have a blown head gasket. If it's set for some time you can get a lot of water in the exhaust and it needs to burn out it to drive it a few days. I would watch the level of the coolant closely and see if you don't lose any and if the smoke stops.
I'm changing the radiator, there's a leak somewhere and I see it dripping from.the bottom and middle of the radiator, wet spot on left top of the condenser and some were spots on left bottom too when you face the front of the truck