Need advice! Coolant boiling in high altitude

If your radiator is new check the cap to make sure it is turned all the way on. The wings on the cap should be parallel with the radiator...and when I did mine radiator the cap felt like it wanted to stop short of shut, but low and behold it needed to still be turned on tighter...just under a ¼ turn more.
 
"My 1999 used to have ~193 until I got my timing belt done at the dealership. After that it woukd go up to 212+/- so I took it to my normal shop and had them rotate the thermostat. Jiggle valve up= 212°.... Jiggle valve down=193° +/-

That's the only thing I had them change and the temp dropped instantly"
Got this from FB 4runner page. It worked. Good luck
 
I'm ruling out the thermostat because you say you're not overheating :). If the thermostat was failing to open your temp gauge would spike immediately.

Boiling point of a liquid depends on lots of things, but one of those things is pressure. More pressure = higher boiling point. Your coolant system pressurizes itself as it heats up, and that pressure lets the coolant get to higher temps without boiling. I think you're boiling because you don't have enough pressure. That's normally a bad radiator cap, if it's not, it could be a bad hose, it could be a blown head gasket. Normally I'd ask if the truck was burning coolant, but if you're losing coolant out the overflow bottle on a regular basis then you wouldn't be able to tell anyway. You could still inspect your coolant hoses to see if there's any crusty pink or light green residue, that's a sure sign of a leaking hose and that would cause your loss of pressure. But I think it's a radiator cap because by your description, the truck doesn't do the boiling at lower altitude, only when you get home where the air pressure is less. Possibly just enough less to make the radiator cap misbehave.

Rad cap is cheap. If you replace the cap and it still does it, get a block test from NAPA or wherever and test your coolant for exhaust particles. If the block test is negative and the cap is good have a rad shop do a full system pressure check to find where it's losing pressure at (I don't know how far away you are but I like JMAC on State Street in SLC for radiator stuff).

If it's not a pressure issue at all then it's over my head, but that's my bet.

After driving it up canyon without any overheating, I let it run for a minute or two before turning off the engine. The boiling in the reservoir didn't start until AFTER the car was turned off and seemed to boil more the longer it was turned off. Right after I had turned it off it wasn't doing anything, but seemed to get hotter when it was off. Any thoughts?
 
Heat rise

Heat rise is what that is called, normal for all water cooled engines after being shut down. So, since the boiling in the external tank doesn't occur until after shutdown (during heat rise) that tells me the pressure inside the radiator is exceeding the radiator cap pressure (it may be new yet not delivering to spec). Maybe its gasket is bad, maybe the metal around the radiator neck is not sealing (either it or the cap isn't to spec). But normally, an engine can be shut down, endure heat rise and not loose any coolant into the overflow or very little which then gets sucked back into the radiator as needed.
 
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And it only took you nine months!

Just goes to show there's a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum and if someone advises you on a simple and affordable possible fix to your problem, give it a try sooner rather than later.
 
Hi,
Im livin in 7400ft never had boiling issue,, i used to run OEM antifreeze but now just distilled water... Never faced boiling issue.

My friend had boiling issue, we replaced radiator cap it helped a bit but still boiling... went through thermostat + coolant flush but no result. After looking here and there we discovered that the fan wad not blowing hard enough.

I would advise to replace radiator cap but never go for the 1.1! It will crack your radiator!
Then do the diagnostic:
Stop the car
Open hood
Put some throttle
You showd feel the heat blowing out of the radiator... Very hot!
Fan shoud make loud sound indicating that fan clutch is fully engaged.

For me im suspecting cap and fun clutch.


Good luck!
 
Just goes to show there's a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum and if someone advises you on a simple and affordable possible fix to your problem, give it a try sooner rather than later.

The issue was fixed back when the post was recent... Realized I mistakenly never replied saying that was the solution. I really appreciated all of the advice and figured it was better late than never to respond. It's people like you who keep the world goin round... Stay golden pony boy
 
And it only took you nine months!

.... To respond, yes, you are correct, sir! I felt bad when I realized I never announced solution. Hopefully, some noob like myself comes along and finds this thread and can find some comfort knowing that it was indeed simply the radiator cap.
 
The issue was fixed back when the post was recent... Realized I mistakenly never replied saying that was the solution. I really appreciated all of the advice and figured it was better late than never to respond. It's people like you who keep the world goin round... Stay golden pony boy

Nice movie quote! I love "The Outsiders". 1983, I graduated high school that year.
 
.... To respond, yes, you are correct, sir! I felt bad when I realized I never announced solution. Hopefully, some noob like myself comes along and finds this thread and can find some comfort knowing that it was indeed simply the radiator cap.

Absolutely. It's always frustrating to spend time giving free advice and the poster just goes away and never provides feedback. So, as you said, better late than never. In the meantime, we had some fun at your expense, too.
 

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