Fear I may have the dreaded leak.

Hey y’all, so I discovered a coolant leak unfortunately. Seems to very slowly drip even with the truck off. Definitely a bit faster drip with the truck running but not continuous drip (at least on a cold start).
I tried to track it but having issues. Due to the general location of the drip and noticing some evaporated residue on the side of the transmission- I am beginning to fear it is the bypass coolant hose..
Any ideas if I can test or isolate that area to confirm if the bypass is what’s leaking? I looked around to inspect the hoses back there but it doesn’t seem to be coming from any hose as far as I can tell- but it’s and to see & maybe there is some hose or other connection somewhere back there that might be the culprit.
Not sure how long it has been leaking for- but I just noticed the spot on the floor yesterday, and it gets driven daily.

Truck has about 130K miles 2016 V6.

And because it’s boring without pics

 

Its the infamous coolant bypass leak, it mostly affected 2016 and 2017s . Its gonna be atleast 1k bucks or more

 

wait do you have a picture of the coolant reservoir? And not that its boring without pics it just gives everyone a general idea what were are looking at fyi

 

I do.
I actually took the picture to monitor how fast the level may drop while I figure out what I’m going to do.

the coolant reservoir is leaking a bit at the hose connection.

 

keep i mind so of the coolant can be still in the hoses and radiator , but honestly its hard to diagnose over the internet. I would take it to the dealer asap and let us. if you dont mind

 

dont try to refill it unless your 100% its really low , like previously stated sometimes some or most of the coolant stays behind in the hoses and radiator. I also know that some coolant will leak around the reservoir and hose connection , theres people on here that tightened it with a hose clamp

 

i just went to go look at mine but not as much as yours

 

27 people viewing this thread nobodys going to chime in and help a brother out

 

Looks like a coolant leak

Doesn't matter if it's the pipe or a connection, you'll likely have to remove the intake manifold to get in there and see what's going on. Either do it yourself or pay someone..

Sorry OP

 

appreciate the info guys. I will certainly keep the thread updated whether I decide to tackle this myself, or taking it to a independent shop, Id rather avoid taking it to the dealer if possible.

 

This sounds like a job the dealer may actually have more experience with. I’m not saying do or don’t, or an independent can’t,,, just that it’s a big job and the dealer techs have been through this over and over,,,, unfortunately. At the very least, I’d let them quote it and compare.

 

Others have recommended getting the metal crossover pipe that goes in the Lexus engines.
Toyota saved maybe 10 bucks by going with plastic, knowing that this was going to be a costly repair WHEN not IF it had to be replaced. I don’t think Toyota made any changes on the plastic part so this will happen again if you keep the truck long enough.

 

In the process of going through the same thing. Found some good info in this post.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/easier-way-to-replace-coolant-bypass.826818/

Will also keep updated.

 

Just wanted to enter an update. Had the coolant pipe replaced at an independent shop. Saw the old part, didnt think of taking a pic. There was crystalized pink coolant along what appeared to be a seam in the old plastic pipe. They pulled the intake and went that way. Cost about $1250. Had to do it. Hope to keep the truck for awhile longer (2017 TRD Off Road AC, 45000 miles).

 

1250$ is not terrible.

 

Thanks for the feed back. I thought, in the past, I saw some prices that were in the range I paid. Awhile ago I did stop to a local dealer not to get a price but to see if the part was in stock, vs waiting a long time for delivery and the parts guy did know the part well and said they have done "many" of those jobs. The part was in stock.

 

Did mine about 6 months ago… dropped the tranny in the garage and went from the back. Part was around a $100 and put on new exhaust gaskets too. Job was a pain but didn’t want to pay Toyota to do it.

 

Thats great that you could do it yourself. Unfortunately the days of a doing a job like that is a thing of the past. you're right, here in Upstate NY I believe the part was about $125, there were some gasket sets for the part and intake, etc., and the rest was labor. I do trust the shop and they stand by their work, so we'll see.

 

Curious as to why there isn't a recall or at least a TSB for this? Obviously a defective part.

 

because Toyota doesn't want to pay for it, and it's not a safety issue, so no one made em.