2013 Land Cruiser Build and Repairs

[knarf]

Hello all,

I recently acquired a new (to me) 2013 Land Cruiser in Salsa Red with 115,536 miles on the clock. I will be using this thread to document the build, and repairs made along the way.

The first item is addressing a possible coolant leak. The first thing I noticed was a low coolant reservoir. When I picked up the truck I popped the hood open at one point, and I can recall the reservoir being filled about halfway when at operating temperature. I searched the threads and other sources, inspected the transmission bell housing, got a decent look under the air intake manifold, water pump, and radiator. No coolant dripping from the transmission bell housing (photos attached). No coolant residue/crust under the intake manifold from what I could tell (low-quality photos from borescope attached). No coolant/crust around the water pump from what I could see. Finally, the radiator, radiator cap, and reservoir cap all had coolant residue around them (photos of residue around the radiator attached; I cleaned the cap area before I took photos so it looks clean-ish). I also inspected the name plate area for the well known crack (photos attached), no cracking from what I can see. Since then I have filled the reservoir and it's pretty much at the 'F' line, and doesn't look like it has moved. Will continue to monitor that.

The coolant was replaced at 96,515 miles per Toyota service record.

I plan on replacing the radiator, radiator hoses, water pump, pulleys, thermostat, and pcv valve (anything else I should consider?) soon. However, I'm still wondering what could have caused some coolant to show up around the radiator, radiator cap, and reservoir cap? It looked like it came out from the top on both the reservoir, and radiator. Bad seal on the cap causing coolant to leak, and spread around? Appreciate any feedback. Thank you!

Edit: Added borescope photos, added mention of radiator crack inspection, added radiator name plate photos, and last coolant drain/fill.

 

[Sandroad]

Have you looked carefully at the top of the radiator for the well-documented cracking that occurs on the square name plate? Also, you really can’t see under the intake manifold properly for the valley plate coolant leak without a boroscope. Given the external coolant you’ve found, I would look first for that radiator crack.

 

[knarf]

Have you looked carefully at the top of the radiator for the well-documented cracking that occurs on the square name plate? Also, you really can’t see under the intake manifold properly for the valley plate coolant leak without a boroscope. Given the external coolant you’ve found, I would look first for that radiator crack.

Hello - I did check at the top of the radiator for the cracking that occurs on the square name plate, and I did not notice any (forgot to mention in original post). The crack could be very small. I wiped the whole top of the radiator clean, so I will check to see if any signs of leakage are coming from there. I also picked up a borescope yesterday to get a better look under the intake manifold. Will report back.

 

[GrouchyTech]

I bet you don’t have a coolant leak and instead probably looked at the expansion tank level with the engine hot. When the engine cools the coolant level in the tank drops significantly.

The coolant residue could be from being serviced or topped off.

 

[sdnative]

Looks like an aftermarket radiator? Failure mode (crack) may not be the same as old design OEM radiator.

 

[04UZJ100]

That is not an OEM radiator.

 

[Sandroad]

Looks like an aftermarket radiator? Failure mode (crack) may not be the same as old design OEM radiator.

Good eye. Given aftermarket, there could be leaks anywhere. Or, in a more troublesome scenario, the pink crust everywhere could be from a blow out at the OEM radiator crack, leading to the radiator replacement and possible other issues.

 

[knarf]

I bet you don’t have a coolant leak and instead probably looked at the expansion tank level with the engine hot. When the engine cools the coolant level in the tank drops significantly.

The coolant residue could be from being serviced or topped off.

When I noticed the reservoir was below the 'L' line the engine was cold.

That could be true. As the users above pointed out, it appears the radiator is not OEM.

 

[knarf]

Looks like an aftermarket radiator? Failure mode (crack) may not be the same as old design OEM radiator.

Good catch! I did not notice until you mentioned it.

 

[knarf]

That is not an OEM radiator.

This is true. I did not notice until you guys pointed that out.

 

[knarf]

Good eye. Given aftermarket, there could be leaks anywhere. Or, in a more troublesome scenario, the pink crust everywhere could be from a blow out at the OEM radiator crack, leading to the radiator replacement and possible other issues.

I really hope its not the latter. The coolant residue was not all over the engine bay, unlike some of the photos I've seen where it sprays all over. It was really only around the radiator cap, and radiator reservoir cap. I drove it home 8 hours, and did not have any overheating issues. I have ordered an OEM radiator though, and other parts to get it back to OEM specs.

Appreciate the responses from everyone! Thank you for your help.