Alternator Belt wreaks Havoc (1 Viewer)

[Photo_Cruiser]

Thought I'd share a belt expeience that truley sucked, and get some opinions on what I did wrong, right, and where to go from here...

5am...family loaded for 5 days of back roads camping in the sierras, truck good, fluids checked, belts, hoses checked seemingly all good

15 minutes into driving, battery light comes on, now I have had my E-Brake light flickering off and on lately, so at first I thought hmm, maybe dashboard light issues....well in a matter of 30 seconds, engine light comes on, my eyes jump from batterty light to engine light to rapidly climbing temp gauge..WTF, I am in the maze on I-80 by Oakland....sucky place so I throw on Hazards, slowly get over to slow lane, temp gauge is still just climbing, as I hit an offramp, BAM under the hood explodes...smoke everywhere...crap.

Hood open, I see, no Alt Belts, they are wrapped around the fan, main hose on top driver side of radiator is blown off, coolant everywhere. So I bust out tools, throw on new belts, replace the hose, refill coolant, start and run the engine to get air out of system, and I am good to go.....NOT

Start seeing continuous leaking from top seam in Radiator....seam in Rad is blown...call 3 toy dealers no OEM rad anywhere, get referred to a rad shop, get a non OEM rad put in, family packed 3pm on the road to camp. Truck ran great all week.

SO, now I am stuck with a non oem rad, ironically the trucks thermometer read a hair cooler than it ever has, even in 95 degree weather going 70 mph

So what do you al recommend, should I stick with this radiator for now? Feed Cdans dogs in a year or so and get the OEM Brass. Get the aftermarket rad out asap?

Also, no coolant visibly in the oil, should I get a sample tested to see about any possible HG issues. My temp gauge pinned to hot, but only for maybe 5 to 10 seconds....this happened so fast it was crazy.

Any experiences or opinions appreciated!

Jeff

 

[skyshark186]

I suppose it depends on how confident you are in the radiator the guy sold you. If you feel it to be good quality work then I wouldnt feel bad leaving it in. However, if you got the impression its something put together from five he took apart...........

The HG depends. You could always be on the safe side and just have it done.

 

[Photo_Cruiser]

The radiator shop was Excellent. The small business ran by a cool dad, rushed me in, got the parts, put their top mechanic on it and gave me excellent service. It is an aftermarket rad, looked much like the OEM and carries a lifetime warranty on it.....

 

[cruiserman]

Nothing wrong with an aftermarket rad. Is it all metal?

 

[ParadiseCruiser]

Jeff -

Sorry to hear about the mess. Why do these things always happen on the freeway in the city ? Bummer. I'm going out to check my belts this morning

>> should I get a sample tested to see about any possible HG issues.

Why not? $20 gets a complete analysis, and you'll know if there is any water / coolant getting into the cylinders. Additionally, monitor the overflow bottle level for disappearing coolant, watch the head / block seam for leaks, etc.

If it were me, I would also keep my eye on the coolant. If the rad shop refilled with a different type of coolant than was originally in there, you have the potential for the dreaded mixed coolant - precipitated gunk clogging the radiator issue (over time) that has been the downfall of more than one cooling system on this list.

Cheers, R -

 

[powderpig]

Do you know of the name of the Radiator maker? It may say on the top tank. You say it looks like the OEM one, aluminum with plastic top and bottom tank? If so it is the same ones we see from time to time from the local performance raditaor shop. If so it is OEM quality, built in japan(the last one I saw was any way). Should be good for a lot of years. As for the other stuff, only time will tell. later robbie

 

[tiorio]

What the heck? Let it run until it craps out but buy the OEM so you're ready for it when it goes. OEM parts are good, but aftermarket can be good too. No need to replace a new rad with another new rad IMHO...

 

[Photo_Cruiser]

It is Aluminum with the plastic top and bottom tank. Manufacturer is GDI. As far as coolant goes, I brought my own, Toy red...nothin' else, and distilled h20

 

[elmariachi]

am in the maze on I-80 by Oakland....sucky place so I throw on Hazards, slowly get over to slow lane, temp gauge is still just climbing, as I hit an offramp, BAM under the hood explodes...smoke everywhere...crap.
SO, now I am stuck with a non oem rad, ironically the trucks thermometer read a hair cooler than it ever has, even in 95 degree weather going 70 mph

So what do you al recommend, should I stick with this radiator for now? Feed Cdans dogs in a year or so and get the OEM Brass. Get the aftermarket rad out asap? Any experiences or opinions appreciated! Jeff

There are a bunch of threads about exploding radiators. It happened to me and required a new radiator and a new hood, but no HG issues and the truck is fine now at 140K + miles (according to its owner, Todd Kaderabek).

From what I can tell, the belts break and the pressure rises and the top of the radiator blows. Toyota said mine was caused by a faulty radiator cap....but they also suspected the belts until I produced a receipt where I had just bought belts 90 days earlier.

If you have the money, you should get an OEM radiator, IMO. Having the system pressure tested for an HG issue is up to you. Either way, this underscores why we need to pamper these cooling systems...belts/hoses/cap etc.

 

[Silicon 70]

Did you get a dual core radiator?