'99 Tacoma overheating

[DaveNick]

maybe you can help me out. have a 99 tacoma 4x4, 4 banger that I blew the bottom radiator hose off of last week. nearest place to pull over was about 7-8 miles away. nursed it there, replaced the hose, filled the radiator with water and drove home (about 15 miles). drove to work the next day, temp gauge would climb and fall, but no check engine light. was driving home and temp rose, and stuck, check engine light came on. got home with fluid leaking from the bottom of the recovery tank. replaced the thermostat, fluid, even the radiator cap, still overheats. buddy of mine said to replace the head gasket, but not knowing much about tacoma engines, I fail to see how it could have warped the head gasket. any help would be appreciated. thanks.

[03TRDTacoma]

yea if you drove 7-8 miles with no antifreeze in there, its a possibility that you did do damage to the motor. take it to a shop. it would suck to tear it all down to find out thats not the problem.

[Flash75]

Go to a radiator repair shop and have them do a cooling system pressure check. The check will determine if you have internal leaks or pressure build up in the cooling system. Hope you didn't cook the engine, but don't be surprised if you did.
It's easy to damage modern engines by overheating them.

Clifton

[DaveNick]

It's easy to damage modern engines by overheating them

I know what you mean. I drive a '71 Super Beetle with a stock 1600cc in it. I couldn't get that engine to overheat if I tried.

[Brian R.]

I think Flash75 is saying that it is easier to damage newer motors if you overheat them than if you overheat an older engine.