Head gasket appears to be leaking (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter RustyAndDusty
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #22
Interesting, is that common? Might I be able to see the crack with the valve cover off?
BGarcia88FJ62
SILVER Star
Hold up! That oil looks suspicious. Especially the streaks of color in it. Seems odd.
- Thread starter
- #24
Did the combustion test again, passed the test again. Tested the liquid on my tail pipe just to make sure it was good and it turned yellow right away. Went for a scenic drive for about an hour. Trucks running great, temp gauge was good and steady the whole time. Can’t seem to find the radiator hoses doing anything funny/collapsing after that one time a few days ago but the coolant reservoir is empty again. I haven’t opened the radiator cap yet as the engines still hot. I opened the valve cover cap and there’s a good amount of condensation in there.
- Thread starter
- #25
Uh oh you think so? Maybe I should get another sample later.
- Thread starter
- #26
Radiator was full when I checked after it cooled down yesterday but since the reservoir was empty I’m guessing I’m losing about the capacity of the reservoir on an hour long drive? Or I just didn’t burp the system well enough after I topped it off noticing it was low when this whole debacle first started? Anyways I topped off the reservoir with some distilled water and went for another drive today, only about 30 minutes this time. When I got back the reservoir was still full but I did notice some leakage from the radiator cap.
I guess I should be picking up one of those OEM caps huh?
I guess I should be picking up one of those OEM caps huh?
get a new radiator cap. @ToyotaMatt will have what you need. You should also make sure the hose that runs from the filler neck to the overflow tank is integral (no holes or cracks) and the hose is connected to the port on the overflow bottle cap that has the dip tube going to the bottom. When I had a hold in the hose, the cooling system would suck air in (not overflowed coolant) when it cooled down.
- Thread starter
- #28
Ordered a new radiator cap from my local dealership, haven't picked it up yet. I pressure checked the coolant system and found 2 leaks. One was where the new upper radiator hose connected to the radiator. Tightened the hose clamp a bit and it no longer leaks. The second was one of the hoses going to the heater core valve. It still had the original Toyota clamp on it and was a little too rusty to tighten so I replaced it with a new hose clamp. Doesnt appear to leak anymore. I put more coolant in the radiator and reservoir and was out all day driving around yesterday. About an hour or so on the interstate, several hours on some dirt trails and then another hour or so on the interstate in about 70 degree weather. Temp gauge was consistently around the 3/4 mark not the gauge, truck was running great, figured my problems may be behind me. Fast forward to this morning and I check the coolant reservoir and its empty down to the end of the straw. Open the radiator cap and its still full to the brim. Take off the oil filler cap and its got the goop on it. Not as bad as before but its definitely there and under the valve cover. What do you guys think? What should my next step be besides throwing on the new OEM radiator cap? Is it possible my engines not getting hot enough to burn off moisture under the valve cover? I'd imagine driving an hour or so over mountain passes on the interstate would have done the deed. Starting to return to the idea of it being a head gasket issue but would prefer to be certain before I take it apart. Also curious how likely it is I'm causing damage to the engine if I keep running it and watching closely? Thanks!
- Thread starter
- #29
Little update: I put the new OEM radiator cap on and went on a little camping/road trip for a few days. By the end of the trip the coolant reservoir was still full and there wasn't any goop under the valve cover, seems to have burned off. Still going to keep a close eye on things but that new radiator cap seems to have done some good.
