keeping it cool

[twoninety]

hey everyone !,

im new to this place.. :)

here it goes...

i have a 08 yaris with 290,000km (180,000 mi)

today i was doing some cleaning and noticed the overflow coolant reservoir was almost empty. keep an eye on things under the hood and usually reservoir level looks good

hmmm ? :frown:

so i filled reservoir to the max mark ( premixed pink/ toyota) coolant, and went for a drive

kinda cold here in toronto, around 3c (40f) but eventually , while the car was in my outdoor garage, coolant temp rose to around 95c (203f) ( obd data), then the fan kicked in.

also, to the touch, the top hose to the rad was quite warm, but the bottom hose was much cooler

eventually, the bottom hose got quite a bit warmer ( thermostat opened ), when coolant temp went over, approx, 90c ( 194f)

fluid in reservoir stayed at same level as before- at the max mark

went for as drive, and coolant temps came down to around 80c (175f) after a few minutes at low speed driving

hmmm:confused:

i did notice some steam , that appeared to be coming from the inside top of the rad, just kinda under the top rad hose :rolleyes:

a rad leak maybe ?

chemical sealant solution?

or ?


given all the above observations/ info, any thoughts on whats going on.. why reservoir was previously empty?

*** dip stick and under oil cap looked fine, clean oil. and removing rad cap ( when cold/ cooler) fluid looked okay. tried to add some coolant but only took a couple of ounces before overflowing...
power/ driveability is good/ normal..


any thoughts/ ideas as to whats going on?

much appreciated :)

[Flubby]

Sounds like a leak but if it was I think it would be a bit more obvious.. some kind of circulation problem it sounds like for sure. BTW... 40 deg F... not cold for Toronto! haha

Welcome!

[sh0rtlife]

being as cold as it is its hard to say...those kind of temps are NORMAL operation so your good there

as far as a leak goes 2 primary spots to keep tabs on..water pump will "stain" when its leaking, the other which is less common for the yaris but common of ALL plastic radatior car is that sometimes the seal between the plastic caps and aluminum body of the rad will slowly let go

so if your seein steam at the top..keep tabs on it high chance the rad is slowly letting go and needs replaced...there is no repairing it unless youve got oven for it

[SirDigby]

the coolant is bright pink and gets crusty when the water has evaporated out. the main thing is to check the water pump, as they leak all the time. then take a flashlight and look at everything that has coolant in it. look for the crusty-ness. there is a blue fluid that checks for internal head gasket leaks. (coolant-to-oil leak) you can get from an auto parts store; it has a suction bulb that you attach to your radiator. it pulls the vapor of the coolant through the blue fluid and the fluid turns green with the presence of hydrocarbons. (fuel/oil contamination) also remember coolant will evaporate over time. it will become acidic over time. change your coolant every 3 years.
DO NOT USE STOP-LEAK!!!!!
never use any kind of stop-leak in any kind of system ever! (coolant, oil, transmission, a/c, etc.) stop-leak is a terrible product that causes more problems than it will ever fix. only in an extreme emergency situation should it be considered. fix it right, or don't fix it at all.