1KR-FE: mysterious water loss - gasket failure? - Toyota Yaris Forums

dj92 · 03-31-2014, 10:16 AM

Hi there,
now the mysterious water loss has come to me (or my yaris)

About 800km/500mi ago, I had filled up the white coolant tank up to the upper marking.
Today, I had a look at it again (just been curious) and it was almost empty (ok, some ml on the bottom were left).
I filled it up and continued my ride (about 20km) without any problems.
I have the coolant and intake temperatures in view while I'm driving, and the recent days, I did not see the coolant temperature rise far above 81°C/178°F (the ambient temperature was 15°C/59°F or less).
Today, after the fillup, I got up to 87°C; but it's quite hot outside (>25°C/77°F I reckon).
The intake temperature was rather high (40°C/104°F); because the heated throttle body's position in the coolant circuit is one of the highest I conclude that there's still enough water inside (else, the air could not heat up that much).

But before I have only H2O flowing through the engine, I want to have this issue fixed.

I had a look at some parts of the coolant system, because the water loss happened that slow, I don't think that the radiator or the heater core has a leak.
When the engine has cooled down, I'll have a closer look at the water pump.
I saw in fact some pink residues near a hose connection, but I spilled some coolant there before when I had taken apart the coolant system in order to experiment with the flow heater (another story...), so I am not sure wher this is coming from.
I had taken out the spring clamp and replaced it with a screw type, I'll put in the old one if this is the reason.
I have cleaned the junction when I did the fillup, I'll have a closer look at it soon, too.

Due to the spill that had happened before, I don't see a big sense in looking for pink crystals now, because I want the still hot engine (I just came home) to cool down, so I can see probably wet spots then.

Up to then, this main question bothers me:
Might the cylinder head gasket be broken?
I have the tools to change it, but as far as I know it's a PITA.
My mileage has not really changed, it's about 38MPG/6,2l/100km; some months ago it was 39MPG/6l/100km (with a lot of city traffic).
How common are gasket failures today?

03-31-2014, 10:16 AM	#1
dj92 Embracing Curves View User's Garage Drives: '14 Prius Executive Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: mid-western Germany Posts: 256	1KR-FE: mysterious water loss - gasket failure? Hi there, now the mysterious water loss has come to me (or my yaris) About 800km/500mi ago, I had filled up the white coolant tank up to the upper marking. Today, I had a look at it again (just been curious) and it was almost empty (ok, some ml on the bottom were left). I filled it up and continued my ride (about 20km) without any problems. I have the coolant and intake temperatures in view while I'm driving, and the recent days, I did not see the coolant temperature rise far above 81°C/178°F (the ambient temperature was 15°C/59°F or less). Today, after the fillup, I got up to 87°C; but it's quite hot outside (>25°C/77°F I reckon). The intake temperature was rather high (40°C/104°F); because the heated throttle body's position in the coolant circuit is one of the highest I conclude that there's still enough water inside (else, the air could not heat up that much). But before I have only H2O flowing through the engine, I want to have this issue fixed. I had a look at some parts of the coolant system, because the water loss happened that slow, I don't think that the radiator or the heater core has a leak. When the engine has cooled down, I'll have a closer look at the water pump. I saw in fact some pink residues near a hose connection, but I spilled some coolant there before when I had taken apart the coolant system in order to experiment with the flow heater (another story...), so I am not sure wher this is coming from. I had taken out the spring clamp and replaced it with a screw type, I'll put in the old one if this is the reason. I have cleaned the junction when I did the fillup, I'll have a closer look at it soon, too. Due to the spill that had happened before, I don't see a big sense in looking for pink crystals now, because I want the still hot engine (I just came home) to cool down, so I can see probably wet spots then. Up to then, this main question bothers me: Might the cylinder head gasket be broken? I have the tools to change it, but as far as I know it's a PITA. My mileage has not really changed, it's about 38MPG/6,2l/100km; some months ago it was 39MPG/6l/100km (with a lot of city traffic). How common are gasket failures today?