How do I know if I damaged my engine (coolant leak) (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jan 17, 2023
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Location
Chattanooga, TN
So...I just bought an 05 LX470. Thinking I was being a genius I brought new heater tees with me when I flew down to pick it up, and had a local mechanic switch them out. An ounce of prevention or so I thought...I drove it back up from Orlando with no problems and have driven it around for the past few days with no issues (I think). I just went out this morning and noticed there is no coolant in the tank. I took a look at the heater tees and there is green coolant all over the hoses. I'm guessing that the old hoses didn't seal back well with the old clips and new heater tees.

I didn't notice any warning lights or spike in temperature (but I wasn't looking for it admittedly). It's also been really cold here last night and the past few days, so maybe the hoses contracted some?

So two questions, what are the odds I've done damage to the engine and how would I know? And at this point, should I just get new worm clamps that can tighten down, or get all new hoses back there? I'm sure I can find all the part numbers on the forum with a little digging.

I love this truck, but we are getting off to an interesting start in our relationship. Also, I'm assuming I can safely back it up 10 feet real quick and get it out of the way in my driveway.
(first pic is looking into coolant reservoir with a tiny bit of red at the bottom)
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Toyota coolant is red. That is paint not coolan on the t. Check the level in the radiator. If you can see coolant It's likely the mechanic just didn't top up the system. Go to Toyota and buy some long life coolant and top up the rad and bottle and enjoy the new cruiser.

If you overheated the truck from Orlando to TN you'd know it and yes you can back it up 10ft.
 
That is paint not coolant. Check the level in the radiator. If you can see coolant It's likely the mechanic just didn't top up the system. Go to Toyota and buy some long life coolant and top up the rad and bottle and enjoy the new cruiser.
I feel like this is one of several newbie (slightly panicked posts) I’m making lately. I’m grateful for you and others being gracious as I get my footing.

So the mechanic potential painted that? It wasn’t there when I took it to them!

If I can see coolant in the radiator, would you drive it, or take a different car to get the coolant and top off before going anywhere.
 
If you can't see coolant in the rad it might be prudent to take another car. yes it's witness paint, the mech did that. if you can see coolant drive it if it isn't to far,

Again use Toyota LLC (long life coolant)

I feel like this is one of several newbie (slightly panicked posts) I’m making lately. I’m grateful for you and others being gracious as I get my footing.
Yes it is but we all started somewhere.:beer:

Just an addendum: it could be Toyota Super long life in there as well. Hard to tell from pic. SLLC is pink. in any case try to get the same stuff. Ask the dealer if you're not sure. It looks like there is some coolant in the reservoir still. Bottle likely just needs a top up.
 
Yes it is but we all started somewhere.:beer:
Appreciate that! Radiator is full but coolant looks a little more brown than red. Probably take another car just to be cautious.

The radiator was replaced a couple years ago so the coolant should not be that old. Should I be thinking about flushing if it is more brown color in the radiator?
 
Drive it it's fine. Sometimes it looks brownish. I can't say if you're coolant is good or not behind my keyboard. The stuff in the bottle looks fine. I suspect you need to just take it back a notch or two. lol

Get someone local to take a peek at it if it'll help you sleep better. haha.
 
Drive it it's fine. Sometimes it looks brownish. I can't say if you're coolant is good or not behind my keyboard. The stuff in the bottle looks fine. I suspect you need to just take it back a notch or two. lol

Get someone local to take a peek at it if it'll help you sleep better. haha.

I
your I blame sleep deprivation and three small children!
Drive it it's fine. Sometimes it looks brownish. I can't say if you're coolant is good or not behind my keyboard. The stuff in the bottle looks fine. I suspect you need to just take it back a notch or two. lol

Get someone local to take a peek at it if it'll help you sleep better. haha.
I think your suspicion is correct. I blame sleep deprivation and small children!

So I took a different car and was going to go by the seeker to get the red coolant. Would you suggest I wait until I can take the truck since I’m not confident if it is red or pink? I’m guessing it isn’t advisable to mix.
 
Dude just pop by the dealer at some point when you are out in the truck and ask the service guy if he can tell you if you have pink or red coolant in there and then buy a jug and top her up. Stop worrying about this so much.
 
Dude just pop by the dealer at some point when you are out in the truck and ask the service guy if he can tell you if you have pink or red coolant in there and then buy a jug and top her up. Stop worrying about this so much.
Roger that.
 
Even if you mixed a bit of red with pink you're truck isn't going to grenade!

Be careful what you read on these forums. It can make you neurotic. There is a lot of "over servicing" being done by people on here, including me cause we all love our Land Cruisers but you should see some of the s*** we drove in Africa. Haha. And they would just go and go and go. These things are definitely not fragile which is why we love them.

That said, you do need to service it properly and on time if you want it to last, otherwise the IHMUD police will find you.
 
ven if you mixed a bit of red with pink you're truck isn't going to grenade!
Just don’t mix green/yellow/orange with pink/red. That will cause problems.
 
Even if you mixed a bit of red with pink you're truck isn't going to grenade!

Be careful what you read on these forums. It can make you neurotic. There is a lot of "over servicing" being done by people on here, including me cause we all love our Land Cruisers but you should see some of the s*** we drove in Africa. Haha. And they would just go and go and go. These things are definitely not fragile which is why we love them.

That said, you do need to service it properly and on time if you want it to last, otherwise the IHMUD police will find you.
I sense that balance of not overdoing it. I imagine that when you have a bunch of people who dearly love their trucks and like to tinker. You could get into a lot of repairs that may not be strictly necessary. I think having had the truck less than a weak I haven’t settled into that balance!

I had a friend who grew up in Africa and they had a Toyota that could run partially on kerosene. He said that thing was an absolute tank. Wish I could remember which model that was.
 
I had a friend who grew up in Africa and they had a Toyota that could run partially on kerosene. He said that thing was an absolute tank. Wish I could remember which model that was.
Probably a diesel 60 or 70 series Cruiser.
 
Could always just top up the expansion tank with distilled water to get you by for a bit also, shouldn't be enough to really throw off the ratio enough to matter IMO.
 
There is one thing you may want to check. Ive seen guys get rough with the metal pipe that comes out of the crossover and loosen the bond causing it to leak. Im driving but maybe someone here can expand on this for me so you know what to look for. Maybe with a pic of the crossover.
 
I’ll take a look for that pipe later today. And will run it by the local dealer on Monday since the radiator is decidedly full of some pinkish/reddish/orange ish coolant and it could probably handle a 30 minute drive.

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This is the crossover and pipe. Its under the heater t's on the back of the motor. You'll see the metal pipe going up to the hoses at the T.

Check the base of the metal tube where it enters the aluminum crossover. If your hose was tough to get off and the mechanic got medieval on that pipe it can leak. I've seen it a few times. It'll present itself as a bunch of pinkish/white crusty dried coolant at the base of the pipe unless it's really fresh.

It's not likely but worth looking at.

Looks like LLC to me thats a few years old. Nothing I'd worry about but you could spend money on worse things than a cooling system flush if it's gonna put you're mind at ease. Many people just do it as a matter of course when they get a new car. Especially this crowd.



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This is the crossover and pipe. Its under the heater t's on the back of the motor. You'll see the metal pipe going up to the hoses at the T.

Check the base of the metal tube where it enters the aluminum crossover. If your hose was tough to get off and the mechanic got medieval on that pipe it can leak. I've seen it a few times. It'll present itself as a bunch of pinkish/white crusty dried coolant at the base of the pipe unless it's really fresh.

It's not likely but worth looking at.

Looks like LLC to me thats a few years old. Nothing I'd worry about but you could spend money on worse things than a cooling system flush if it's gonna put you're mind at ease. Many people just do it as a matter of course when they get a new car. Especially this crowd.



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I see what you are talking about. A cursory inspection looks fine, but I'll climb up there soon with a headlamp on and give it a more thorough look. Thanks for the heads up.
 
Out of curiosity, how many minutes of overheating does it take approx. to destroy the 4.7L engine? (e.g. blow head gasket)
 

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