2005 Radiator coolant leak, pictures, please help

[Marde]

Hello T4R peoples,

Need your help please. This is my friends truck a 4.0L V6 with about 160K miles on it. The 4R has not been maintained very well for the past several years. Regular oil changes with Mobil-1 Synth is about it. Noticed the valve cover gasket leaking, so I helped my friend and replaced the VC gaskets a couple weeks ago. Noticed coolant reservoir tank empty (had a few drops of pink in it) so I got a gallon of "Asian" Pink at the local car part store and filled the tank half way. Two days later, same thing, was empty, filled it up half way. Did this three times, tank coolant level is now staying in the middle. Checked it late yesterday and BOOM! Oh crap! We have a leak at the bottom passenger side of the radiator. The car will return late today and I have told the owner No More Driving it until I get her fixed.

After taking these pics I hosed down the mess and the car was driven away. Spent the last hour reading here about "pink milkshake" problems (coolant and trans fluid mix!) but that seems to be on the 3rd Gen 4R (?).

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...radiator-design-questions-pink-milkshake.html

any body ever crack-opened up OEM rad, if not, here we go! - YotaTech Forums

Anyone here ever hear about a pink milkshake on a 4th Gen?

Not sure if I have a pink milkshake (sure hope not) yet, but I was shocked to see the coolant splash and dry as White. So my question is; does (pink) coolant dry and show-up looking White and some areas Pink-White?

Looks like (at a minimum) I will be replacing her radiator and a couple hoses for good measure. T-Stat also. I might also modify it and re-route the trans cooler hoses to an external cooler; instead of using the one that is built into the coolant radiator. Any of you 4th Gen guys done that?

Many thanks for any help and replies.

 

[fdbyrne]

I spilled some coolant while adding a little the other day. It looks pretty much like that when dries.

 

[Marde]

I spilled some coolant while adding a little the other day. It looks pretty much like that when dries.

Cool, thanks, one less thing to worry about.

Anybody have any good or bad experiences with a Spectra Premium radiator, sold at AutoZone?

 

[RunnerAK]

Yep, the coolant dries into a crusty light pink/white substance.

Anybody have any good or bad experiences with a Spectra Premium radiator, sold at AutoZone?

I used one to replace the radiator on our V6 when the stock one started leaking. Its been going strong for over a year now with no issues.

 

[Marde]

Thanks for the reply RunnerAK. Just got back from a local car part warehouse (FMP) who always beats the pants off the prices of big name stores. They want $86 as opposed to the $180 Spectra Premium radiator at Autozone. The guy at FMP was really cool and told me & showed me the good quality of their (yes, made in China) FMP brand of radiator. Either brand is a quality gamble, but I chose to go with the $86 FMP brand. I am usually a OEM or "quality first" kinda guy, but I do make some compromises largely based on saving money. And, it is my friends car and money.

I have also ditched the idea of installing an external trans cooler.

Late tomorrow I will have the new: radiator, upper and lower hoses, T-stat, 2 gallons of pre-mixed Pink (is enough?) Any tips or additional work recommendations are welcome. Thanks!

Can not believe this thing doesn't have a trans fluid dip stick, I gotta go read up on this some more. Anyone wanna guess how much trans fluid I will lose during the radiator replacement?

Anyone ever done a home-grown trans flush on a 4R by doing this-> return line into an empty bucket & feed line into a jug of new fluid, then start car and let the trans expel old fluid and suck-in new fluid at the same time? Then measure how much fluid came out verses how much went in, this to get an basic idea of how to adjust fluid level to be proper.

 

[nasdamus]

I've done it about three times the past two weeks. Replaced radiator, hoses, thermostat and water pump. First time, new water pump bearing was bad. Second time got everything put back together, started to lower car on lift and the gasket for the water inlet fell on the ground. It had fallen out when I was adjusting the water pump gasket. Now that gasket is leaking but it was 20 degrees here so will be tackling again Sunday.

Anyways, you'll need to drain the radiator and then drain from two peacocks, one on each side of the engine. They open with a 10mm socket and you use 5/16" I.D. clear hose. If you drain all this you will not need to flush it. It will be about 7 liters of fluid.

 

[Marde]

nasdamus, wow. Some bad luck there, 3rd times the charm I hope. Isn't the water pump buried inside the timing belt area?

Sorry, I did not see your post before I did the work on my friends 4R. I did the radiator replacement without even knowing about the drain plugs on the engine block; thanks for telling me about them tho. I also did not attempt to do any coolant flushing. When filling the new radiator with new coolant, it seemed like it took-in about the same amount of coolant I removed. I was still worried about trapped air and burping the system.

After running the car for 30 minutes (with heater on) the top hose was very hot, radiator was cool, and the lower radiator hose was cool. I was convinced that I had trapped air and coolant was not flowing. I pulled off the top-side of the lower radiator hose and it was full of coolant. Re-ran the car and same symptoms (cold lower hose). I have now changed my mind; no problems here; just the system working perfectly I guess.

Temp needle in dash never got above middle/normal point.

Turns out the 4R has 185K miles on it, and it has the original timing belt and water pump. I have never done that much dis-assembly, but thinking I can do it properly after watching a video of someone doing it on a similar engine. I need one of those special cam/crank pulley holder/turning tools tho. I have no air tools. I am very slow, so I will take 2 days on that one.

Thanks everyone, Cheers!

 

[sonerick]

If it's a V6, it has a timing chain, not a belt like the V8. It doesn't need to be replaced every 100k miles like the belt.

As long as the water pump isn't leaking, it should be fine.

 

[Marde]

If it's a V6, it has a timing chain, not a belt like the V8.

It is a V6. Sorry, I know so little about the 4R, -a newb thing. Thanks for helping, plus that was great news. Cheers!

 

[fishin]

Do you lose enough transmission fluid to worry about it when you change the radiator? Thanks.