2005 Tacoma blowing only cold air and overheating

I recently took my Tacoma on a cross country drive for a move and a week or so after I got to my destination my Tacoma started blowing cold air only. A few days later it began overheating.

the fluids are fine and upon researching it seems like it could be a thermostat issue or water pump issue.

I’m not super savvy on this stuff so any and all help is welcomed.

thanks.

 

Sounds like it could be the heater core. Check around the carpet of the passenger side for any leaking fluid. I know you said your fluids are fine, but take careful note of your coolant level and if it changes.

 

It should be taught in drivers ed class. When the heater stops blowing heat, you are dangerously low on coolant. Shut the bitch off. I don’t care that you say coolant is fine. IT’S NOT!

Edit. Another 1 post loser douchebag. Created a TW account, made 1 post asking for help, immediately logged out, never to return.

 

When you say the fluids are “fine”, did you actually take the radiator cap off and look at the fluid leve in the radiator?

Have you felt the bottom and top radiator hoses to see if they both get warm?

 

Could be the old stuck thermostat gag. Hot coolant not flowing into the heater core, and truck overheating sounds like its stuck closed. That's the first place I'd look.

 

I believe the 1GR should still be able to produce heat at the heater core even with a stuck thermostat?

 

I'm suspicious that either a buble got in the system or your losing coolant somewhere.

 

Yep, all cars, trucks, buses, motorhomes, and semis do. That's why you get some heat out of the heater 25 blocks from home after a cold start. Until the coolant temp get's to at least 170, the heater has no idea if the thermostat is stuck closed or functioning properly.

 

And this is why your post above is likely correct.
There’s air in there, but why? (2005 seems to a common factor)
I’m not going to be the one to say it.

Unless there was catastrophic failure of the water pump.
Which I would think is highly unlikely?

 

Leaking head gasket?

 

That’s were I’d be looking.
I wasn’t going to be the one to say it.

Obviously, you’d want to look for external leaks first.

 

Check the heater core before the head gasket... Lol. But yeah '05 makes you wonder.

 

Blown headgasket

 

Sounds like what 2005 did when my Head Gasket failed, I would have heat until I stopped at a red light. When I was at an idle I had no heat. When I was moving I had heat. I would make sure the radiator is full. Take the radiator cap off. Start the truck. Look into the radiator with the truck running and watch for bubbles. If you see bubbles you have a Head Gasket issue.

 

Forget the expansion tank, check the coolant level directly at the rad cap when cold (sitting overnight cold) before starting the engine. If there's room to add coolant right there then level is going down.

If you have no other external leaks (look for pink coolant crust) then it's likely a leaking headgasket

The heater core is fine, its just not getting a supply of hot coolant all the time since the level is low

I bet if you topped off the coolant your heat would come back and the overheating would go away, at least temporarily. After a few days or weeks (or hours) the level will go down again and the symptoms will return

 

I had this very same thing happen to me just a month ago. Called a guy who works for Toyota (bought a car from him once) and he said, start with the thermostat, it'll do that when its stuck. Fixed my problem.