WFO

Yesterday my truck overheated. I pulled over as soon as I noticed it was hot. Let it cool off and noticed the radiator was clogged with mud. (first time it had been on the road since mud bog on sat) So after it cooled I drove about one mile and it was getting hot again. Pulled over, let it cool, took off again. Then I made it to the car wash. Let it cool again and cleaned the radiator. Left and went home with the engine at normal temp the whole way. Only about 5 miles in traffic.

So today I go to work, about 3 miles, and when I get there the overflow tank is spitting antifreeze. Truck didnt get hot though. At least not by the factory guage.

I go get lunch and come back, again short trip, and the truck is pinging and kinda quietly knocking, but not hot. Also a big loss in power. When I get back the overflow is spitting again.

Well im pretty ignorant when it comes to cooling systems so im askin for your help.

What should I check first and what exactly causes the pinging?

It has a new radiator as of a month ago and it hasnt had any cooling problems since then. Other than that I have no record of anything else being replaced.

Team420

Your radiator might be plugged, or the t-stat, or maybe you have an air pocket, thats what I would expect with pinging, and normal temp gauge.

Crawdad

I'd do a radiator flush ASAP, change the thermostat, and go from there.

The pinging is caused by fuel detonating prematurely in the combustion chamber from the heat. If it's pinging, it's running too hot (or the octane of the fuel you're using is not high enough, but this isn't the case here). That's also why coolant is pissing into the overflow tank - it's boiling and being forced out.

WFO

Thanks for the replies.

Yesterday I got a new T-stat and installed it since I dont know when it was done.

When I got the old one out the block was dry. So i'm guessing I had air in the system. So I install the new T-stat and fill the radiator, fire it up and with the cap off its steaming pretty bad out of the rad. So I cut the truck off and open up the small coolant line at the front-top of the motor (V6), fill it up with about a half a gal. of antifreeze and I definately got air out. I cracked open the heater core lines and they were all full. But I think I still have air in the system. This am the overflow still spit out some antifreeze after a one mile trip.

What else can you do to get the air out of the system?

Crawdad

Park it with the nose pointing uphill (or jack the front end up), start the engine, and pull the radiator cap off. Turn the heater on full blast, and fill the radiator up to the top. When coolant starts cycling (the thermostat opens, you will notice the coolant start to swirl and move), the level will start to drop. Keep adding fluid until it stops dropping.

Make sure the truck doesn't overheat during all this.

Inspect carefully and make sure you don't have a pinhole leak in a hose, water pump, etc. This will introduce air into the system when the truck turns off.

I would seriously do a flush, though. You can find flush kits at the parts store, you basically just pull the petcock and drain the radiator, pour the flush in, fill with water, and let it cycle for a while. Then you pull the petcock with the engine running, and stick a water hose in the top , and keep it running until the junk coming out of the petcock runs clear. You'd be amazed how much junk you can get out of there. When you finish flushing, drain the radiator again and fill with a 50/50 mix of distilled water and antifreeze. Regular tap water can leave calcium deposits and crap inside your cooling system.

Also, pull your radiator hoses (the main upper and lower ones) and inspect the inside. If they look worn at all, spring looks rusty, etc, replace them. They can get flimsy with age and collapse internally when the engine gets hot. You can't tell it from the outside, but they will be collapsed inside and will stop coolant flow.

WFO

Ill have to find the flush kit today. I did jack up the front of the truck as high as I could. But there is a hose on top of the intake that still sits higher than the radiator cap.

Since I opened up a few lines I did inspect everything and didnt find any leaks.

When I was trying to get the air out yesterday my heat was not working. By the time I was done though it was blowing hot air.

The radiator hoses have not been replaced since I have had the truck and I noticed the lower hose felt soft. Also before I replaced the T-stat and tried to get all the air out there was a noticable temp difference between the top and bottom hoses. The top was HOT and the lower was barely warm.

Ill get new hoses today also.

Any other sugestions?

Crawdad

Yeah, it's really hard on these newer engines that have coolant hoses running everywhere to get the radiator fill hole to be at the top of the system.

The radiator flush stuff is in a little bottle - Prestone makes one, along with a couple of other folks. All they really do is dissolve minerals and built up grunge, but they can work magic. I had a Dodge 360 that would overheat constantly, no matter what I replaced (water pump, hoses, thermostat, etc), but it never overheated again after I flushed it. You wouldn't believe the crap that came out of the radiator and block . Big brown clumps of crap, little pearly mineral chunks.

You might replace the radiator cap while you're at it. Not sure about these Yotas, but a lot of caps are vented and are supposed to pressurize the system and then vent to the overflow tank at a certain pressure. If the cap won't pressurize the system (ie - is constantly venting) just overheats and boils. You will have to get a "Mini Cap" to fit, so take your old one in to match. Shouldn't cost more than $5-7 from the parts store. A malfunctioning cap can also let air into the system through its vent. Sound familiar?

WFO

Well yestaerday I put new hoses on the truck since the lower hose felt really soft. As of yesterday it had been running at normal temp. Everything was fine. Well today I go out to the truck to leave for lunch and there's a big puddle of antifreeze under the truck. I start it up and find the leak. In the one month old radiator.

So im off to get the new one after work. Im about ready to set this truck on fire. Ive been working on the cooling system doing one thing or another for the past 3 days. And now I get a pinhole in the new radiator.

Anyways, I was curious to know how you can tell if the water pump is bad or not. Or going bad.
When trying to get the coolant to circulate it seems if I let it run at idle it wont flow. The heat is cold. Then if I run it at 2-3k the temp guage goes down a bit and then I have heat.

So how can you tell if the water pump is going bad?

rowdy235

take the cap off and run long enough to open the t-stat, if the pumps working the coolant should be swirling around and moving. Thats how I check.

Crawdad

Yeah, if the water pump is working there will be noticeable swirling and movement in the water even at idle.

WFO

No swirling. The coolant level lowers when on the throttle then raises back up when at idle. I didnt even see any swirling when on the throttle.

kellhammer

Is it 3.0 ? All I can say this was the beginning of the end for my engine. I missed the head gasket recall I should had it done cause not much longer before my head gasket blew. My coolant looked all rusty. I could never get it to clear up. When I replaced the engine all the passages were clogged up. The heater lines to the rear passenger seat were rusted thru.
One explaintion I got from a mechanic was that all the different metals used in the engine create a magnetic charge that accelerates the iron block rusting. Thats why the coolant is supposed to be the red type to counteract the problem. He suggested replacing the coolant once a year no matter what.

WFO

Yes its a 3.0. Ive been using the coolant that is supposed to be safe for all vehicles. I just did the HG last spring. And yeah all the water passages looked nasty!

One thing, there is a noticable difference in temp between the upper and lower rad. hoses, so im thinking it is working. Im just wondering how well. Since I have to take the radiator off today I might just throw in a new water pump too. It doesnt seem to be too hard of a job.

76ANTHONY

REPLACE THE T-STAT TOO. sorry caps...

WFO

Its new as of Monday.

ZUK

iTrader: (1)

WFO---Your 1st post sure sounds like a blown HD. Any white mist coming out the exhaust yet?

WFO

Yeah and Monday I spent some time browsing craigslist for a new motor. I dont think it is blown though. Although I could be wrong.

When I said it was pinging but not hot the guage said it was not hot. But I believe the motor was hot. I dont think I was getting any water to the block. It didnt start pining until I was on my way back.

But I see no signs of a blown HG yet. It runs great except for when it got hot. I havent changed the oil but I might pull the plug just for a second to see what comes out since water would be on the bottom. I see no oil in the radiator and no white smoke.

bigarms23

are you running an electric fan?

Jay351

What kind of coolant are you running? Toyota red I hope.

WFO

Nope - stock fan.

Nope - Prestone, the stuff thats supposed to safe for all metals.