Yea, I think your fixing it until it’s broke. It happens to all of us sometimes. No filter necessary.
Questions on Installing a Coolant Filter (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter TriaxialBulls
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #22
I know it seems weird to not have a hose, but I live in a crowded apartment complex and the only hose outlet I know of is in the middle, where you can't get a vehicle. Even if I could find a hose spigot, I don't have an actual hose to connect to it. If someone in the LA area is willing to let me come get some of their sweet, sweet hose water for a day, that would be awesome
I have been Intrested in setting up a coolant filter as well, why? Because it seems like a cool idea, and I cant leave "good enough" alone.
The main reason I was initially Intrested, was the original link you posted, and the junk it pulled out.
Looking at the old heater hoses on my 80 (no longer in use, as I have all heat bypassed), it looks like PO at one point went red to green coolant, and it reacted. White crystalline structures line the wall of the old hoses when I cut them open.
I flushed the daylights out of it when I overhauled the coolant system, and OEM red was put in.
With all of that said, I am for the idea, but I just cant seem to come up with a perfect spot that makes sense. I have a 95, so different hose connections than your set up.
The main reason I was initially Intrested, was the original link you posted, and the junk it pulled out.
Looking at the old heater hoses on my 80 (no longer in use, as I have all heat bypassed), it looks like PO at one point went red to green coolant, and it reacted. White crystalline structures line the wall of the old hoses when I cut them open.
I flushed the daylights out of it when I overhauled the coolant system, and OEM red was put in.
With all of that said, I am for the idea, but I just cant seem to come up with a perfect spot that makes sense. I have a 95, so different hose connections than your set up.
Just make sure to remove your thermostat while you do the internal flush. It will make the coolant flow faster and it will run cold during that time.I know it seems weird to not have a hose, but I live in a crowded apartment complex and the only hose outlet I know of is in the middle, where you can't get a vehicle. Even if I could find a hose spigot, I don't have an actual hose to connect to it. If someone in the LA area is willing to let me come get some of their sweet, sweet hose water for a day, that would be awesome
- Thread starter
- #25
Honestly after a lot of research I am starting to doubt the worthiness of the idea. After looking more into coolant filters, they all eventually outlet into one pretty small hole, usually around 1/8" in diameter. I think this is why most systems are set up as a bypass, to just get a small amount of coolant flowing through the filter. I don't think it is a good idea to set it up as I laid out in my original post, as that would basically be taking a 5/8" hose and forcing it through a 1/8" orifice. Besides the blockage concerns, you wouldn't actually get much more coolant this way anyway.
I did find this filter, which is meant to solve that problem and can be run like I intended. It seems really well-designed and thought out; I really like the magnet feature. However at $250 I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze, especially for a "washable" filter (which we all know is never going to be as good as replacement filters with a limited service life). I might go for it anyway because I think it's a good idea and I plan to have this vehicle for a long time.
NLXTACY
Wits' End
I am definitely one that prefers to see crystal clear coolant after every coolant change, which is roughly every two years for me. Anything that prevents it from being clear can become a potential issue. How potential? Well it could take some of us 20 years to eventually find out. I valiantly attempted the version on your first link but the SuperCharger in one truck and turbo in the other definitely prevented that.
But, the reason Rich's thread on the filtration wasn't an issue was because it was a bypass setup. Not ALL coolant is driven through the filter creating a choke point. It just filters what goes through the bypass. I think if you decided to go this route then definitely add a bypass. Heck you could at two "Y" junctions pre- and post- the filter. Cavitation problem solved.
But, the reason Rich's thread on the filtration wasn't an issue was because it was a bypass setup. Not ALL coolant is driven through the filter creating a choke point. It just filters what goes through the bypass. I think if you decided to go this route then definitely add a bypass. Heck you could at two "Y" junctions pre- and post- the filter. Cavitation problem solved.
- Thread starter
- #27
In the reply right before yours I posted a link to a "full flow" filter that is meant to be plumbed inline. They also have this one which is even fancier and has two integrated valves that allow you to internally bypass the filter at any time. Honestly this is probably what I'd go for, but at $350 I think my money is best spent elsewhere at the moment. Although those stimulus checks have been burning a hole in my pocket
Bambusiero
SILVER Star
I would speculate that debris in the cooling system comes from only 3 sources:
1) Original engine block casting process stuff that never got cleaned out of passages - crusty bits n stuff.
2) Use of tap water (plus antifreeze, of course), which deposits minerals.
3) Some mineral content eventually precipitates out of old formula antifreeze when it ages, like silicates.
On the other hand, if only good quality antifreeze + distilled water go into a well flushed clean system? where does debris come from?
I have, myself, after dumping it out into clean containers, filtered an entire coolant charge through coffee filters, just to see what was in there... not much, pretty clean. so I put it back in again.
which part of my sentence are you having a problem with? I will rephrase it for you in plain english.
My solution is a blurb in this post (#26):
Radiator options
TYC 1918 on Amazon/Ebay has performed well for several seasons here in the Sonoran Desert for several of the local guys. No I think he really likes the TYC 1918. My TYC radiator that I ordered was actually a Koyo.
forum.ih8mud.com
I haven't regretted doing this. The 'filter' is more of a screen that catches particles that would likely clog the radiator core. My guess is that hoses degrade and shed rubber particles over time. Replacing the hoses regularly will prevent this, but very few people replace all the hoses ever, let alone on a regular basis.
Corrosion of the inside of the block/head/radiator/heater core from old coolant that has turned acidic, flaking off. at least that used to be the cause years ago. Some old truck coolant filters contained an additive to keep the Ph right and prevent erosion from cavitation IIRC.
Obviously you can do what you want. Your truck has survived 26-27 years the way it was designed. Just spend the money restoring the manufacturers designs.
Thought I'd share a little error that ties in with the topic of installing a cooling system screen, or not??
While working on my 96 FZJ80's radiator about five years ago I had disconnected the top radiator hose. I finish what I'm doing and reconnect the upper hose and keeping driving, no problems.
Jump forward five years. I had recently lost some coolant so took off the radiator cap and look inside, surprise, there's something sitting right below the cap, what could it be?? I had looked into the fill hole many times in the past five years but never saw anything out of the ordinary. This is the original radiator, 360,000 miles (patched top tank but still cooling well albeit with a slight leak).
Here's what I found:
Grab a small pair of needle nose pliers to pull out the mass:
And it keeps coming out:
I'm thinking, what the heck is that??
My first thought was, did one of my neighbor's kids try to sabotage my vehicle?? I had been charging the battery overnight recently, hood not latched, and wondered, did someone sneak over and stuff something in my radiator??
I take a closer look at the mass, it's a paper towel!! How the heck did
that get inside my radiator??
I think back, when was the last time I worked on my cooling system??
Then I remember: five years ago when the top radiator hose was removed and the radiator partially empty I stuffed a paper towel into the outlet pipe coming from the engine to keep coolant from dripping on me while under the vehicle.
The only answer I came up with is that I forgot that the paper towel was still inside the pipe and slid the upper hose back on without removing the towel first. Then once the radiator was refilled and with the first start of the engine the paper towel was pushed into the top of the radiator where it's been sitting all this time.
What's surprising is that the paper towel appeared to be intact, just sitting on top of the radiator core for five years until it floated over to under the cap where I could see it and pull it out.
The question is (related to the original thread topic), would a inline cooling system screen/filter have made this situation worse?? I'm thinking the towel could have clogged the screen, stopping all flow into the radiator??
Of course, you don't find paper towels inside a cooling system
very often.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The bottom photo posted to show how the radiator looks inside after
25 years and 360,000 miles running Toyota Red 50:50 with distilled water
and no cooling system screen/filter (minus the paper towel).
Last time I flushed the system was 2011 (9 years).
While working on my 96 FZJ80's radiator about five years ago I had disconnected the top radiator hose. I finish what I'm doing and reconnect the upper hose and keeping driving, no problems.
Jump forward five years. I had recently lost some coolant so took off the radiator cap and look inside, surprise, there's something sitting right below the cap, what could it be?? I had looked into the fill hole many times in the past five years but never saw anything out of the ordinary. This is the original radiator, 360,000 miles (patched top tank but still cooling well albeit with a slight leak).
Here's what I found:
Grab a small pair of needle nose pliers to pull out the mass:
And it keeps coming out:
I'm thinking, what the heck is that??
My first thought was, did one of my neighbor's kids try to sabotage my vehicle?? I had been charging the battery overnight recently, hood not latched, and wondered, did someone sneak over and stuff something in my radiator??
I take a closer look at the mass, it's a paper towel!! How the heck did
that get inside my radiator??
I think back, when was the last time I worked on my cooling system??
Then I remember: five years ago when the top radiator hose was removed and the radiator partially empty I stuffed a paper towel into the outlet pipe coming from the engine to keep coolant from dripping on me while under the vehicle.
The only answer I came up with is that I forgot that the paper towel was still inside the pipe and slid the upper hose back on without removing the towel first. Then once the radiator was refilled and with the first start of the engine the paper towel was pushed into the top of the radiator where it's been sitting all this time.
What's surprising is that the paper towel appeared to be intact, just sitting on top of the radiator core for five years until it floated over to under the cap where I could see it and pull it out.
The question is (related to the original thread topic), would a inline cooling system screen/filter have made this situation worse?? I'm thinking the towel could have clogged the screen, stopping all flow into the radiator??
Of course, you don't find paper towels inside a cooling system
very often.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The bottom photo posted to show how the radiator looks inside after
25 years and 360,000 miles running Toyota Red 50:50 with distilled water
and no cooling system screen/filter (minus the paper towel).
Last time I flushed the system was 2011 (9 years).
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #34
Very interesting, that screen looks okay because it doesn’t impede flow. Some of the similar designs I’ve seen seem like they would create restrictions in your radiator hoses. So have you seen any results? Has the screen actually caught anything that you were then able to remove?My solution is a blurb in this post (#26):
Radiator options
TYC 1918 on Amazon/Ebay has performed well for several seasons here in the Sonoran Desert for several of the local guys. No I think he really likes the TYC 1918. My TYC radiator that I ordered was actually a Koyo.
I haven't regretted doing this. The 'filter' is more of a screen that catches particles that would likely clog the radiator core. My guess is that hoses degrade and shed rubber particles over time. Replacing the hoses regularly will prevent this, but very few people replace all the hoses ever, let alone on a regular basis.
- Thread starter
- #35
Moral of the story... don’t leave paper towels in your cooking system?Thought I'd share a little error that ties in with the topic of installing a cooling system screen, or not??
While working on my 96 FZJ80's radiator about five years ago I had disconnected the top radiator hose. I finish what I'm doing and reconnect the upper hose and keeping driving, no problems.
Jump forward five years. I had recently lost some coolant so took off the radiator cap and look inside, surprise, there's something sitting right below the cap, what could it be?? I had looked into the fill hole many times in the past five years but never saw anything out of the ordinary. This is the original radiator, 360,000 miles (patched top tank but still cooling well albeit with a slight leak).
Here's what I found:
View attachment 2280825
Grab a small pair of needle nose pliers to pull out the mass:
View attachment 2280826
And it keeps coming out:
View attachment 2280829
I'm thinking, what the heck is that??
View attachment 2280831
My first thought was, did one of my neighbor's kids try to sabotage my vehicle?? I had been charging the battery overnight recently, hood not latched, and wondered, did someone sneak over and stuff something in my radiator??
I take a closer look at the mass, it's a paper towel!! How the heck did
that get inside my radiator??
I think back, when was the last time I worked on my cooling system??
Then I remember: five years ago when the top radiator hose was removed and the radiator partially empty I stuffed a paper towel into the outlet pipe coming from the engine to keep coolant from dripping on me while under the vehicle.
The only answer I came up with is that I forgot that the paper towel was still inside the pipe and slid the upper hose back on without removing the towel first. Then once the radiator was refilled and with the first start of the engine the paper towel was pushed into the top of the radiator where it's been sitting all this time.
What's surprising is that the paper towel appeared to be intact, just sitting on top of the radiator core for five years until it floated over to under the cap where I could see it and pull it out.
The question is (related to the original thread topic), would a inline cooling system screen/filter have made this situation worse?? I'm thinking the towel could have clogged the screen, stopping all flow into the radiator??
Of course, you don't find paper towels inside a cooling system
very often.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The bottom photo posted to show how the radiator looks inside after
25 years and 360,000 miles running Toyota Red 50:50 with distilled water
and no cooling system screen/filter (minus the paper towel).
Last time I flushed the system was 2011 (9 years).
View attachment 2280836
I looked at it about a year later and there were a couple of black bits in it, like what had clogged my radiator prior to replacement. I replaced every hose and flushed the system, so I wouldn't expect it to get much for a long time.
You can't see it in the pic, but there are actually two screens, and any bits get trapped between them. It works a lot like a simple fly/wasp trap- the first screen has a hole in the end, anything that goes in gets funneled through the hole and gets stopped by the second screen. When the flow stops, the trapped particles fall down between the screens.
Full disclosure- I recently got another 80 and replaced all the hoses and radiator, but didn't bother with the filter. The filter is great, but I figured at $130 or so I can replace the radiator (if needed) as a maintenance item every few years and not have an added point of potential failure in the system.
LC4LIFE
Supporting Vendor
If this doesn't fit into the "over do it just because" mod on Mud I don't know what does. I for one, will never do a coolant filter. I would rather spend that money on fuel or other items that will keep it running like a top. And, of course, swap coolant every couple of years.
Bambusiero
SILVER Star
Paper towel in the radiator! that's a good one!
Agreed - rubber hoses can break down, but they really shouldn't. I don't think it's a normal thing to expect it anymore. I think it used to be more common, many years ago. It used to be a common bit of advise to squeeze your upper radiator hose to see if it was kind of "squishy" and soft, especially right by the radiator nipple. that's where they would typically fail. So- you would know it needed replacement. If I recall correctly, the explanation was (surprisingly) was that there was a voltage potential between the block and radiator, and therefore current flow through the coolant, causing galvanic breakdown of the rubber. Auto manufacturers learned to prevent this by putting many more ground straps sprinkled around the engine. The rise of electronics all over the place probably motivated this as well. So - the galvanic breakdown problem was solved. Nowadays, I think it would come down to rubber that's many many years too old.
Agreed - rubber hoses can break down, but they really shouldn't. I don't think it's a normal thing to expect it anymore. I think it used to be more common, many years ago. It used to be a common bit of advise to squeeze your upper radiator hose to see if it was kind of "squishy" and soft, especially right by the radiator nipple. that's where they would typically fail. So- you would know it needed replacement. If I recall correctly, the explanation was (surprisingly) was that there was a voltage potential between the block and radiator, and therefore current flow through the coolant, causing galvanic breakdown of the rubber. Auto manufacturers learned to prevent this by putting many more ground straps sprinkled around the engine. The rise of electronics all over the place probably motivated this as well. So - the galvanic breakdown problem was solved. Nowadays, I think it would come down to rubber that's many many years too old.
- Thread starter
- #39
Honestly I'd like to use silicone hoses, but the small evaporative losses kinda turns me off to that idea
