Help on recent lemon purchase

Issue after buying an eBay Florida 2008 tundra…

truck was overheating last night. Coolant was boiling, smells like exhaust, radiator smells the same.

truck was almost sputtering when driving below 1500’RPMs.


All of this comes after the 4WD actuator issue. Truck doesn’t engage into 4HI or 4LOW.

every light comes on in the dash. I reset these lights and now it seems to run better. No idea what is going on.

got the truck on 2/15/23 from Florida on an eBay sale… pretty ticked off. Would love to get some help. None of this was disclosed - except the 4WD which was in tiny writing on the listing but he never said anything about to me in person.

what do I do where do I start to try and fix - can I return the truck?



Coolant overflow boiling and steam coming from by pass hose

radiator also smoking smells same as coolant exhaust/gassy smell to it

oil drip from below truck…. Always there since it’s been here not sure if related.

 

You bought a 15 year old truck aight unseen on the internet from fleabay and are mad/surprised that you got a heap? How much did you pay for it and how many miles are on it?

 

I'd start with adding fresh coolant and a new Toyota OEM (bought directly from a dealer) radiator cap.

 

Smells like it could have a failed head gasket.?

Also looks as if you have a rear main seal leak. It's the seal for the crankshaft exiting the rear of the motor. The transmission would have to come out in order to replace the seal, but the part shouldn't be crazy expensive.

What does the underside of the rad cap look like? Others have had the rubber nipple fall off and get stuck near the water pump or thermostat and cause overheating

 

Looks like it was out of radiator fluid?
bone dry?



I’d check to see if it had the eBay return on it?

 

Compression and leak down test. Agree with head gasket concerns based on coolant smells like exhaust comment.

 

Sorry but hindsight; I would never buy a vehicle off eBay without a PPI and or personal inspection. I also think you can return or hold up payment but that has to be done within 10 days of purchase. I purchased 4 motorcycles off eBay and when received they were POS! My brothers friend purchased a 1956 Corvette, I looked at the auction after he purchased but not in receipt of the vehicle and saw various red flags. He paid $45,000 plus shipping and the car needed $30,000 worth of work to sell it for $40,000. The buyer was so Pissed he did the work and sold it for a huge loss. I told my brother he could have avoided all the problems by purchasing a $300 plane ticket. Sorry to hear you got a bad truck.

 

Most used vehicles ( especially eBay ) are sold “ As Is”. If that’s the case with yours, you are unfortunately SOL. It’s one of those lessons learned the hard way. Hope your problems don’t break the bank. I’m sure the buyer knew of the problems and that is why he sold it on ebay knowing the likelihood of someone inspecting it before the sale was slim.