Coolant Reservoir Bubbling and Filling Up.

This is true, but it is a VERY slim margin, it's not in the Tacoma Toyota Factory Service Manual, it's in the Toyota certification training manuals. Off the top of my head allowable is 0.001

 

As you guys know, i recently had my head gasket replaced. While working on my truck this weekend, i realized that my coolant is at the LOW line... why would this be? We literally replaced everything including the water pump.

 

My coolant is also at the "low" mark... it settled there after the first major trip post-head-gasket-repair last summer.

You can expect the level to drop a little bit after refilling the system as the bubbles work their way out. This occurs over many drive cycles, over the course of weeks or months.

So long as the level doesn't continue to drop, there is no problem... even if you have to top it off once or twice. Don't panic unless you have more definitive evidence of a problem, such as coolant in the crank case, transmission (if auto), floorboards, or driveway. Or, if you keep getting the tell-tale "whoosh" on cold startup, indicating that the coolant is going out the tailpipe.

So be vigilant, but you are probably fine!

BTW I enjoy reading your material, keep up the good work.

 

Hello all!

So... I have seem to have very similar issues unfortunately. The truck drives fine but bubbles (http://www.youtube.com/shorts/Y1Ivf8Ti084) and fills up the reservoir with coolant until it overflows. This is because there is air (or possibly gas) filling up the cooling system.

Except: My engine doesn't overheat (no temperature rise) even after like 8 hours of driving, I don't need to bleed the radiator and I only syphon coolant back into the radiator once it has cooled the next day - max so far was about 400ml (14 fl.oz.).

I had the truck in a radiator shop - they replaced the cap, which didn't do anything. No liquids visible in the exhaust tip, no coolant in oil (as far as I can tell).

I felt that the issue described here was my issue as well, until I took my truck to a mechanic. After a quick look (10 min) He was sure that it wasn't the engine, but that the water pump/fan clutch was somehow sucking in air?! Is that possible? Didn't make sense to me, so I haven't replaced either... yet. Just ordered that chemical block tester, but it won't get here until the 11th.

Any help is as always much appreciated, Julian

 

You need a new mechanic. Seriously.

Unfortunately you probably have a blown head gasket.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=How+to+diagnose+a+blown+head+gasket

 

right or wrong the very first thing i do when i have a radiator problem is to change my radiator cap. it usually resolves the issue..i do this even before i go running for a pressure test. the test should test the cap as well, but i think its just an inexpensive "hail-mary" why not?

 

Quoted:

"I had the truck in a radiator shop - they replaced the cap, which didn't do anything."

 

All things are possible, but this sounds really improbable.

The chemical test for exhaust gas in the coolant will provide a more definitive answer, and since yours is a week away, maybe consider taking it to a shop that can do that test on the spot?

I wouldn't drive it a lot if the leak has progressed to the point of overflowing the reservoir... you are displacing a lot of coolant with exhaust gas, right at the head on one side of your engine. I forget where the temperature sender is, but it's definitely not in the head. So you could be damaging things, even if the dash gauge reads normal temps.

This is unfortunate, but the fact is, the '05 V6 engines came with defective head gaskets. I would stop looking for alternatives (and also stop driving the truck) and get it repaired ASAP.

 

damn.. still, its what i do first.

like the same thing if my CEL comes on..i check my fuel cap. hahah.

 

Yeah, sounded pretty bogus to me too. So we are certain that that’s impossible, right? And I’m not home, so I’ve been struggling to find someone knowledgeable in Hermosillo, Mexico.

@mk5 Ive babied the truck ever since, but still drove it quite a bit. Won’t do so any more. And nobody here seems to have or sell that detector here... but I’ll keep looking.

I’m starting to have the feeling that parts will be difficult to find as well... what do I need to start looking for beside the head gaskets for both sides? Or should I drive the 1000 miles to a mechanic that I know? Kinda don’t want to bring it back to that mechanic I just came from...

 

Trust me you aren't sucking in air with the water pump....

 

LOL,so true.a waste of money.

 

It is possible or plausible that the fan clutch could be causing it to run hot enough to barely boil, but not hot enough to over heat, but extremely unlikely. Most likely what is happening is the factory defect in the head gasket located between cyl 4 and cyl 6 is getting weak. Under load, a small sporatic amount of exhaust gas is getting pushed into the coolant system via the jacket. it is just enough of a leak to produce bubbles, but not constant enough to totally push all the coolant out of the system on a constant basis enough to flat out over heat.... but your not far from that happening.

long story short, it sounds like your problem is you need to get home. if it was me, i'd just come to grips with i bought an 05 tacoma. the 1gr-fe shipped defective. run some Barr's sealant through it, get home, scrap the engine, install a low miles 2007+ 1gr. enjoy your truck for another 100,000 miles

 

can you find a borescope or endoscope? pull the spark plugs on cyl's 2, 4, and 6 and put a camera in the cylinders. does the top of the piston on cylinder 2 have ALOT more carbon buildup than either cylinder 4 or cylinder 6? Most likely, cylinder 6 will look pretty clean compared to 2. If so, dead give away that HG is starting to fail.

 

One last thought... the more I watch the video of the bubbles, the more I think the liquid looks a little in the thick side. This might be a stupid question, but Are you SURE you are not running strait anti-freeze without proper amount of water mixed in? strait anti-freeze can cause some weird issues.

 

So, I'm not going to write full how-to guide, but I've been working to add photos and words of wisdom for my head gasket repair over on my build thread. It's not done yet, but I think I've got a pretty complete parts list and tools list for those wanting to tackle this project.

Its not easy, but if you haven't cooked the head yet, you can probably fix your engine for less than a junkyard swap!

 

Got it thanks for your update.

 

Hi guys. Soooo this all took a lot longer than I had anticipated. Have barely used the truck, except in order to run the chemical block test, twice. And I can't even get a definite answer there.

First time I only drove it around the block a few of times until the temperature gauge showed a normal operating temperature. Then I used the probe directly on the radiator (as the videos suggested) and this was the result:


It looks like there was SOME reaction, but definitely not the yellow I was waiting for.

Next time I drove it for like an hour around town until I saw the first bubbles in the overflow tank. Parked it, and did the test again, but this time on the overflow tank. The result looked like this:


Nobody down here has even heard of this test and all I could find was the actual tester made by OEM, while the fluid is from Block Tester. Anybody knows if that is an issue? The tester sealed well, and I went way past the 2 minutes prescribed in order to get ANY results. As Blue + Yellow = Green I am assuming that there is a combustion leak - just very small.

Any last ideas? I can't find a decent engine here neither, so I'll baby it home (700 miles) and have a friend bring down all the replacement parts for the engine and try this myself. Always wanted to open up an engine - I won't be getting a better opportunity than this I suppose.

Thanks for all the help and sorry for the delay.

Julian

 

Thank you. And yes, it is the pre mixed stuff directly from Ford. Let me see if I can find the exact name. The local radiator guys put it in, after we flushed the entire thing. I mean I could do another flush myself if you think that would help?

 

That is fantastic, thank you very much. Fantastic write up. I guess I am about to find out how much of a mechanic I am haha