Water circulating noise!?!?

Hey guys, been a while since I've been on here that "W" word (work) has been getting in the way and taking up too much of my time, I'm sure you all can relate.

But has anyone else heard water circulating when you start the truck? Sometimes I hear it even after the engine is warm too...any thoughts?
All my fluids levels are fine too...

 

I used to get that noise in my old Ford Ranger.

 

I hear it too. sounds like water running through the heater core but on the drivers side?

 

Like a gurgling sound? Could there be an air pocket in the cooling system? If that's what it sounds like, i'd jack the front of the truck up (or park on an incline) and bleed it.

 

Yea I think it's more on the drivers side...not so much a gurgling sound but just water circulating and running thru the tubes. It's odd tho...

 

I didn't know if that was an indication my water pump is on the brink of failing?
No squeaking belts or pully sounds either.

 

Does not sound like a water pump issue. Water pump bearings can make noise, but it wouldn't sound like that. Does the truck have full heat at idle (leave it running for awhile), or does it go lukewarm?

 

It's like a sloshing noise inside the dash right?

My dad's 4Runner has this issue but it doesn't seem to be harmful. Heater works fine, cooling system is still functional.

You can check if it is an air bubble by "burping" the system. Take off the overflow reservoir cap, put the front end up on ramps, and run the engine until it's at operating temp. Then, rev the engine to get the pump spinning faster and see if you notice any burps in the reservoir bottle (which should be slightly higher due to the increase in temp).

 

Yep full heat at idle so not just lukewarm

 

Ahh niiiice!!
Thank you I'm gonna try that right now.
Will I be able to hear it burp when I'm inside the cab while reving or will this need to be a 2 man operation?

 

The level will be slightly lower after bleeding it, assuming there was air to bleed out. You may not need to rev it much, try squeezing the upper and lower hoses while the rad cap is open and the front is raised.

 

Depends on how big the bubble is. Like DanielTaco said, you'll notice the level of coolant in the overflow go down slightly.

 

Air in the system. It does help to massage the rubber hoses when burping the air out.

 

Yup you got air in your cooling system, I've dealt with this on multiple vehicles, start the truck up and open your radiator cap, have a friend rev the engine to about 1500-2000 rpms and then pour more radiator fluid in, let it run until all the air bubbles come out. Keep filling until the fluid overflows out then you should be good.

Also keep your heat on and turn the knob all the way towards the hottest position so you'll keep the valve open to the heater core.

 

There is no valve to the heater core it flows full all the time.

 

I am unfamiliar with the Tacoma heating system but on a lot of other vehicles you have to turn it on full hot to allow radiator fluid to flow into the heater core, thus requiring this so that you get fluid to all parts of the cooling system. Couldn't hurt to do so, I'm old school haha.

 

It doesn't hurt to do so. I just wanted to point out that the Tacoma doesn't even have the flow valve and that the full flow is going through the heater core all the time. It controls the temperature of the air using a blend door attached to a servomotor that controls how much air goes through the heater core and how much is blended fresh air from the cabin or outside.

 

So the control we have Blue/Red Temperature is really just a blend door control? Does setting it near the Blue end still help to warm the engine a little sooner?
I'm also old school, and habit has always been fan off, temp control cold until dash temp gauge is up to normal temperature, then use heater/defrost as needed.

 

Mine did this for a few weeks before the check engine light came on. Misfire cylinder six. Swapped coils and reset the light. Came back on a few days later still misfire cylinder six. Pulled plugs 5 and 6 and number 6 was WAY clean. Blown head gasket, but just barely. Apparently quite common on 4.0's up until 08. I had just bought the truck used so the dealer's 30 day warranty (it was a Toyota dealer) covered it after some choice words. No problems since and it's been over 50k miles since then. Toyota updated the gasket design.

 

1.) Yes.

2.) Yes. The water still flows, but it minimizes the air flow and cooling effect.