Head gasket or radiator?

I bought this truck back in July, it currently has 194,550 miles on it. Haven't had any problems with it until a couple weeks ago. Antifreeze starting coming out both sides of the radiator where the plastic meets the aluminum. It doesn't lose a lot of antifreeze at all, you can smell it and see it though.

I replaced the radiator cap hoping it was bad not letting off pressure but that didn't help.

The heater blows hot as fire so I know it's not stopped up.

I've checked the oil and it's clean as can be so no antifreeze getting in there.

Could this be a blown head gasket putting pressure into the cooling system and it's coming out at the weakest point at the radiator or is it just time for a new radiator?

I hate to put a new radiator in it and mess it up if it's a head gasket.

 

My vote would be radiator. They're known for leaking around those spots with some age to them.

 

I hope that’s the case. Just went and looked and this one appears to be the original manufactured 9/02. Looked when the truck manufacture date is and it’s 10/02.

 

When my water pump went it spattered droplets like that flung by the fan.
Check the bottom of the housing for drips.
If you can't see, wash everything off, run a little, drive a little and check often to see if you can find another source.

 

One check for a blown head gasket is to run the engine with the radiator cap off and look for bubbles there....

 

Hear gaskets don't make radiators leak.

 

The plastic will crack over time on the radiator.

Just replace it, clean your engine bay, and you'll be good to go.

I too had a crack in the same area causing a slight leak and coolant getting flung around.

 

Yes this is correct. The plastic itself will hairline crack that you can't see unless the system is completely warmed up and pressurized.
If it's not cracks in the plastic tank ends, a lot of folks will accidentally lean on or not know it's bad to lean on the radiator upper tanks while reaching for stuff or to work deeper in engine bay. This will cause leaks at the seal at the union where plastic tank and the metal core meet.
Either way your repair will be to replace the radiator. I and others have used the Denso replacement radiator. It'd be worth doing the upper and lower radiator hoses while you have the radiator out, as well as the thermostat and might as well flush the coolant in the engine as it's likely original.

 

Are you doing the work yourself or taking it in? If you're doing it yourself there's some great writeups on here and great videos for doing this repair on this guy's, @Timmah! youtubes channel.

 

I'll be doing it myself, the only two things I won't touch are automatic transmissions and air conditioners

Thanks!

 

Cool, yeah man read up on the repair write ups here. Stick with the Toyota red coolant, and if you got questions after you're read up on it, ask away. One of most helpful forums I've ever been on here

 

Something else to think about is adding a transmission cooler while you're in there if your truck is an auto.

I beat on my truck and it's at 244K miles so I'm thinking I might replace the radiator before it starts to leak and add a transmission cooler while I'm in there. My transmission hits 240 degrees pretty often.

 

@Yota03DC

The hairline crack I had in my radiator when I replaced it -



If you've got a day, buy about 7-8 quarts of transmission fluid, a transmission oil pan gasket (count the bolts on your pan and get the right one), brake cleaner, a few rags, and a scraper tool so you can completely replace your transmission fluid as well -



The scraper tool will allow you to easily remove the gasket maker used on the pan and transmission.

Misc. rags will allow you to wipe up dirt and grime on the mating surfaces that should be clean when you reinstall the pan. You can also use them to clean the magnets inside the pan.

The brake cleaner will aid in the cleaning of the pan itself, as well as the cleaning of the transmission filter -





Having a supervisor around will keep you on your toes and keep you from lolligagging -



245k miles and the pan has never been removed -



Some elbow grease to clean it all up -





We wouldn't suggest you to do anything we wouldn't or haven't done ourselves.

 

Oh and isn't this one of the cracks on your radiator?

Was only able to spot mine after I removed it but yours looks pretty clear -

 

Sure is, I went out and looked and it's on both sides of the fill valve. Can't see the one on the opposite end but it's leaking just as bad.

 

Well had I looked at all your pics, that would've been a 5 second diagnostic lol posting from a cell phone.

Anyway, it's an easy job.