95SASMudRunner

well woke up this morning to find a huge puddle of coolant under my 93 4runner looked under it to find the coolant dripping down the bellhousing (5spd) so im thinking its a heater hose? any ideas or thoughts its very tight in there so before i go scouting out hoses wanted to get some feedback....

Elvota

There will be 2 hoses to the heater core, and 2 to the rear heat... assuming you have rear heat.

They are all next to impossible to get to.

Try looking up from under the vehicle behind the bell housing. Using a flashlight, you can sometimes get a good look at all the connections and pinpoint the leak.

Also check your heater core valve. They get old, rotten and sometimes plugged with sludge. The inputs can also fail. Might want to replace the valve if you are changing out some hoses.

95SASMudRunner

well crawled up under the truck only to find nothing put in some water started and ran it both with and without the heat and cant find a leak!?!? in all fairness i drove it 3hours yesterday and towards the end of my trip the temp gauge got high, turned on the heat and got out of traffic and it lowered and stayed normal for the last 30 mins of the trip parked it left it foud it leaking this morning.

Elvota

Maybe you could just check the hose connections. See if any of the bands are loose and tighten them (if possible).

Maybe only when one of your lines really heats up it starts to leak.

Or maybe the leak magically fixed itself. Toyota's are really reliable after all.

95SASMudRunner

wish it was that easy but started to leak again but only after driving for 20+min the other thing i though was perhaps the coolant sensor either way Im thinking the intake is gonna have to be pulled...

Gonzo4Runner

There is a small U shaped bypass hose at the rear of the intake manifold, near the coolant temp sensor. You might be able to see it if you look down behind the upper intake. Also, it is possible to replace it without removing the upper intake, but it is a tight fit. A long needle nose is needed (the clamps are the spring type, unless they have been replaced). If it needs replacing, you can pay the dealer big bucks for the exact part, or you can get some 5/16 fuel line (less than 1 ft) for alot less.

jtlinna3vze

there is a coolent line the comes from the valley between the two heads on your block under your plenum. its right next to the knock sensor. on my 94 pickup it went bad and needed the plenum taken off to change it.. more time spent then money.. i hope its not this.. good way to check.. fill up your fluids.. put it on flat ground.. let it idle till full temp and then some.. if you dont see any fluid (probly wont) then back up fast and hit the brakes.. if you then see fluid (mine flew out like a wave) this is probly your problem.. the coolent is pooling between the heads and can only flush out the back.. that why is on your bellhousing. good luck..

Targetnut

If you can, get an inspection mirror and take some time to see if you can find where the leak is coming from. It could be just a hose, or it could be leaking from the valley under the intake (there are some coolant connections and the manifold gasket itself). the sensor housing gasket could be leaking the heater valve, or even the head gaskets

So really you'll need to find the source of the leak.

idanity

there is also an ultra violet dye you can put in w/your coolant, and track down the leak w/a U.V. flashlight.

whatever you do, do NOT use radiator stop leak, i just flushed my system out 8 times (with NEW rad, heater core, hoses, therm, etc, and still have a few specs of that crap in the system.)

hope that helps

mic

i love this forum, so much info floating around in here.

95SASMudRunner

yea i know i need to find the sources im hoping its a easy fix ie a loose hose clamp weather was rough today so ill be at it tommorrow hopefully i can leave the intake on and find/fix this for good! thanks for all the info and ideas keep them coming!

AlladdinSane

Truly.

Thanks to all the generous minds able to make it happen!!!

Luke

slater442w30

or you could do it the right way and use a pressure checker and pressurize the system to whatever the cap states and check the block for the leak.......but dont ask me, I am just a mechanic......and we dont see many mystery water leaks in our shop...

jtlinna3vze

updates??

95SASMudRunner

still looking and i would love to just pressurize the system and find the leak but i have no way of doing that when i run the eng warm i can get steam from the back of the eng by the FW but cannot pin point the source I will be taking the Intake mani off in the morning (was x-mas shopping all day today...) and try to find the leak then anyone know how to pressurize the sys with the intake off?

95SASMudRunner

It was the U-shaped hose Ill be going to the store to buy a new one in the morning and put her all back together

95SASMudRunner

ok well maybe not!! put everything back together 2x and 3x checked everything put in coolant and didnt even get it started before: drip drip drip... took the intake back off with water in the rad. and its dripping but i for the life of me cant find out where! checked around all the heater hoses and the sensor and got nothing. HELP!!

Elvota

Maybe one of those small telescoping mirrors will let you see what you need to see?

I mentioned this before, but generally you can see a lot of the rear connections from underneath, looking up around the bell housing.

jtlinna3vze

did you take the plenum off? to me when you say intake it means from the air filter to the throttle body... by now im pritty sure what i told you before is your problem.. you wont be out much if you just take the plenum off and check for coolent between the heads.. if you have already done so i must have missed that post..

95SASMudRunner

when i say intake i mean the whole manifold what you are calling the plenum, i have all the vacuum lines off, coolant, fuel everything not just the MAF and TB. can you further elaborate would it leak with the truck level and not running? also would it be a well hidden leak bc this one sure is!