What a mess…

So I was doing yard work the other day and noticed a small puddle of red fluid under my truck, right below where the power steering pump is…

opened the hood,

and what a mess…. Not power steering fluid, but rather I have a crack in the upper radiator tank…. Pink spots everywhere…

new radiator and hoses on the way, along with a T-stat snd gasket…

it’s everywhere…. On the firewall, wiper motor, distributor cap, underside of the hood…. What a mess…

looks like I’ll be spending some time replacing and cleaning…


Any tips? Looks pretty straight forward but I guess I’ll need to remove the skid plate…

 

Helps prevent air from getting trapped in the system:

Thorstone No Spill Coolant Funnel Kit with Hose & On/Off Connector, Spill Free Radiator Coolant Filling Funnel, Spill Proof Radiator Funnel Bleeder with Adapters

https://www.amazon.com/Thorstone-Ra...fix=radiator+fill+funnel,aps,654&sr=1-1-spons

 

Good news.

1) it didnt fail on road. Cause overheat and pop headgasket.

2) engine bay cleanup is easy

3) you found the problem and have parts ordered, meaning you can DIY. Always good news!

 

I was lucky in this same exact way. Didn’t even see coolant on the ground. I was under the hood admiring some separate handy work, and noticed my coolant reservoir was empty - not a normal occurrence on my truck. Looked around and found a diagonal crack by the neck (original rad w/ 146k on it). So glad I happened to notice the failure when it was parked at home. Silver lining, OP. All downhill now that you’ve got parts en route. Also +1 for the funnel kit with adapters. I would buy mine all over again. Helps with coolant changes/flushes, not just radiator installs.

 

Thanks guys, I recently (Feb/March) flushed ( drain/fill/drain/fill four times and then filled with coolant. Afterwards I kicked myself for not replacing the hoses ( original with 150,000 miles). They didn’t feel spongy or cracked, but figured it should have been preventative…

last time I drove it was a 250 mile round trip…. Radiator still has coolant over the tubes ( but low) and about an inch or two in the overflow

When searching this site for my previous work I found that funnel set and bought one on Amazon…. I do a lot of my own maintenance and was surprised I didn’t see that funnel set before…

all the parts supposed to arrive Wednesday afternoon, except one radiator hose is due Thursday afternoon…

Thanks…

 

Oh man that sucks! Simple green concentrate in a gallon weed sprayer works really well in the engine compartment. I spray mine down followed by a good spray with the hose to clean works fairly well. Like others have said much better to find it in the driveway then on the highway. OEM replacement if you’re not modified. If you’re worried about cooling you may look at a higher end radiator since you have to replace anyway

 

as far as the leaks on the driveway... those arent leaks, that is your Tacoma marking her territory.

 

Easy job, you'll knock it out in no time

Yeah screw that setup.

Did the Tacoma without the kit, and burped the system myself (some 2 years ago).

Decided to do the 4Runner but bought the setup you linked, and gave it a go just 2 weeks ago; it seeps/leaks from the cap adapter.

Made a small mess and just caused more work than what it's worth.

 

my funnel didn’t have any leaks. I usually try to just fill without a funnel and make a small mess…. I already used this one several times…

my hose that was supposed to arrive Thursday showed up this morning…

but the T-stat and gasket, coolant and the drain/petcock now show as arriving Thursday instead of Wednesday like they said before…

but the radiator and other hose are still due today, so I hope to get most of the work done tonight…

think I’ll pick up some new clamps, distilled water and maybe some Simple Green…. I already degreased it a few months ago, so it’s mostly just the coolant that sprayed everywhere…

 

good it didn't happen on the highway! Reminds me of a few years ago when I was under the truck and I scratched at a spot of rust on the engine oil pan. It started pissing oil.... lucky it happened when I was under the truck