My pickup is leaking coolant on the passenger side inside the cab. i've had this problem before and fixed it with the radiator stop leak add in...but that seems to have broken...again...so, whaddya think it is? heater core? broken hose?

 

I can't speak for the Yotas, but I had that happen in my Ranger a couple times and yeah, it was the heater core.

 

Heater core. At least you know thats the issue. Mine just doesnt get hot. Waiting on new parts truck to start transfering parts.

 

heater core for sure. they suck to change. luckily, they are easily bypassable. just take the 2 hoses that go into them in the engine compartment and instead connect them to each other and you can keep driving without affecting your engine. unluckily, winter is coming and that means you won't have heat.

 

heh, well that'd work...cept in my neck of the woods, it's already gettin around 18 degree's during dusk. i guess i'll just add in the stop leak this week, luckally i've been able to drive it round town withough many problems, cept my sticky thermostat.

 

yeah, i live in a cold area too, so i know how much it sucks, but stop leak is just a band aid. it's an awful substance. it's designed to plug holes. people's first thought is GREAT! i have a hole that needs plugging! (that's what she said! haha). but what they don't think about is that it will also clog the rest of your system, all the way from the radiator to the hoses to the water pump to the engine block water jackets to the head water jackets to the. . . . .

i'd really look into seeing how hard it is to change a heater core before using the stop leak. it might not be that bad on your vehicle. or at the very least, instead of just pouring the stuff into your radiator and let it flush through your entire cooling system, maybe try taking the 2 hoses off of the heater core (which are easily accessible from your engine compartment) and put the stop leak directly into your heater core instead. hopefully, that would help minimize how much of that junk gets through to the rest of your system. cuz believe me, you don't want that stuff in your system. just look up some pictures of what people have found after tearing their engine down after using stop leak. you can find entire water jackets plugged up from it, which is NOT a good thing!

 

Like this.

 

exactly. it's one thing to have a hose clogged like that. it's another thing to have your engine water jackets clogged like that. stop leak is the devil.

 

hmmm, well i think i know what clogged my thermostat then. i'mma poke around my engine today, see what i can find. hopefully a busted hose, thats all. the heater core is made of copper(?) and should hold up for a while, so the next weekest substance that toyota made is their 20 year hose's. lasted 20 years, bout time for them to break down.

 

yeah, really once you fix it properly, you should flush the hell outta your system, get as much of that stop leak garbage out as you can. really, you should pay someone to do it, cuz they'll use chemicals and pressure, not just hose water like you or i would do.

 

Usually one of two things will cause heater core leaks. Acidic coolant due to leaving in for more than 2 years/30k miles, mixing with tap water, mixing different coolant types. Or, using DexCool or another of the organic acid type coolants ("OATs") or HOATs, which corrode lead solder and copper, and to a lesser degree, brass.

x3 on the Bars Leak hating.

Some info in this post may be helpful:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...nt-faq-192781/

 

cool guy's, thanks for all the help! just an update (as i've been fairly busy these past week or so) havnt had a problem with it yet, no more leaking or anything. seeing as we've gotten some snow since my last post, i had to turn on the defroster in order to keep from being iced over, and it worked fine. no fogging up or running cold or aweful fumes. i think the stop (devil) leak found the hole and stopped it. also, never got around to poking around to see if its a leaky hose or not. so i think i'm gunna role with it for now, put some money away and get a new heater core or a salvaged one sometime soon when i have a free weekend and a friend willing.

 

Did you flush your system and replace with fresh toyota red and distilled? 'Cause you had to have had acidic coolant for the solder joints to be corroded, and if acidic coolant is still in it, it is going to eat up your radiator, block, head, water pump, etc.

 

nope, last time i replaced the coolant in my system i changed it to prestone green, same kind as it was before.

 

Well okay, but did you flush and refill your coolant since the leak started? If not I really recommend it.

 

How much is a heater core? Aftermarket or OEM?

 

x like 5 heater core and yes stop leak is evil

 

After reading everone's post, and I have to agree with them on the heater core, but I would go ahead and call the parts house and get it ordered, and just in case carry 2 old spark plugs around with you, the core might start flowing and the spark plugs will fit right into the hoses. But autozone lists it for $99, look around you might find it cheaper. And after I changed out mine last year, 85 xcab, it s about an hour or so to do.

 

ok, so, update on the possible heater core problem....

started leaking again, and with a sticky thermostat, temperatures start to heat up and steam starts spraying out from under the hood, and coolant leaking into the cab. steam's never shot out of the hood before, so i decided to check it out. this morning, i pulled off a hose that goes into the firewall, just right of the heater valve, and turns out that when i put my engine back in after the rebuild, i nicked that gromet pretty good. it was damn near flat! heh, and there was no clamp on that hose either...for some reason.

so, i fixed the brass connector that was flat, bought a hose clamp, and now we'll see...and hope. i'll post a pic as soon as i can.