eimkeith
Supporting Vendor
Friday afternoon my wife came rolling into the driveway (I was waiting for her to arrive so we could head to the mountains for the weekend) telling me through the passenger window that the FZJ80 was overheating. When she turned it off, coolant steam started coming from the cowl area, and the gauge was pegged above the red. I hopped in, turned the ignition back on, ran the heater/fan on high to try to circulate the coolant, then popped the hood to see what was going on.
One of the small hoses must have split (or the clamps failed under pressure) as there was steam coming from the rear of the head and a slow drip onto the ground at the rear of the engine. She said the temp had risen to red and she stopped at the gas station 1/2 mile from the house, shut it off, let it cool, and then drove home from there when she couldn't get me on the phone. The hose leak occurred as she coasted into the driveway, so it probably isn't the cause of the overheating issue.
The head and upper radiator hose were both really hot - I thought I was hearing oil boiling in the head, but it could have been coolant boiling after the hose started leaking, I suppose. Lots of ticking/cracking noises (it was hot, as I said.) The overflow tank was dry, and the lower radiator hose was cool and empty when I squeezed it, and the thermostat housing was likewise cool to the touch. I filled the coolant reservoir twice with cool water and the radiator drew it all in.
Meanwhile, the gauge came back down to reasonable temps, so I started the engine to see what head/head gasket damages had occurred, and it sounded and ran normally. Additionally, my wife never experienced any loss of power or rough running indicative of a head/head gasket issue. Exhaust remained clear.
When we returned from the mountains this evening (we took another vehicle, of course), I popped the hood on the 80 and the reservoir was empty again. I removed the radiator cap and could not see coolant, so I temporarily filled the radiator and reservoir again, and started the truck. It idled, revved, and sounded normal, without any trace of coolant in the exhaust, so I'm hoping we dodged a bullet (I bought it with a blown head gasket, if you guys recall)
So here are my questions: Do these radiators get blocked over time? It seems that the hot coolant in the head wasn't making it down to the radiator outlet/intake hose to the thermostat? Would a thermostat failing closed mimic a blocked radiator? Is there a chance that the water pump can fail in such a way that it isn't pumping, with no external sign of failure (noise, or otherwise)?
I'm likely going to shotgun the cooling system, as this is my wife's daily and our usual family vacation vehicle, but it looks like the radiators are NLA from Toyota?
Your thoughts?
One of the small hoses must have split (or the clamps failed under pressure) as there was steam coming from the rear of the head and a slow drip onto the ground at the rear of the engine. She said the temp had risen to red and she stopped at the gas station 1/2 mile from the house, shut it off, let it cool, and then drove home from there when she couldn't get me on the phone. The hose leak occurred as she coasted into the driveway, so it probably isn't the cause of the overheating issue.
The head and upper radiator hose were both really hot - I thought I was hearing oil boiling in the head, but it could have been coolant boiling after the hose started leaking, I suppose. Lots of ticking/cracking noises (it was hot, as I said.) The overflow tank was dry, and the lower radiator hose was cool and empty when I squeezed it, and the thermostat housing was likewise cool to the touch. I filled the coolant reservoir twice with cool water and the radiator drew it all in.
Meanwhile, the gauge came back down to reasonable temps, so I started the engine to see what head/head gasket damages had occurred, and it sounded and ran normally. Additionally, my wife never experienced any loss of power or rough running indicative of a head/head gasket issue. Exhaust remained clear.
When we returned from the mountains this evening (we took another vehicle, of course), I popped the hood on the 80 and the reservoir was empty again. I removed the radiator cap and could not see coolant, so I temporarily filled the radiator and reservoir again, and started the truck. It idled, revved, and sounded normal, without any trace of coolant in the exhaust, so I'm hoping we dodged a bullet (I bought it with a blown head gasket, if you guys recall)
So here are my questions: Do these radiators get blocked over time? It seems that the hot coolant in the head wasn't making it down to the radiator outlet/intake hose to the thermostat? Would a thermostat failing closed mimic a blocked radiator? Is there a chance that the water pump can fail in such a way that it isn't pumping, with no external sign of failure (noise, or otherwise)?
I'm likely going to shotgun the cooling system, as this is my wife's daily and our usual family vacation vehicle, but it looks like the radiators are NLA from Toyota?
Your thoughts?
