I posted a little while ago about smelling antifreeze while stopped at a red light and being able to smell it in the engine bay. Well I looked many times and never could see anything as far as a leak.
Well I went to wal-mart a little while ago and when I was going to leave I noticed a puddle of coolant on the ground that I didn't remember being there. So I looked and it looked like it was coming off the back of the skid plate.
Then I got to thinking that if it had been leaking onto the skid it wouldn't drip off in my driveway because I park with the nose downhill. So I backed in when I got home and I could then see that it was in deed dripping off the back of the skid.
So I dropped the skid off and I could then see I had coolant along the bottom of the fan shroud.
So I took off the fan shroud and theres antifreeze along the bottom lip of it but there aren't any place where it looks like it ran down and my radiator isn't wet anywhere.
I don't see any wetness around the water pump but I still have some stuff to remove to get there.
Anyone got any ideas what to check?

2001 4runner 3.4 4wd

 

Check your upper and lower Rad.hose and water pump. With the fan being up there, it'll tend to blow coolant everywhere. Unless you have a pressure tester, your going to have to do a little digging it sounds like.

 

mine tends to leak a little @ the top rad hose, right where it goes into the engine. I've never caught it in the act, but I have found a dry discolored area on the plastic belt cover right below the hose.

 

Check that plastic radiator!

 

Look very carefully at the bottom of the timing belt cover for traces of coolant.

If you're running factory Toyota red coolant, there will be a trail of pink crusties where the coolant is seeping from.

Otherwise, get a coolant pressure tester and pressurize the cooling system and watch for the seepage.

Finding/repairing cooling leaks is usually pretty straightforwards...just take things apart (like you've been doing) and find the source of the leak... then replace the offending parts.

If it's seepage from a hose, the best fix is to replace the hose.

However, it's likely that you're getting seepage from the waterpump. On a 3.4L, you gotta remove the t-belt to do the pump. So you might as well get it all done, t-belt, waterpump, idler bearing, thermostat, and of course, the accessory belts.

 

I finally caught moisture and I think I have a hole in my effin radiator. I couldn't tell for sure because it was dark but I'm pretty sure thats what it is.

Can anyone tell me where to get a new, preferably non plastic, radiator? I didn't search because I don't have the time right now.
Also, if it is the radiator, what should i do till I can get it fixed? I have nothing else I can drive.

 

Get a used one from a wrecking yard. You dont want to go aftermarket metal, those junk radiators never cool our trucks quite right. Odd that you have a hole in the radiatior tho. But, rocks jumping up will go through anything be it plastic, aluminum, or brass.

 

I once had a plastic rad off of my '93 Chevy 1500 4x4 rebuilt at a local shop--I think I paid around 80.00 or so, and he boiled it out too. I figured that if I just replaced the original plastic parts that went bad at 120k, then it would be 240k before it needed another fix! Anyway, good luck

 

So today it didn't leak at all. It still had the smell but it didn't leak a drop.
I took the radiator cap off and ran it for a good 20 minutes to see if the thermostat was opening and it got up to temp and water never started flowing. It just set there and ran dribbled out the fill hole. If i reved it up it would push water out then about a min later it would start dribbling out again.
I then put the cap back on it and let it build up pressure and did the water pump test. I squeezed the upper hose together and it never tried to build up more pressure.
So does anyone have a clue what the hell is going on?
I have a leak that comes and goes and aparently no water flowing.
Could a faulty thermostat cause excess pressure to build and blow it out the upper radiator hose? But wouldn't the radiator cap relieve the pressure? And if I had a faulty thermostat or a dying water pump wouldn't I overheat?
I'm confused as hell on this. Someone help

 

anyone have an idea????

 

I'm no help but I have an antifreeze smell when I park. I can't find anything leaking, took it back to the place that did the engine swap and they said there was a loose hose but I still smell it.

I read on a thread about a month or so ago that there is a hose that goes into the engine and has some type of plastic that cracks and was the cause of this other dude's issues but I can't find the freaking thread. I don't have any white smoke, wouldn't care if I did b/c the engine is under warranty for a year. I just hate the smell when I turn it off, embarrasing. Smells like I have breakfast under the hood, pancakes and syrup.

 

You need to follow the leak.If it's from below the radiator area,you need to assume its comming from it.It could be that if its a small enough leak,like a seam where the tank meets the core,It could take alot of pressure before it leaks and then when it does the hot radiator will evaporate the coolant just leaving residue....You will have to do a real pressure test with a pump up pressure tester and/or UV dye additive into the coolant and scope with a blacklight...money is on radiator seam leak.

I guess if you were in an emergency and had to drive vehical for a short distance (stuck out in BFE) and didn't care what would happen to the coolant system....You could put a few egg whites into the radiator,and/or a bunch of black pepper,will fix minor leaks without clogging up the entire system like those stop leak additives at the auto store.

 

do what? talk about back country fixes lol... where did you get that info? just curious..

 

common on 4runners, if you have rear heater, the
coolant lines that feed it tend to corrode and leak a bit

 

yeah put rice in there
that'll stop leaks

 

LOL,yea sounds far fetched dosen't it...But it worked on my 1979 impalla station wagon when I was 16,well for about a week anyway untill I saved enough money to get it fixed,HAHA bagging groceries didn't pay too well back then....

I got the info from the old guy at the garage down the street.Same guy that told me a little trans fluid misted followed by water misted down the intake cleans valve deposites...That works really well also!...It sure is trailer shade tree though,LOL.....

 

My buddy calls that giving the carb a good douching!

 

Hm, that's funny; this is almost exactly what I came here for today myself....

I have a leak at the top seam, and it appears to be both in the front and the back. Small, not a big deal, but I think I'll check the thermostat, too.

I don't think I need to do a pressure check because I could see it leaking when I stopped the engine after a good warm-up.

Quick question: Are the aftermarket OEM replacements really that bad? Seems like a good idea to take it to the local radiator guy, if that's the case.

Actually I might do that anyways. Take it there, do a quick paint job to reprettify it, and I'll be done for another 180K miles....

(Mine is an '87 4Runner that I just bought a week or so ago....)