What just happened to my radiator?

03 3.4 automatic extra cab

was changing my oil today and while i had the hood open, i decided to pop open the radiator cap and have a look inside…
This is what i found, could these be pieces of an o-ring from the cap that fell in? They were resting underneath the radiator cap, inside. Also couldn't see any visible coolant in the radiator, and the overflow tank is empty… what the heck! Engine has been running fine and no over heating.

 

It kind of looks like part of the gasket for the thermostat.
But it’s really hard to tell?

I don’t know where it came from.
But you have 2 options.

Pressure test the system and look for leaks.
Or fill it and keep an eye on it.

 

Did the oil you drained look normal? Was the amount you drained out the normal amount? Have you inspected for leaks?

Take a look at the trans fluid on the dipstick to make certain it looks normal too? That coolant went somewhere and the possible 'wheres' are limited.

As mentioned, fill the radiator and the reservoir (about half way) and drive it a bit to get it fully up to temp. Then park it and let everything cool down for at least an hour and check everything again. Use distilled water.

 

Should i just top the radiator off with distilled water till its full to where it caps ?

 

Howzit braddah,

distilled toping is fine but water rusts in our systems. I’d go and get some Toyota red and flush that thing and replace the cap.

 

Yes, start there. Also put some in the overflow bottle too. It is possible that just topping off the radiator may not fill it up. Depends on how empty the system is.

 

I like the Toyota red coolant because in the past when I’ve had small leaks it’s always been hyper visible

 

Some distilled water wont hurt it. I would wait on putting any antifreeze in until you get to the bottom of why it is so empty in the first place.

 

If the OP goes that route and is uncertain if it had Toyota red in it already, I would recommend draining the entire system first before adding any more coolant. It is not a good idea to mix green or orange off-brand coolants with the Toyota red.

 

You can use distilled water.
But it will lower the freeze rating.
If the leak “goes away” you need to remember this come colder weather time.

I personally think you have an issue, and that you’ll likely continue to loose coolant over time.
But in the mean time, you need to fill the radiator back up. Whether its water or coolant.

 

The odds of the O ring from the thermostat making it through the radiator .To the top would be quite high.

Coolant went some place . I wonder when the OP checked last??

The oil and transmission pressures are higher so that always ends up in the coolant.

 

Wouldnt waste coolant until you get to the bottom of it....

distilled water diet for awhile......

You have a lot of coolant hoses going over/around your engine...

a lot of clamps......and a plastic crimp radiator.......nothin lasts forever....


Radiator cap should be replaced every 3 or 4 years....
......drive these overheated very far and your screwed.....

 

It looks like Toyota FIPG, form in place gasket. Have you done a water pump or timing belt and used the FIPG to hold a gasket in place while putting the new water pump on? Just my .02.
I found a chunk in my thermotstat but I had the headgaskets replaced in my truck. I'm guessing the tech who worked on my truck used the FIPG during reassembly at one point.

 

I had a shop do the timing belt water, water pump and thermostat a little under 30,000 miles ago. Not sure. If this were the case what could be the consequences? I topped off the radiator this morning with a little under a 1/3rd of a gallon of distilled water, seems to be holding so far.

 

What color is your coolant? Is it pink/red?

It is possible that when the water pump/timing belt was done, the cooling system wasn't properly purged any trapped air. If air was trapped in the system, it could account for what you are seeing.

Strongly recommend keeping a close eye on the coolant levels for a while.

 

Yep, I have found rubber "worms" before. Looked like FIPG "squish out", like from the early years water pumps that did not use a gasket.

 

I once had a mysterious loss of coolant on my 01 Tacoma. There were no visible leaks so I topped it off and kept driving. Probably 50k miles later, I had the timing belt changed at the dealership. They found a massive cake of dried coolant under the timing cover. It had slowly leaked through the water pump weep hole and dried until it sealed itself.

Likely not your issue but I thought I'd share.

If you hadn't checked the shop's work that did your timing belt, I bet they just improperly filled it. Top it up properly with 50/50 red coolant / distilled water, remove the gasket material and double check for leaks for the next several trips. Or do a complete flush of the coolant to be safe in case the shop didn't use Toyota red.

 

It's FIPG like mentioned above. Probably from that metal to metal outlet at the top rad hose (I'm assuming 3.4 v6). If was leaking you'd have coolant dripping on the timing belt cover or in the valley between the 2 banks

Top off coolant, pressure test and go from there