more cooling system problems...

[kylefoto]

Okay.
So pretty much the same thing that was happening with my cooling system like a month or so ago, is back again.
It'll suck all the coolant out of the overflow tank. The weird thing is, it did it while I was driving this time, so I pulled into mcdonalds and got some water, put some in, a minute later it was gone (car was off.) I hadn't been running the car hard at all, after all I just got a new clutch put in, however I did sit in stop and go traffic for about 30-60 minutes earlier that night. Also, when I had pulled into mcdonalds, my exhaust was pushing out white smoke...that was the only time it did though...
So. I put more water in it, and went to leave tacoma, and I'm driving around trying to find a god damn exit and ended up having to back track, and my coolant light came on againnnnnn. So filled it up with water, and went on the freeway, and I was fine!
any ideas?

 

[koulee]

Three words: BHG

 

[Jspec7m88]

Without jumping to ANY conclusions, do a Compression/Leak down Test first.
Although from what you've described leans me towards BHG as well, there are still a couple other poor-man's tests you can perform to help narrow down your problem. First...

Take off your oil cap and tell me what you see on the bottom side of it...

 

[IJ.]

You put COLD water into a HOT not running engine? :aigo:

 

[kylefoto]

First off, I checked my oil just yesterday and it is definately not milk shaky. It is really really clean.
Second off, I never said I put cold water into a HOT RUNNING ENGINE
it wasn't running when I put it in, and it was a bit cooled down.

 

[bigaaron]

The BHG denial stage....... we have all been there before.

 

[3p141592654]

LMAO!

 

[IJ.]

First off, I checked my oil just yesterday and it is definately not milk shaky. It is really really clean.
Second off, I never said I put cold water into a HOT RUNNING ENGINE
it wasn't running when I put it in, and it was a bit cooled down.

Just bolded my post as it seems you missed it!

The motor should be running if you're going to put cold water in it to lessen the chance of thermal shock!
(You run the risk of annealing the head each time you do this usua;;y on the exhaust side so it banana's when removed)

My last BHG didn't leak anywhere near Oil so that's NOT an indicator that it's not blown....

"Denial" Isn't just a river in Egypt!

 

[johnathan1]

BHG...That's exactly what mine did. I'm sorry...I hope you get it fixed.

 

[kylefoto]

compression test:
150 average for the most part,
147 was the lowest.

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

You put COLD water into a HOT not running engine? :aigo:

Heads are cheap anyway.

Nobody even mentioned looking for coolant leaks. Not that most people don't know what all the signs point toward...

"Denial" Isn't just a river in Egypt!

^ lmao, my old history teacher used to say that and those are NOT footsteps that you want to follow in.

 

[suprastanger507mgte]

If that tank is emptying out, check for leaks. The do a pressure test of the cooling system,which is a better indicator of cooling system leaks.Basically the cooling system gets pressurised and you will look for the pressure loss if any.

If your cooant is low in the radiator, it will also suck in untill its full, so check the coolant level as well.
and if you've never had a BHG, maybe its time to think about replacing it....

 

[IJ.]

Heads are cheap because MOST of them are annealed and useless
(price a new bare casting and you'll show your motor a little more respect)

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

^ I was being sarcastic, but good point nonetheless.

 

[IJ.]

LOL missed the sarcasm smilie

 

[3p141592654]

They look reasonable. If its a BHG then its small right now. Get the coolant
checked for combustions byproducts (NAPA sells a cheap kit) or get someone with an emissions sniffer to see if he can see any byproducts coming out of your radiator. If its clean then you have a leak somewhere else.

compression test:
150 average for the most part,
147 was the lowest.