Any Cause for Concern??

[nc-grayson]

Greetings T4R.org family and friends,

Today marks one full calendar week since I wrapped up the biggest maintenance/upgrade project I've ever tackled in my 11 years of driving cars. It's not my daily driver, so I took my time....whole project took about two weeks. I replaced valve cover gaskets with all associated goodies, (half moons, cam shaft covers, pcv valve/ grommet, etc), new GM CS 144 Alternator upgrade, and the awesome tundra brake upgrade. I took my time and did it right, cleaning and painting parts during the downtime and such.

Right after I finished the maintenance, I'd driven it around the block and a total of about 20 miles to bed in the new brakes and make sure everything was kosher. Everything checked out. Anyways, yesterday was the first "real" day that I got to use the 4runner after the maintenance work. Apart from the 20 or so miles of "break in" time after the maintenance, yesterday was basically a maiden voyage.

We packed up our chairs and coolers and such and made it out on the beach about 2 miles from my house by around 10:00 am. This is a 4WD only beach so about 3/4 of the 2 miles was on deep, soft sand in 4L. Everything was kosher.

We had to bring my girlfriends mom and sister back home at 2:00pm. We made it home perfectly, everything tip top shape.

After my girlfriend and I dropped off the baggage that was her mom and sister, we decided to head back out to the beach for some more sun.

We hit up the mexican restaurant that is 7 blocks from my house to fill up on some dollar tacos before we went back out. It was when I was waiting in the parking lot for my girlfriend to go pick up the foods that the truck started over heating.

Before I even left the parking lot, I lit up a CEL, and the engine temp guage was through the roof, I don't think it could register any hotter.

My only option was to limp home 7 blocks away and scratch the second beach trip. I got home, popped the hood, and it was HOT as a MOFO underneath there. Like hot like I couldn't believe possible.

I found the source of the problem instantly....I hadn't done a good job of reconnecting the two lines under neath the throttle body that carry coolant, and they both had a steady one drop per second leak......I had no coolant left.

I parked it, and went about my afternoon....it took at least 4 hours before anything was cool enough to dig into. I went to bed.

Tore the TB off this morning to reconnect the two coolant hoses underneath the TB, (right above the injectors), and got it all back spiffy. Put in 1.5 gallons of 50/50 Toyota Red/Distilled water which got the radiator and overflow within specs.

Drove it around town today probably about 30 miles, no problems whatsoever.

I apologize to write a novel here....I'll admit I've had a few beers...my question is ultimately, is there anything I might need to worry about going forward? I have had 8 cars in my 11 year driving history and never once had an over heating issue of any sorts.

I was calm, cool, and collected yesterday, but then I dreamt last night and now i'm paranoid. I dreamt that all the new Toyota FIPG I used for half moons/cam shaft plugs, and my new valve cover gaskets had gotten so hot they melted and turned to pudding.

I'll admit i'm probably overthinking basic car repair 101 here....but my dream last night was gnarly and I thought I did such a good job with the repairs and now I'm just paranoid.

Please help! Sorry again for the novel..

 

[JBurt]

You're probably fine, unless you blew your head gasket. Watch your coolant for a while and don't do acid before bed.

It's always better to put in regular water before you limp home and flush out later, then to replace a head gasket. Those are spendy.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

You're very lucky. Those last seven blocks could have spelt death for you runner. Really shouldn't have driven it. Also never add water to it while it was so hot which could crack your block. (Not saying you did just an FYI) Better to let it sit for a little while then fill it up with as much water as you can and drive it home right away.

Hopefully it's OK. Just watch the coolant level and check your oil frequently for the next week.

 

[nc-grayson]

Just a little update a week later:

I've driven around 100 miles since my first post after everything got all put back together the right way. Runs like a sewing machine. No smoke, no coolant smell, runs like the day I got it.

Last night however, we were slowly circling the block downtown looking for parking for about 20 minutes. Pulled into our spot and heard gurgling. Coolant was boiling in overflow resivoir. It did NOT overheat while circling the block, just coolant boiling.

Drove home last night after the concert downtown, no problems. Got home perfect. Seems like coolant just started boiling when we were circling the block....only.

I'm hoping it's something simple like a bad radiator cap not sealing the system. It's a 50/50 OEM red/distilled water ratio FYI. Other possibilities, I think it could be the fan clutch, air pockets in coolant system, or just a leak in the coolant system in general. TYC/Koyo radiator installed 5k miles ago. It also could be blown head gasket, which would make sense based on my stupidity in the first post.

But it drives runs amazing. How can you tell of your head gasket is blown when it runs great?

 

[cashmoney]

Look for water in your oil or oil in your water. It'll look like milk. Shops also have a tester that determines if there are combustion gases in your coolant. Also check for bubbles in your coolant while running.

 

[LittleCaesar]

You can rent a pressure tester to test the cooling system from any auto parts store. If the pressure drops, then somewhere in the system a leak is present. Or Napa for instance sells a block tester that tests for gases in the coolant. About $35.

I'd start with a new OEM cap and go from there. And as cashmoney noted, check the oil to make sure it isn't a milky color.

 

[nc-grayson]

Look for water in your oil or oil in your water. It'll look like milk. Shops also have a tester that determines if there are combustion gases in your coolant. Also check for bubbles in your coolant while running.

You can rent a pressure tester to test the cooling system from any auto parts store. If the pressure drops, then somewhere in the system a leak is present. Or Napa for instance sells a block tester that tests for gases in the coolant. About $35.

I'd start with a new OEM cap and go from there. And as cashmoney noted, check the oil to make sure it isn't a milky color.

thanks for the thoughts folks. I checked the oil and coolant, both are good as you can see. Oil was changed on 2/7, or 1,604 miles ago. The picture of the coolant doesn't do it justice....in reality it's crystal clear and looks almost just as red as 100% OEM red.




I guess it's off to the stealership for a new cap and then maybe to napa for the combustion gas/coolant test kit.

I'll keep y'all in the loop!

 

[azcat90]

Gurgling

You can rent a pressure tester to test the cooling system from any auto parts store. If the pressure drops, then somewhere in the system a leak is present. Or Napa for instance sells a block tester that tests for gases in the coolant. About $35.

I'd start with a new OEM cap and go from there. And as cashmoney noted, check the oil to make sure it isn't a milky color.

LilC: Could it be there is just too much coolant/water in the system? I had same problem with a 93 v6 camry and that was the issue.

 

[LittleCaesar]

The oil looks fine.

A new OEM cap is a good thing. Caps are good for no more than 15 years in my book; mine are usually changed out every 12.

How much did that AA AGM cost you in the end?

 

[nc-grayson]

The oil looks fine.

A new OEM cap is a good thing. Caps are good for no more than 15 years in my book; mine are usually changed out every 12.

How much did that AA AGM cost you in the end?

$164.44 with some coupons and core deposit. no complaints!