I made a thread a while ago about this same issue. I ended up replacing the head gasket as I concluded that the head gasket was leaking externally down the side of the block. Lo and behold it was not the head gasket! Although the timing chain, sprockets, and guides needed to be replaced anyways - the guides were broken off into the oil pan. So I'm happy I did that job right and replaced the head gasket as well, even had the head rebuilt.

Now I got a better shot of the leak I will post down below. I am not as familiar with the 22R engines as some other engines so I can't for the life of me figure out what this leak actually is. Is this some kind of plug on the side of the block that I am unaware of? When I disassembled to replace the head gasket, I cleaned the side of the block pretty well and so this is what I found upon driving it for a bit:

(For reference the leak is behind the exhaust manifold on the roughly where I circled):







Now to me, this "plug" looks like some kind of casting in the block and intuitively I feel like there must be a crack in the block. Please someone tell me it is just a plug!

 

leak looks to be higher up. did you check the coolant tube for a pinhole? run your finger along the back of that tube when cold to see if there’s any wetness.

 

I think I may have a small leak in the same spot on my 94. I have been trying to narrow it down for awhile. Mine is under the exhaust header and leaks infrequently, usually when I drive the truck for more than 30 mins or so in hot weather(I’m in Florida). when it does leak I notice dried up coolant that runs down the block (just like your picture) and runs along the top of my oil pan, sometimes making it down to the bell housing. I will try to take a picture of mine this weekend.

 

That pipe in the picture, the one Wallytoo called into question, is a much more likely culprit than the block.
Some Toyota engines did see external coolant seepage at the headgasket, but not so much the 22R#.

In the picture above, the staining is worse towards the front, and below the pipe. Right above the pipe the block is cleaner, which should eliminate the headgasket..
The staining is above the freeze plugs, which rules them out.

 

Here’s some pictures. The first picture is from further out so you can see the general area, if you look close can see the dried up Toyota red coolant. The next picture is up close, I have the LCE header in so it’s easier to see this whole area. It seems to me that the top of the pink stuff is higher than the pipe. The “leak” has looked like this for the passed 3 weeks, it’s my daily and I check it everyday to see if there’s more. As I said above it only seems to happen when I run her for over 30ish minutes or more. That pipe is the heater pipe and I don’t notice more leaking if the heat is on or off. It’s definitely a weird little issue, could the block be seeping there

 

Looks like a pinhole in the block casting

If that's what it is, it might be fixed by drilling, tapping and installation of a small plug.

 

Hopefully, it's just a very small pin hole in the coolant tube that's spraying, and running down the side of the block.

 

After a few weeks of diagnosis I’ve determined it’s not a pin hole or leak in the heater pipe, it is seeping from the block. The “leak” is Very small. I could probably drive another 20k miles before I notice the coolant level change. But I want to seal her up and need some advice. I assume there’s a water jacket on the other side so it must be pretty low pressure. I have zero signs of oil leak or any oil coolant mixing so I’m not worried about an internal leak. I saw the suggestions above about drilling and tapping, I also know I could have a pro probably weld her up. But this is my daily driver and I’d rather not take it off the road if there’s other options.

I was curious, since it’s such a small/slow seep if I could get away with throwing a Bars Leak tablet in the radiator and then sanding and doing some JB weld on the outside. Thoughts? Am I stupid?

 

Bars leak and alumaseal can restrict the radiator. Maybe try sodium silicate first. We used to get it at the local drugstore.

 

JB Weld ExtremeHeat should work. It's rated up to 1,000 degrees. The HighHeat 550 degree epoxy putty would probably work too. Personally, I like the epoxy putty. Their gas tank epoxy putty works great, but it's only rated for 250 degrees.

 

Don't even think of adding any sort of sealant to the coolant.

 

Upon further investigation, mine is leaking from the block too. I ended up replacing the head gasket and rebuilding the head + new gaskets all around. After firing up the truck, it was still leaking from this area and I could actually see fluid coming from the block. I'm in the same predicament as you but I will not use bars leak or anything like that. I think the best method is to actually repair the block. There are a few methods I've seen online but I have yet to do anything. Any suggestions? It is in such a ˟˟˟˟ty spot to repair, I will simply have to take the exhaust manifold off to work on it. But still unsure of what method to repair.

 

I've already said how I'd fix it.

 

88 yota daily, how much coolant is leaking? I have still not done anything to mine. No Bars Leak (don’t plan to) and no JB or other stuff. And since I last posted I drove this puppy 18 hours over two days on a long roady. And it leaked, left a stream down the block and covered the bottom of the bell housing, but never to the point where it’s low on coolant. For now I’m just keeping an eye on it, and eventually find a different block and build a new 22RE. I sent pictures and talked to the guys are 22REPerformance and they said it’s a freeze crack between the plugs. Like I said above it doesn’t leak much when I drive to and from work each day so I’m just watching it. How much is yours leaking? Same spot as my pics above?

 

I agree with your fix idea. Although in my case it is a bit more significant than the guy above who posted. That casting "plug" looking thing appears to have developed a crack in and around it. I will have a significant hole to drill which will hopefully end the crack. I'm not too sure how far the crack goes. I will carry out this repair in the near future.

 

It's not too bad of a leak. It will drip down the entire side of the block after long drives. After a few months I top it off, its sort of annoying but I've had the truck almost 5 years now and when I bought it this was an issue. I thought it was the head gasket for the longest time, turns out it wasn't. In those 5 years it's never gotten any worse. I also talked to 22re performance a few months back and they said it is sort of uncommon but they have seen it before in the exact spot you and I have this issue. I have pictures above showing where the location is. In my opinion these are both very fixable and yours should be an east drill and plug. Why are you wanting to replace your block?

 

I was saying that just because I don’t think I’m going to address the issue for while, and by the time I do I’ll probably do a full rebuild and might as well grab a new block. If I can find one. If not I’ll repair

 

I ended up gettin to repairing this. I'd recommend you do yours sooner rather than later unless you plan on a new block. Mine definitely got worse over the years, and I should have addressed it sooner. Made a video detailing the full repair:


I've yet to drive it, Feel solid about the repair, just got a few other repairs to do while I'm in there. Will update upon driving. Cheers

 

Were any freeze plugs pushed out?

 

Dude!! Awesome video. Love the tenacity. I’m surprised how big that crack was. I think I need to heat mine up and get a feel for what I’m actually dealing with, I’m hoping mine is smaller.

What size tap/plug set did you use? Gotta link? Cant wait to hear how it goes after you drive her a bit