coolant acting weird

[hereorthere]

Hey guys, so here it is, searched but couldn't find anything.

I changed my coolant a week ago in my v6 94 4runner, and since replacing it, my temperature still rises to 3/4ths to 4/5ths in the white. Even though I had the FSM, I couldn't find the second drain plug located on the engine, so I only drained the coolant from the radiator. Drained the coolant the best I could, flushed it out with hose water, then used some prestone radiator cleaner and drove around until the engine warmed up, which it did, almost to the red. Then I drained that, and fillled it up with water and once again drove around until the engine warmed up again, and finally filled the radiator with a 50/50 mix.

And the weird thing is that, when I finish driving and the engine is off, the temperature gauge will be reading a little past half, and I can hear the coolant reservoir bubbling strongly. I have never had this happen before. When I warmed up the car with the radiator cleaner, and the following with water, the same occurred. Could this happen because I didn't fully flush out the radiator cleaner? Draining the radiator only yielded less than 5 liters and the FSM says that my car uses 10.


I'm guessing I need to flush the entire system correctly, but I just can't find that second drainplug.
Thanks for reading, I appreciate any help.

 

[toy4xfun]

my 95 4runner had a similar problem after the lower rad hose came off. service dept. did not tighten the clamp after putting on a new water pump. so i was along side the road put the hose back on and filled it with water that's all i had at the time. but it over heated real fast i called the tow truck.when we got to the toyota dealer i checked the radiator the water was gone.so i filled with antifreeze and started it up it ran and did not over heat. jack the front up or park it on a hill and let it sit then check your antifreeze.

 

[2ndGenToyotaFan]

Sounds like it's purging air maybe? If you had an air bubble that might explain the temp gauge acting up too. X2 park facing up a steep hill....

 

[toy4xfun]

also i stopped using a funnel to fill my radiator. just be careful and pour slowly straight out of the container sometimes a funnel will seal the opening and not allow air to escape.

 

[NorCalBorn]

Actually do use a funnel...

Get a large neck funnel that just fits into the radiator fill neck. Place a rubber o-ring around the outside of the neck.

Get a Ping-Pong ball.

Now, put the ping-pong ball in the funnel and add fluid while holding the funnel down. *Make sure he o-ring's sealing and not fallen off.

Add fluid just over the ping-pong ball and "burp" your system of bubbles and the fluid will automatically take it's place as the pingpong ball will fall to the neck each time the fluid drains.

Better yet, (my preference here) simply splice in a radiator flush attachment, (those hose connectors with the cap you always see DIY kits like prestone having) and put it at the highest cooling lin in your system, in our case, the heater line that goes through the firewall is usually not just the highest, but also the point of most trapped bubbles b/c of people forgetting to ope their heater valve all the way when doing the service.

*Note: this is an old-school video w/ some less than environmentally friendly instructions..all current service facilities have a zero-loss system that's self contained, another reason to pay a mechanic/dealership.
*IE: How to flush your car's engine coolant system | Wonder How To

 

[hereorthere]

Sounds like it's purging air maybe? If you had an air bubble that might explain the temp gauge acting up too. X2 park facing up a steep hill....

this might be it because whenever i'm done driving i can hear a ton of bubbling in the reservoir when i check the hose, its always air coming out. so park facing up a steep hill and let it sit, and then check the antifreeze?

and can anyone get me a picture of the second drain plug?

 

[Bogo]

Why did you change fluid in the first place? Was it blowing bubbles? I'm wondering if you blew a head gasket. The 3.0L V 6 is prone to blowing the original head gaskets. Toyota has a new gasket that works better. There is or was a recall on them. If yours wasn't changed they may or may not still be doing the recall service for it. At the minimum you should be able to check to see if it was done by calling your local dealer and having them check.

You can get kits to check for exhaust gases in the coolant. You can also do a coolant system pressure test, only use 15psi. Cylinder leak down test is also another method. Also if you start from a fully cold engine with a properly filled coolant system. Start it up and rev it to 2k for a few seconds and shut down immediately. Engine is running for only 10 to 15 seconds. If it is blowing bubbles after that chances are a head gasket is bad. Another method is to pressurize each cylinder with air from an air compressor via the spark plug holes. You'll need to rotate the engine to close up valves. If you hear bubbling when you pressurize a cylinder it likely is bad.

Check for water in the oil.

 

[hereorthere]

Why did you change fluid in the first place? Was it blowing bubbles? I'm wondering if you blew a head gasket. The 3.0L V 6 is prone to blowing the original head gaskets. Toyota has a new gasket that works better. There is or was a recall on them. If yours wasn't changed they may or may not still be doing the recall service for it. At the minimum you should be able to check to see if it was done by calling your local dealer and having them check.

You can get kits to check for exhaust gases in the coolant. You can also do a coolant system pressure test, only use 15psi. Cylinder leak down test is also another method. Also if you start from a fully cold engine with a properly filled coolant system. Start it up and rev it to 2k for a few seconds and shut down immediately. Engine is running for only 10 to 15 seconds. If it is blowing bubbles after that chances are a head gasket is bad. Another method is to pressurize each cylinder with air from an air compressor via the spark plug holes. You'll need to rotate the engine to close up valves. If you hear bubbling when you pressurize a cylinder it likely is bad.

Check for water in the oil.

changed the fluids because the last time the fluids were changed was about 8K miles ago. yea, i should call the dealer to check too, thanks for the reminder.

Changed the oil about a month ago, no water in the oil. its probably just air, but i always thought the cooling system was self purging.

 

[Bogo]

and can anyone get me a picture of the second drain plug?

In the FAQ the '93 FSM has the location for the engine block drain plug.

 

[Bogo]

Changed the oil about a month ago, no water in the oil. its probably just air, but i always thought the cooling system was self purging.

Head gaskets can sometimes only go between the cylinder and coolant system and not involve the oil system.

Revving up to 3k RPM with the front of the engine up and the heater on full hot should fully purge it. It should properly purge when on the level. That's all they can do at the factory.

The reason I am asking about the head gasket is I had very similar symptoms just before a big overheat on a 22RE. I could not get it to properly purge even when I had the rear wheels 4' lower than the fronts. After a short bit of running it would be bubbling. I had power flushed it both with and against normal fluid flow. That didn't help. I was wondering about possibly blocked passages. A blocked passage would allow the coolant to boil due to lack of cooling in the area. After the overheating incident it would bubble with only 10 seconds of running. Not enough time to heat the engine up to boiling temps. Before that the engine needed to warm up just a bit. 20 to 30 seconds and it would bubble. The radiator would be cool and the coolant would be only mildly warm, yet it would bubble. I misread that and was thinking standard overheat, and what pumps air?

A possible test. Disconnect the power to the ignition coil so no sparks fire. remove the radiator cap. Crank the engine for 30 seconds to a minute. If it is bubbling after that the you have a voided head gasket. If the head needs to warm up some for the crack to open it may not find it. I think that was where I was before the overheat incident.

A good IR temperature reading device would be good to have to look for hot spots that may reveal blocked passages in the block. Also blockages in the radiator can be seen by them being colder. My engine and radiator turned out to be relatively even in temperature.