Tell me it aint so....

[JSHeinrich]

Alright tell me what you think is wrong...

Every once in awhile like a month ago, my temp. gauge would go up past the double red lines. The second I pushed the clutch in or came to a stop it would go back down to normal. After that it would not go up anymore. I was not driving it hard either. As it started to warm up it just kept going up.

Last week I had to add coolant 2 times but since then it has been ok.

Last night the temp. guage went all the way up and it would not come down. I put on my heat and cold air came out. My fans were going. My coolant was raised in the tank close to the top.

When I bought the car it already had a newer radiator in it.

The only time my car smokes is when it was real cold out and it was warming up and then it went away.

I have a feeling I know what everybody is going to say but I figured i would ask anyways to see if maybe i'm not right...

 

[Yellow 13]

Has the radiator cap been replaced?

Have you checked to make sure there is no air in the cooling system?

 

[starscream5000]

:werd: on the rad cap

 

[skim1040]

It ain't so...

 

[againstdawall06]

There is deffenitly air in your cooling system. Air doesnt transfer heat as well as coolant, that is why you had no heat. Try a new rad. cap, fill the radiator with coolant, and burp the system.

 

[johnathan1]

Was the coolant pouring out onto the ground? Or is it just disappearing?

 

[Yellow 13]

He said his resevoir tank is filling up so Im guessing its the radiator cap.

 

[mattjk]

sounds like when the previous owners replaced the radiator, they left a HUGE air bubble in the system... would could explain why the temp shoots up. The pump is just pushing air around. Just keep filling the system and make sure your heater is on so you can burp it.

 

[againstdawall06]

And dont buy a radiator cap with one of those red flip up pressure release things, that will go bad within a couple of months.

 

[johnathan1]

The reservoir tank might fill up from the initial heat-up of the engine, but then the coolant remaining in the engine gets burned in the combustion chambers, and exits through the exhaust if the BHG is bad enough. It all depends on how the head gasket is blown...When mine blew, it would do exactly what he was saying.

I also had a problem with my rad cap. It was brand new from Toyota, but it was defective, and would let coolant over flow out of the system...but my temp guage wouldn't go into the red...coolant would just keep flowing out, I'm sure if would have overheated if I kept driving it though. Also, when the rad cap was bad, it wouldn't always push coolant out of the overflow, it would be fine on cooler days, but when I parked it, it would spit out of the reservoir...it would only pour out when driving if it was really hot out that day.

I would pressure test the cap...and cooling system, and go from there...

 

[Yellow 13]

Stock pressure is radiator cap is 12.7 psi I think. Most places sell a 13 which will work fine.

 

[jdub]

Check your rad cap...check your thermostat. The previous owner may have removed the thermostat...a big no, no on this engine.

Listen to these guys...you are getting air into the system. Coulld be a hose, the heater core, the radiator, almost anything. Get the coolant system pressure tested so you can find any leaks...then go from there.

 

[JSHeinrich]

When the coolant ran low, it didn't leak anywhere it just dissappeared. I have had my heat on before witht this car and it was at normal temp and putting out hot air. This whole overheating and no heat situation just started happening. Seems like you guys/girls don't think its a bhg, thats always good

 

[MKIIINA]

check the rad cap, the thermostat.
check your oil cap for milkshake
check compression.
report back

 

[JSHeinrich]

I'll be under the hood this weekend. Thanks for all the help. I'll let ya knwo what I find. Go figure when my supra starts acting up my daily driver/work truck starts acting up as well....

 

[JSHeinrich]

Just an update because it was a little weird but made it really seem like it was a cooling issue...

It overheats. If i'm in 2nd gear and have it at a steady 2700, the temp guage goes normal and it starst to put out hot air. if i go lower in rpms it overheats and if i accelerate it overheats.

Does the same thing in 3rd gear at like 2300 rpms....

 

[MKIIINA]

umm if its overheating stop driving it. find out whats wrong before you do some serious damage (warped head, bhg, rod knock, the end of days etc...)

 

[johnathan1]

Pressure test the system...any decent mechanic should have a presure tester...I held mine at ~21psi for five minutes to see if it dropped at all. It should stay at the same pressure for the whole time...if it drops, but you can't find an leaks...then you likely have a BHG.

 

[steven89]

And dont buy a radiator cap with one of those red flip up pressure release things, that will go bad within a couple of months.

I have one of those on my jeep..works fine..never overheats... Just my opinion on em is that they do work

 

[johnathan1]

Those may work on other cars, but in my experience, the Supra's cooling system is VERY sensitive, I don't use anything but Toyota rad caps, I tried the other "Autozone" specials, and they didn't work worth a crap. In fact, my car had a flip-up cap when i bought it, and it wouldn't let enough pressure build up...bad for cooling.