Blown head gasket?

My truck has overheated twice, the reservoir bottle was empty and the radiator wasn't full. See some white smoke on start up. Can't find a leak anywhere. No milky oil on dipstick. It started overheating in idle and in park. The second time it overheated, I got some coolant to fill it up and once I started it up, I saw some white smoke. Any ideas???

 

Either pressure test the cooling system or compression test the engine.

http://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/17378/how-to-test-if-head-gaskets-are-blown

 

My truck has overheated twice.
the reservoir bottle was empty and the radiator wasn't full.
See some white smoke on start up.
Can't find a leak anywhere.
No milky oil on dipstick.

Given these symptoms alone I have one idea. And you are not going to like it.
Blown head gasket. I would make a wild guess that it is # 6 cylinder.

Have you gotten any Check Engine Codes yet for a miss-firing cylinder?

But as Bill said above get the system tested Cooling system pressure test and a compression test on the engine. That will pinpoint the problem over my guess. The # 6 cylinder seems to be the problem spot on the older trucks. Take note also that they did change the head gasket to correct this known issue on the older trucks.

 

X2 Clearwater Bill... compression test the engine!!!

 

white smoke from engine bay or from the exhaust?

have you also checked that the coolant has oil in it? It can go both ways.

definitely should do a compression test. could also be a cracked or warped block/head

 

Jimmyh, I have had my check engine light coming on then going away on its own. I read the codes and it says cylinder #4 misfire.

WormSquirts, out the exhaust. And the cap looked a little milky, my dad thinks it's just condensation. Also when I took the cap off, there was smoke/steam coming out. I'm not sure if that's normal or not, im not a car guy lol

 

Is the oil level high? That looks to be a bit more than just condensation to me. I had the misfire cylinder 6 on mine with occasional white smoke out the exhaust and I could hear coolant bubbles quite often going through the heater core. I removed the plugs and sure enough number 6 was clean as a whistle. Mine was just barely weeping into the combustion chamber. I'm positive that's why my truck got traded in as it was immaculate with extensive service records. But it's a costly job to do. Fortunately I had just bought it and the dealer covered it under warranty. I recall them saying it was like $3800 to fix. I've put about 50k miles on it since and it's been perfect. And it's got all new genuine Toyota gaskets on the front of the motor and from the block up.

 

looks like it is the head gasket to me as well.... only one way to know for sure though. sorry man, i hope we're all wrong!

 

does your fan clutch operate properly?

 

go ahead

hobo-test = taste those drops from the exhaust and spit it out

sweet = blown head gasket

 

Hold paper towel in front of the exhaust exit. Then have someone rev the engine a little. That will be the easiest way to collect a sample.

When the overflow was empty, were their dried white-ish pink spots surrounding the overflow reservoir?

(Money on head gasket)

 

With steam coming out of the oil filler cap, I think that the coolant is actually getting into the oil pan.

Pull the dipstick and post a picture of that. Or Drain the oil. If it is milky you are getting coolant into the oil.

Do not run it like this. It will kill the engine and gel the oil into a thick creamy sludge.