needayota

hmmm im baffled!

i had my car checked out at a mechanic, full inspection and compression/scope test.

passed with flying colors (for what i was concerned with anyways) ran 180 across all cyls

so i drive it for a few days and EACH day something is happening to almost half of my coolant level. so i park it in a clean spot on the drive way and let it sit for a while (2 hrs) and NOTHING!
so my buddy at work who claims himself to be a yota fan says that my water is steaming off in the system which is a common problem for yotas and it is do to more coolant/antifreeze than water?!

ahhhhh

MTL_4runner

One word......WRONG!

You have a serious leak somewhere and you need to find it. The good news is you have good compression in all cylinders. Check the oil to see if there is any coolant in there (turns into a nasty milkshake if you do). Have the coolant system pressure tested for leaks and also get a new radiator cap just to be sure. You need to find that leak before anything serious happens.

When you park it is the truck running? (if not it should be)
Also make sure the coolant is full when you do this.

okidoc

Same symptoms still no answer. My mechanic says he thinks it was a slowly weeping hose on the oil cooler. I would lose about a quart a week. It would be helpful to know what engine you have. I have a 95 SR5 3.0

Shane

For starters smack your "buddy" cause he's an idiot. Second, WHAT YEAR AND MOTOR IS IT?!?!? Next, look under your floormats for moisture. If nothing there check on the firewall where the heater hoses go through. Look at the seam between head and block for moisture 15 minutes after warming the engine up and shutting it down. Check all hoses that contain coolant, where to look depends on what motor you have. Radiator cap good? Check seams of radiator tanks for leaks. Water pump leaking? If it's a 4cyl look at the pump right under the shaft for signs of water coming out the weep hole. V6 the water pump is buried in the timing cover. On the 4cyl there is a short fat hose that's often neglected buried right behind the alternator, goes from pump to metal coolant line which loops around and back towards lower radiator hose.

If you can get your hands on a coolant system pressure tester do it, it'll save you a lot of time finding the leak.


Another tip if you're not already using it, flush out your system and refill with a mix using Toyota's red coolant. It's expensive but does a much better job of controlling corrosion and a side benefit is if it does leak it'll crystallize into a pink powder which is amazingly easy to spot. And it doesn't stink like Prestone.

needayota

sorry

its a 1986 toyota 4runner with a 22-re motor
and to think, this guy is going to start his own yota shop. lol

i will check those places. the pressure test was done and no leaks i guess. my floor boards were wet but i think that was do to the rain and EXTREMELY BAD windshield seals. (ive seen the thing leak like a damn shower). hmmmm if it was leaking onto the ground wouldnt there be a stain or something. i just ripped out all the carpet in the yota today and cleaned it out real nice (prepping for bed liner through out entire truck flooring).

thanks guys!

o btw okidoc did you find that answer yet , i know diff engines but still . thanks man

okidoc

Yeah, I think it was the cooler hose. It wasn't obvious even when running. I guess it was just right to evaporate before it would hit the floor.

I drove it about a hundred miles this weekend and only experienced about a pint of loss. I attribute this to the system "burping" itself.

I had a good pressure test (didn't drop for 2.5 hours) and no driveability issues, idles very smooth and pretty good power for the dawg that the 3.0 is.

Don't forget heater core may be leaking, look for small/slow leaks and if it's automatic check and make sure that the trasnmission is o.k. A jeep friend had a problem similiar to this and foound out it was draining into his tranny from the radiator.

needayota

heater core!!!!!!!!!

woot! my mech stated there was a coolant sound coming from the heater core. is that a large possibility?!?!

o btw how much to replace or fix heater core?

Shane

Same guy? That is not a positive diagnosis, it's just an air bubble in the core from a low coolant level.

Since you found moisture on the floor keep an eye on it. Next time smell or taste the water to see if it's sweet, if there's enough you should be able to see the color of the coolant. The core can leak or you can have what happened to me. I had a heater hose leaking at the firewall and most if it would trickle into the cab and pool, I thought it was the core until I tore it apart and found the hose rotted out.

If you do find it to be the core in the end I have a new unused one for sale.

Shane

Also if you have a rear heater don't forget to check back there for leaks as well.