Help with coolant leak?

[JesseH]

Ok, so ive got a odd coolant leak somewhere at the top of my radiator....the hoses, cap, and clamps are all fairly new, and there are NO marks on the fan from where it would throw the coolant everywhere. anyone have any ideas?
Oh... and there have never been any spots on the ground. here are a few pics of what im talking about:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e309/thesupraguy87/cool2.jpg


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e309/thesupraguy87/cool1.jpg

 

[Fletch124]

Drain plug tight? Sure its coolant?

 

[JesseH]

Drain plug tight? Sure its coolant?

yep deff coolant.

 

[Figit090]

sometimes themostat housings can leak... without the proper seal i could see it squirting up there...

otherwise i'm not sure how coolant could get up there....are your hoses clamped tight? try and judge the angle of the spray pattern if you can and if it looks like a slow drip or a wide splatter pattern...i cant tell by the pic. then you could tell the direction and volume/speed of the leak...

 

[JesseH]

sometimes themostat housings can leak... without the proper seal i could see it squirting up there...

otherwise i'm not sure how coolant could get up there....are your hoses clamped tight? try and judge the angle of the spray pattern if you can and if it looks like a slow drip or a wide splatter pattern...i cant tell by the pic. then you could tell the direction and volume/speed of the leak...

actually the thermostat housing was replaced several months ago too, along with the all the coolant hoses, clamps, t-stat, cap....the only one I know I havent replaced is the small one that runs in the around the intake mani that ill replace when I get Will's ported & pollished intake mani. I dont understand why there are drops on top of the hose

 

[GotToyota?]

Radiator cap? When mine was going bad it would slightly bubble at the top causing just a little bit to foam out, that could be it.

-Matt

 

[JesseH]

Radiator cap? When mine was going bad it would slightly bubble at the top causing just a little bit to foam out, that could be it.

-Matt

Is there any way I can have it tested? I wonder if the idiots at the auto parts store gave me the wrong one....they've done it before lol

 

[GotToyota?]

What I always would do is drive it around til' it gets to operating temp, then pull over and shut the car off. Pop the hood and if your cap is bad/is going bad, you should hear a hissing sound right at the cap.

-Matt

 

[ForcedTorque]

Here's an off the wall guess!

You mentioned the thermostat housing being replaced. Is it possible that the little 90 degree hose was put back with too much bend, and it sprung a leak. It would have to be at the top of that hose and spraying up.

I bet radiator cap or thermostat cover over that idea. Or maybe a pin hole in the upper radiator hose (at the clamp)

 

[CRE]

Are you running the stock radiator? It could be a hairline fracture or a leak in the seal between the body and the top tank.

I replaced my stock rad when the top tank developed a bunch of hairline fractures... it would sweat coolant at idle, at higher RPMs it would spray in a couple very fine streams.

 

[JesseH]

Here's an off the wall guess!

You mentioned the thermostat housing being replaced. Is it possible that the little 90 degree hose was put back with too much bend, and it sprung a leak. It would have to be at the top of that hose and spraying up.

I bet radiator cap or thermostat cover over that idea. Or maybe a pin hole in the upper radiator hose (at the clamp)[/quote
no because i replaced that hose when I replaced the housing...made sure it was in perfect and snug clamps. good idea though

Are you running the stock radiator? It could be a hairline fracture or a leak in the seal between the body and the top tank.

I replaced my stock rad when the top tank developed a bunch of hairline fractures... it would sweat coolant at idle, at higher RPMs it would spray in a couple very fine streams.

its the stock radiator....i think I might have it figured out the hose that goes to the overflow tank was on a little crooked and the clamp wasnt very tight...I could pull if off with my hand no problem. So i snugged it back now and I think that worked..Ill do a test drive tomorrow to check

 

[mkIIIman089]

It shouldn't have. There is virtually no pressure on the overflow line.

Easiest way to see where it is should be right after you have had the car up to temp (driven for at least 25 minutes) and shut it down. Plenty of pressure in the system while it heat soaks and should show you the problem spot.

 

[JesseH]

It shouldn't have. There is virtually no pressure on the overflow line.

Easiest way to see where it is should be right after you have had the car up to temp (driven for at least 25 minutes) and shut it down. Plenty of pressure in the system while it heat soaks and should show you the problem spot.

the only reason why im thinking that is because there is a marks where as there was coolant running down from it. So I just thought I'd be sure

 

[Figit090]

well if there are marks from coolant coming from a loose hose, chances are that's it. a hose doesnt need a lot of pressure to leak. gravity can do it in some cases.... its possible his hose was replaced and is slightly bigger than needed...which will cause easy leakage without a properly tightened clamp.

but you could try the test idea, its a good one... but take it easy and dont race around. if you end up blowing a hose, you could screw your engine and be left with many more problems....

you might want to clean off the residue before you do this, and avoid getting that coolant on any paint you that you would like to stay nice, its corrosive with paint... hence the drip marks...

and if that doesnt work, there's a chance that changing the thermostat was the cause of your problem if you didnt seal it properly. my therm. came with a big rubber o-ring with a valley on the inner diameter so it could slip over the therm before instillation, and then seal the housing when the housing halfs squshed up against it. before i changed the therm, it had a fiber seal on the actual housing instead of a rubber one on the thermostat... maybe somebody forgot to put any seal in yours? or you did...i forgot.

 

[JesseH]

well if there are marks from coolant coming from a loose hose, chances are that's it. a hose doesnt need a lot of pressure to leak. gravity can do it in some cases.... its possible his hose was replaced and is slightly bigger than needed...which will cause easy leakage without a properly tightened clamp.

but you could try the test idea, its a good one... but take it easy and dont race around. if you end up blowing a hose, you could screw your engine and be left with many more problems....

you might want to clean off the residue before you do this, and avoid getting that coolant on any paint you that you would like to stay nice, its corrosive with paint... hence the drip marks...

and if that doesnt work, there's a chance that changing the thermostat was the cause of your problem if you didnt seal it properly. my therm. came with a big rubber o-ring with a valley on the inner diameter so it could slip over the therm before instillation, and then seal the housing when the housing halfs squshed up against it. before i changed the therm, it had a fiber seal on the actual housing instead of a rubber one on the thermostat... maybe somebody forgot to put any seal in yours? or you did...i forgot.

ok, now after the birdhouse light came on I knew it was a little more serious than I thought and stoped driving it. I jacked the car up and looked underneath and there is coolant all over everything underneath beacuse of the fan blowing the coolant all over everything and I cannot tell where its coming from. Figit, yes there is seal on the thermostat i did that myself when I changed it. Its not coming from where the coolant neck attaches to the housing. anyone have any pointers for me so I can help find this leak? I have not changed anything recently and was driving it for at least 3 to 4 months with no leaks at all.

 

[johnathan1]

Jeez you guys, all this speculation...just pressure test the system AND the cap...If I were you I would get a new cap from Toyota.

 

[JesseH]

Jeez you guys, all this speculation...just pressure test the system AND the cap...If I were you I would get a new cap from Toyota.

why would I need to pressure test the system now when i know theres a leak and the general area? I know when Im done ill do that to make sure its fixed, but now with it being my day off and getting fed up with it, i pulled out the dizzy to get to the housing takeing that off new gasket and seal, check the thermostat one more time and check all the hoses and clamps in that area.

 

[johnathan1]

Pressure test the system so that you know EXACTLY where the leak is...not the "general area"...I thought you made this thread to ask for help with finding a coolant leak??

 

[JesseH]

Pressure test the system so that you know EXACTLY where the leak is...not the "general area"...I thought you made this thread to ask for help with finding a coolant leak??

oh ok, got you, I wish I would have done that in the beggining and It probably would have been a lot easier. I just pulled a lot off the front end and I believe I found the problem. first my water pump bolts were all a tad loose and the gasket on the water neck was ripped up pretty bad. thanks for the help though, once I get everything put back together Ill do the pressure test.

 

[Figit090]

cool. good luck.