What's going on with my coolant?

If its leaking there may be a crack or it could be,
the tank is not venting very well and the fluid is getting pulled in fine but is having a hard time re-entering when hot.
The pressure has to go somewhere at the weakest point. This being the fill point it very well could be the issue.
Obviously, there is coolant on the outside of the tank next to the hose fitting.... this is a leak point.

 

Let them top it off and ask for a free clamp for wasting five hours of your life.

 

What is the bigger issue? The overflow tank is working correctly? It did its job, it overflowed.

I bet the dealer will just laugh, and tell you that they fixed it after wiping it off.

 

Dudeee it’s gonna be hard to see it, but crawl under your truck with a flashlight pointed up towards the drivers side rear of the engine block and look for the black plastic coolant elbow. My reservoir was almost empty and the culprit was my coolant elbow had a crack and was leaking. Just another place to look

 

yes but:
A: It shouldn't over flow like that. Other than the fluid level going up and down a bit, coolant should not be pushed out like that. Or push enough fluid to empty the tank

B: why is the tank completely empty?

 

Im guessing by the level of the fluid in the tank, that the part that needs to be wiped didnt come from below. It came when the radiator overflowed to the tank, where the tank collected most of it, which was its job. The rubber probably expanded due to the temperature of the coolant, and a little got out. Its not a big deal. Like others have said, just wipe it off and go about your day.

I wouldnt want to go through the hassle of making an appointment, taking time off work, going to the dealership, and waiting around - all for them to tell you its nothing and that they wiped it. Seems like a huge waste of time.

But if OP wants to go do all that, then go for it.

 

I also wouldn't want to be stuck on the side of the road with an overheating truck because I didn't want my truck fixed for free under warranty and potentially have to make an appointment. That one lame excuse lol.

The overflow tank should never be dry like that period. It's not normal for an entire overflow tank to just leak out like that regardless if the hose is clamped or not. The level should only change by a few inches and not raise enough to puke out the top.

 

This. Its a closed system, it isn't supposed to let antifreeze leave the vehicle - its supposed to catch it and let it back into the system when needed.

They didn't put those big 'LOW' letters on the side just for fun either.

Something isn't functioning right.

 

Your truck wont overheat because your overflow tank is empty.. The radiator isnt going to suck fluid from there back into the radiator. If OP was leaking coolant, there would be a mess from somewhere else, not from that tiny hose meant to spill the excess into a container



Shouldnt you be checking all fluid levels anyways regularly, aka when you do maintenance? Change oil, top off wiper fluid, check coolant/brake/PS fluid, check tire pressure, grease drivetrain? That way you can see if you are low on coolant and top off from the radiator cap. If you are topping off your overflow tank, maybe you shouldnt be maintaining your own vehicle, and you should pay for someone else to do it.

 

Unfortunately this is incorrect. Its not going to pull fluid from that tank. Its closed within the engine, but not at the overflow tank. And because of that, its also not going to pull air in from there either

 

Taking this in for a warranty claim at this point is kind of like going to the ER for a runny nose. If it were me, I would clean everything up. Then put a hose clamp on it, and bring the reservoir up to the proper level and then watch it for a bit. If it does it again, then I would most certainly take it in.

 

If the overflow is empty the rest of the system could be low/close to empty... Are you aware how the cooling system works?

 

Engine heats up, volume of coolant expands, it flows into the reservoir tank (the thing you're calling an overflow).

Engine cools down, volume of coolant shrinks, it flows back into the radiator.

Its designed to have fluid in that tank at all times, if its empty then something is wrong.

 

We can all go back and forth on dealer or no dealer but with some of the coolant leaks these trucks develop, it would be worth it to me to have it looked at and documented.

 

yah.. are you aware that the radiator holds its own fluid, and doesnt source from that tiny tank?

I will put $ down that the "rest of the system" is NOT low/close to empty, just because the overflow tank is empty
If the "rest of the system is low/close to empty" , then you have much bigger problems, rather than your overflow tank being empty



OP, wait for your truck to cool down, then open the radiator cap, and take a picture inside the radiator, for the rest of the internet.

 

is there a suction hose inside the reservoir tank?

 

There is on mine. I tried to find a pic of a third gen, but haven't found one yet.

Should be a diagram like this in the manual somewhere.

 

you are literally contradicting yourself here.

"If the "rest of the system is low/close to empty" , then you have much bigger problems, rather than your overflow tank being empty"

Exactly why you go have it looked at. HE COULD HAVE BIGGER PROBLEMS.


And it does source coolant from the tank as the truck cools. Hence why the level goes up and down depending if the truck is hot or cold. It doesn't need suction as overflows are typically slightly above the radiator and gravity does the work. Many call it an EXPANSION tank rather than overflow.

 

Even if it is a simple and easy fix, doesn't hurt anything to have it documented in case it is something bigger.

 

JFC, look at my comment history, I am rarely active anymore but I need to say something about all this because the amount of hand-wringing, panic, and pure wrong information is running rampant here.

That plastic tank is the coolant overflow tank. The way our cooling system works is when the pressure of the coolant gets to high, generally due to heat, the radiator cap spring will compress and allow some coolant to overflow into that tank in order to prevent a different, and likely more expensive or roadside visit issue.

Normal behavior is once the system begins to cool down, it will draw coolant back into the cooling system to maintain the proper level and keep air out. That is why there is a LOW level line on the tank and why our manual states that that line should be covered when the engine and cooling system is cold.

When our coolant dries, it creates that chalky, pink, almost dry toothpaste looking crust that OP is showing.

If I were OP, I would pop the radiator cap off when the engine is cold, top off the radiator. Then fill the overflow tank an inch or so above the LOW line and then drive it while monitoring the overflow tank every couple 100 of miles or so. You all should be keeping a gallon of coolant in the garage next to a spare quart of oil anyways, that's just being ready in case of emergency.

This country is experiencing a heat wave that newer trucks may not have seen yet. That means cooling systems are hitting higher temps and pressures in order to maintain proper performance. If there are no external signs of a leak, gauges are all reading okay, and nothing else funky going on, I wouldn't bother a dealer trip or losing a minute of sleep over it.

Any of you who have been around the forums long enough know and have seen that Toyota has a history of not filling systems fully from the factory. Transmissions, diffs, coolant, PS, I can find a thread for each of those of brand new trucks not filled fully.