I'm a total noob here, so bear with me!
About a month ago I was letting my cold blooded FJ60 warm up for about 20 or 30 minutes (it was frozen solid, only about 5 degrees outside).
When I came out I noticed a large pool of coolant under that car. It took me awhile to locate the leak because coolant hitting the fan and was being flung all over- it was from the top return hose that came from the thermostat housing and it dripped along the top lip of the rad and eventually down onto the fan..I tightened that sucker down and have not any issues since.
However, while I was researching potential issues I read something about an indication of water pump failure (or just gasket failure) was deposits or residue around the edge of the water pump where it meets the front of the engine block. Mine had quite bit of residue (see image attached) and I made a note to change the water pump when the weather was better.
I have thought that my FJ was running a bit on the hot side in the past, although the temperature gauge reading was always normal pretty much every time. During the summer months the hood was sometimes too hot to touch (keep in mind I have a replacement hood that doesn't have any of the insulation or padded material that I have seen on other cars- its just straight metal) - I have never experienced any performance issues even in 115 degree weather driving up steep hills either.
I'm a bit paranoid about this old rig and I often listen to the sound of the engine to see if I can notice any changes. One sound that was common during the colder months was a bit of a 'knock' or click that went away after the car had warmed up. I was assuming it might be a bearing going bad..perhaps the water pump?
Last night I thought that I could notice a new sound that at first sounded like restricted air flow to the air filter.. or seemed to be either an air leak from the header seal?? (I have custom headers and exhaust to go with the TBI conversion that is on the rig) The thermostat housing is near where I think the sound was coming from... I'm starting to think that I'm making the sound up in my head from being paranoid about the residue.. who knows.. maybe there is a sound that is related to the cooling system... I drove it anyway and all seemed fine... It was raining slightly when I got to my destination and I noticed that the center of the hood was steaming and the water was evaporating leaving it dry while the outsides still remained wet... so if it was warm enough to do that, I'm assuming it was getting too hot to drive.. anyone have any input on that?
I guess I'm looking for reassurance that I haven't induced some major damage to the car (remember I'm a major noob here!)
I'm going to replace the water pump regardless because its a relatively cheap fix as well as a good introduction to the underside of my hood (first big project for me). I don't have the FSM so any additional info or links to threads would be much appreciated
Also, If I'm under there, what else should I do? I'm thinking I will replace all the hoses and the thermostat.. Am I missing anything?
About a month ago I was letting my cold blooded FJ60 warm up for about 20 or 30 minutes (it was frozen solid, only about 5 degrees outside).
When I came out I noticed a large pool of coolant under that car. It took me awhile to locate the leak because coolant hitting the fan and was being flung all over- it was from the top return hose that came from the thermostat housing and it dripped along the top lip of the rad and eventually down onto the fan..I tightened that sucker down and have not any issues since.
However, while I was researching potential issues I read something about an indication of water pump failure (or just gasket failure) was deposits or residue around the edge of the water pump where it meets the front of the engine block. Mine had quite bit of residue (see image attached) and I made a note to change the water pump when the weather was better.
I have thought that my FJ was running a bit on the hot side in the past, although the temperature gauge reading was always normal pretty much every time. During the summer months the hood was sometimes too hot to touch (keep in mind I have a replacement hood that doesn't have any of the insulation or padded material that I have seen on other cars- its just straight metal) - I have never experienced any performance issues even in 115 degree weather driving up steep hills either.
I'm a bit paranoid about this old rig and I often listen to the sound of the engine to see if I can notice any changes. One sound that was common during the colder months was a bit of a 'knock' or click that went away after the car had warmed up. I was assuming it might be a bearing going bad..perhaps the water pump?
Last night I thought that I could notice a new sound that at first sounded like restricted air flow to the air filter.. or seemed to be either an air leak from the header seal?? (I have custom headers and exhaust to go with the TBI conversion that is on the rig) The thermostat housing is near where I think the sound was coming from... I'm starting to think that I'm making the sound up in my head from being paranoid about the residue.. who knows.. maybe there is a sound that is related to the cooling system... I drove it anyway and all seemed fine... It was raining slightly when I got to my destination and I noticed that the center of the hood was steaming and the water was evaporating leaving it dry while the outsides still remained wet... so if it was warm enough to do that, I'm assuming it was getting too hot to drive.. anyone have any input on that?
I guess I'm looking for reassurance that I haven't induced some major damage to the car (remember I'm a major noob here!)
I'm going to replace the water pump regardless because its a relatively cheap fix as well as a good introduction to the underside of my hood (first big project for me). I don't have the FSM so any additional info or links to threads would be much appreciated
Also, If I'm under there, what else should I do? I'm thinking I will replace all the hoses and the thermostat.. Am I missing anything?
