What says the wise forum?

If there is any doubt, excess smoke coming from the exhaust (of the white variety) check engine light is on for misfires, oxygen sensors, or EVAP codes, then perform a cylinder leakage test and that will be your smoking gun whether or not you have a blown head gasket.

He could indeed have a bad cap as well. There are various reasons as to why his coolant could be empty, including but not limited to user negligence (not saying he is neglecting the coolant so don't get your panties in a twist).

Personally I say he is fine based on what I read. Sometimes I am very guilty of skimming parts of stories but I believe I read his story right. The OP has sound advice on here on how to proceed. How he decides to is purely up to him now and if he needs further assistance then myself and others on here would be more than happy to help him continue on if he decides to test.

 

I think you are right.

 

Agree with the last parts of your posts, but the reservoir lines part I don’t. My 2.7L has a Low and Full line on the coolant reservoir tank. Some vehicles have a L(low) or F(full) or on an Accord some have a Min and Max line. In both cases at service its said to add to the top line with engine cold. It won’t overflow when the engine is warmed if it was filled only to the top line when cold since there’s plenty of volume left above the top line. A level anywhere between the two lines is ok but you don’t want it to run low so best to fill to the Full line during service.
https://parts.olathetoyota.com/blog/4476/radiator-fluid-levels

https://practicalmechanic.com/2019/02/17/how-to-add-anti-freeze-coolant-to-a-honda-accord/

Here’s a picture of mine with the engine cold, 11 months since last service and likely has been at this level since I bought it. With the engine warmed no significant change, its not a hot summer day but it’s not gonna get very high even then.

 

the truck takes a lot of coolant. The majority of it is inside of the engine passageways and radiator. It acts like a sealed system there where the radiator cap is under pressure when hot.

 

Correct. The discussion was about the coolant reservoir fill lines.
Here’s a good primer on how the whole coolant system works.
https://mechanicbase.com/coolant/how-a-radiator-coolant-overflow-tank-works/

 

Agreed. When I hear “top off” I generally equate that with overfilling. I’ve seen it many times where a person or even a dealer will fill things like the expansion tank, PS fluid, or brake master cylinder to the top during maintenance like it’s the washer fluid not understanding these systems don’t consume and the reservoir serves to provide for expansion when hot or as an indicator of wear in the case of brakes.
One time, when our family was at Mammoth for Thanksgiving, I saw my sister and brother in law at a local service station waiting to be seen. His truck was purging coolant and he thought something was wrong. He thought he had a leak in his system. When he told me he had just had his truck serviced before coming up, I knew the coolant was overfilled. That’s all it was. Even his paperwork stated all fluids topped off.

 

I had this happen to my prerunner when I let it sit for a month. Let your engine run for a while and it should be gone.

 

The problem here is making a one size fits all answer. If you drive and get up to temp to burn off condensate that’s ideal. If you drive short trips no way can you go 10k between changes. I’ve been known to change the filter and top oil off between changes but then again I’ve been driving since 1971 so I’m probably wrong

 

Oh I bet that’s happened many times, good point! I check my fluids every time I have a vehicle serviced, but will double down to make sure no one ever “tops off” anything lol.

 

Radiator caps lose their pressure rating over time and thermal cycles. Try a new cap, top the reservoir tank off accordingly (when cold) then keep an eye on it.
The milky sludge under the oil filler cap is normal for these vehicles when taking a lot of shorter trips, as a few here have stated. I had the same until I started driving it longer distances consistently.
Don't panic just yet. You're likely fine.

 

Thanks all for the replies as stated my wife was driving very short distances while I was in Japan. In the 4 years that I have owned the truck I have never seen it so I am sure that was the culprit. My coolant level as stated was low however the radiator was full so I will top off. My truck has never overheated and does not produce white smoke out the exhaust which both would be indicative of a blown HG. I just changed my plugs a month ago two months ago which had the original plugs in at close to 180K which I was surprised on. Overall they were not in bad shape and a quick check I did the other day didn't show any evidence of water getting into the cylinders. I appreciate all the great feed back it was just something I have not seen before and you guys are always a wealth of knowledge. I will just keep monitoring but I am sure I will get many more miles out of this truck.