How Screwed Am I - Lower radiator hose popped off

[orange57]

Replaced the leaking original radiator on the GX460 yesterday, 101k, 2018.

Burped the system in the driveway, ran up to temp ran idle high to warm it up with the heat on full blast.

Drove probably 15 miles yesterday in 115f AZ heat, no issues. No leaks, all seemed good.

It is my wife's car. She took the kids to school, was on her way to an appt and text me the AC was coming in and out. and she says it sounds funny.

I call her she says it sounds like it's dragging something, ac is off and the Trac off light and CEL light came on. She drove maybe another few miles to get to her dr appt. I went and picked her up, lower hose is off. Had the truck towed home.

Can I pretty much say this engine is now toast?

I got the hose back on, filled it with 2 gallons of coolant and about a half gallon of distilled water just to see if it would start. Cranked long but fired up, but I only let it run for a minute.

 

[OG Zuninja]

After you filled and let it run for a minute, did you pull your oil dipstick? If not, go pull it and see if the oil is milky. If it is, you burned a head gasket. If not, you might be okay.

What is concerning is you replaced the radiator and then the hose popped off shortly after. That could be due to an over pressure situation from a failed thermostat or a failed water pump. It could even simply be you forgot to secure the clamps properly. Lots of unknowns here but some troubleshooting goes a long way.

 

[orange57]

After you filled and let it run for a minute, did you pull your oil dipstick? If not, go pull it and see if the oil is milky. If it is, you burned a head gasket. If not, you might be okay.

What is concerning is you replaced the radiator and then the hose popped off shortly after. That could be due to an over pressure situation from a failed thermostat or a failed water pump. It could even simply be you forgot to secure the clamps properly. Lots of unknowns here but some troubleshooting goes a long way.

I am confident they I got the hose on right. And thebclamo was still in the hose 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch from the end of the hose. Due to that access, I spent time getting the clamp right and getting the ears on the clam in the right position so future me wouldn't hate present in another 100k miles.

Thermostat is brand new as well. So are the upper/lower hoses. All parts bought from Bell Lexus, i picked them up in person.

I need some more coolant. Going to get that today so I can finish the fill. Last night I just wanted to make sure it started and the engine wasn't seized. I'll check the oil tonight and let it run longer doing another complete burp/fill

 

[OG Zuninja]

Got it. Post up later after you give it a bit more time to diagnose.

 

[r2m]

I am confident they I got the hose on right. And thebclamo was still in the hose 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch from the end of the hose. Due to that access, I spent time getting the clamp right and getting the ears on the clam in the right position so future me wouldn't hate present in another 100k miles.

Thermostat is brand new as well. So are the upper/lower hoses. All parts bought from Bell Lexus, i picked them up in person.

I need some more coolant. Going to get that today so I can finish the fill. Last night I just wanted to make sure it started and the engine wasn't seized. I'll check the oil tonight and let it run longer doing another complete burp/fill

It's a good start if you can turn it over.
Along with checking your dip stick, great call by the way OG Zuninja, was there any white smoke coming from the tail pipe after it warmed up? Another clue if you warped your heads/blew a head gasket, etc.
If the oil looks clear (assuming you change your oil regularly), and no white smoke, I'd call it good and a lesson learned.

 

[orange57]

It's a good start if you can turn it over.
Along with checking your dip stick, great call by the way OG Zuninja, was there any white smoke coming from the tail pipe after it warmed up? Another clue if you warped your heads/blew a head gasket, etc.
If the oil looks clear (assuming you change your oil regularly), and no white smoke, I'd call it good and a lesson learned.

Just changes the oil 200 miles ago. It was during the oil change that I found the radiator was leaking. Prompting the swap. 5k OCI M1 and OEM filter.

 

[OG Zuninja]

Just changes the oil 200 miles ago. It was during the oil change that I found the radiator was leaking. Prompting the swap. 5k OCI M1 and OEM filter.

Right but if you overheated your engine after that oil change and popped a head gasket, it really doesn't matter when you changed your oil does it?

 

[orange57]

Right but if you overheated your engine after that oil change and popped a head gasket, it really doesn't matter when you changed your oil does it?

I get that. I was responding to the previous comment on if the oil looks clear. I know the oil is fresh and not dirty and what that should look like. Milky contaminated oil I would assume is easier to spot on a fresh oil change. But I've never blown a HG before so I could be wrong.

 

[OG Zuninja]

Milky oil is easy to spot whether its a fresh oil change or not. There's no mistaking it.

 

[VPP]

Well, it didn't do the engine any good that's for sure. Once you re-started the engine did it sound normal, idled smooth, etc. When an engine overheats and it probably did, things warp, valves, head, block, etc., so for now I would use a coolant sealer that seals gaskets, cracks in the casting, head warpage. etc. That will get you down the road and hopefully take care of any future issues BEFORE they start. There are a lot of sealers on the market, some have fibers to help with sealing others have chemicals that adhere to gaskets and cracks in metal to seal and they range in price. If you're not sure what to use, talk with the dealer service department for any they may have used or local repair shop for any they may have used that works well. I always enjoy watching this mechanic dealing with issues and he gives good advice.

 

[Pennwestmechanic]

Was this a factory replacement or an aftermarket radiator? Several write ups of the aftermarket radiator cap pressure being higher than O.E. causing similar issues with hoses coming off.
Apologies if I missed it.

 

[orange57]

Was this a factory replacement or an aftermarket radiator? Several write ups of the aftermarket radiator cap pressure being higher than O.E. causing similar issues with hoses coming off.
Apologies if I missed it.

OEM radiator, picked up in person from Bell Lexus.

I got the system full filled last night. Ran the truck for a while, reving it, holding it a 2krpm

Oil looks clean, no white smoke.

When i squeeze the upper radiator hose I can hear coolant push into the overflow. Shouldn't the cap be sealed when cool?

 

[Wyatt Pine]

In my experience you shouldn't be able to push coolant into the overflow with hand pressure. Did you replace the radiator cap or re-use the old? As long as you don't notice any coolant loss when driving I think you may have dodged a bullet.

 

[OG Zuninja]

Like Wyatt said, it looks like you dodged a bullet. Squeezing coolant past the cap into the overflow doesn't sound right to me. Did you reuse the radiator cap when you replaced all the other parts? I didn't see mention of a new cap.

 

[orange57]

Was this a factory replacement or an aftermarket radiator? Several write ups of the aftermarket radiator cap pressure being higher than O.E. causing similar issues with hoses coming off.
Apologies if I missed it.

OEM radiator, picked up in person from Bell Lexus.

I got the system full filled last night. Ran the truck for a while, reving it, holding it a 2krpm

Oil looks clean, no white smoke.

When i squeeze the upper radiator hose I can hear coolant push into the overflow. Shouldn't the cap be sealed when cool?

Like Wyatt said, it looks like you dodged a bullet. Squeezing coolant past the cap into the overflow doesn't sound right to me. Did you reuse the radiator cap when you replaced all the other parts? I didn't see mention of a new cap.

 

[orange57]

The OEM radiator came with a new cap.

 

[Wyatt Pine]

If you swap to the old radiator cap, can you still squeeze coolant into the overflow?

 

[r2m]

Happy days! No smoke out the back AND clean oil!!
Personally I don't know about the, "squeezing hose" thing, but I do assume you "burped" the system, letting it run and constantly adding coolant till it wouldn't accept any more?
Other than that, I'd say your wife should be very happy now!
Congrats and have a !

 

[orange57]

If you swap to the old radiator cap, can you still squeeze coolant into the overflow?

Yes, seemed the same.

 

[orange57]

Update:

As noted, on Tuesday evening I filled the system, completely burped it. Car has been sitting since Tuesday. Went out this morning, opened the radiator cap, everything completely full.

Put the skid plate and air dams back on the underside and the air dam across the top. Car started right up.

Took it on a short trip of ~4 miles. Lower radiator hose blew off the radiator again.

I am 100% confident that hose was on correctly and the clamp placed correctly. I spent a lot of time getting it on there and double/triple/quadruple checking that it was placed correctly.

Will pull the car in the garage shortly, and it's going to have to sit for a while as I have work travel coming up.

I am completely dumbfounded as to what the issue could be. I'm starting to suspect that maybe the initial radiator that started leaking was a redhering for something much more serious with the truck.

I guess next weekend I'll attempt a leak down test to see if I can see anything.

Any other tips are greatly appreciated.