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Thread: Missing coolant (aka, well crap...)

  1. #11
    Ken, I think in my entire life of owning toyota's the only time I've ever filled the bottle was when I had a known leak. Otherwise, there's always water in there...

    Ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but not too far off. I hardly ever have to fill the bottle.
    -------------------------
    Steve
    1993 4runner, SAS, 3.0L, Auto Tranny
    2007 4runner, stock. For now.

  2. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Robinhood4x4 View Post
    Ken, I think in my entire life of owning toyota's the only time I've ever filled the bottle was when I had a known leak. Otherwise, there's always water in there...

    Ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but not too far off. I hardly ever have to fill the bottle.
    Mine is always nearly empty, with just enough fluid to cover the bottom of the tube. If I fill to max, on a 100+ degree day it will just dump all the extra coolant out of the overflow tube of the overflow bottle. So there's always some, but not much fluid.

  3. #13
    I crawled around under the truck this morning and didn't see any obvious signs of leaks around the rear heater hoses. I also checked the carpet near the rear heater it is dry. And there are no obvious signs of leaks in the engine compartment, but the water pump is difficult to see so that is not a 100% valid test. It is still possible the heater core behind the dash is leaking.

    This afternoon I refilled the radiator with distilled water, it took about 1/2 gallon. Tomorrow I'll see if the level dropped overnight, and if not then I'll get the engine up to temperature and see if there are any leaks. When my WRX's radiator failed it had a pinhole leak that would spew coolant under pressure, and you could definitely smell it. Mike, to answer your question I have not noticed any coolant smell with the 4runner. Oh, and I haven't previously opened up the cooling system for quite a while, probably many months.

    Does coolant flow through through the side of the IAC opposite where the air bypasses the throttle plate? I don't remember ever replacing the IAC gasket on the 4runner (done it many times on the WRX) so that is definitely a possibility.

    The big hassle here is I have the Land Rover pretty disassembled so I need to get it at least rolling so I can move the 4runner into the garage to work on it.

    - Matt
    2000 4Runner Sport / 4x4 / 5spd / E-locker / SS 1.2 / 265x75x16 Bighorns / ARB Prado / HD-SKO

  4. #14
    Half a gallon isn't too much, especially if you haven't really been monitoring the system. With your frequent trips up the hill with the heater going it's possible you sent some fluid into the overflow and it never got sucked back in only to disappear in the known mystery chamber that is the overflow bottle.

    Our Subaru is a hot little motor and like you had the pinhole leak and stunk, especially when it sat in the garage warm. I'm thinking that whatever you have if anything is really small. I've had my IAC and TB off a couple of times as have others. Most of the time it requires some monkeying to get the coolant lines back on without a drip leak. If you haven't had yours off it's something to check anyways.

    This is a random google image but it shows that is bolted to the TB. The IAC is controlled with the plastic piece. The barb like fittings are the coolant hoses.


  5. #15
    I had mine leak between the upper left chamber and the lower chamber (as shown in that picture). I used RTV to make a new gasket, but that didn't work all that well either. I eventually broke down and bought a new one from Toyota.

    Again, I doubt that is your problem, it only really occurs if you remove it often and accidentally pinch the O ring. Or you didn't get the bolts tight.

    I suspect it is just a case of not paying attention to it much and it getting lower than you thought it was. I've done that many, many times.
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  6. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Seanz0rz View Post
    I had mine leak between the upper left chamber and the lower chamber (as shown in that picture). I used RTV to make a new gasket, but that didn't work all that well either. I eventually broke down and bought a new one from Toyota.

    Again, I doubt that is your problem, it only really occurs if you remove it often and accidentally pinch the O ring. Or you didn't get the bolts tight.

    I suspect it is just a case of not paying attention to it much and it getting lower than you thought it was. I've done that many, many times.
    The truck hasn't had any issues with idling so I haven't had the IAC off to clean it out and check the gasket, but I agree with you that it is unlikely. You and Mike are hopefully right that I just didn't notice the coolant level going down over time and it either evaporated slowly or magically disappeared in the overflow tank.

    Thanks for the input.

    - Matt
    2000 4Runner Sport / 4x4 / 5spd / E-locker / SS 1.2 / 265x75x16 Bighorns / ARB Prado / HD-SKO

  7. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by slomatt View Post
    magically disappeared in the overflow tank.
    Seems legit.

  8. #18
    Today I popped the hood and looked for any wet spots. The only thing I saw was a small damp area way down on top of the oil pan on the front driver's side of the engine, somewhat below where the bottom radiator hose goes into the engine. I brought the engine up to temp and this spot evaporated, so it must have been water and not oil. I guess it could be a slow drip from the coolant inlet or possible from the water pump.

    I took the truck for a drive and everything was fine, no noticeable coolant loss by the time I got back. Cross your fingers it was just low after not looking at the coolant for a couple years.

    - Matt
    2000 4Runner Sport / 4x4 / 5spd / E-locker / SS 1.2 / 265x75x16 Bighorns / ARB Prado / HD-SKO

  9. #19
    Hey that's good news!! I don't like messing with coolant personally.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk
    98 3rz 4x4 5spd- Monstalined, 99 Talls, 4.30 E-locker, Extra Lights
    In Progress:
    Tundra/Rear Disc Brakes w/parking brake
    Roof Rack/Rear Ladder
    Sliders
    1st Gen Rollbar Shelf

  10. #20
    Good news! Hopefully it won't leak anymore. When I removed the water pump on my 3rd gen, I noticed signs of a very small leak.

    My overflow tank always has coolant in it.
    -Daniel2000 4Runner Sport | V6 | 5spd | 4x4 | Leather | 265/75-16 BFG AT/KO | OBA | BudBuilt front skid

    1990 4Runner SR5 | V6 | Auto | 2wd | 3.90 rear | Cobra CB | 265/65r17 Bridgestone Duelers H/Ts | '08 Tacoma 5 spoke rims | Has an 11:1 crawl ratio! SOLD

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