New head gasket, now truck overheats

Engine/radiator flush performed, truck still overheating on three mile drive. It seems a little better though - hard to explain and probably just wishful thinking. There was definitely a bunch of milky crap that came out of the radiator when I back flushed it and again when I flushed in the other direction. Not so much in the engine. Flow was good in both block and radiator and in both directions.

I also replaced the upper and lower radiator hoses. The lower radiator hose has a cream colored sticky substance coating the ribs (it's a universal fit hose) it's the same color as the crap that came out of the radiator. The gunk has the consistency of putty and it appears to be in the radiator as well, considering replacing the radiator as a result.

I don't mind replacing the parts, if I can't fix it then I'll take it to the shop. I hope its something simple, would pay for HG replacement. But, if they tell me it has cracked heads I wonder if it's worth it to do the repair at that point?

Replacing the fan clutch soon. Comparing the new aisin to the one on my truck, the old one has very little resistance where the new one feels firm while spinning.

 

I would replace the radiator and flush the block again when you do it before driving it again or that crap will be getting into the block causing more problems.

no telling how much of that crap is permanently stuck inside it blocking it up and it sounds like it was filled up with that white crap so its not able to cool properly.

at least its good news its something simple and not related to the head gasket

 

Can I ask, what keeps you thinking this is not HG/cracked-warped heads?

Also, what is the white crap?

 

because a cracked or warped head would mean a blown head gasket and have cylinders with no or very low compression and oil or water leaks or both. since your new head gasket is sealing and has good compression, that eliminates the matting surface being a problem. plus that would have nothing to do with engine temps one way or the other.

as to the white crap??? who knows but could be something someone put in the radiator to stop leaks or maybe that funky hose had some sort of coating on it? and if it didn't have antifreeze in it at one time, then it might even be corrosion that came out of the water pump and block when it moving more water through the block. after all, you said it sat for 4 years.

 

are you sure the gasket is not upside down? it blocks coolant ports and causes overheating pretty quickly.

 

That universal hose was just a flexible ribbed number that could bend and contort to fit any set-up, I don't think it was coated but you never know. I installed it years ago and didn't notice anything funny, it just weakened and kinked over the years (I think).

I forgot to add a detail about that white crap. When I was draining the coolant I was catching it in a bucket, the leaves are coming off the trees here and I caught some leaves in the coolant. I decided I should filter the coolant to get out any crap that blew into it. So I used some cloth from an old tshirt and laid that in a funnel. As I poured the coolant through my improvised filter I noticed the flow slowed after about a half gallon or so. Upon closer inspection I noticed that same white crap was gumming up my filter. This was happening with new antifreeze purchased this month. I drained the old stuff, put in some new antifreeze. I've just been reusing it every time I drain it, I always lose a little each drain and refill so I figure I should use the green and not waste any red. I'm currently using the green stuff but plan to switch to red when I tackle the issue. Maybe I should just switch to red now? Could the white crap be residual gum from mixing green and red during the HG job? If that's a possibility I wouldn't mind doing the chemical flush.

Also, I have no way of knowing if the headgaskets were installed correctly as I wasn't present for the installation. So I am trying to diagnose without that knowledge. I can tell you that it doesn't overheat in the driveway idling ~20 min. And, the temp will stay below halfway up the gauge until about three miles out of town where it starts to climb pretty steadily and I shut it down and let it cool at 3/4 of the way up. This happened on my first test drive on a straight flat highway. My second test drive, after the flush, I went to a local park with a big parking lot one mile out of town and just drove around in circles, it took about as long as the first test drive for it to start overheating.

 

well the problem I see is the system or at least the radiator is full of crap so even if you "think" you get it all out there might be some continuing to circulate and plug it up again. put a new radiator and worry if more crap will get stuck in it but at this point not replacing the radiator will overheat.

you need to be able to run the hose through the block to be sure its all flushed clean. im told vinegar is a good mildly acidic descaling solution so mix 50/50 and fill the block and radiator then run it through the truck and then sit overnight to let it sit an eat away the corrosion inside the block passages, then flush it all out in both directions to be sure its all clear and free, then put in a new radiator with red coolant. im 100% certain that will solve the overheating issue.

it looks like they cost about $75 http://www.ebay.com/itm/95-04-Toyot...ash=item3f4125aea1:g:wIcAAOSwQTVV-Mfp&vxp=mtr

 

Definitely installing new radiator, I was just curious if a chemical flush would be better now instead of later. Its all happening on Saturday, so Friday night I will drain the green, refill with water and drain a couple times to make sure its all out and then top off with vinegar and water over night.

Just out of curiosity, when you drain the coolant for a job like this do you like to drain from the block plug as well as the radiator. Also, I really don't have a way to flush with distilled water so its tap water for this job, any issues with that - longterm?

 

I never mess with the block plugs ever, just asking for a problem you don't need in my mind, rad hose has to come off anyway so I use that then flush with water.

as to type of water 99% of people use tap water and don't bother with distilled water

 

I think maybe the white crap you speak about could be oil in the coolant? making the foamy gooy stuff? that could happen if the Head gasket ports dont match up properly. I seen the Head gaskets installed upside down on a forklift once, and it did these things as well. Tap water is all you need to flush the block properly. Just trying to help

 

I considered it might be oil in the coolant but the coolant really doesn't have a foamy appearance and it doesn't look oily when its in the bucket so i can't tell. I will post some pics of the lower radiator tube later so you can see what I'm talking about.

Thanks for all the replies so far, i'll keep you posted.

 

Lower radiator hose

 

My antifreeze

 

15ml of my antifreeze with .25 ml of motor oil added on the left (shaken), my antifreeze on right. Notice the oily smudge on the glass to the left.

 

My antifreeze with methylene chloride. Shaken in an attempt to extract, allowed to settle.

 

My anti freeze with oil added. Shaken with methylene chloride and allowed to settle. Oil extract is in the bottom layer of organic solvent.

 

Organic chemistry tech checking in.

Poor controls and lousy sampling but I thought it would be an interesting way to check for oil. Unfortunately I don't have access to a mass spec instrument. So blotted the solvent on paper towels.



Towel on left is methylene chloride solvent from oil and coolant bottle, towel on right has solvent blot from my coolant.

 

Since you arent overheating while at an idle i still think its a restricted radiator just as keakar does and with it setting for 4 years without circulating that coolant there will have been some slight corrosion that took place inside that radiator.

You really should use distilled water, especially if youre using well water. There are alot of dissolved minerals that when heated up form deposits and almost a sandy like substance inside the system. If youre using city water it has much less mineral and has been "sofened" by your city water utility plant, so its safer, but distilled is always best. That white crap could be just that, minerals from tap water...and or corrosion from letting it set for so long... When u take your rad cap off and look inside, are the little "slits" we'll call them, open and not clogged up? When i was fighting my overheating problem that i mentioned earlier, when i finally swapped the radiator it was restricted with white crap that looks about like the stuff in your hose pic.

As keakar mentioned aswell I also dont really mess with the block drain. I just flush the system till clear then get the concentrate antifreeze and end up with a near perfect 50/50 mix...

 

I saw you edited one of your tuesday posts to include this question... im not sure what youre asking here?

You can do it however you prefer. Fan clutch can be removed with or without the radiator in place.

 

Only men that cant pump their own gas use tap water in their cooling system.